explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1186: Bumblebees

2015-01-06T17:46:14Z

Diszy:

{{w|Bumblebee#Flight}} [[Special:Contributions/96.238.211.171|96.238.211.171]] 05:49, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Amazing that this urban legend is still going. I seem to remember reading that the aerodynamicist who came to this conclusion sobered up and withdrew his comments within a day or two, 80 years ago. [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 09:22, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

In Richard Hammonds Invisible Worlds (Great Series) they shows slow motion footage of a bee's flight through smoke, revealing that the be '''TWISTS ITS WINGS''' in order to swing downwards twice in one flap of its wings, doubling its lift and removing the up-flaps negative lift. Here is the link, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p007vs8p.[[Special:Contributions/220.255.1.50|220.255.1.50]] 10:37, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

I also saw this comic as a reference to the movie "A Bee Movie" where Jerry Seinfeld's bee character is helping the human land the plane. I realize the human is actually flying the plane in that situation, but the bees were helping her. -- [[User:Mattsinc]] ([[User talk:Mattsinc|talk]]) 12:31, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

Bumblebees DO fly planes. <Can't believe what I'm about to say...> Ask an economist <Forces self to overcomes retching impulse>. {{w|Bumblebee#Agricultural_use}} #TIL about Buzz pollination. [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]] 14:44, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

The alt-text also plays with this urban legend. Claiming that sociologists cannot explain why people like to claim that bumblebees can't fly is exactly like claiming that scientists cannot explain bumblebee flight, to the extent that the motivation for people to cite the myth about bumblebees is actually quite easily explained by the desire to discredit science as a way to avoid having to consider the implications of your own beliefs being contradictory to science (e.g. young-earth creationism). [[Special:Contributions/74.77.132.55|74.77.132.55]] 03:47, 28 May 2013 (UTC)
:Correct, at least in my experience. I was raised as a Baptist, and I vividly remember my Sunday School teachers telling me this "fact" about bees. They were trying to do exactly what you said: discredit science and justify their beliefs. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 17:46, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Does the explanation actually say that not all mechanics of bumblebee flight are understood? Because it's actually been completely understood for years. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.180|173.245.63.180]] 07:34, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

Nah, its just saying that one interpretation is that it is an alternate universe where physicist are just scrambling to try to come up with an answer to the claim that bumblebees can't fly airplanes. --[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 21:21, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1454: Done

2014-12-01T18:08:26Z

Diszy:

How do we know the girl is in the United States?? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.177|141.101.104.177]] 08:54, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

Is it a girl? I was thinking the hair is a bit like mick Jaggers... - Palitu {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.223}}

: I think it's a girl, and I think she's in the United States, as xkcd is a US-based comic, and pony-tail is a recurring figure also presumably in the United States. And I think it's all rather sad. Note that she's kneeling on her chair, not sitting - this is more common for girls than guys. My take is that she's the kind of person who can enter into a fantasy relationship with a person she doesn't really know, and then if/when they do ever meet in real life it will all break down because her fantasy is only that, and the real person will not match her expectations at all. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 09:37, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

:: I look at that she was incredibly lucky - it's a classic internet relationship scam. Maybe I'm just a cynic. There's also the phrase [http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/do-over "Done Over"], although I think it's a British idiom, so I highly doubt it was meant as a double entendre. [[User:Oobayly|Oobayly]] ([[User talk:Oobayly|talk]])

::: Yeah, note that she's going to be saving up money for six months, thus that'll likely be a sizeable sum. And the person that she "connected" with is a half a world away, always a bad sign as no real evidence of identity is truly possible at that distance, and as an internet user, likely in the us, half a world away may well be a country where the reimbursed cost of a plane ticket is worth the work of fabricating & upkeeping a fake idealized relationship in order to get the eventual reward of that money. The cynic in me gives this a 50% chance that this is a classic scam. - Kzqai

Consider this as a possible reference to Kim Kardashian's photo.. An effect of her trying to "break the internet" -KLee {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.212}}

'''Identity of the writer?'''
:If the writer is based on a reoccurring character than it has to be either Megan or Danish. Is there a consensus as to who it is?[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.163|173.245.56.163]]

:: Isn't she Caroline, or 'curly buns'. Similar curly haired girl has appeared in similar roles on several pages but it seems her age isn't entirely set and instead fluctuates according to the call of a particular strip. {{unsigned ip|108.162.230.155}}

I don't think that anyone literally said "shut it down", I believe it was a rhetoric, at least that's how I read it. [[User:Official.xian|Official.xian]] ([[User talk:Official.xian|talk]]) 11:47, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

Oh yes. Forget that the economy would go to hell without Internet. Forget how much science is done using Internet. The real reason for Internet to exist is so you can get in love with someone on different continent. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:44, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
:I'm not so sure... it would seem it was primarily funny cat videos, the funniest possible of which was obviously posted, viewed, and judged as the final necessary use of the internet. It was thus agreed to shut it down, as there is really no need to continue with this charade variously coined as "commerce", "science", or other superfluous forms of so-called "communication" (that is the garbled blathering that is not funny cat pictures or videos), all depending of course on your preferred (but nonetheless obviously deluded) persuasion. This comic only serves to prove it. I am left wondering, though... how did Ponytail come to learn this? SMS? Phone Tree? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:55, 1 December 2014 (UTC)
::Is there perhaps a meme going around where instead of "lol" you write "internetover" to say "this is so good/funny, i can now die happy" and the comic author was annoyed with that and made this where the start situation is silly and the end is even sillier? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.163|108.162.254.163]] 14:10, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

This could be far more than a romantic involvement. She says she thought she was asking too much. But then she found... a like-minded individual, someone who can... notice the 'glitches in the matrix', as it were. Much more might have been lost here than a believed love. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.169|173.245.54.169]] 14:13, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

It could mean the girl is in love or wants to adopt a child from a country like Iran, but before she can tell, the internet THERE is shut down by the government
(which happens all the time because of some youtube video or something). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.114|108.162.237.114]] 14:18, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

: Or the writer may be in a country like Russia, China, or Turkey, where the internet is widely used but under constant threat of political censorship.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.129|108.162.216.129]] 14:54, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

So I am the only one who thought the girl was either the author of spam, or had a feasible contact whom she could fool into travelling to her country with promises of money, only to put them in the trap of being stuck there reliant on her? You hear the story all the time, someone is given hope, but as they arrive the passport is taken and to receive food+lodging (or in some cases they are locked inside a room) they are forced to perform dubious services with questionable morality and legality. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.145|108.162.254.145]] 15:02, 1 December 2014 (UTC)Feha {{unsigned ip|127.0.0.1|12:34, 5 June 2012 (UTC)}}

Yeah, I still don't get the title comment either. The author of this Facebook comment was responding to a video, and I see no evidence that this girl has been posting videos. So is it just coincidence that [Megan is saying that] the author also believes the girl is done? [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 16:19, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

You guys are all missing the point (except for the "die happy" commenter). Sometimes, when watching such an impressive video, people say something along the lines of "the internet is over" to mean "that video was so impressive that no one will ever top it. We might as well shut down the internet." This comic takes that expression literally, and shuts down the internet in the middle of someone's important conversation. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 18:08, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1433: Lightsaber

2014-10-15T12:03:41Z

Diszy:

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that lightsabers are actually not lasers but rather plasma held in that shape by some sort of force field. I think it should be in the explanation if it is true. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 06:11, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:I'd just like to know what "real laser"s have to do with lightsabers. (Other than little kids using the wrong name.) [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.120|103.22.201.120]] 11:55, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Most of "scientific" explanations of lightsaber (and blaster bolts) says about plasma contained in magnetic field. For example check this SE http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6478.
Endless "laser sword" pun was also used in http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6704463/troopers-laser-sword, without Luke but with massive hull breach. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.214|108.162.231.214]] 06:38, 13 October 2014 (UTC)PTwr

One joking "explanation" of the light sabre conjured long ago on a newsgroup I was on had used the Fourier analysis. It proposed that the "handle" emits multiple beams of light with very well defined frequencies and amplitudes, corresponding to a Fourier series for a pulse wave with a low duty cycle - so the waveforms emitted cancel themselves after a short distance. The joke went on, saying that since the sum of the Fourier series is periodic, someone practicing the sabre on the Earth can accidentally chop off the head of someone walking on the Moon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.29|108.162.254.29]] 07:26, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

I don't think this has anything to do with the Hull Breach card game. The sentence "Hull breach all along sector five" does however sound like something from Star Trek and not like Star Wars.[[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 12:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

There is a XKCD What If discussion on infinite lasers at http://what-if.xkcd.com/109/ [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.113|141.101.99.113]] 12:17, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

"'''Because Vader slightly tilts the active lightsaber, the beam ends up slicing straight through the hull of a large section of the Death Star. '''" Wouldn't it would cause a breach the moment he turned it on, not waiting until he tilts it? [[User:Lomky|Lomky]] ([[User talk:Lomky|talk]]) 15:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, but the breach would be highly localized (the same diameter as the blade) until he tilts it. If he does so in the center of the sphere, leverage means that a slight angle change in the emitter means a huge change at the other end of the beam.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:34, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
::Darth Vader may be more machine than man, but don't you think you're overestimating his ability to hold his hand steady? You seem to be suggesting his hand wouldn't tremor enough to cause even the tiniest perturbations in the angle.[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 19:29, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:::How far are they from the hull? The original breach would still be relatively localized (on the order of 1-2% of their distance from the hull), so if they're within a few hundred meters from the boundary it shouldn't be particularly large. (That's even assuming they're on the Death Star in the first place, as the IP below me helpfully points out; could be that the original vector simply didn't intersect the Death Star at all.) Or of course it could be the original - it's only been several seconds or so, maybe they only noticed it that moment anyway. A cool calculation I don't have time to do right now: assuming the blade covered a plane sector of, say, 15 degrees (I'm ignoring the twitches for a moment, though it's easy to see that they don't change the answer much), and assuming it didn't hit any nearby planets such as Endor, approximately how many planets it would've hit on its way from the galaxy? Same question for stars (though I suppose a lightsaber blade won't do much to a star). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.23|141.101.64.23]] 06:51, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
::::They're on Endor (in the movie, at least). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDnoczxzQyg If the beam intersects the Death Star, it would be many hundreds of KM away. Any perturbations would be HUGE at that distance. Also, the XKCD What If book actually addresses the question of the likelihood that a beam hits anything. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 12:03, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

The scene referred to in Return of the Jedi, actually takes place on the surface of Endors moon. There are trees in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDnoczxzQyg [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.222|141.101.81.222]] 15:20, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Actually, the title text says "A long time in the future, in a galaxy...", not "ago". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 12:25, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
: Who said otherwise? "'''The Star Wars opening crawl''' starts with the text "A long time ago..." {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.117}}

When I first read this, I took it as a game of one-up-manship. I build something, you build something better, I build something even better, you build something cooler, etc in an ever escalating spiral of coolness. So, here, Luke has built a long sabre as a way of one-upping his father, who then asks "where does [this competition] end?" Luke's response is taht the competition, like his laser sword, never ends. That also seems to fit in neatly with Randall's penchant for puns. OTOH, I could just be making up stuff inside my head :D JonS

<GASP> We now have one of the two variables needed to find the Death Star! We have direction, now all we need is distance! {{unsigned ip|108.162.217.137}}

Talk:1434: Where Do Birds Go

2014-10-15T11:58:35Z

Diszy:

Hehe, are we suggesting that "bird" may be a phase of dihydrogen monoxide? I like that.
--[[User:Stg|Stg]] ([[User talk:Stg|talk]]) 05:11, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

I recommend we keep the answer out of the explain page since it wasn't included in the comic. Birds can google it themselves. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.209|108.162.216.209]] 06:25, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

:Why are you so mean to poor birds? Do you know how hard is to type with beak? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:08, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

I added the thing about catcher in the rye, but now I think that might not be right.[[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 06:28, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

:I haven't read Catcher in the Rye, but I purely read it as Superman & Clark Kent are the same thing, implying that birds and rain are the same thing. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:34, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

Cueball assumes it's a question common to all of internet-accessed humans, making it seem like a beautiful thing. In the end, it turns out those are actually helpless birds asking this question worldwide, not people. I'd advise you add a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog] reference.
The ice/catcher in the rye connection is far fetched. Judging by the Clark/Superman comparison, Randall suggests that birds turn into the rain as part of the water/ice phases and not hide from it. Because Clark doesn't go when Superman arrives, he turns into Superman. [[User:Dulcis|Dulcis]] ([[User talk:Dulcis|talk]]) 08:01, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

:Actually, I think Clark will end up on bottom of the phone booth. Superman must assume that noone will steal his disguise while he will do the rescuing ... meanwhile, there is lot of water in birds, but also lot of other molecules, so the transformation wouldn't work. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:08, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

[https://www.google.com/webhp?q=where%20do%20birds%20go%20when%20it%20rains the google query] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.100|141.101.98.100]] 08:14, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

Birds can use the internet? Before we know it, they will start tweeting. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 11:58, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1433: Lightsaber

2014-10-13T19:29:01Z

Diszy:

Actually, the title text says "A long time in the future, in a galaxy...", not "ago". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 12:25, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
: Who said otherwise? "'''The Star Wars opening crawl''' starts with the text "A long time ago..."

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that lightsabers are actually not lasers but rather plasma held in that shape by some sort of force field. I think it should be in the explanation if it is true. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 06:11, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:I'd just like to know what "real laser"s have to do with lightsabers. (Other than little kids using the wrong name.) [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.120|103.22.201.120]] 11:55, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Most of "scientific" explanations of lightsaber (and blaster bolts) says about plasma contained in magnetic field. For example check this SE http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6478.
Endless "laser sword" pun was also used in http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6704463/troopers-laser-sword, without Luke but with massive hull breach. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.214|108.162.231.214]] 06:38, 13 October 2014 (UTC)PTwr

One joking "explanation" of the light sabre conjured long ago on a newsgroup I was on had used the Fourier analysis. It proposed that the "handle" emits multiple beams of light with very well defined frequencies and amplitudes, corresponding to a Fourier series for a pulse wave with a low duty cycle - so the waveforms emitted cancel themselves after a short distance. The joke went on, saying that since the sum of the Fourier series is periodic, someone practicing the sabre on the Earth can accidentally chop off the head of someone walking on the Moon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.29|108.162.254.29]] 07:26, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

I don't think this has anything to do with the Hull Breach card game. The sentence "Hull breach all along sector five" does however sound like something from Star Trek and not like Star Wars.[[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 12:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

There is a XKCD What If discussion on infinite lasers at http://what-if.xkcd.com/109/ [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.113|141.101.99.113]] 12:17, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

"'''Because Vader slightly tilts the active lightsaber, the beam ends up slicing straight through the hull of a large section of the Death Star. '''" Wouldn't it would cause a breach the moment he turned it on, not waiting until he tilts it? [[User:Lomky|Lomky]] ([[User talk:Lomky|talk]]) 15:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, but the breach would be highly localized (the same diameter as the blade) until he tilts it. If he does so in the center of the sphere, leverage means that a slight angle change in the emitter means a huge change at the other end of the beam.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:34, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
::Darth Vader may be more machine than man, but don't you think you're overestimating his ability to hold his hand steady? You seem to be suggesting his hand wouldn't tremor enough to cause even the tiniest perturbations in the angle.[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 19:29, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

The scene referred to in Return of the Jedi, actually takes place on the surface of Endors moon. There are trees in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDnoczxzQyg [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.222|141.101.81.222]] 15:20, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1431: Marriage

2014-10-08T12:25:31Z

Diszy:

Okay, that was the hardest explanation I've attempted so far. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:42, 8 October 2014 (UTC)
:Graphs tend to be hard. On that note, the transcript was tricky and probably needs work. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 05:14, 8 October 2014 (UTC)
:: Hope you don't mind, I just about completely rewrote the transcript, attempting to indicate the structure of each line and the visual effect I thought was intended -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:41, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

----

Thank you for your efforts. This of course raises questions about what's next. Let's hope we can question sincerely and this does not become a troll.

How about adoption of children by single persons (authorized in France, where else) ? By same-sex couples (authorized in France because the same law applies to marriage and adoption) ? Can anyone (even Randall) gather data and produce a graph ?

Adoption normally gives a home with proper parents to a child that lack them by accident.

Notice that every human person living or dead has exactly one mother and one father because of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamete Gamete] mechanism (even if one or even both parents are sometimes unknown or the person is raised by other people). [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/UN_Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#Article_7 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child] article 7 mentions the "immediately after birth" the child's "right to know and be cared for by his or her parents."

Now consider people technically fertile but whose situation is not a traditional couple (they may be single or same-sex couple). In the US they can buy a child specifically produced to be adopted (I know in my town two French gay men that bought two children in the US). Depending on the situation, children are produced using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrogacy gestational surrogacy] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_reproductive_technology Assisted reproductive technology].

Those children are produced to be deprived of one of their parents. That violates [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/UN_Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#Article_7 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child], right ? Is that a progress ? How to solve that ?

So you're saying that adoption (from gay or straight couples) violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child? That all sperm donation should be banned? [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 12:17, 8 October 2014 (UTC) Also, the US has not ratified the UNCRC so this discussion is moot. You can't hold them to the rules if they blatantly declare that they don't follow them.[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 12:25, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Let's try to remain close to this XKCD graph and the question: what's next and what to think of it ? Open to your constructive questions and comments.
--[[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 11:44, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1431: Marriage

2014-10-08T12:17:48Z

Diszy:

Okay, that was the hardest explanation I've attempted so far. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:42, 8 October 2014 (UTC)
:Graphs tend to be hard. On that note, the transcript was tricky and probably needs work. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 05:14, 8 October 2014 (UTC)
:: Hope you don't mind, I just about completely rewrote the transcript, attempting to indicate the structure of each line and the visual effect I thought was intended -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:41, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

----

Thank you for your efforts. This of course raises questions about what's next. Let's hope we can question sincerely and this does not become a troll.

How about adoption of children by single persons (authorized in France, where else) ? By same-sex couples (authorized in France because the same law applies to marriage and adoption) ? Can anyone (even Randall) gather data and produce a graph ?

Adoption normally gives a home with proper parents to a child that lack them by accident.

Notice that every human person living or dead has exactly one mother and one father because of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamete Gamete] mechanism (even if one or even both parents are sometimes unknown or the person is raised by other people). [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/UN_Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#Article_7 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child] article 7 mentions the "immediately after birth" the child's "right to know and be cared for by his or her parents."

Now consider people technically fertile but whose situation is not a traditional couple (they may be single or same-sex couple). In the US they can buy a child specifically produced to be adopted (I know in my town two French gay men that bought two children in the US). Depending on the situation, children are produced using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrogacy gestational surrogacy] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_reproductive_technology Assisted reproductive technology].

Those children are produced to be deprived of one of their parents. That violates [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/UN_Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child#Article_7 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child], right ? Is that a progress ? How to solve that ?

So you're saying that adoption (from gay or straight couples) violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child? That all sperm donation should be banned? [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 12:17, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Let's try to remain close to this XKCD graph and the question: what's next and what to think of it ? Open to your constructive questions and comments.
--[[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 11:44, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1429: Data

2014-10-05T17:49:43Z

Diszy:

What should "off-screen" be called in the transcript? I just put that since I didn't know what else to say. Also, someone needs to a) explain the Kirk/Picard situation and b) explain the title text. Sorry for not doing it myself, but I'm editing on my phone so there are probably errors that people need to fix and other people know far more about it anyway. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 04:42, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

:Based on looking through some other transcripts, it looks like the convention is "off-screen". Also, fixed some typos in your comment. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 06:06, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

The comic refers tp "pedants '''on all sides'''", which implies there is some kind of debate/dispute about the issue in the grammatical world. If someone who is aware of this dispute were to explain the details of it and/or provide links to sites that discuss it, I think the explanation would be greatly improved. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.180}}

::There seems to be an ongoing dispute of whether to rigidly stick to the latin form (datum singular, data plural), or adjust to the way it is far more commonly used. There appears to be divided opinion amongst grammar pedants, hence the 'on all sides'. [http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/jul/16/data-plural-singular Data are or data is? - Guardian Newspaper], [http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/07/05/is-data-is-or-is-data-aint-a-plural/ Is Data Is, or Is Data Ain’t, a Plural? - WSJ]{{unsigned|Pudder}}

I always thought the noun data was non-quantifiable like "gasoline" which you'd need a unit to pluralize. "This piece of data suggests more than those gallons of gasoline"... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.79|173.245.48.79]] 05:03, 3 October 2014 (UTC)BLuDgeons

I added some info on Kirk vs. Picard, but I'm not sure how useful or understandable it is. Sorry in advance. [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 06:01, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

As someone pretending (for purposes of this comment) to speak with a classic British Cockney, what's the matter with "an hypercorrection habit"? [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:34, 3 October 2014 (UTC)

:Agreed. The consonant 'h' sound is not always preceded by "a". Is it quite common for other words starting with consonant 'h' to be preceded by "an". One is example is "An historic occasion". [[User:MrBigDog2U|MrBigDog2U]] ([[User talk:MrBigDog2U|talk]]) 14:28, 3 October 2014 (UTC)
::"Hotel" (yes, with the French connection) is the classic test, IME, for dropped or kept haiches (or 'aiches), with the middle-classes tending towards using "a hotel" whilst both the lower ''and'' upper classes gravitate towards "an 'otel" (for different reasons, with different empheses). Of course, if the person has an affectation (or "haffectation") "an hotel" (or, more like, "ane hotel") or even "han 'otel" can arise, to frankly ridiculous degrees. But this is just personal observation, and may not survive even inter-regional train travel, never mind transatlantic relocation... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 16:11, 3 October 2014 (UTC)
::: An hero. Just sayin. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 17:49, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

I always took "fora" to be tongue-in-cheek mockery of pedantry rather than a frank insistence on proper grammar [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:22, 4 October 2014 (UTC)
:You were lucky that accusative and nominative in second declension neuter have matching endings, otherwise pedants would prey on "I always took fora" part of your comment :) Either way, please consider giving forīs a benefit of the doubt. Without forōrum and their memorable name, xkcd wouldn't be the same :) [[User:Nyq|Nyq]] ([[User talk:Nyq|talk]]) 14:12, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

Would it be worthwhile emphasizing that "hypercorrection" is a specialist term, employed by those studying language, grammar, and its development over time/history. Some might think that the term is merely descriptive, something along the lines of "hyper/taking-to-the-max tendencies to do stuff correctly". Rather, a definition would be something like "a non-standard usage that results from over application of a perceived grammatical rule" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.218|108.162.250.218]] 08:12, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1418: Horse

2014-09-11T22:04:33Z

Diszy:

*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)

----

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)

----

Would it be funny the other way?
*The force population has been in decline sine the industrial revolution
*Rules of polo: You need a force.
*People do not like it when there is force in their beef.
I do ;) —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] ([[User talk:Artyer|talk]]) 18:33, 8 September 2014 (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)

Talk:1418: Horse

2014-09-11T22:03:53Z

Diszy:

*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)

----

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)

----

Would it be funny the other way?
*The force population has been in decline sine the industrial revolution
*Rules of polo: You need a force.
*People do not like it when there is force in their beef.
I do ;) —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] ([[User talk:Artyer|talk]]) 18:33, 8 September 2014 (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 comments, 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)

Talk:160: Penny Arcade Parody

2014-08-23T18:04:09Z

Diszy: Created page with "Is this supposed to be the beginning of a porno fanfic or something? ~~~~"

Is this supposed to be the beginning of a porno fanfic or something? [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 18:04, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1265: Juicer

2014-07-26T06:26:25Z

Diszy:

Please delete the explanation that '{{w|ghoti}}' can be pronounced 'fish'. Sorry, I meant that 'Gushers' can be pronounced 'juicers'. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 12:28, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
:I agree, but maybe we should move it into a trivia section at the bottom. The sentence "There are several possible readings of this comic:" and the headlines should also be removed. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:13, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

::I don't see any merit to the "Jushers" line - it doesn't deal with the "sh" in the word, nor does it really seem to fit the text of the comment. I don't mind the two remaining alternative explanations though. My reading was the first version that the person is juicing the Gushers (the rind being a mocking reference, as indicated, to the candy's gummy shell). While I don't think Randall was going for the second alternative that the person is saying "I juice" which implys drinking the juice, but instead it's just collected. I have no doubt that if this was the intention, Randall would have drawn an insanely large number of bottles to truely demonstrate constant juicing with no drinking, and have Cueball actually present in the frame eating the candy. That said, it's an interesting and plausible alternative that I think is fair to stay. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 13:47, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
:::The bright red and blue juice in the containers points to the source being gushers. [[Special:Contributions/96.251.85.48|96.251.85.48]] 16:05, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
:Quote main page: "Don't be a jerk. There are a lot of comics that don't have set in stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic." '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 03:58, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
:I like it, especially the parts about the frequencies of certain letter/phoneme sequences, but then again I'm a language nerd. [[Special:Contributions/65.94.50.53|65.94.50.53]] 23:10, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

The heinous Batterwitch has her gnarled claws in everything! [[Special:Contributions/209.122.160.124|209.122.160.124]] 14:45, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
:+1 for the homestuck reference, but let's try to keep it on topic please. --[[Special:Contributions/142.25.33.249|142.25.33.249]] 17:15, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

The three bottles are obviously a reflection of the fact that there were more reds than blues in the Gushers candy packs. The final explanation reads a little contrived to anyone who ever ate the candy. The Gushers=Juicers argument makes sense from what I can tell as a multilingual.
[[Special:Contributions/216.201.206.118|216.201.206.118]] 18:41, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Moved from explanation:
;Hard '''g''' / soft '''g'''
If English is not your native language (which is not the case of [[Randall]]), you could think that "Gushers" /ˈgʌʃərz/ is pronounced as "juicers" /ˈdʒusərz/. I.e., if you know nothing about English spelling you could think that both words are pronounced /ˈdʒuʃərz/.
*A 'g' can signify a soft-g sound (/dʒ/ as in 'gin'). However, natives know that the soft-g sound never appears in the combination "gu".
*A 'u' can signify a {{w|Close_back_rounded_vowel|close back rounded vowel}}, /u/ as in 'flute'.
*The letter 'c' can be pronounced /ʃ/ as in 'ocean' /ˈoʊʃən/. The pronunciation of 'cer' as /ʃər/ is not common, except in dialectical words like "[http://dialect.redlog.net/staticmaps/q_36.html grocery"].
:->My opinion is that we can mention it can sound very similar if spelled by non native English speakers. That's all.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:09, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Moved from explanation:
;Juicer Juice Drinkers ⊂ Juicer Owners
Many people buy juicers (and exercise equipment) with the notion that the bought items will make them healthier. This comic shows a juicer with three full bottles of juice, indicating that the owner of the juice machine is making healthy juice with the intention of drinking it, but not consuming juice at the rate it is produced. The comic also shows a Fruit Gusher snack, indicating the unhealthy option that the juicer owner just can't stop eating.
:->I have many ideas like this, the plastic bottles could been made of poisonous material, the juicer is broken and the bottles are bought in a supermarket,... Come on, this makes really no sense.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:09, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
::I think the juicer is being used to juice the gushers. --[[Special:Contributions/142.25.33.249|142.25.33.249]] 15:02, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
:::I just saw this is in the explanation already. Yeah, this section doesn't make sense and should definitely have been removed. --[[Special:Contributions/142.25.33.249|142.25.33.249]] 15:05, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
:The juice is [http://www.merigoesround.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/betty_crocker_gushers.jpg the same color as gushers]. Note the same color on the box and in the bottle. Given how much Randall avoids color, it seems clear the narrator is making gusher juice. Definitely think this explanation should be removed, it seems to miss the joke entirely. [[Special:Contributions/207.168.168.90|207.168.168.90]] 20:52, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

The idea given in the Talk area that the skin of an apple is where "most of the vitamins are" is a fallacy and should be corrected. The skin of the apple does contain more antioxidants, and has the fiber of the fruit, but the majority of the vitamins in that fruit are, indeed, in the "meat" of the apple. The title text in this comic is a sarcastic remark about how people tend to argue that the least-appealing part of something has the majority of the "goodness." (After all, it says that it's where "all" the vitamins are.) While partly true in many cases (rice, for example), it is almost never true of fruit regarding the vitamins, which is what the title text is about. (And when you think about it, who eats the rinds of oranges, lemons, mangoes, bananas, kiwis, or coconuts?)[[Special:Contributions/152.119.255.250|152.119.255.250]] 20:39, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

:Aren't most vitamins antioxidants? The {{w|Antioxidant}} page lists vitamines A, C and E as examples. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:14, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

:: Some vitamins are antioxidants, but it doesn't change the fact that the comic's title text says, "all the vitamins." That is untrue in every fruit and is made more so by the fact that he says "rind," which is a word usually reserved for the thicker, bitter outer shell of fruit like oranges, bananas, etc. [[Special:Contributions/152.119.255.250|152.119.255.250]] 18:34, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

;Clean up needed
Some articles running into chaos, people looking at an explain like this and just say Tl;dr (Too long, don't read), I don't like this massive adds to the explain section for a really simple comic. Enter statements to the explain section when it does explain the comic. Random people looking at this site are just annoyed, many statements are just individual expresses. not helpful for an explain.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:27, 23 September 2013 (UTC)
:I must agree. Gusher is a simple word and the pronunciation is not in doubt. It is also the name of the product, and the correct pronunciation is used in commercials for the product. Nobody who needs to know how to pronounce it would be able to comprehend one percent of the guide provided in the explanation. Just...useless. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 21:52, 4 February 2014 (UTC)
::I deleted the section that said that ''Gushers'' and ''juicers'' can both be mispronounced as ''jooshers''. A double mistake made by non-native speakers who haven't studied English doesn't need to be mentioned. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 22:31, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

"There is a simple rule: If your thumbnail can reach the flesh of a fruit don't remove the skin." -- I guess you could say it's a... RULE OF THUMB WAHAHAHA [[Special:Contributions/87.189.150.74|87.189.150.74]] 22:33, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

I think the "if pesticide has been sprayed on it" part should be removed. Pesticides don't reside just on the surface of the fruit; they reside inside it. Ever seen that demonstration where you grow a plant using water dyed with food colouring? The colour gets drawn into the plant along with the water. The same thing happens with pesticide. Note: this doesn't mean you shouldn't wash your fruits; there's a lot of other stuff - like dirt - on the skin. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 06:26, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

Talk:841: Audiophiles

2014-06-25T21:17:59Z

Diszy:

I find that once you have a set of good headphones, that's all you really need. The difference between crappy laptop speakers and a 200$ set of gaming headphones is massive, but the gap between a 200$ set of headphones and a 400$ set of headphones is a bit of padding and a marginally nicer sound. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:56, 9 March 2013 (UTC)
:This kind of argument could be made about all sorts of price ranges. For a poor middle schooler with no job and no allowance, spending $15 on a set of headphones pushes the limits of price-performance. If you make millions of dollars a year, what's another $200 if it buys you some better sound quality and nice padding?[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 21:17, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

That must not be the girl from [[586]] 19:54, 22 July 2013 (UTC)

-- It could be her; maybe Cueball finally "got some culture" in her.

Talk:1382: Rocket Packs

2014-06-16T21:30:02Z

Diszy:

I think long fall boots (from Portal) would probably help with this.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 04:34, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
:-Not so much, they're designed for a completely different purpose. That's like expecting a kevlar vest to protect you against a sword. (They would, however, help if you ran out of fuel in midair.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.83|173.245.55.83]] 12:53, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
::A kevlar vest would protect you from a sword, if you're stabbed or hit in the chest.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.198|173.245.52.198]] 19:37, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
I was thinking a chair design with the legs pulled out in front might help out. {{unsigned ip|199.27.133.174}}

Wear the jet pack on your chest, avoid calf-burn. But don't mention the genitals. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.61|141.101.104.61]] 05:13, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Is it really so hard to invent calf shields? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.30|108.162.221.30]] 07:53, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Where is the problem? just reverse front and rear :=)
http://www.thefind.com/apparel/info-batwing-chaps
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.199|108.162.254.199]] 10:10, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

The logic and humor of this comic could be extended to the notion of "free" medical care, in a world where people are inclined to try things like rocket packs. {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.73}}

Most practical rockets have the thrust in line with the center of gravity. A jetpack like the one depicted will tend to nose over unless the user sticks his lower legs up into the exhaust to deflect it. Not a great way to travel. Real jetpacks have the nozzles either side to get around this problem. They still have the difficulty of being unable to glide if the engine cuts. If this happens too low to use a parachute, that will spoil the user's day. [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 16:03, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Why do people keep talking about running out of fuel in midair? When was the last time you ran out of fuel in your car, in between gas stations? Sure, the consequences aren't quite as catastrophic, but my point is that usually people refill their tanks before they run out...[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 21:30, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1373: Screenshot

2014-05-27T05:27:46Z

Diszy:

Guys I feel so strange right now, I woke up thinking "My battery is low, I need a charger but wait ... A new xkcd comic!" I have uploaded my screenshot : http://imgur.com/kjK1S1B
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.54|108.162.219.54]] 09:45, 26 May 2014 (UTC)bluelightzero

That subreddit made me feel dirty. And all this after seeing some long "friendzone" rants on Imgur. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 10:10, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

For completeness: http://imgur.com/YLNKqlC
15:53, 26 May 2014 (UTC) {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.12}}

Although I personally prefer Android phones for their OS flexibility, I don't think the "Android has longer battery life than iPhone" comment is needed in the explanation. It feels very opinionated, out of place and dubious (battery life essentially depends on usage.) That comment distracts from the main point of the comics. The comment the screenshot is of an iPhone and the phone itself is an Android is quite relevant since both status bars are vastly different (something that a casual reader might not realize), yet the phone owner is still confused by the screenshot's battery icon. If someone wants to reword that in the description better than I could do, please help yourself. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:56, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
:The iPhone vs Android jab in the explanation was totally trolling, lame. Android phones as a rule have much inferior battery life to iPhone over the span of the day - and the reason for that are design decisions in making of iOS vs Android. For example iOS is total nazi in not allowing background processes to run (spare ones actively playing music or GPS, plus limited time downloads). On Android OTOH, apps relish attaching themselves to the many system hooks, to be launched/notified on changes - so as practical matter you always have Maps, Play store, Google Play Services and user apps leeching on the battery. Android has advantages over iOS (there are many thing you can do that are verboten in iOS) - but battery life, as well as privacy control are not one of them. Please let the explanation be w/o getting into platform war - it is about being OCD, not mobile OSes. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.167}}

I don't think that's what "photobomb" means. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.107|108.162.218.107]] 20:14, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

My read on this is he's distracted from the call for help, "Help, my battery won't charge! See!", because the attached image shows a low battery, killing his respect for the sender. Maybe that's just me. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.51|108.162.221.51]] 23:13, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
:I agree; I interpreted the title text as the message that someone is trying to send to Randall. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 05:27, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

Some of the reason for this is the android sdk is used to create these screenshots.
The sdk contains some virtual machines and these have the battery detect as being low.
This seems to be done on purpose as you could query the charge of your phone in an app and having this set to in the middle makes it easier to test your app.
It is much easier to take a photo with the sdk than to use real hardware as phones will be different and you will have other applications running that you don't want to be included in the screen shot.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.224|108.162.249.224]] 03:38, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1362: Morse Code

2014-05-01T17:35:20Z

Diszy:

Does the way the panels of the comic go 0101 mean anything, being more code and all? [[User:Cheeselord99|Cheeselord99]] ([[User talk:Cheeselord99|talk]]) 06:58, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

: The Morse sequence · – · – (dot dash dot dash) corresponds to letter Ä (A umlaut), also æ and ą, outside US-ASCII. – · – · is C. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:52, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:: I think it just indicates a long pause. They're in a quiet, peaceful place. Not sure there's anything more to be read into it[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.148|173.245.53.148]] 16:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

It seems to translate in the question mark. --07:11, 30 April 2014 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.205|141.101.96.205]]

Randall mentioned in one of the "what ifs" that when he sees 1010 he involuntarily thinks "ten." So I guess it's "five?" Or an extended-Morse "a-umlaut" or "a-ogonek" or "ae digraph." Or a wild goose chase, maybe...[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 07:25, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Can someone explain the livejournal? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:59, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:And it is still a nice and a quiet place for people devoted to their interests,[http://raskalov-vit.livejournal.com/130686.html like urban exploration,etc.]Contrasted with Tumblr or Facebook,which are often drama-filled.[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 11:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
livejournal is a website that was popular with the "goth" subculture way back in the day where people would post similar things to the last morse message.
:It's commonly used by Russians nowadays.[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 11:05, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

"Cueball and Megan are 'lying' in a grassy, lonely plain." "Laying" has quite a different connotation. Ahem. {{unsigned|Pmiller000}}

: Nope. cf. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Laying & http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lying [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.158|108.162.225.158]] 23:55, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:: Actually, he's right. "Laying" is from the transitive verb "to lay", but they are clearly not laying any objects down. Their action is intransitive (or perhaps reflexive, if you like), which calls for a form of "to lie", namely "lying". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.65|108.162.221.65]] 14:23, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

I was looking at one of my livejournal entries just yesterday. I left it for Posterous. Then Twitter bought that and shut it down. I thik Wordpress will be around for a while. http://purl.net/net/tbc/blog/about

To the subject at hand. 'I Googled and found a 1999 article about Morse code in ''The Economist'' that is fascinating. I Instapapered http://www.economist.com/node/183572 ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 13:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)''

Perhaps Cueball was simply inspired by the quote and wanted to close his LiveJournal account in a similar manner. He did not necessarily intend to use those exact words.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.8|108.162.242.8]] 14:31, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

The landscape keeps changing from panel to panel: the lines in the horizon, the lines in the front big rock, the bunches of grass, etc. Also, grassy plains are usually thought of as peaceful and quiet, while the internet is not. I think the point (at least, one of the points) in the last panel is that Cueball turns this upside down by wanting to visit livejournal for peace and quietness, {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.33}}

LiveJournal is responding to this comic. http://xkcd-rss.livejournal.com/344879.html [[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101011010011011110110111001100101]] ([[User talk:MrGameZone|talk page]]) 17:15, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:As well as other comics, it seems. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 18:05, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Is the "Angst ridden" part not simply one of explain XKCDs users take on live journal. I think it gets way too much focus in the explain as it now also comes into explaining the title text. I would drop it completely - but as I do not know LiveJournal this may be so common knowledge that it is given that Randall reefers to this Angst... And thus I will leave a reasonable change to others... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:08, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

I thought this comic was a callback to http://xkcd.com/77/ [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.67|173.245.55.67]] 18:42, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Wouldn't the French have sent the message in French? The Morse Code in the explanation is English. [[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]]) 20:46, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:International conversation in modern times is always in English. I don't know the translation for "SOS" (Save our Souls) to French. Google tells me: "Sauvez nos âmes". But there is not "â" in the morse alphabet. They did morse in English. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:57, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

"Sauvez nos âmes" looks to me like a too-literal translation. "SOS" is "M'aidez" in French. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.202|141.101.88.202]] 06:57, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
:Per Wikipedia's article on SOS, "These may be regarded as mnemonics, but SOS does not actually stand for anything and is not an abbreviation, acronym or initialism."[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 17:25, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
:Also, apparently "mayday" came from "m'aidez". Learn something new every day. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 17:35, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall can find his LiveJournal login and post a final message - http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/ (the page where he started his webcomics) is still up and waiting for a more poetic ending ... [[User:Cornelius|Cornelius]] ([[User talk:Cornelius|talk]]) 22:02, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

I doubt that the French Navy used English in its final Morse Code message...[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.86|173.245.54.86]] 03:29, 1 May 2014 (UTC)Brett

:http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53668116.html --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.54|108.162.219.54]] 07:15, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

If you're interested in commercial/maritime Morse, and those who are trying to keep it alive, check out the Maritime Radio Historical Society, especially the Night of Nights: http://www.radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=kphnon&panel=pab1_1

Talk:1362: Morse Code

2014-05-01T17:25:36Z

Diszy: Oops, forgot to sign

Does the way the panels of the comic go 0101 mean anything, being more code and all? [[User:Cheeselord99|Cheeselord99]] ([[User talk:Cheeselord99|talk]]) 06:58, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

: The Morse sequence · – · – (dot dash dot dash) corresponds to letter Ä (A umlaut), also æ and ą, outside US-ASCII. – · – · is C. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:52, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:: I think it just indicates a long pause. They're in a quiet, peaceful place. Not sure there's anything more to be read into it[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.148|173.245.53.148]] 16:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

It seems to translate in the question mark. --07:11, 30 April 2014 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.205|141.101.96.205]]

Randall mentioned in one of the "what ifs" that when he sees 1010 he involuntarily thinks "ten." So I guess it's "five?" Or an extended-Morse "a-umlaut" or "a-ogonek" or "ae digraph." Or a wild goose chase, maybe...[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 07:25, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Can someone explain the livejournal? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:59, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:And it is still a nice and a quiet place for people devoted to their interests,[http://raskalov-vit.livejournal.com/130686.html like urban exploration,etc.]Contrasted with Tumblr or Facebook,which are often drama-filled.[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 11:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
livejournal is a website that was popular with the "goth" subculture way back in the day where people would post similar things to the last morse message.
:It's commonly used by Russians nowadays.[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 11:05, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

"Cueball and Megan are 'lying' in a grassy, lonely plain." "Laying" has quite a different connotation. Ahem. {{unsigned|Pmiller000}}

: Nope. cf. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Laying & http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lying [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.158|108.162.225.158]] 23:55, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:: Actually, he's right. "Laying" is from the transitive verb "to lay", but they are clearly not laying any objects down. Their action is intransitive (or perhaps reflexive, if you like), which calls for a form of "to lie", namely "lying". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.65|108.162.221.65]] 14:23, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

I was looking at one of my livejournal entries just yesterday. I left it for Posterous. Then Twitter bought that and shut it down. I thik Wordpress will be around for a while. http://purl.net/net/tbc/blog/about

To the subject at hand. 'I Googled and found a 1999 article about Morse code in ''The Economist'' that is fascinating. I Instapapered http://www.economist.com/node/183572 ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 13:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)''

Perhaps Cueball was simply inspired by the quote and wanted to close his LiveJournal account in a similar manner. He did not necessarily intend to use those exact words.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.8|108.162.242.8]] 14:31, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

The landscape keeps changing from panel to panel: the lines in the horizon, the lines in the front big rock, the bunches of grass, etc. Also, grassy plains are usually thought of as peaceful and quiet, while the internet is not. I think the point (at least, one of the points) in the last panel is that Cueball turns this upside down by wanting to visit livejournal for peace and quietness, {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.33}}

LiveJournal is responding to this comic. http://xkcd-rss.livejournal.com/344879.html [[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101011010011011110110111001100101]] ([[User talk:MrGameZone|talk page]]) 17:15, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:As well as other comics, it seems. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 18:05, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Is the "Angst ridden" part not simply one of explain XKCDs users take on live journal. I think it gets way too much focus in the explain as it now also comes into explaining the title text. I would drop it completely - but as I do not know LiveJournal this may be so common knowledge that it is given that Randall reefers to this Angst... And thus I will leave a reasonable change to others... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:08, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

I thought this comic was a callback to http://xkcd.com/77/ [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.67|173.245.55.67]] 18:42, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Wouldn't the French have sent the message in French? The Morse Code in the explanation is English. [[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]]) 20:46, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:International conversation in modern times is always in English. I don't know the translation for "SOS" (Save our Souls) to French. Google tells me: "Sauvez nos âmes". But there is not "â" in the morse alphabet. They did morse in English. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:57, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

"Sauvez nos âmes" looks to me like a too-literal translation. "SOS" is "M'aidez" in French. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.202|141.101.88.202]] 06:57, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
:Per Wikipedia's article on SOS, "These may be regarded as mnemonics, but SOS does not actually stand for anything and is not an abbreviation, acronym or initialism."[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 17:25, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall can find his LiveJournal login and post a final message - http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/ (the page where he started his webcomics) is still up and waiting for a more poetic ending ... [[User:Cornelius|Cornelius]] ([[User talk:Cornelius|talk]]) 22:02, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

I doubt that the French Navy used English in its final Morse Code message...[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.86|173.245.54.86]] 03:29, 1 May 2014 (UTC)Brett

:http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53668116.html --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.54|108.162.219.54]] 07:15, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

If you're interested in commercial/maritime Morse, and those who are trying to keep it alive, check out the Maritime Radio Historical Society, especially the Night of Nights: http://www.radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=kphnon&panel=pab1_1

Talk:1362: Morse Code

2014-05-01T17:25:12Z

Diszy:

Does the way the panels of the comic go 0101 mean anything, being more code and all? [[User:Cheeselord99|Cheeselord99]] ([[User talk:Cheeselord99|talk]]) 06:58, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

: The Morse sequence · – · – (dot dash dot dash) corresponds to letter Ä (A umlaut), also æ and ą, outside US-ASCII. – · – · is C. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:52, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:: I think it just indicates a long pause. They're in a quiet, peaceful place. Not sure there's anything more to be read into it[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.148|173.245.53.148]] 16:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

It seems to translate in the question mark. --07:11, 30 April 2014 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.205|141.101.96.205]]

Randall mentioned in one of the "what ifs" that when he sees 1010 he involuntarily thinks "ten." So I guess it's "five?" Or an extended-Morse "a-umlaut" or "a-ogonek" or "ae digraph." Or a wild goose chase, maybe...[[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 07:25, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Can someone explain the livejournal? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:59, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:And it is still a nice and a quiet place for people devoted to their interests,[http://raskalov-vit.livejournal.com/130686.html like urban exploration,etc.]Contrasted with Tumblr or Facebook,which are often drama-filled.[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 11:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
livejournal is a website that was popular with the "goth" subculture way back in the day where people would post similar things to the last morse message.
:It's commonly used by Russians nowadays.[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 11:05, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

"Cueball and Megan are 'lying' in a grassy, lonely plain." "Laying" has quite a different connotation. Ahem. {{unsigned|Pmiller000}}

: Nope. cf. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Laying & http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lying [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.158|108.162.225.158]] 23:55, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

:: Actually, he's right. "Laying" is from the transitive verb "to lay", but they are clearly not laying any objects down. Their action is intransitive (or perhaps reflexive, if you like), which calls for a form of "to lie", namely "lying". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.65|108.162.221.65]] 14:23, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

I was looking at one of my livejournal entries just yesterday. I left it for Posterous. Then Twitter bought that and shut it down. I thik Wordpress will be around for a while. http://purl.net/net/tbc/blog/about

To the subject at hand. 'I Googled and found a 1999 article about Morse code in ''The Economist'' that is fascinating. I Instapapered http://www.economist.com/node/183572 ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 13:03, 30 April 2014 (UTC)''

Perhaps Cueball was simply inspired by the quote and wanted to close his LiveJournal account in a similar manner. He did not necessarily intend to use those exact words.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.8|108.162.242.8]] 14:31, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

The landscape keeps changing from panel to panel: the lines in the horizon, the lines in the front big rock, the bunches of grass, etc. Also, grassy plains are usually thought of as peaceful and quiet, while the internet is not. I think the point (at least, one of the points) in the last panel is that Cueball turns this upside down by wanting to visit livejournal for peace and quietness, {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.33}}

LiveJournal is responding to this comic. http://xkcd-rss.livejournal.com/344879.html [[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101011010011011110110111001100101]] ([[User talk:MrGameZone|talk page]]) 17:15, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:As well as other comics, it seems. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 18:05, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Is the "Angst ridden" part not simply one of explain XKCDs users take on live journal. I think it gets way too much focus in the explain as it now also comes into explaining the title text. I would drop it completely - but as I do not know LiveJournal this may be so common knowledge that it is given that Randall reefers to this Angst... And thus I will leave a reasonable change to others... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:08, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

I thought this comic was a callback to http://xkcd.com/77/ [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.67|173.245.55.67]] 18:42, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Wouldn't the French have sent the message in French? The Morse Code in the explanation is English. [[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]]) 20:46, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
:International conversation in modern times is always in English. I don't know the translation for "SOS" (Save our Souls) to French. Google tells me: "Sauvez nos âmes". But there is not "â" in the morse alphabet. They did morse in English. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:57, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

"Sauvez nos âmes" looks to me like a too-literal translation. "SOS" is "M'aidez" in French. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.202|141.101.88.202]] 06:57, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
:Per Wikipedia's article on SOS, "These may be regarded as mnemonics, but SOS does not actually stand for anything and is not an abbreviation, acronym or initialism."

I wonder if Randall can find his LiveJournal login and post a final message - http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/ (the page where he started his webcomics) is still up and waiting for a more poetic ending ... [[User:Cornelius|Cornelius]] ([[User talk:Cornelius|talk]]) 22:02, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

I doubt that the French Navy used English in its final Morse Code message...[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.86|173.245.54.86]] 03:29, 1 May 2014 (UTC)Brett

:http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53668116.html --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.54|108.162.219.54]] 07:15, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

If you're interested in commercial/maritime Morse, and those who are trying to keep it alive, check out the Maritime Radio Historical Society, especially the Night of Nights: http://www.radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=kphnon&panel=pab1_1

Talk:1326: Sharks

2014-02-06T14:53:27Z

Diszy:

Um... Are the sharks the prisoners? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.227|108.162.222.227]] 11:00, 5 February 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah, it's awfully quiet... looks like nobody gets this one? :) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.179|108.162.254.179]] 12:05, 5 February 2014 (UTC)
:To some extent. I think the first mentioned "prisoner" who escaped and was swimming could be a human, but maybe not. However, the "PRISONERS" mentioned in the title text are definitely sharks.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 05:57, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

No - a real prisoner escapes - and then the evil guy has a reason to release the sharks. And as the sharks are just happy to be free, they escape instead of going for the prisoner. So he can release more sharks ad ifinitum - except that his hang-man can see the problem with the plan - to release sharks into an ocean - that humans are emptying of sharks to use only their fin... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:50, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Makes me wonder if Randall recently watched Despicable Me 1 and/or 2... [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 13:01, 5 February 2014 (UTC)
:Yeah, or a Sean Connery-era James Bond film... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.62|173.245.55.62]] 13:51, 5 February 2014 (UTC)Pat
::Even still, I feel this one is lacking a bit. It would have been better if there was a stick-minion in one of the frames. ;) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:52, 5 February 2014 (UTC)
::Thunderball, Licence to Kill and Despicable Me 1 all feature sharks. But none of them have the same setting as this comic. [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 14:11, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

A quick google search reveals that "Doom Island" is a location in a game called "Fish Wrangler": http://fishwrangler.wikia.com/wiki/Doom_Island. This may tie into the sharks theme...? [[User:Thegreatsasquatch|TheGreatSasquatch]] ([[User talk:Thegreatsasquatch|talk]]) 19:56, 5 February 2014 (UTC)
:Occam's Razor would suggest that it's just a generic sounding "Evil Villian Lair" name, rather than a reference to something.[[User:Pennpenn|Pennpenn]] ([[User talk:Pennpenn|talk]]) 22:54, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

If he wanted to save the shark population so bad, why'd he capture them in the first place? Unless...he bred them. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 14:53, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1318: Actually

2014-01-17T15:44:15Z

Diszy:

I started reading the comic from the topmost line "Actually, measurements suggest it's flat." It seemed that he was talking about the planet, but it's also a response to the curved-space line from before. Upon further reading, I can't tell if the discussion is about a planet or a universe, and it looks like you can go around the circle twice and assume both. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.72|173.245.50.72]] 05:13, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

: It is about the shape of the Earth. The Earth exists in a curved universe. The alt text is referring to the fact that by being more and more specific you can always get the last word in but it may alienate you from your peers. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 05:14, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

The transcript needs some way to show that Cueball is talking to the second Hairy in the end. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.71|108.162.216.71]] 08:25, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

: "show that Cueball is talking to the second Hairy in the end" -> Do you consider it done ? [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 08:50, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

Fixed factual error about sum of angles of a triangle in a closed geometry. An example of closed geometry is spherical geometry, where sum of angles of a triangle is π < A + B + C<3π http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_trigonometry . Previous text wrongly stated that A+B+C would be smaller than π in closed geometry and greater in open geometry. [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 08:50, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

About the oblate configuration: why attribute it to centripetal force? Because centrifugal force is an "apparent" force? Well centripetal force from gravitational pull is actually balancing the centrifugal force caused by rotation of the earth. The whole "centrifugal force does not exist" thing is a misconception. It's an inertial force and writing the equilibrium equations for an object in the rotating reference frame (the one we experience everyday) at latitude phi you see: gravitational pull toward the center of the planet + centrifugal force away from the axis of rotation= mass*g(phi). This g(phi) is not the same in every spot of the earth, it changes in value and direction (does not always point exactly to the center of the earth) with latitude.{{unsigned ip|108.162.229.65}}
: I second this. The centripetal force would actually be the gravity of earth. Attributing the oblate shape of earth to this is just plain wrong, since it pulls inwards, not outwards. Actually all forces could be called "apparent" forces, since they're really just constructs to help you calculate the acceleration of a body. There's always a (local) reference frame where a particular force doesn't "exist". {{unsigned ip|173.245.53.131}}
:: Sure, there is always such frame, but gravitation is real force anyway because we can measure the higgs field by detecting higgs bosons. At least I think we can. Failing that, electromagnetic forces are real because we can measure electromagnetic field by detecting photons, this I'm sure of :-). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:23, 17 January 2014 (UTC)
:::Come now. Do you really expect me to do coordinate substitution in my head while strapped to a centrifuge? [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 15:44, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1297: Oort Cloud

2013-11-29T18:03:00Z

Diszy:

Reading the Wikipedia page on the Oort Cloud didn't help me understand the joke. I don't know if it has anything to do with comets, or the asteroids getting smashed up by them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 05:15, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
:The asteroid becomes a cost after being severely burnt by the sun. It warns the other asteroid not to go over there. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.55}}
::Which, the title text indicates, is a warning that's utterly ignored... (Also being "right back" indicates a slower perceived thought process. As is probably the case for anything out there in such cold(-ish) depths of space.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 11:05, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
::: What does "becomes a cost" mean? is that a slang expression? 12:02, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
:::: I think it's supposed to be "comet". [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.228|173.245.52.228]] 14:09, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
::::: No, I think he means ghost. All thats left is a faint image after all. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.214}}
At least according to my freshman year science teacher, the Oort Cloud is just a theory, and hasn't been proven. Perhaps that should be made more clear?{{unsigned|Wasda}}

----
What's here looks exactly in line with current comet theory: A comet is "perturbed" by interactions with other objects out there, and at that distance the sun is a very bright dot, no more. On return (chancy, based on both/either burning up or being in a no return hyperbolic orbit), what has come back is fragmented and with two tails. What I'm not seeing is the second level joke - it's in the movie "I'm going to check out x" form, but I don't get the specific quote. [[User:FractalgeekUK|FractalgeekUK]] ([[User talk:FractalgeekUK|talk]]) 13:55, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

----
According to http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/timeline-of-comet-ison-s-dangerous-journey, ISON's journey to earth from the Oort cloud started "At least a million years ago." So I'm going to edit "many thousand years later" to "several million years later". In other news, I recently played "Das Rad" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-7y3B8DjGw) for my kids and this comic really reminded me of that Oscar-nominated short. I hate lichen! :-) [[User:Tovodeverett|Tovodeverett]] ([[User talk:Tovodeverett|talk]]) 15:10, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

----
What's with the "Several million years later" context in the transcription?!? The distances might be vast and all, but i doubt the timeframe is ''that'' long... -- [[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.210|173.245.51.210]]
:See the comment right above yours. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 18:03, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

1282: Monty Hall

2013-10-25T04:27:20Z

Diszy: /* Explanation */ Improved explanation on the nature of the Monty Hall problem

{{comic
| number = 1282
| date = October 25, 2013
| title = Monty Hall
| image = monty hall.png
| titletext = A few minutes later, the goat from behind door C drives away in the car.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic is a reference to the famous {{w|Monty Hall Problem}}, a probability puzzle that involves three doors. Behind two doors is a goat, and behind one of them is a car. The player does not know which is behind which door; the host does know. The contestant picks a door and wins whatever is behind the door selected. Most players would want to win the car. Beret Guy, naturally, is just satisfied with the goat, adopting it and taking it home as a pet.

The title text is a reference to the car and the remaining goat, untouched behind the doors.

==Transcript==
:[A game show presenter is standing in front of three doors labeled "A", "B" and "C", and the "B" door is open. Beret Guy is walking away with a goat.]
:Beret Guy: ...And my yard has so much grass, and I'll teach you tricks, and...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1282: Monty Hall

2013-10-25T04:22:49Z

Diszy: Fixed description of what's known behind doors

{{comic
| number = 1282
| date = October 25, 2013
| title = Monty Hall
| image = monty hall.png
| titletext = A few minutes later, the goat from behind door C drives away in the car.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
This comic is a reference to the famous {{w|Monty Hall Problem}}, a probability puzzle that involves three doors. Behind two doors is a goat, and behind one of them is a car. It is not known which is behind which door. The goal is to figure out which door is most likely to have a car. Beret Guy, naturally, is just satisfied with the goat, adopting it and taking it home as a pet.
The title text is a reference to the car and the remaining goat, untouched behind the doors.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

Talk:1272: Shadowfacts

2013-10-05T14:22:35Z

Diszy:

Reminds me of the Cat Facts meme. --[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 05:11, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

Wow, a talking horse! That puts poor old Bill The Pony in the shade... [[Special:Contributions/178.98.253.80|178.98.253.80]] 08:32, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

Ok, I'm done with the internet for today. I don't think anything else is going to match this pun. [[Special:Contributions/74.200.7.145|74.200.7.145]] 14:38, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

Is this the same horse from Correct Horse Battery Staple? [[Special:Contributions/128.49.161.70|128.49.161.70]]
: That battery staple casts a shadow. --[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 16:41, 2 October 2013 (UTC)

Hang on, hobbits? I know they look short, but when is this supposed to happen? Wouldn't Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas be more likely choices, given the chronology? {{unsigned ip|98.216.97.56}}

Is that a LEGO Gandalf? [[User:Porkypine|Porkypine]] ([[User talk:Porkypine|talk]]) 17:49, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
: Shoulda had a LEGO Legolas in there too[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 14:22, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1258: First

2013-08-31T00:16:44Z

Diszy:

First! [[User:Edo|Edo]] ([[User talk:Edo|talk]]) 04:28, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:This is a wiki, not some xkcd reader's blog. [[User:GameZone|GameZone]] ([[User talk:GameZone|talk]]) 04:30, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

::(it's called a joke) [[User:Edo|Edo]] ([[User talk:Edo|talk]]) 04:38, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

::I thought it was funny. [[Special:Contributions/75.37.205.50|75.37.205.50]] 07:42, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:: I actually would have been slightly disappointed if someone hadn't made a "First!" comment for this particular comic. Only slightly, though, because that would mean I would've been able to do it. [[Special:Contributions/66.87.67.175|66.87.67.175]] 18:30, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:Ha! I was going to do the same thing. --[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 07:58, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

When I saw today's comic on XKCD.com, I came here just to check if someone made a "First!" comment in comic's discussion page. [[Special:Contributions/78.205.5.80|78.205.5.80]] 08:13, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:Yep, I wanted to come here and post "first!" I thought that would be fun and original. [[User:Porkypine|Porkypine]] ([[User talk:Porkypine|talk]]) 14:50, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:I also only came by to make sure the first thing in Discussion was "First," as is appropriate.

I agree it is likely Megan offscreen, but can we be sure? [[Special:Contributions/83.227.33.35|83.227.33.35]] 09:57, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:Is Megan the canonical name for the long-haired brunette? Interesting... [[Special:Contributions/188.76.190.204|188.76.190.204]] 12:10, 30 August 2013 (UTC)
:: Yes. See [[159:_Boombox]] --[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 14:51, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

I corrected the indents, dont be mad at me :) [[Special:Contributions/188.76.190.204|188.76.190.204]] 12:10, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Can someone explain what it means? I first guessed it was the proliferation on the "exactly zero" sentence, but it can also means "not comments at all". [[Special:Contributions/188.76.190.204|188.76.190.204]] 12:10, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:He is being ironic because there have been so many annoying internet behaviours have come about. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 13:09, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:Could also be self referencing, as massive use of irony can be considered an annoying internet behaviour. --[[Special:Contributions/132.230.150.44|132.230.150.44]] 13:13, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:If someone comes with a new annoying behavior, it will be the first! [[Special:Contributions/179.219.106.94|179.219.106.94]] 14:20, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

:I get that there are annoying Internet behavior, and idiocy on the Web is pretty much unavoidable, but are there any new, specific behaviors that we can put in the explanation rather than just telling people how obvious it is? (I'm not just complaining, if it came across that way. I would offer examples if I could think of any.) [[Special:Contributions/98.166.43.28|98.166.43.28]] 22:29, 30 August 2013 (UTC)DBrak

:For starters, how bout those Youtube commenters? "Justin Bieber suxorz", "49 JB fans disliked this vid", "Metal = shit, rap = awesome", etc. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 00:16, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

1258: First

2013-08-30T13:39:14Z

Diszy: /* Explanation */ moved citations of "First"ing

{{comic
| number = 1258
| date = August 30, 2013
| title = First
| image = first.png
| titletext = Fortunately, exactly zero other annoying internet behaviors have developed during this time.
}}

==Explanation==

Cueball is commenting on the [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/first urge] some people have to be the first to make a comment on any given posting, if possible, and obnoxiously point out that they have made the first comment, which seems to be dying out. However, someone (Offscreen) is worried he will jinx it, only encouraging more people to do so. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1258:_First&diff=48120] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1258:_First&diff=48129] [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/1ldoed/first/?sort=old].
The title text ironically states how no new annoying internet behaviours have emerged in "first post"'s place - a fact which is clearly wrong to anyone who spends a length of time on the internet.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is sitting at a computer.]
:Cueball: After a couple of unbearable decades, the "First Post" thing seems to be dying a quiet death.
:Offscreen: Shh. You'll jinx it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]

Talk:1252: Increased Risk

2013-08-18T15:46:46Z

Diszy:

I think this is to address the old chestnut of "<something> will ''double'' your risk of getting cancer!", or the like, where the risk of getting that cancer (in this example) is maybe 1 in 10,000, so doubling the risk across a population wouldmake that a 1 in 5,000 risk to your health... which you may still consider to be an acceptable gamble if it's something nice (like cheese!) that's apaprently to blame and you'd find abstinence from it gives a barely marginal benefit for a far greater loss of life enjoyment. Also, this sort of figure almost always applies towards a ''specific form'' of cancer, or whatever risk is being discussed, meaning you aren't vastly changing your life expectancy at all. In fact, the likes of opposing "red wine is good/bad for you" studies can be mutually true by this same principle (gain a little risk of one condition, lose a little risk from another). (Note: I don't know of any particular "cheese gives you cancer!" stories doing the rounds, at the moment. I bet they have done, but I only mention it because I actually quite like cheese. And I probably ''wouldn't'' give it up under the above conditions.)

It's also possible that this covers the likes of "<foo> in <country> is 10 times more dangerous than it is <other country>" statements. Perhaps ''only'' ten incidents happened in the former, and a single instance in the latter, out the ''whole'' of each respective country. Or a single incident occured in both, but the second country is ten times the size, so gets 'adjusted for population' in the tables. And, besides which, that was just for one year and was just a statistical blip that will probably revert-towards-the-mean next year.

Finally, for a given risk of some incident happening on the first two trips, with no 'memory' or build-up involved, it pretty much is half-as-likely-again for the incident to have happened (some time!) in three separate trips. (Not quite, if those that lose against the odds and get caught by the incident the first or second trip never get to ''have'' a (second or) third trip... but for negligable odds like thegiven example, of the dog with the handgun, it's near-as-damnit so.) [[Special:Contributions/178.104.103.140|178.104.103.140]] 11:12, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Where did "dogs with shotguns" come from? I only saw "handgun" in the comic. Besides, I interpreted the risk as being hit by a negligent discharge from the handgun, not being deliberately attacked by the dog. Also, since probabilities are the set of real numbers between 0 and 1 inclusive, there are an uncountable number of them. "A x% increase in a tiny risk is still tiny" is an inductive statement, which means it could only be used to argue that a countable set of numbers is tiny. [[Special:Contributions/76.64.65.200|76.64.65.200]] 12:24, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

:If induction base is uncountable, you can prove it for the whole [0; 1]. For example your induction base may be "every risk under 0.00000000000000000001% is tiny". --[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 12:38, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

::Aha you caught me. I also realized that if a number is tiny, any number smaller than it is also tiny. So if we can prove that 1 is tiny, then we can prove that all numbers between 0 and 1 (known as probabilities) are tiny. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 15:46, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

I think it's worth mentioning that this comic doesn't [[985|distinguish between percentages and percentage points]]. --[[User:DiEvAl|DiEvAl]] ([[User talk:DiEvAl|talk]]) 12:35, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Is it the case that doing something three times increases risk by 50% over two times inherently? I feel like this is the case, but it's early, here. Also, I'm not sure Randall is attacked by a dog, he may be using it as a diversion. I think that he's done this before. [[User:Theo|Theo]] ([[User talk:Theo|talk]]) 12:56, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
:(First, good point, DiEvAl, about the percentages/percentage-points. I ''knew'' I'd missed something out in my first thoughts. I actually tend to assume ''against'' percentage points, which is somewhat the opposite from what I've seen in the general public.)
:Actually, depends on how you count it. But I was using the "encounter 'n' incidents per trip", "encounter '2n' incidents per two trips", "encoutner '3n' incidents per three trips" measure, where 3n==2n+50%. But that works best with a baseline of >>1 incidents per trip assumed. In reality, if the chance is a fractional 'p' for an occurance in one instance, it's (1-p) that it ''didn't'' occur thus (1-p)n that it didn't occur in any of 'n' instances and 1-(1-p)n that it did (at least once, possible several times or even all). Not so simple, but for p tending to zero it 'does' converge on 1.5 times for across three what you'd expect for two (albeit because 0*1.5=0). Like they say, "Lies, Damn Lies...", etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.104.103.140|178.104.103.140]] 14:22, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

I don't think Randall is being attacked by a dog at all. What he's saying is that if you are going to think getting attacked by a shark is so likely, then you better be watching out for that never-gonna-happen dog scenario too. [[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 13:56, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Is 0.000001% really "one in a million"?
;If 1% = 1 in 100, then
:0.1% = 1 in a 1,000
:0.01% = 1 in a 10,000
:0.001% = 1 in a 100,000
:0.0001% = 1 in a 1,000,000
:0.00001% = 1 in a 10,000,000
:'''0.000001% = 1 in a 100,000,000'''
Would it be more accurate to leave off the % sign?
Assuming I'm right, I think it'd be less confusing to leave it and reduce the numbers by a couple orders of magnitude.
--Clayton [[Special:Contributions/12.202.74.87|12.202.74.87]] 14:36, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

''If the chance of the dog attack is 0.000000001% (one in a billion) on each visit to the beach, then the chance of attack over two visits is 0.000000002% whereas in three visits it becomes 0.000000003%''

Um, no. Following that logic, if I go to the beach a billion times then I '''will''' get shot by a dog that is packing. Rather, each visit to the beach has it's own odds, like the rolling of dice? On any particular visit there's a one-in-a-billion chance. And that's true on each subsequent visit as well. Tuesday's visit to the beach isn't twice as dangerous just because I was at the beach on Monday. [[User:CFoxx|CFoxx]] ([[User talk:CFoxx|talk]]) 16:26, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
:For each visit that is the case. Because it's one visit, that's true. However, if (time not being a factor) one were to have a billion visits planned, the odds over all would be increased. Pretty sure that overall this means that you got the joke faster than I did. Thanks for the clarification! [[User:Theo|Theo]] ([[User talk:Theo|talk]]) 17:06, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
::The odds overall may increase with multiple visits. But not, at least, at the rate listed. Otherwise that billionth trip (if one survived that long as one is likely to do) would be certain death. [[User:CFoxx|CFoxx]] ([[User talk:CFoxx|talk]]) 17:30, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
:::Correct. Technically, the odds we are worried about are the "probability of being shot one or more times by a dog". So if the probability is 1/10^9 for any given day, than the odds of not being shot are (10^9-1)/10^9 for any given day, and the odds of not being shot over three days are (10^9-1)^3/10^27, and then the odds of being shot one or more times are 1-((10^9-1)^3/10^27), which is roughly 2.999999997000000001/10^9. That is close, but slightly less, than 3/10^9. [[Special:Contributions/206.174.12.203|206.174.12.203]] 18:01, 16 August 2013 (UTC)Toby Ovod-Everett
::::Absolute incorrect: You always have to look at the single event. More events do not belong together, you always have the same probability at each single event. So, even 10 billion events may or may NOT result in a disaster. Math isn't easy.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:17, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
:::::I believe what CFoxx was saying is that if the odds of something happening on any given day are one in three, then the odds of that thing happening at least once during a four day period is NOT 4/3rds! I was pointing out that the proper way to calculate the odds for a four day period is to say that the odds of it not happening on any given day are two in three. You take that probability and raise it to the fourth power, giving the odds that it won't happen at all during a four day period of 16/81, thus the odds that it will happen during that four day period is 65/81. I then did that same calculation for the 1 in a billion chance per day and applied it to the three day period, and recognized that he was correct that the true probability of the event happening one or more times over a three day period was not three times the probability of it happening on any given day, but also noted that the difference for a 1 in a billion chance over a small period is pretty close to the simplistic (but incorrect) approach. My rough estimate for the "one in a billion per day" event happening one or more times during a billion day period is 63.21%.[[Special:Contributions/206.174.12.203|206.174.12.203]] 21:33, 16 August 2013 (UTC)Toby Ovod-Everett
::::::Wow, we still have many great scientists here!--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:46, 16 August 2013 (UTC)
::::::THANK YOU, Toby! [[User:CFoxx|CFoxx]] ([[User talk:CFoxx|talk]]) 18:09, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

Just a thought: is the title text a reference to the Sorites paradox? --AJ [[Special:Contributions/80.42.221.105|80.42.221.105]] 17:25, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

Rats! I made the newbie mistake of editing something before I found the discussion page. I looked for it, honest I did! I see that UTC has already brought up what I referred to as "Cueball's error" in my (pre-log-in) edit. I did find it hard to believe I'd be the first xkcd fan to notice this error. I think this is worth addressing in the explanation, though I of course won't take offense if someone wants to obliterate my edit and start over. (CLSI){{unsigned|CLSI}}

Maybe he means this: Florida man shot by his dog, police say http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17107343-florida-man-shot-by-his-dog-police-say?lite{{unsigned|Jb}}

Saying that unfortunately Cueball is mistaken in his calculations because he said 50% instead of 49.99999992% is a bit of an exaggeration. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 20:19, 16 August 2013 (UTC)

;Chaos at explain section
Please stop adding this, it does not explain the comic, it only belongs to this discussion page:

:Note that the 50% figure is an approximation. Assuming the odds of being attacked by a dog is ''x'', the odds of being attacked by a dog at least once in two visits is 1 - (1-''x'')2. The odds of being attacked at least once in three visits is 1 - (1-''x'')3. Therefore, if one visit has one in a billion probability of attack, then two visits have not 2 in a billion, but 1.999999999 in a billion. Similarly, three visits have a probability of 2.999999997 in a billion. Saying 50% instead of 49.99999992% is a reasonable approximation.

:Unfortunately, [[Cueball]] is mistaken in his calculations. This is easier to see with an event that has greater probability, such as a coin toss. Assuming the odds of getting heads in one flip is .5, the odds of getting heads at least once in two flips is .75 (i.e., 1 minus [.5 X .5], the odds of getting tails both times), and the odds of getting heads at least once in three flips is .875 (1 minus [.5 X .5 X .5], the odds of getting three tails in a row). Getting heads in three flips is not 50% more likely than getting heads in two flips. With very low probabilities (such as the probability of attack by a dog swimming with a handgun), Cueball's calculation gives an extremely close approximation of the actual probability, but one can't apply the same logic to events of just any probability.

::Cueball says *statistically* the risk of some bizarre event increases 50%. This is essentially correct as many have pointed out that 49.99999999 is not really statistically different than 50. What is likely bothering a lot of people (including myself) is that the explainxkcd description states "If the chance of the dog attack is one per billion on each visit to the beach, then the chance of attack over two visits *is* two per billion whereas in three visits it *becomes* three per billion." There are no weasel words like "approximately", "about", "around", etc. This reminds people of flatly incorrect uses of probabilities like the one you describe. But surely the probability of getting heads from a fair coin toss is not on a similar order of magnitude as the probability that a swimming dog shoots someone with a handgun. [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 00:40, 17 August 2013 (UTC)
:::''What is likely bothering a lot of people (including myself) is that the explainxkcd description states "If the chance of the dog attack is one per billion on each visit to the beach, then the chance of attack over two visits *is* two per billion whereas in three visits it *becomes* three per billion." There are no weasel words like "approximately", "about", "around", etc.'' '''Exactly.''' Explanations here have been very helpful in explaining some of the more scientific aspects of things Randall includes. Noting this one makes a (albeit slight) mistake in that regard is appropriate. (And the irony of incorrectly using probabilities in explaining a comic about how people do that is amusing.) [[User:CFoxx|CFoxx]] ([[User talk:CFoxx|talk]]) 18:15, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

I had to think of http://xkcd.com/1102/ when reading the first paragraph of the explainxkcd description. (The context is different, but the dubious use of percentages is the same.) [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 00:40, 17 August 2013 (UTC)