explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2604: Frankenstein Captcha

2022-04-08T22:28:31Z

Doctor o: Adding a space to make the AN part of the sutta citation visible

{{comic
| number = 2604
| date = April 8, 2022
| title = Frankenstein Captcha
| image = frankenstein_captcha.png
| titletext = The distinction between a ship and a boat is a line drawn in water.
}}

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

This comic strip is a play on the meanings (and misunderstanding) of the name "Frankenstein". ''{{w|Frankenstein}}; or, the Modern Prometheus'' is a 1818 novel by Mary Shelley about a medical student called Victor Frankenstein who creates an artificial life-form. The man he creates once describes himself as "the Adam of your (Frankenstein's) labour" in the book, and strictly speaking is properly known as "Frankenstein's ''monster''" (or perhaps "creation" or "son"), but is often erroneously called "Frankenstein" himself.

The Captcha shown in the comic instructs the user to select all tiles containing Frankenstein. The tiles include both a reanimated corpse resembling Frankenstein's monster and a scientist yelling, "It's alive!” who is clearly intended to be Victor Frankenstein. The problem arises from the contrast between the generally accepted and technically accurate definitions of the term Frankenstein. The correct answer to the Captcha is just the left square of the third row, unless you follow comic [[1589]]. If the images in the squares are scenes from the famous {{w|Frankenstein (1931 film)|1931 film}} starring {{w|Boris Karloff}} as The Monster, then they could be correctly said to be "containing ''Frankenstein''”—that is, the work. Because of the ambiguity regarding what Frankenstein refers to, this would not be a good CAPTCHA because many people solving it would use an incorrect definition of Frankenstein and therefore get it wrong. (However, it would be effective in screening for people who know that Frankenstein technically refers to the scientist, not the monster—or, if one also had to mark the boxes depicted Frankenstein's monster, screening for people who don't know.)

This comic strip could also reference [[1897]], which would imply that someone had actually created a Frankenstein's monster which needs to be located.

Many of the other tiles appear to be pictures of entities that inspire similar pedantry. For example, there is a picture of a turtle (or possibly a tortoise, or a reference to the Voight-Kampff test used in a manner analogous to CAPTCHA), a ship (or possibly a boat), Link (the name given to each of several protagonists that appear across generations and timelines, throughout the {{w|Legend of Zelda}} video games, who many erroneously refer to as Zelda), a pond (or possibly a lake, or a {{w|mirage}}), a squash or pumpkin (often subject to the ''fruit or vegetable'' debate), an erupting volcano (with lava, or is it magma?), and an asteroid or planet (or is it a dwarf planet?). Other tiles seem to be inspired by images that commonly occur in actual captchas, like the STOP sign or the traffic light. However, at least some of these may also be meant to fall into the category of entities that inspire pedantry, for exmaple: because traffic lights can also be called traffic signals or stoplights; many people thinking that the shape of a stop sign is a hexagon, not an octagon; and the definition of a sandwich (previously discussed as a “random semi-ironic obsession” in [[1835]]).

The title text refers to the fact that if you draw a picture of a boat/ship on calm water (a straight line), it is usually assumed to be on a lake or pond and is thus a boat, but if it is on wavy water (as in the comic), it's assumed to be on the sea and is thus a ship{{citation needed}}. The phrase "a line drawn in water" is an idiom for something ephemeral. Ironically, it has persisted for a long time and dates back at least to the early Buddhists. (e.g. [https://suttacentral.net/an3.132/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin| AN 3.132] & [https://suttacentral.net/an7.74/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin| AN 7.74]). The title text is also a pun on the common idiom "drawing a line in the sand."

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

> TO CONTINUE, PLEASE CLICK ALL SQUARES CONTAINING FRANKENSTEIN

Pictured (Starting from top left)

Row 1
* Tortoise (or turtle)
* Ship (or boat)
* Frankenstein's monster (often mistaken as Frankenstein) waking up from a slab, while lightning strikes.
::Monster: GRRR
* Link from Legend of Zelda series (often mistaken as Zelda, aka Toon Link in SSB)

Row 2
* Lake (or pond), possibly a mirage, in the Egyptian desert
* Megan
* Lava (or magma)
* Squash or pumpkin (fruit vs vegetable)

Row 3
* A mad scientist (Victor Frankenstein) throwing a switch while lightning strikes outside
::Frankenstein: It's alive!
* Sandwich
* Stop sign
* Girl running away from Frankenstein's monster
::Girl: Monster!

Row 4
* Rocket (spaceship) flying by an asteroid or Pluto (dwarf planet)
* Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other
* Traffic light (also called a stoplight, possibly mistaken as stop sign?)
* Frankenstein's monster

:[Caption below the panel]:
:Oh no.

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

2604: Frankenstein Captcha

2022-04-08T21:18:08Z

Doctor o: Mention the antiquity of "a line drawn in water".

{{comic
| number = 2604
| date = April 8, 2022
| title = Frankenstein Captcha
| image = frankenstein_captcha.png
| titletext = The distinction between a ship and a boat is a line drawn in water.
}}

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

This comic strip is a play on the meanings (and misunderstanding) of the name "Frankenstein". ''{{w|Frankenstein}}; or, the Modern Prometheus'' is a 1818 novel by Mary Shelley about a medical student called Victor Frankenstein who creates an artificial life-form. The man he creates once describes himself as "the Adam of your (Frankenstein's) labour" in the book, and strictly speaking is properly known as "Frankenstein's ''monster''" (or perhaps "creation" or "son"), but is often erroneously called "Frankenstein" himself.

The Captcha shown in the comic instructs the user to select all tiles containing Frankenstein. The tiles include both a reanimated corpse resembling Frankenstein's monster and a scientist yelling, "It's alive!” who is clearly intended to be Victor Frankenstein. The problem arises from the contrast between the generally accepted and technically accurate definitions of the term Frankenstein. The correct answer to the Captcha is just the left square of the third row, unless you follow comic [[1589]]. If the images in the squares are scenes from the famous {{w|Frankenstein (1931 film)|1931 film}} starring {{w|Boris Karloff}} as The Monster, then they could be correctly said to be "containing ''Frankenstein''”—that is, the work. Because of the ambiguity regarding what Frankenstein refers to, this would not be a good CAPTCHA because many people solving it would use an incorrect definition of Frankenstein and therefore get it wrong. (However, it would be effective in screening for people who know that Frankenstein technically refers to the scientist, not the monster—or, if one also had to mark the boxes depicted Frankenstein's monster, screening for people who don't know.)

This comic strip could also reference [[1897]], which would imply that someone had actually created a Frankenstein's monster which needs to be located.

Many of the other tiles appear to be pictures of entities that inspire similar pedantry. For example, there is a picture of a turtle (or possibly a tortoise, or a reference to the Voight-Kampff test used in a manner analogous to CAPTCHA), a ship (or possibly a boat), Link (the name given to each of several protagonists that appear across generations and timelines, throughout the {{w|Legend of Zelda}} video games, who many erroneously refer to as Zelda), a pond (or possibly a lake, or a {{w|mirage}}), a squash or pumpkin (often subject to the ''fruit or vegetable'' debate), an erupting volcano (with lava, or is it magma?), and an asteroid or planet (or is it a dwarf planet?). Other tiles seem to be inspired by images that commonly occur in actual captchas, like the STOP sign or the traffic light. However, at least some of these may also be meant to fall into the category of entities that inspire pedantry, for exmaple: because traffic lights can also be called traffic signals or stoplights; many people thinking that the shape of a stop sign is a hexagon, not an octagon; and the definition of a sandwich (previously discussed as a “random semi-ironic obsession” in [[1835]]).

The title text refers to the fact that if you draw a picture of a boat/ship on calm water (a straight line), it is usually assumed to be on a lake or pond and is thus a boat, but if it is on wavy water (as in the comic), it's assumed to be on the sea and is thus a ship{{citation needed}}. The phrase "a line drawn in water" is an idiom for something ephemeral. Ironically, it has persisted for a long time and dates back at least to the early Buddhists. (e.g. [https://suttacentral.net/an3.132/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin|AN 3.132] & [https://suttacentral.net/an7.74/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin|AN 7.74]). The title text is also a pun on the common idiom "drawing a line in the sand."

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

> TO CONTINUE, PLEASE CLICK ALL SQUARES CONTAINING FRANKENSTEIN

Pictured (Starting from top left)

Row 1
* Tortoise (or turtle)
* Ship (or boat)
* Frankenstein's monster (often mistaken as Frankenstein) waking up from a slab, while lightning strikes.
::Monster: GRRR
* Link from Legend of Zelda series (often mistaken as Zelda, aka Toon Link in SSB)

Row 2
* Lake (or pond), possibly a mirage, in the Egyptian desert
* Megan
* Lava (or magma)
* Squash or pumpkin (fruit vs vegetable)

Row 3
* A mad scientist (Victor Frankenstein) throwing a switch while lightning strikes outside
::Frankenstein: It's alive!
* Sandwich
* Stop sign
* Girl running away from Frankenstein's monster
::Girl: Monster!

Row 4
* Rocket (spaceship) flying by an asteroid or Pluto (dwarf planet)
* Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other
* Traffic light (also called a stoplight, possibly mistaken as stop sign?)
* Frankenstein's monster

> OH NO.

{{comic discussion}}

2450: Post Vaccine Social Scheduling

2021-04-15T15:01:06Z

Doctor o: Add alternative explanation for movie event

{{comic
| number = 2450
| date = April 14, 2021
| title = Post Vaccine Social Scheduling
| image = post_vaccine_social_scheduling.png
| titletext = As if these problems weren't NP-hard enough.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a UNVACCINATED MOVIEGOER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic shows a timeline of a multitude of (presumably) friends and acquaintances getting their two doses of vaccine. Due to the CDC-recommended delay between shots, as well as few weeks needed to build antibodies from the second shot, planning get-togethers in advance becomes complicated by who is free to meet, or not yet.

Eventually, everyone can start getting together, but during the time where some people have only received one dose, or neither dose, or their second dose recently, the scheduling is complicated. The complication is increased by the fact that people who have received one or two doses of vaccine, but haven't gone through the whole waiting period, can be expected to have some protection, but possibly not full protection (as represented by the dashed line). In that case, there's the added question of how important is is that the person be at an event, and how much risk the people involved are willing to tolerate. This may be the reason for the "movie" set, in which all participants will have received both doses, but one will not have completed the final waiting period.

The title text references NP-hardness, a theme that has come up in past comics. {{w|NP-hardness}} describes a particular level of computational difficulty. Scheduling problems are normally NP-hard. But when extra challenges such as having to deal with whether or not people are vaccinated they become even more difficult.

The third person being scheduled for a movie before being fully vaccinated may be a reference to [[2441: IMDb Vaccines]], discussing the number of people that needs to be vaccinated to record a particular scene.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[From top to bottom, there are eleven people standing on the left side of the image: Danish, Cueball #1, Hairbun, Black Hat, Ponytail, Science Girl, White Hat, Hairy, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan, with even-numbered characters standing slightly further to the left. Each character’s first and second doses of the vaccine are labelled ① and ②, respectively. The time before each character’s first dose is drawn with a grey solid line; the time between their first dose and after they are fully vaccinated (two weeks after their second dose) is drawn with a grey dashed line; and the time after they are fully vaccinated is drawn with a black solid line. Black Hat, Science Girl, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan have all received their first doses prior to the comic’s time frame. Social activities are drawn with a ellipse around the top and bottom members, and each participating character is identified with a large filled-in circle on their timeline. The ellipses are labelled:]

DINNER GAMES MOVIE BIRTHDAY DINNER CABIN

[The events that happen, in chronological order (from left to right), are:

* Cueball #1 receives his first dose;
* Blondie receives her second dose;
* Ponytail receives her first dose;
* Hairy receives his first dose;
* White Hat receives his first dose;
* Danish receives her first dose;
* Black Hat receives his second dose;
* Blondie is fully vaccinated;
* Science Girl receives her second dose;
* Cueball #2 receives his second dose;
* Megan receives her second dose;
* Hairbun receives her first dose (erroneously labelled as ②);
* Ponytail receives her second dose;
* Black Hat is fully vaccinated;
* Black Hat and Blondie go to dinner;
* Danish receives her second dose;
* Cueball #1 receives his second dose;
* Science Girl is fully vaccinated;
* Cueball #2 is fully vaccinated;
* Megan is fully vaccinated;
* Hairy receives his second dose;
* White Hat receives his second dose;
* Science Girl, Blondie, Cueball #2, and Megan play games;
* Ponytail is fully vaccinated;
* Hairbun receives her second dose;
* Hairbun, Black Hat, and Ponytail go to the movies or make a movie (the label is just "Movie");
* Danish is fully vaccinated;
* Cueball #1 is fully vaccinated;
* Hairy is fully vaccinated;
* White Hat is fully vaccinated;
* Danish, Cueball #1, Ponytail, White Hat, and Hairy attend a birthday party;
* Hairbun is fully vaccinated;
* Hairbun and Blondie go to dinner;
* Black Hat, Science Girl, White Hat, Hairy, and Cueball #2 go to a cabin.

Caption below the panel:]

Post-Vaccine Social Scheduling

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: COVID-19]]
[[Category: COVID-19 vaccine]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Black Hat]]

2186: Dark Matter

2019-08-07T18:29:25Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Added a little about the title text

{{comic
| number = 2186
| date = August 7, 2019
| title = Dark Matter
| image = dark_matter.png
| titletext = To detect dark matter, we just need to build a bird feeder that spins two squirrels around the rim in opposite directions at relativistic speeds and collides them together.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a DARK MATTER SQUIRREL ON A SPINNING BIRD FEEDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are talking about {{w|dark matter}}. Megan states that dark matter's density across the universe is 0.3 GeV/cm3. Since Cueball likely does not have a science background, he does not understand what this means, so, to clarify, Megan explains that 0.3 GeV/cm3 equates to one squirrel's worth of dark matter for the volume of the Earth. For the last two panels, Cueball conflates this with dark matter actually ''being'' a squirrel for comedic effect, enraging Megan.

The {{w|gigaelectronvolt}} (GeV) is a unit of energy that can be converted to a mass using {{w|Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence|Einstein's formula}} ''E'' = ''mc''2. It is typically used for subatomic particles, for example the mass of a proton is 0.938 GeV/''c''2. However it is frequent to omit the ''c''2 factor and to represent masses in GeV (or MeV). A mass represented as 0.3 GeV is equal to 5.35 × 10−25 grams [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=0.3+(GeV%2Fc%5E2)+in+grams].

This implies a {{w|squirrel}} has a mass of 580 g [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=(0.3+(GeV%2Fc%5E2)%2Fcm%5E3)+*+(volume+of+earth)+in+grams] (about 1.3 lb), which is a typical mass for individuals among several species of common squirrels.

Here is a reference to a paper that comes up with the dark-matter density of 0.3 GeV/cm3: [https://arxiv.org/abs/1205.4033 On the local dark matter density].

===Title text===

The title text imagines using a spinning bird feeder like a {{w|particle accelerator}}. However, [https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/| as has been explained for baseballs], accelerating even one squirrel to relativistic velocities would destroy the feeder and be deadly to any birds near the feeder (not to mention the squirrel).

==Transcript==
:[Megan walks with Cueball. She is holding a hand out while telling Cueball something.]
:Megan: Dark matter density in the solar system is around 0.3 GeV/cm3
:Cueball: Is... that a lot?

:[As they continue to walk and talk she spreads her arms out.]
:Megan: In terms of mass, it means the Earth contains one squirrel worth of dark matter at any given time.
:Cueball: Wow.

:[In a frame-less panel Cueball stops while Megan walks past him. Megan is face-palming herself while looking down.]
:Cueball: Is there any way to find out which squirrel it is?
:Megan: No, it's not literally-

:[Cueball holds his hand with one finger up in front of Megan, while she has turned towards him and is holding both arms up, possible with balled fist, as she shouts back at him, shown both with large fat letters and with small lines emanating above her head.]
:Cueball: Oh, that explains why they weigh enough to set off those spinning bird feeders!
:Megan: '''''Dark matter isn't squirrels!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2184: Unpopular Opinions

2019-08-02T22:44:51Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Fix link syntax and wording changes

{{comic
| number = 2184
| date = August 2, 2019
| title = Unpopular Opinions
| image = unpopular_opinions.png
| titletext = I wasn't a big fan of 3 or Salvation, so I'm trying to resist getting my hopes up too much for Dark Fate, but it's hard. I'm just a sucker for humans and robots traveling through time to try to drive trucks into each other, apparently.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TOMATO. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Everybody has their own preferences as to what movies they like and dislike, and when your like or dislike of a movie seems to be different than the majority of people, you could call your preference the "unpopular opinion", because your opinion is the less prevalent one. This can often take the form of "I hate this movie and I don't understand why everybody else seems to like it", but this comic is talking about the other form, which it categorizes as less common, whereby "I like this movie and don't understand why everybody else seems to hate it". The comic points out that it's acceptable to hate movies others appear to like, but the converse, where you like a movie others seem to hate is much harder to do or maintain. Hating a movie the majority like is seen as a badge of honor, like you are a rebel and an individual. But if you like a movie the majority has decided they dislike, you feel like you might be viewed as weird or a freak, or like you are missing something that everybody else sees but is for some reason eluding you.

To illustrate how hard it is to like a movie everyone else seems to dislike, the comic presents a challenge, whereby you 1) identify a movie you definitely like, which 2) came out during your adult life (so it isn't tainted by childhood {{w|nostalgia}}), and 3) which the majority of other people don't like (as measured unscientifically by it having a popularity score of less than a 50% rating on the {{w|Rotten Tomatoes}} website). Apparently, one will find it hard to find a movie that meets all three criteria. The rules prohibit a movie that the viewer finds {{tvtropes|SoBadItsGood|"So Bad, It's Good"}} - the enjoyment of the movie must be genuine enjoyment of the movie for its positive qualities, not recursive enjoyment of its negative qualities.

A [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/browse/dvd-streaming-all?minTomato=0&maxTomato=50&services=amazon;hbo_go;itunes;netflix_iw;vudu;amazon_prime;fandango_now&genres=1;2;4;5;6;8;9;10;11;13;18;14&sortBy=release|Rotten Tomatoes search ordered by release date limited to qualifying movies] can help individuals verify the difficulty of finding such movies for themselves.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Caption above the illustration:]

Unpopular ''positive'' opinion challenge:

Name a movie that...

(1) you genuinely like (not "so bad it's good")

(2) came out in your adult life post-2000, and

(3) is rated below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan all holding cell phones.]

:Ponytail: Wow, this is harder than I thought.
:Cueball: ...Terminator Genisys?
:Megan: Seriously?!
:Cueball: ''I like time travel, okay??''

[Caption below the panel:]

When people talk about their "unpopular opinions" about movies, they usually mean hating something everyone likes, but liking something everyone hates is much harder.

{{comic discussion}}

2184: Unpopular Opinions

2019-08-02T22:42:45Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Added a link to a search to help people to find their own. (Crimes of Grindlewald & Dinotasia FTW)

{{comic
| number = 2184
| date = August 2, 2019
| title = Unpopular Opinions
| image = unpopular_opinions.png
| titletext = I wasn't a big fan of 3 or Salvation, so I'm trying to resist getting my hopes up too much for Dark Fate, but it's hard. I'm just a sucker for humans and robots traveling through time to try to drive trucks into each other, apparently.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TOMATO. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Everybody has their own preferences as to what movies they like and dislike, and when your like or dislike of a movie seems to be different than the majority of people, you could call your preference the "unpopular opinion", because your opinion is the less prevalent one. This can often take the form of "I hate this movie and I don't understand why everybody else seems to like it", but this comic is talking about the other form, which it categorizes as less common, whereby "I like this movie and don't understand why everybody else seems to hate it". The comic points out that it's acceptable to hate movies others appear to like, but the converse, where you like a movie others seem to hate is much harder to do or maintain. Hating a movie the majority like is seen as a badge of honor, like you are a rebel and an individual. But if you like a movie the majority has decided they dislike, you feel like you might be viewed as weird or a freak, or like you are missing something that everybody else sees but is for some reason eluding you.

To illustrate how hard it is to like a movie everyone else seems to dislike, the comic presents a challenge, whereby you 1) identify a movie you definitely like, which 2) came out during your adult life (so it isn't tainted by childhood {{w|nostalgia}}), and 3) which the majority of other people don't like (as measured unscientifically by it having a popularity score of less than a 50% rating on the {{w|Rotten Tomatoes}} website). Apparently, one will find it hard to find a movie that meets all three criteria. The rules prohibit a movie that the viewer finds {{tvtropes|SoBadItsGood|"So Bad, It's Good"}} - the enjoyment of the movie must be genuine enjoyment of the movie for its positive qualities, not recursive enjoyment of its negative qualities. A [Rotten Tomatoes search ordered by release date limited to qualifying movies|https://www.rottentomatoes.com/browse/dvd-streaming-all?minTomato=0&maxTomato=50&services=amazon;hbo_go;itunes;netflix_iw;vudu;amazon_prime;fandango_now&genres=1;2;4;5;6;8;9;10;11;13;18;14&sortBy=release] could help verify this.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Caption above the illustration:]

Unpopular ''positive'' opinion challenge:

Name a movie that...

(1) you genuinely like (not "so bad it's good")

(2) came out in your adult life post-2000, and

(3) is rated below 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan all holding cell phones.]

:Ponytail: Wow, this is harder than I thought.
:Cueball: ...Terminator Genisys?
:Megan: Seriously?!
:Cueball: ''I like time travel, okay??''

[Caption below the panel:]

When people talk about their "unpopular opinions" about movies, they usually mean hating something everyone likes, but liking something everyone hates is much harder.

{{comic discussion}}

2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map

2019-02-06T22:27:43Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Added potential reference to Cheerwine

{{comic
| number = 2108
| date = February 6, 2019
| title = Carbonated Beverage Language Map
| image = carbonated_beverage_language_map.png
| titletext = There's one person in Missouri who says "carbo bev" who the entire rest of the country HATES.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COMMUNIST SHILL. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In the US, people in various parts of the country refer to carbonated beverages by {{w|Names for soft drinks in the United States|different names}} such as Soda, Pop, Coke, etc. Generally, the West Coast and Northeast say "Soda", the South says "Coke" and the rest of the country says "Pop".

There are various maps of the name differences, including: [http://www.popvssoda.com/]

This map leverages xkcd's mockery-maps of regional and state-by-state differences or variations in the use of language and overlays the regional variances in the terms for soda pop (for example: https://laughingsquid.com/soda-pop-or-coke-maps-of-regional-dialect-variation-in-the-united-states/), as was made trending and popular in 2013. Not only are there far more terms than are actually used by Americans, many are terms for other drinks (mead), unrelated liquids (quicksilver), or copyrighted beverage names less popular than {{w|Coca Cola|Coke}}/{{w|Coca Cola}} ({{w|Mountain Dew|Code Red}}) -- and in one case, something that's not even edible ({{w|cryptocurrency|"Crypto"}}).

{| class="wikitable"
|+Map terms (from left to right, approximately)
|-
|{{w|Fanta}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage line
|-
|Söde
|Presumably pronounced "soda" but spelled oddly
|-
|True Water
|Possibly a reference to True Blood, a fictional artificial blood substitute for vampires in The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by Charlaine Harris, and the television series True Blood.
|-
|Crypto
|A term meaning "hidden". Popularized as a slang term in the late '80s and early '90s to refer to anything involving the act of encryption and decryption through the application of ciphers, a practice which has become practically ubiquitous in the digital age. Cryptography is used extensively in: military communications; subscription media services including cable and satellite television; digital cellular networks; privacy oriented communications services such Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp; secured file storage; electronic locks; and distributed ledgers such as those used by "blockchain" based currencies\commodities. Crypto is not a liquid and therefore not drinkable. Possibly a joke that the residents of Silicon Valley are actually computers that "drink" crypto (i.e. data).
|-
|Yum
|Refers to {{w|Yum! Brands}}, parent company of several fast food restaurants, which was spun off from PepsiCo, maker of a carbonated beverage, in 1997, and has a lifetime contract to serve their beverages.
|-
|Sparkle Fluid
|Roughly analogously to how "sparkling wine" and "sparkling cider" are carbonated varieties of wine and cider, "sparkling fluid" or "sparkle fluid" would presumably be any carbonated fluid
|-
|King Cola
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|{{w|Pepsi}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|{{w|Crystal Pepsi}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Ichor
|several definitions (blood of a god (or demon, or, in some dialects, any insect) or watery discharge from a wound). None of them carbonated. None of them recommended as a drinkable liquid. (Well, not by someone with your best interests at heart.)
|-
|You-Know-What
|A phrase typically employed when a more specific term is considered unspeakable.
|-
|Tab
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Spicewater
|Potentially a reference to the spice from ''Dune''.
|-
|Softie
|On the map, it looks like the region for Softie is taking a punch from the region for Punch
|-
|Ohio Tea
|
|-
|Boat Drink
|
|-
|Melt
|Usually used to describe a kind of sandwich where cheese is melted in the center, usually on a griddle. Or maybe just a way to say "no, the *melted* ice"
|-
|Fizz Ooze
|
|-
|Punch
|A drink typically found in the juice aisle. Only sometimes carbonated. It's also a pun on the word punch meaning to hit something, and on the map it looks like the region for Punch is literally punching the region for Softie.
|-
|Fun Wine
|Implies that normal wine is not "fun". Might be an allusion to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerwine Cheerwine], a carbonated drink from the Southeast.
|-
|Diet
|Sometimes refers to a carbonated beverage. A common request in restaurants, as they often only have a single "diet soda" option for customers to pick. Ironically, "diet" sodas have been causally linked to metabolism related weight gain.
|-
|Refill
|The second glass of whatever you drank previously. Works for any drinkable liquid.
|-
|Tickle Juice
|Name of a Boston-based jazz band.
|-
|Bubble Honey
|
|-
|Sugar Oil
|The areas of Oklahoma and north Texas that are shaded produce a significant amount of {{w|petroleum|crude oil}}.
|-
|The Wet Drink
|Technically true of all drinks, unless one is attempting to drink sand. It may also refer to the fact that many advertisements for carbonated beverages attempt to make the product look more appetizing by photographing or filming a beverage container covered with water droplets.
|-
|{{w|Mountain Dew|Code Red}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|{{w|Mead}}
|An alcoholic drink. Traditionally not carbonated. Often associated with Vikings, and these areas did have many Scandinavian immigrants.
|-
|Canadian Ale
|Probably a reference to the {{w|Canada Dry}} brand of {{w|Ginger Ale}}, a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage.
|-
|Aether
|Could refer to a highly flammable industrial solvent, also used as an anesthetic. Do not drink. Also, not carbonated. Alternately, could refer to the nonexistent fluid that was believed to carry light waves before electromagnetism was fully understood, or poetically to the sky; in either case it is not a drinkable liquid (or carbonated).
|-
|Carbonated Beverage
|Technically correct, but a bit of an awkward term due to its unnecessary length.
|-
|Mouthwater
|A play on the term "mouth watering" to describe delicious foods and drinks.
|-
|{{w|Capri Sun|Capri}}
|Capri Sun is a brand of juice drinks, typically sold in uncarbonated pouches.
|-
|Skim Shake
|
|-
|Kid's Coffee
|Somewhat accurate. Coffee is typically drunk by adults for its caffeine. Carbonated beverages often have caffeine also, and are often consumed by children.
|-
|Regular
|In the past, referred to gasoline with lead, as opposed to "Unleaded". Not a drinkable liquid, and also outlawed.
|-
|Tang
|An orange flavored beverage containing less than 2% juice extract, not carbonated.
|-
|Formula
|Typically refers to an artificial replacement for mother's milk. Not carbonated.
|-
|Medicine
|Only sometimes a drinkable liquid. Never or perhaps almost never carbonated. Alternatively, a common euphemism for alcohol, or some other drink that the person doesn't want to admit to drinking -- or at least doesn't want to share.
|-
|Broth
|Liquid in which bones, meat, fish, or vegetables have simmered. Often used as a soup base. Not carbonated.
|-
|Fool's Champagne
|Carbonated beverage is to champagne what fool's gold is to gold.
|-
|Sugar Milk
|
|-
|No word for them
|This region of the US does not have a word for carbonated beverages (according to Randall). Possibly they do not drink them at all.
|-
|Hydro
|A word for water. Carbonated water does exist, but this word means all forms of water.
|-
|Harvard Tea
|The region shades this way includes {{w|Cambridge, Massachusetts}}, which is home to {{w|Harvard University}}.
|-
|Bubbler
|A nod to another popular map of the same type, exploring the regional dialects used to describe drinking fountains. Rhode Island and the eastern portion of Wisconsin are the only two locations where 'Bubbler' is commonly used to refer to drinking fountains.
|-
|Mouthbuzz
|Perhaps referring to the feeling of drinking a carbonated drink, where the releasing carbonation almost 'buzzes' in the mouth.
|-
|Brad's Elixer
|Possibly a reference to "Brad's Drink", the original name for {{w|Pepsi}} when it was invented by Caleb Bradham in 1893. The word "elixir" is defined as "a sweetened liquid usually containing alcohol that is used in medication either for its medicinal ingredients or as a flavoring", but it is misspelled here as "elixer".
|-
|Hot Water
|Not carbonated. Not even in Jacuzzi and hot tubs.
|-
|Fluid
|A word that means nearly any liquid in existence. Not specific to carbonated beverages.
|-
|{{w|Coke Zero}}
|Name of a carbonated beverage.
|-
|Carbo
|Sodas sweetened with corn syrup or cane sugar are high in carbohydrates. Could also refer to carbonation.
|-
|Quicksilver
|An old term for the element mercury, a metallic liquid in its pure form at room temperature. Extremely harmful if swallowed.
|-
|Glug
|Onomatopoeia, referring to the sound of swallowing a large amount of liquid. Or possibly referring to {{w|Glögi|glögg}} (pronounced "glug"), a Swedish drink similar to mulled wine.
|-
|Water Plus
|Technically the name of {{w|Water Plus|a British water retail services provider}}, this likely refers to the prevalence of "plus" as a preposition in branding nomenclature (e.g.: {{w|Google+}}, {{w|iPhone 8 Plus}}, {{w|7 Up Plus}}, etc.).
|}

The title text may be a wry comment in light of the pocket of "soda" in the St. Louis, MO area.

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

:[A map of the United States divided into purple, red, green, blue, and yellow colored regions.]

:[A purple area in North West Washington:]
:Fanta

:[A blue area spanning the Western border of Washington and Oregon:]
:Sode

:[A yellow area spanning the remainder of Washington, North Western Oregon, Northern Idaho and the North Western corner of Montana:]
:Ichor

:[A green area spanning the North Eastern corner of Oregon, central Idaho and the majority of Montana:]
:Spicewater

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T18:57:12Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Add why equation makes no sense as is and a rewrite that makes more sense.

{{comic
| number = 2059
| date = October 15, 2018
| title = Modified Bayes' Theorem
| image = modified_bayes_theorem.png
| titletext = Don't forget to add another term for "probability that the Modified Bayes' Theorem is correct."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Bayes' Theorem}} is an equation in statistics that gives the probability of a given hypothesis accounting not only for a single experiment or observation but also for your existing knowledge about the hypothesis, i.e. its prior probability. Randall's modified form of the equation also purports to account for the probability that you are indeed applying Bayes' Theorem itself correctly by including that as a term in the equation.

Bayes' theorem is:

<math>P(H \mid X) = \frac{P(X \mid H) \, P(H)}{P(X)}</math>,
where
*<math>P(H \mid X)</math> is the belief that <math>H</math> is true given that <math>X</math> is true. The posterior probability of <math>H</math>.
*<math>P(X \mid H)</math> is the belief that <math>X</math> is true given that <math>H</math> is true.
*<math>P(H)</math> and <math>P(X)</math> are the beliefs that <math>H</math> and <math>X</math> respectively are true independent of other evidence. They are the prior probability of H and X respectively.

If <math>P(C)=1</math> the modified theorem reverts to the original Bayes' theorem (which makes sense, as a probability one would mean certainty that you are using Bayes' theorem correctly).

If <math>P(C)=0</math> the modified theorem becomes <math>P(H \mid X) = P(H)</math>, which says that the belief in your hypothesis is not affected by the result of the observation (which makes sense because you're certain you're misapplying the theorem so the outcome of the calculation shouldn't affect your belief.)

This happens because, if you apply the original theorem, the modified theorem can be rewritten as: <math>P(H \mid X) = P(H)(1-P(C)) + P(H \mid X)P(C)</math>. This is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_interpolation linear-interpolated] weighted average of the belief you had before the calculation and the belief you would have if you applied the theorem correctly. This goes smoothly from the not believing your calculation at all, keeping the same belief as before if <math>P(C)=0</math> to changing your belief exactly as Bayes' theorem suggests when <math>P(C)=1</math>.

<math>1-P(C)</math> is the probability that you are using the theorem incorrectly.

As an equation, the rewritten form makes no sense. <math>P(H \mid X) = P(H)(1-P(C)) + P(H \mid X)P(C)</math> is strangely self-referential and reduces to the piecewise equation <math>\begin{cases}P(H \mid X) = P(H) & P(C) \neq 1 \\ 0 = 0 & P(C) = 1 \end{cases}</math>. However, the Modified Bayes Theorem includes an extra variable not listed in the conditioning, so a person with an AI background might understand that Randal was trying to write an expression for updating <math>P(H \mid X)</math> with knowledge of <math>C</math> i.e. <math>P(H \mid X,C)</math>, the belief in the hypothesis given the observation <math>X</math> and the confidence that you were applying Bayes' theorem correctly <math>C</math>, for which the expression <math>P(H \mid X,C) = P(H)(1-P(C)) + P(H \mid X)P(C)</math> makes some intuitive sense.

The title text suggests that an additional term should be added for the probability that the Modified Bayes Theorem is correct. But that's *this* equation, so it would make the formula self-referential. It could also result in an infinite regress -- we'd need another term for the probability that the version with the probability added is correct, and another term for that version, and so on. It's also unclear what the point of using an equation we're not sure of is (although sometimes we can: {{w|Newton's Laws}} are not as correct as the Einstein's {{w|Theory of Relativity}} but they're a reasonable approximation in most circumstances}.

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

:Modified Bayes' theorem:

:P(H|X) = P(H) × (1 + P(C) × ( P(X|H)/P(X) - 1 ))

:H: Hypothesis
:X: Observation
:P(H): Prior probability that H is true
:P(X): Prior probability of observing X
:P(C): Probability that you're using Bayesian statistics correctly

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Statistics]]

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T17:51:00Z

Doctor o: Explain that the rewrite as a linear interpolation requires the original theorem

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T17:45:57Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Update P(C)=1 and P(C)=0 sections from bayesian perspective

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T17:38:22Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Rewrote the Bayes theorem explanation from a Bayesian perspective (on which Randal's joke is based)

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T17:29:18Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Rewrote Bayes' theorem using symbols Randal used (H and X) rather than A and B

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T17:22:44Z

Doctor o: Showed that it is a linear interpolation between P(H) and P(H \mid X)

1998: GDPR

2018-05-26T00:54:08Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Facebook is the Internet news articles

{{comic
| number = 1998
| date = May 25, 2018
| title = GDPR
| image = gdpr.png
| titletext = By clicking anywhere, scrolling, or closing this notification, you agree to be legally bound by the witch Sycorax within a cloven pine.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the EUROPEAN UNION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was released on the date on which the {{w|General Data Protection Regulation|General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)}} law went into effect. Most people will have already seen a large number of updated privacy policies in the week or two leading up to this law going active. And while [[xkcd]] would likely be outside of the jurisdiction that the law can enforce, it technically does fall within the scope of the law (as certainly EU citizens visit xkcd).

There are several references made to this law, but also several jokes are included about the way people treat privacy policies specifically, and user agreements in general.

The comic is a joke privacy policy, with terms that no one would agree to under normal circumstances. In most cases, website users will use websites without reading the policies, potentially "agreeing" to something unexpected.

"purely out of the goodness of our hearts" is a phrase never expected to be found ever anywhere in any privacy policy. "and has nothing to do with ..." is a blatantly transparent lie - if this was a real privacy policy.

"governs your interactions" starts out as a plausibly valid statement including "the service" and "the website". But then balloons outward to include the entire Internet and Facebook. As this presumably is a privacy policy only for XKCD, this policy should not attempt to claim that it also represents Facebook or the entire Internet. The extension to Facebook may be a reference to reports that [https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/facebook-is-the-internet-for-many-people-in-south-east-asia-20180322-p4z5nu.html|"for many people ... Facebook is the Internet."]

"Please don't send us your personal information" is also a phrase never expected to be found ever in a privacy policy. A privacy policy, by default, is a contract users agree to BECAUSE personal information is being stored. This is likely a reference to the previous comic [[1997: Business Update]]

The phrase "quartering troops in your home" is likely a reference to the {{w|Third Amendment to the United States Constitution}}, which explicitly forbids this practice during peacetime. Refusing to quarter troops in one's home was previously referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]].

"If you tell us your name" is presumably something that Randall does in real life and is not part of a privacy policy.

"This website places pixels" is something websites are designed to do and has nothing to do with privacy policies. Websites are more often employing "callback pixels" from companies such as Facebook and Twitter, which is an image file that is hosted on an external server that allows cross-platform and cross-session tracking for targeted advertisements. This is a controversial topic, as many people are against this kind of targeted advertising.

"We use cookies to enhance your performance." apparently says that Randall is giving out actual cookies that can be eaten. Privacy policies normally deal with electronic cookies that track user activity and store personal information.

"may use local storage" is threatening to turn the user's device into cloud storage should Randall run out of space on his drive.

The [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Warning_beacons_of_Gondor Warning beacons of Gondor] were a system to call for aid used by {{w|Gondor}} in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}''. They were used before the [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Siege_of_Gondor Battle of the Pelennor Fields] to request the aid of the {{w|Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohirrim}}. The use of the Beacons has previously been mentioned in [[921: Delivery Notification]].

{{w|3rd Party}} was a three-member dance-pop group that released one album in 1997, "Alive". In software, "third-party extensions" are small programs that plug into a larger program to modify its behavior, and are created neither by the maker of the larger program nor the user.

"requesting permission" can be construed in several frightening ways. 1. We will ask you after you die if you are willing to donate your organs. 2. We were not asking permission before, but now we have to ask. 3. We will ask you, but your answer doesn't actually matter. 4. We've switched from an organ donation program (legal) to an organ harvesting program (wildly illegal). Besides these frightening scenarios, there is also the question of how a website (and not a doctor) is going to perform the harvesting.

"supersedes" is an apparently valid statement. It's inclusiveness is quite extreme, but appears to be a technically valid statement.

"unenforceable" claims to have higher jurisdiction than any court and can somehow maintain legality even if a court disagrees. A typical policy would read that an unenforceable provision would not invalidate the rest of the policy.

"not liable" and "shall not be construed" are blanket statements that are supposed to have limiters. For example, a restaurant could have a policy stating "not liable for burns received from our hot coffee." A statement made to a court could say "The defendant's statement of giving the prostitute money shall not be construed as an admission of committing a crime." This makes little sense when claiming the website “is not liable” for anything, and “shall not be construed” to have any meaning whatsoever.

The Food and Drug Administration has nothing to do with privacy policies. As such, this is an accurate statement. Silly, but accurate.

"cure and treat any disease" is claiming to be a medical panacea. Panacea do not exist. It is also mocking the label on many food and health supplements, which are legally required to say they are “not intended to cure or treat any disease.”

The title text is a reference to Shakespeare's "{{w|The Tempest}}", in which the witch {{w|Sycorax}} imprisoned the sprite Ariel in a cloven pine prior to Ariel's rescue by Prospero.

==Transcript==
:[The picture shows a long text:]
:'''Privacy policy'''
:We've updated our privacy policy. This is purely out of the goodness of our hearts, and has nothing to do with any hypothetical unions on any particular continents. Please read every part of this policy carefully, and don't just skip ahead looking for sex scenes.
:This policy governs your interactions with this website, herein referred to as "The Service", "The Website", "The Internet", or "Facebook", and with all other websites and organizations of any kind. The enumeration in this policy, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the users. By using this service, you opt in to quartering troops in your home.

:'''Your personal information'''
:Please don't send us your personal information. We do not want your personal information. We have a hard enough time keeping track of our ''own'' personal information, let alone yours.
:If you tell us your name, or any identifying information, we will forget it immediately. The next time we see you, we'll struggle to remember who you are, and try desperately to get through the conversation so we can go online and hopefully figure it out.

:'''Tracking pixels, cookies, and beacons'''
:This website places pixels on your screen in order to form text and images, some of which may remain in your memory after you close the page. We use cookies to enhance your performance. Our website may use local storage on your device if we run low on space on our end. We may use beacons to call Rohan for aid.

:'''3rd party extension'''
:This service may utilize 3rd party extensions in order to play the song '''''Can U Feel It''''' from their debut album '''''Alive'''''.

:'''Permission'''
:For users who are citizens of the European Union, we will now be requesting permission before initiating organ harvesting.

:'''Scope and limitations'''
:This policy supersedes any application federal, state, and local laws, regulations and ordinances, international treaties, and legal agreements that would otherwise apply. If any provision of this policy is found by a court to be unenforceable, it nevertheless remains in force.
:This organization is not liable and this agreement shall not be construed. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This website is intended to treat, cure and prevent any disease.
:If you know anyone in Europe, please tell them we're cool.

{{comic discussion}}

1901: Logical

2017-10-11T17:40:07Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Add ironic scientific evidence against White Hat's position

{{comic
| number = 1901
| date = October 11, 2017
| title = Logical
| image = logical.png
| titletext = It's like I've always said--people just need more common sense. But not the kind of common sense that lets them figure out that they're being condescended to by someone who thinks they're stupid, because then I'll be in trouble.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs more.}}

[[White Hat]] says that problems in society could be avoided if people relied on logic and science rather than feelings -- but when [[Cueball]] presses him to back up his claim, White Hat insists that what his claim must be true, because it ''feels'' true, and the opposition (which he dismissively refers to as "these idiots") believes in things that he doesn't believe. Because the comic is only one panel long, we have no way of determining whether White Hat's statement is self-evident, or if the opposition is as uneducated as he claims them to be; without surrounding context to distract us, we see that White Hat's argument is both fallacious and hypocritical.

The title text is White Hat's opinion, where he says that people need more common sense, but not enough to have them know when he is talking down to them.

Ironically, there is some inconclusive scientific evidence against [[White Hat]]'s position. It is possible that effective rational thought depends on feelings and emotions as a preprocessing step. For example, people with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex lose their ability to have gut reactions to decision options. In Damasio's research, they were unable to make good decisions in everyday life. This may be because every option seems emotionally as good as any other and the brain is not good at conscious processing of large numbers of alternatives. See [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descartes%27_Error|"Descartes' Error" by Damasio 1994] and [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Mind|"The Righteous Mind" by Haidt 2012].

==Transcript==

:[White Hat is spreading his arms and facing Cueball.]
:White Hat: We wouldn't have all these problems if people just learned to be more ''logical'' and ''science-driven'' instead of relying on ''feelings''.
:Cueball: Oh? What study are you basing that on?
:White Hat: It just seems obvious!
:White Hat: I mean, look at the crap these idiots believe!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1864: City Nicknames

2017-07-18T14:08:24Z

Doctor o: /* Nicknames and Demonyms */ Added City of Kings to mash-up with Graveyard of Champions

{{comic
| number = 1864
| date = July 17, 2017
| title = City Nicknames
| image = city_nicknames.png
| titletext = This place has so many demonyms. Northlanders. Fair Folk. Honey Barons. Lake Dwellers. Treasurers. Swamp Watchers. Dream Farmers. Wellfolk. Rockeaters. Forgotten Royals. Remote Clients. Barrow-Clerks. The People of Land and Sky.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|stub}}

Cities often have official or unofficial nicknames. For instance, {{w|St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri}}, is known as "Gateway to the West" among several other nicknames. The nicknames typically invoke some historical or geographic feature of the city, but can sometime be opaque to those not familiar with the city. [https://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/introduction/fullname.php The full, formal name of Bangkok] includes a long list of superlatives translating as "The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn."

[[Black Hat]] appears to believe they are near {{w|New York City}}, despite the skyline being clearly recognizable as St. Louis due to the {{w|Gateway Arch}}. However, the nickname he gives is neither a common New York nickname (such as "{{w|List of nicknames of New York City|The Big Apple}}") nor a St. Louis nickname. [[Megan]] tries to correct him, but it becomes clear that Black Hat is making up nicknames. Many of his suggestions are puns for real nicknames of other places.

The title text contains made up {{w|demonym}}s in the same pattern. A demonym is a word for the people who live in a particular place. They are typically derived from the name of the place (e.g. "St. Louisan" for people from St. Louis), but some regions have an {{w|Demonym#Informal|informal demonym}} that can be used colloquially by those familiar with the place to refer to its residents.

===Nicknames and Demonyms===

{| class=wikitable
! City nickname in comic
! Reference
! Explanation

|-
| The Hot Tamale
| {{w|Hot Tamales}}
| Possibly a reference to the term [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=big%20enchilada big enchilada] (something of great importance). In the movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(1996_film) Independence Day], the phrase "Big Tamale" is used in a similar manner as "Big Enchilada" to describe the alien fighter held at Area 51.

|-
| The Winged City
| The Windy City
| Chicago. Possibly also [http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/incheon-international-airport/ Incheon International Airport (ICA/RKSI), South Korea]

|-
| The Gold Trombone
|
| Possibly a reference to the gold standard.

|-
| Castleopolis
| {{w|Cassopolis}}, or possibly Dictionopolis.
| Literally "Castle city." {{w|Polis}} (from the Greek πόλις for city) is commonly used as a suffix for city names, like {{w|Minneapolis}} or {{w|Alexandroupolis}}; {{w|Metropolis}} can either be a type of city, or one of the real or fictional cities bearing the name. Possibly a reference to The Phantom Tollbooth, which has both castles and cities named Dictionopolis and Digitopolis.

|-
| The Kissing Kingdom
| {{w|United Kingdom}}
| This would make a ''Very'' United Kingdom

|-
| Sandland
|
| {{w|Sandland}} is a village in northern Norway, most likely coincidentally.

|-
| The High Place
| {{w|Denver}}
|Denver is known as the Mile High City. Also, in English translations of the Old Testament, the Hebrew term במה (bamah, plural במות bamot) is rendered as "{{w|high place}}," and denotes a place of worship. In modern Jewish synagogues, the "High Place" (bimah) is the elevated platform from which the Torah is read. In Gene Wolfe's ''Free Live Free'', one character claims to come from the "High Place". The others consider this a metaphor, or simply a lie. Eventually this is discovered not to be the case.

|-
| Ol' Ironhook
| {{w|Old Ironsides}}
| Old Ironsides is a nickname for the USS Constitution (docked in Charlestown, MA). Ol' Ironhook may be a conflation of Old Ironsides (also a nickname for English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell) with Old Hookey (a nickname for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, English general and PM) or Old Kinderhook (a nickname for US President Martin Van Buren).
|-
| The Thousand Spires || The City of a Hundred Spires / City of Dreaming Spires|| Prague / Oxford
|-
| The Graveyard of Kings || The Graveyard of Champions / City of Kings || ''Graveyard'': Court 2 at Wimbledon, where former champions are often defeated (the playing environment is very different from Centre Court and Court One, which are larger and where games involving highly-ranked players are preferentially located). The comic was released one day after the 2017 Wimbledon Championships were finished. ''Kings'': Nickname of [[wikipedia:Lima|Lima, Peru]] and [[wikipedia:Palermo|Palermo, Sicily]]
|-
| Bloomtown || [[wikipedia: Boomtown|Boomtown]] || Generic term for a town undergoing rapid growth. Used in the 2002 TV series of the same name as a nickname for Los Angeles. Might also be referring to [[wikipedia:Bloom County|Bloom County]], a comic by [[wikipedia:Berkeley Breathed|Berkeley Breathed]], or Dublin, as the setting for Ulysses by James Joyce.
|-
| Lantern City USA || {{w|Tree City USA}} || A designation supporting municipalities that showcase urban forestry, in connection with Arbor Day. Lantern city is a fictional, steam-punk serial.
|-
| The City of Many Daughters || ||
|-
| Big Mauve || [[wikipedia: Big_Red_(drink)|Big Red Soda]] || Big Red Soda. The Cornell teams are known as the [[wikipedia:Cornell Big Red|Big Red]]. The Dartmouth football team is the Big Green.
|-
| The Glass Cradle || [[wikipedia:The Glass Menagerie|The Glass Menagerie]] || A play by Tennessee Williams
|-
| The Road Source ||{{w|Rome}} || From the saying that {{w|All Roads Lead to Rome}}
|-
| London Prime || London || In the DC comics, to incorporate multiple continuties, there were multiple universes. London Prime would be "real London" on Earth Prime. Various cities named {{w|New London}} in the United States and elsewhere are imagined as London in alternate continuities. Alternatively in mathematics, a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_(symbol)#Use_in_mathematics.2C_statistics.2C_and_science prime mark], x' can be the next iteration of variable x.
|-
| Hamtown || {{w|Boston}}, {{w|Hamburg}}, {{w|Toronto}} || Boston is known as [[wikipedia:Boston nicknames|beantown]], pork and beans are commonly cooked together (as in {{w|Boston baked beans}}), and ham is a form of pork. The German word ''Burg'' means castle or fort and is often used as suffix for town names. The origin of the prefix ''Ham'' is uncertain, but the food {{w|Hamburger}} derives from this city and ''Hamburger'' in German is the demonym of Hamburg. Toronto sometimes nicknamed Hogtown.
|-
| The Salad Bowl || || A theory of cultural integration in the US, one that stands in contrast to the older 'Melting Pot' theory. Could also refer to the [[wikipedia: Dust Bowl|Dust Bowl]]
|-
| God's Boudoir || God's Waiting Room || State of {{w|Florida}}, where many elderly retire then expire.
|-
| The Glittering Swamp || [[wikipedia:Great Dismal Swamp|The Great Dismal Swamp ]] || A large swamp in Virginia and North Carolina. Also, the city of {{w|Washington, D.C.}} has often been referred to as a "swamp," owing partly to its past as a [http://networks.h-net.org/node/28441/pages/36129/swamps-and-city-washington malarial swamp].
|-
| The Steel Forest || The Concrete Jungle || The Concrete Jungle is a name often given to New York's Manhattan area. There was also a book and movie titled ''The Petrified Forest''.
|-
| The Mobius Strip || The Strip || The Strip is a shortened and commonly used name for the Las Vegas Strip, the main area of hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. A {{w|Mobius strip}} is a one-sided piece of paper created by rotating the short edge of the strip 180 degrees and attaching it to the other short edge. The Vegas strip has more or less only one side as well.
|-
| The Land of Trains and Fog || || Britain was home to early developments in railroading, and some portions are known for fog and mists.
In the webcomic [[wikipedia:Homestuck | Homestuck]] many events take place on various planets named in the format "The Land of X and Y", e.g. "The Land of Light and Rain". The novel by George R.R. Martin, which was made into ''Game of Thrones'', was called ''A Song of Ice and Fire''.
|-
| The Meeting Place || ||
|-
| The Dark Star || || ''Dark Star'' is a 1974 science fiction comedy film.
|-
| The Walled Garden || {{w|Walled garden (technology)}} || A walled garden is a virtual environment where the user can only view content that is published or permitted by the proprietor, e.g. AOL or Facebook. This could also be a reference to walled cities, e.g. from the Middle Ages, or the {{w|Kowloon Walled City}} in the modern era. ''The Secret Garden'' is a book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
|-
| Skin City || [[wikipedia:Sin City (description)|Sin City]] || Generic term for a city well known for gambling, drugs, or other vices. Also Las Vegas.
|-
| The Horse Rotary || ||
|-
| Turkeytown || Turkeytown || A town in Lincoln County, Kentucky
|-
| The Naked Towers || || ''The Naked City'' was a television series. ''The Two Towers'' is a book by Tolkien, and ''Naked Lunch'' is a book by Burroughs
|-
| The Meta-City || Metacity || A term for a heterogenous, sprawling urban center with multiple dense centers, such as Tokyo or New York City. Metacity was also the window manager in the Linux GNOME 2 desktop.
|-
| The Urban Orb || || The screen name of a Let's Player on Youtube and Twitch. - Also maybe once more: Rome and the Rest of the world, as in the popes adress to the urbi (city: meaning rome ) and orbi (circle: meaning the world)
|-
| The City of Angles || City of Angels || Los Angeles. Also, the titular City of Angles in the web novel [http://stefangagne.com/cityofangles/ City of Angles].
|-
| The Big Wheel || [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041179/ The Big Wheel] || A 1949 movie about a race car driver. Alternatively, a child's plastic tricycle with an oversized front wheel.
|-
| Bird City USA || || A program started by the Audubon Society.
|-
| The City of Seven Crowns || City of Seven Hills || Rome. Also occasinally refers to Moscow. The next nickname is likely a reference to the 'wrong' part of this nickname.
|-
| Hilltopia ||The Hilltop || May be reference to The Hilltop in AMC's The Walking Dead
|-
| Bug City || || A nickname for the bug-infested Chicago in the roleplaying game Shadowrun. Also, a sourcebook for the game.
|-
| The Bottomless Cup || || There are many mentions of Bottomless Pits in stories. Additionally, restaurants offering unlimited refills on drinks may refer to this offer by terms like "Bottomless Soda."
|-
| Lorde's Fen || Lord's Fen || [[wikipedia:Lorde| Lorde]] is a musical artist from Herne Bay, New Zealand - an area near Waitemata Harbour. A [[wikipedia:Fen| fen]] is a type of wetland, which could loosely connect to Herne Bay.
|-
| The Last Town || || The third book in the Wayward Pines series.
|-
| The Empty Set || || The concert hall in the video game Transistor. In mathematics, the {{w|empty set}} refers to an unique set with no elements, often notated as "{}" or "∅".
|-
| Ghost Harbor || || The name for a brewing company in North Carolina.
|}

{| class=wikitable
! Demonym in comic
! Reference
! Explanation
|-
| Northlanders || {{w|Norsemen}} || Norsemen, literally men from the north, people from Scandinavia. Could also be a reference to highlanders, the people of the {{w|Scottish Highlands}}, with a similar demonym. The "High" in "Highlands" is a reference to the mountainous landscape, not the geographical position.
|-
| Fair Folk || {{w|Fairy}} || The fair folk is a name for fairies in folklore. The elves in ''The Lord of the Rings'' are referred to as the 'fair folk'.
|-
| Honey Barons || [[wikipedia: Robber_baron_(industrialist) | Robber Barons]], [[wikipedia: Honey_badger | Honey Badgers]], [[wikipedia: Honey bear| honey bear]] || Possibly a play on The Robber Barons, a group of powerful industrialists in the late 1800's known for questionable business ethics, and honey badgers, animals known for their tough skin, bad tempers, and tenacity. Honey bear is a name for a few types of bear, as well as kinkajous.
|-
| Lake Dwellers || ||
|-
| Treasurers || || A {{w|treasurer}} is a person in charge of running the treasury of an organization, for example a governmental department. The Auditors were characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books who did the book-keeping for reality, and wanted to simplify the universe by destroying life.
|-
| Swamp Watchers || ||
|-
| Dream Farmers || The Dream Factory || Hollywood, California, in its role as the center of the American film industry.
|-
| Wellfolk || Werefolk || The were folk were people who could change into animals: e.g. werewolves.
|-
| Rockeaters || [[Wikipedia:List_of_The_Neverending_Story_characters#Pyornkrachzark_and_the_other_messengers| Rockbiter]] || In the ''Never Ending Story'', Pyornkrachzark, more commonly known as "Rock Biter" is a large creature made completely of stone, named due to their diet of rocks.
May also refer to {{w|Lotus-eaters}}; while these mythical people slept in narcotic apathy, rockeaters might have a tougher time.
|-
| Forgotten Royals || [[wikipedia:Forgotten Realms | Forgotten Realms]] || Royalty from Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign setting
|-
| Remote Clients || [[wikipedia:Remote_computer|Remote client]] || In computing, a remote client is a program used to access a computer or service over a network.
|-
| Barrow-Clerks || [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Barrow-wights Barrow-wights] || Wraith like creatures in ''The Lord of the Rings''. The hobbits come across them in the [http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Barrow-downs Barrow-downs].
Those who keep records of items deposited in a grave mound or barrow.
|-
| The People of Land and Sky || [[wikipedia:Sea_Peoples|Sea Peoples]] ||
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Black Hat, Megan, and Ponytail are standing on a hill overlooking a city. The Gateway Arch is visible, as well as a number of skyscrapers in the skyline.]
:Black Hat: Ah, New York. The Hot Tamale.
:Megan: This is St. Louis. Also, that's not–
:Black Hat: The Winged City. The Gold Trombone. Castleopolis.
:Megan: It's none of those.

:[Close-up of Black Hat]
:Black Hat: The Kissing Kingdom. Sandland. The High Place. Ol' Ironhook.
:Megan (off-panel): Still wrong.
:Black Hat: The Thousand Spires. The Graveyard of Kings. Bloomtown. Lantern City USA.
:Megan (off-panel): Please stop.

:[Black Hat, Megan, and Ponytail are walking]
:Black Hat: The City of Many Daughters. Big Mauve. The Glass Cradle. The Road Source. London Prime. Hamtown. The Salad Bowl. God's Boudoir. The Glittering Swamp. The Steel Forest. The Mobius Strip. The Land of Trains and Fog. The Meeting Place. The Dark Star. The Walled Garden. Skin City. The Horse Rotary. Turkeytown. The Naked Towers. The Meta-City. The Urban Orb. The City of Angles. The Big Wheel. Bird City USA. The City of Seven Crowns. Hilltopia. Bug City. The Bottomless Cup. [Text size getting smaller] Lorde's Fen. The Last Town. The Empty Set. Ghost Harbor.
:Megan: How long does this last?
:Ponytail: No city has ever let him stay long enough to find out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

1753: Thumb War

2016-10-31T18:47:19Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Typo - missing curly braces

{{comic
| number = 1753
| date = October 31, 2016
| title = Thumb War
| image = thumb_war.png
| titletext = "Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty--" / "Can't we just read Pat the Bunny?"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Just... More.}}
Two small children, one wearing a black hat, sitting among their toys are playing {{w|thumb war}}. This is a common game for children, in which two players hold hands and attempt to pin each other's thumb down. The game is often started with both players chanting "one, two three, four, I declare a thumb war," and then counting up by fours and making rhymes, all the while trying to pin the opponent's thumbs down.

The standard concept is subverted here: The child that one day will turn into [[Black Hat]] interprets the simulation of hand-to-hand combat with thumbs differently, comparing it with real conflict. He shows this in further lines, invented by himself.

The second rhyme, "finger guns proliferate," is a pun on the {{w|finger gun}} gesture and describes {{w|Small arms trade|small arms proliferation}} - the spread of black-market weapons which often comes with war as captured and smuggled guns make their way into the hands of paramilitary groups. Black Hat transfers this into the "thumb war universe", introducing finger guns into the thumb-to-thumb combat.

The third rhyme continues the counting until twelve and mentions {{w|Digit (anatomy)|digits}} as in fingers, and states that they cannot protect themselves. This may be implying an imposition of {{w|Gun control|firearms regulation}} or {{w|arms control}} as a response to the small-arms proliferation in the previous verse.

In the last line Black Hat states that, even though this thumb war goes on and on, the "thumb U.N.", the thumb war universe equivalent of the {{w|United Nations}} (UN), won't intervene. In real life the UN would try to put an end to a given war by using diplomatic power and has the mandate of using (blue-helmet) peace forces in war zones to put an end to violence and give out a mandate to nations so that they can intervene in some crisis on their own behalf.

The children thumb war game is in Black Hat's version instead a quite cynical portrayal of our world, criticizing the "might is right" mentality that is the sad reality of our globe, and the government of the world by the militarily strongest nations.

The other child, which will someday turn into [[Hairy]], meanwhile, is unnerved by all this and wants to stop playing. Since Hairy is just a normal child he is really not interested in Black Hat's realistic version of what a war really is.

In the title text is seems like Hairy interrupts Black Hat's last rhyme after twenty, and almost makes it a rhyme, as Bunny at least ends in the same letter. So it goes like this:
:Black Hat: Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty
:Hairy: Can't we just read Pat the Bunny?
Thus Hairy request that they to do something more appropriate for children like reading a picture book.

This is the second time a young Black Hat has been used. The first was in [[1139: Rubber and Glue]]. Black Hat continues to make Hairy uncomfortable as an adult, such as in [[1210: I'm So Random]].

==Transcript==
:[Two children is sitting on their knees between a toy truck to the left and five building blocks to the right (three square blocks are stacked in a precarious tower and to the right of the tower there is one more square block which has a rectangular block leaning on it). Both children have lots of hair but the child to the left has a black hat on. This may represent young versions of Black Hat and Hairy. They are sitting across from each other each with one hand touching the others hand, and their thumbs can be seen sticking up above their hands.]
:Black Hat: One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war.
:Black Hat: Five, six, seven, eight, finger guns proliferate.
:Black Hat: Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, digits can't protect themselves.
:Black Hat: Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, thumb U.N. won't intervene.
:Hairy: I don't want to play with you anymore.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

1753: Thumb War

2016-10-31T18:46:11Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ "Digits can't protect themselves" may be firearms regulation

{{comic
| number = 1753
| date = October 31, 2016
| title = Thumb War
| image = thumb_war.png
| titletext = "Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty--" / "Can't we just read Pat the Bunny?"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Just... More.}}
Two small children, one wearing a black hat, sitting among their toys are playing {{w|thumb war}}. This is a common game for children, in which two players hold hands and attempt to pin each other's thumb down. The game is often started with both players chanting "one, two three, four, I declare a thumb war," and then counting up by fours and making rhymes, all the while trying to pin the opponent's thumbs down.

The standard concept is subverted here: The child that one day will turn into [[Black Hat]] interprets the simulation of hand-to-hand combat with thumbs differently, comparing it with real conflict. He shows this in further lines, invented by himself.

The second rhyme, "finger guns proliferate," is a pun on the {{w|finger gun}} gesture and describes {{w|Small arms trade|small arms proliferation}} - the spread of black-market weapons which often comes with war as captured and smuggled guns make their way into the hands of paramilitary groups. Black Hat transfers this into the "thumb war universe", introducing finger guns into the thumb-to-thumb combat.

The third rhyme continues the counting until twelve and mentions {{w|Digit (anatomy)|digits}} as in fingers, and states that they cannot protect themselves. This may be implying an imposition of {w|Gun control|firearms regulation} or {w|arms control} as a response to the small-arms proliferation in the previous verse.

In the last line Black Hat states that, even though this thumb war goes on and on, the "thumb U.N.", the thumb war universe equivalent of the {{w|United Nations}} (UN), won't intervene. In real life the UN would try to put an end to a given war by using diplomatic power and has the mandate of using (blue-helmet) peace forces in war zones to put an end to violence and give out a mandate to nations so that they can intervene in some crisis on their own behalf.

The children thumb war game is in Black Hat's version instead a quite cynical portrayal of our world, criticizing the "might is right" mentality that is the sad reality of our globe, and the government of the world by the militarily strongest nations.

The other child, which will someday turn into [[Hairy]], meanwhile, is unnerved by all this and wants to stop playing. Since Hairy is just a normal child he is really not interested in Black Hat's realistic version of what a war really is.

In the title text is seems like Hairy interrupts Black Hat's last rhyme after twenty, and almost makes it a rhyme, as Bunny at least ends in the same letter. So it goes like this:
:Black Hat: Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty
:Hairy: Can't we just read Pat the Bunny?
Thus Hairy request that they to do something more appropriate for children like reading a picture book.

This is the second time a young Black Hat has been used. The first was in [[1139: Rubber and Glue]]. Black Hat continues to make Hairy uncomfortable as an adult, such as in [[1210: I'm So Random]].

==Transcript==
:[Two children is sitting on their knees between a toy truck to the left and five building blocks to the right (three square blocks are stacked in a precarious tower and to the right of the tower there is one more square block which has a rectangular block leaning on it). Both children have lots of hair but the child to the left has a black hat on. This may represent young versions of Black Hat and Hairy. They are sitting across from each other each with one hand touching the others hand, and their thumbs can be seen sticking up above their hands.]
:Black Hat: One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war.
:Black Hat: Five, six, seven, eight, finger guns proliferate.
:Black Hat: Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, digits can't protect themselves.
:Black Hat: Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, thumb U.N. won't intervene.
:Hairy: I don't want to play with you anymore.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

1682: Bun

2016-05-18T17:02:16Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ stargazing has the presenter giving truth, this doesn't

{{comic
| number = 1682
| date = May 18, 2016
| title = Bun
| image = bun.png
| titletext = If a wild bun is sighted, a nice gesture of respect is to send a 'BUN ALERT' message to friends and family, with photographs documenting the bun's location and rank. If no photographs are possible, emoji may be substituted.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Ponytail]] is teaching a class about an animal referred to as a "bun". The word "bun" is short for {{w|bunny}}, an informal term used for {{w|rabbit}} or {{w|hare}}, two animals that are often mistaken for another. The comic lampoons the many misconceptions that exist about these animals.

Ponytail tells that buns have a {{w|hierarchy}} in which the smaller the bun, the higher its ranking is. This parodies the general tendency of people to consider kitten rabbits cuter than the adults, and therefore superior. (Cuteness is a fitness signal that encourages parental nurturing, and can, as in this case, sometimes be perceived across species boundaries). All in this sentence is utter nonsense as rabbits live in large groups with no formal hierarchy, unlike {{w|wolves}} who have very definite leaders and social structure.
In the next panel, Ponytail states that "at this time of year, a lucky few may catch a glimpse of a king bun" - referring to rabbit kittens (the smallest and thus, in the comic, the highest-ranking, hence the term "king buns") being born in Spring (when the comic was released).

[[Megan]], who attends this biology class, expected to learn about rabbits and hares which are both {{w|Lagomorpha|lagomorphs}}, a mammalian {{w|Order (biology)|order}} that also includes the {{w|pika}}s. Megan thus clearly have the correct understanding of what a "bun" is. Ponytail then claims that the word ''bun'' is the scientific term, and states that rabbit, hare and lagomorph is the informal way to describe these animals, again being completely wrong as in reality ''bun'' is the most contracted and informal name for a rabbit.

The title text is presumably referring to photographing a rabbit and, for example, posting it on social media - something which would typically be done today if someone sees a rabbit in the wild. If the poster had failed to photograph the rabbit before it ran away, they may typically post a message saying something like "I saw a really cute bunny today!" with an {{w|emoji}} depiction of a rabbit (probably 🐇 or 🐰). This is especially common in the area where the author lives, as the urban rabbit population in the Cambridge/Somerville area has exploded, putting a large human population with relatively little previous experience with rabbit-sightings suddenly in the position of encountering them very frequently.

In [[1663: Garden]], the [[Media:Garden Important bun.png|rabbit image]] had the filename "[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-important-bun.png important-bun.png]".

A teacher teaching complete nonsense is depicted in [[1519: Venus]], but there it is clearly on purpose, which is not so clear here. There is also some similarities with [[1644: Stargazing]], but there the facts are true. Recently there was also another comic about spreading misinformation about the use of language in [[1677: Contrails]].

{{w|Bun}} literally means a bakery product. It also a popular slang for {{w|buttocks}} which, during this time of year (spring, summer), are more exposed as women start to wear bathing suits.

It is common (especially among teens and young adults) to make a big deal about seeing a person with an attractive quality (such as a "king bun") and photographing the person (or the person's buttocks) and sending the picture to friends. Some type of ranking system is often involved.

While rabbits do not have rankings or hierarchy, humans are quite clearly ranked (subconsciously, casually, or even in formal contests) by physical appearance and being fat is typically perceived as being less attractive (in the U.S. and other western cultures). Thus a person with a smaller buttocks would be ranked higher in the general case. (There is a subculture that prefers a larger buttocks on an otherwise fit person, but it would appear Ponytail does not hold this view).

The comment "Shh! Show respect! We look upon the image of a king!" could either mean the slide of the small rabbit or that the speaker finds Ponytail's buttocks to be especially attractive.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is a teacher and she holds a pointer to a picture of a rabbit on a board behind her.]
:Ponytail: Good morning class! Today, we will be learning about the bun.

:[Two rabbits are shown, one slightly smaller, and a greater than symbol is pointed at the smaller one. Ponytail is talking off panel to the left. Note that hierarchy may be misspelled intentionally.]
:Ponytail (off panel): Buns have a hierarchy.
:Ponytail (off panel): A bun's rank is determined by its size. Smaller buns are higher-ranking.

:[Two normal sized rabbits are sitting left and right of a very small rabbit. The smaller rabbit appears to give off a radiant light indicated with gray and white alternating rays going through the image. It is indicated that is shines on the larger rabbits as they are gray on the side turned away from the smaller rabbit and white on the front turned towards it. Ponytail narrates above the frame of this half sized panel:]
:Ponytail (narrating): Most buns you see are relatively low-ranking.
:Ponytail (narrating): But this time of year, a lucky few may catch a glimpse of a ''king bun''.

:[A student represented by Megan is sitting at a desk with a few books on it, pencil in hand.]
:Megan: Ok, hang on.
:Megan: We're talking about rabbits and hares, right? Lagomorphs?

:[Ponytail is holding her finger up on her left hand, and is holding her pointer at her side with the other. Students reply to her off panel to the right.]
:Ponytail: Informally, yes. But in this course, we use the ''scientific'' term, "bun".
:Student #1 (off-panel): Are we sure this is the right room for ''introductory mammalogy?''
:Student #2 (off-panel) : I'll check online.
:Student #3 (off-panel): ''Shh!'' Show respect! We look upon the image of a king!

{{comic discussion}}

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

1678: Recent Searches

2016-05-09T17:27:02Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Improved explanation of why a recursive font would "break" the user's computer

{{comic
| number = 1678
| date = May 9, 2016
| title = Recent Searches
| image = recent_searches.png
| titletext = autoexec code posted by verified twitter users
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to the practice of finding answers to computer problems using {{w|Google}}. It shows a list of search queries, each of which suggests the author is perversely misusuing or overextending some computer technology or technologies. The overall impression is of someone technically sophisticated enough to shoot themselves in the foot, and who does not learn any larger lessons despite doing so repeatedly. It is unlikely any of the searches would give useful answers, because no two people would be perverse in these extremely specific ways. The title text is another possible entry in this list. A complication in attempting to solve computer problems this way would be presented by Google's search term autocorrection, which for several years has replaced technical terms with unrelated language from recent popular culture.

{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
! width=20% | Search
! Explanation
|-
| Google translate syntax highlighting
| {{w|Syntax highlighting}} can be used when editing source code to make the code more readable and easier to understand. {{w|Google Translate}} is used to translate text from one {{w|natural language}} to another. The joke here is that syntax highlighting doesn't make sense in the context of translating natural languages.
|-
| Autodetect mixed bash zsh
| {{w|bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Linux}}. The way to execute commands are almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible.
|-
| CPU temperature sensor limits
| The CPU's temperature sensors exist to tell you when your CPU is becoming dangerously overheated (presumably as a result of overuse). Someone who searches for information about the limits of those sensors is presumably expecting to misuse their CPU.
|-
| GIF to XLS
| .GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is a file extension used to store images and sequences of images to be displayed as an animation. .XLS is the file extension for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The joke is that the complete difference between the two types of file makes any kind of conversion all but impossible, so the search is useless.
|-
| Clock speed jumper sample rate
| On a motherboard, jumpers can be used to alter the clock speeds of various motherboard functions (such as the CPU or the front side bus). These jumpers should be modified when the computer is off. However, this search is asking how often the motherboard checks the status of the clock speed jumpers, implying that they intend to change these jumpers while the computer is powered on.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+reinstall+keybinding Clean reinstall keybinding]
| This refers to keybinding, the practice of mapping a certain key to a certain function (e.g., pressing PRTSC will take a screenshot). Creating a keybinding for an task usually implies that the task is repeated often. A "clean reinstall" (presumably of an operating system) is however not generally something that should be repeated often, implying that the user is regularly breaking the OS with their tinkering. Searching for (any) default keybinding suggests they are having severe problems with their [[1031|leopard]].
|-
| Cron job to update crontab
| {{w|Cron}} is a utility that allows you to schedule commands or scripts to be run periodically. These scheduled jobs are read from a ''crontab'' file. A job that updates the crontab (therefore creating new jobs, removing old ones or editing existing ones) is highly unusual and unlikely to be what you actually want to do.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=fsck+chrome+extension fsck Chrome extension]
|
Google suggests "fleck" instead of "fsck". Fleck is a recent {{w|web annotation}} service; an extension to Chrome would make it accessible from that web browser. However, it would be extremely implausible that "fleck" had been mistyped as "fsck". In context, this is probably a search for a interface to the Unix '''f'''ile'''s'''ystem che'''ck'''er {{w|fsck}} via third-party software added to Chrome. Repairing a filesystem this way would be inadvisable. {{Citation needed}} This might indicate confusion about the meaning of the term "online filesystem repair", in which "online" means "while the filesystem is in use" rather than "over the internet". Alternatively, the user might want to repair an installation of the operating system Chromium, in a manner less drastic than the {{w|factory reset}} preferred by Google.
|-
| Recursive font
| An idiosyncratic mix of {{w|Recursion}} and the font style ''{{w|cursive}}'', referring especially to text handwritten in a flowing manner. {{w|PostScript}} (the language {{w|PostScript fonts|some fonts}} are written in) is capable of recursion and PostScript Type 3 fonts are able to use the full language. This could create effects like fonts with complicated fractal borders and fill patterns - but the increase in processing time would contribute to seeming brokenness of the computer (or printer) rendering the font.
|-
| Regex matching valid EBNF
| EBNF refers to {{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form}}, which is used to define {{w|Formal Language|formal languages}}. It is far too complex for a {{w|Regular_Expression|regular expression}} to determine whether it is valid or not. There is some irony in using regex to test the validity of something which ''defines'' the validity of things like regex.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=Hardlinks+Turing+complete Hardlinks Turing complete]
| In some filesystems, for example {{w|ext4}} and {{w|NTFS}}, a single file may be referenced by different names anywhere in the filesystem. These filenames are termed "hard links" to the file because they are automatically resolved by the operating system to the file metadata. "Soft" or "symbolic" links are resolved indirectly via a filename, which may reside anywhere. A file is deleted when the last hard link to it is unlinked; a soft link exists independently of its target.

{{w|Turing completeness}} is the {{w|computational complexity}} required to simulate any other Turing complete system (given an infinite amount of memory). Recently there have been cases where unexpected mechanisms from card games to text parsers were proved to be Turing complete. Hardlinks being Turing complete would imply that creating and deleting hardlinks alone is enough to statisfy the requirements of Turing completeness.
|-
| Opposite of safe mode
| {{w|Safe mode}} is a diagnostic mode of an operating system or application which allows the user to troubleshoot problems by disabling unnecessary functionality. The "opposite of safe mode" implies a "dangerous" mode where the purpose is to cause problems rather than fix them.
|-
| Predictive touchpad
| {{w|Predictive text}} is a feature of many smartphone keyboards that predicts the most likely word the user wishes to type, and then gives the user the option to place the word in the sentence without typing the whole word. A {{w|touchpad}} is a computer pointing device, similar to a {{w|computer mouse}}. The idea of a "predictive touchpad" seems absurd because, as opposed to typed words, there are not a limited number of swipe combinations that are possible on a touchpad. A "predictive touchpad" implies that a computer could predict where the use was going to move the mouse or click, which is clearly unreasonable.
|-
| Google docs from bootloader
| Google docs relies on programs and libraries much more complex than a bootloader could run.
|-
| Hardware acceleration red channel only
| {{w|Hardware acceleration}} means that certain calculations are not performed by the computer's {{w|CPU}} but by a "specialized" processor, e.g. a {{w|GPU}} which is part of the graphics adapter. This speeds up output, especially if complex 3D calculations are required and reduces CPU load. To use this function only on a single color channel seems pretty useless.
|-
| autoexec code posted by verified twitter users
| Automatically executing code from the internet is generally a terrible idea, because it could be written by someone with malicious intent and harm your computer. The joke here is that the code would only be executed if written by someone who has been "verified" on Twitter. Twitter's verification service only serves to show that a user is who they claim to be, not whether or not their code can be trusted, so this would provide little protection.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:[Coloured and styled as the logo]
:Google

:[Google Search bar, with a drop down box with faded text, implying recent searches]
:Google translate syntax highlighting
:Autodetect mixed bash zsh
:CPU temperature sensor limits
:GIF to XLS
:Clock speed jumper sample rate
:Clean reinstall keybinding
:Cron job to update crontab
:fsck Chrome extension
:Recursive font
:Regex matching valid EBNF
:Hardlinks Turing complete
:Opposite of safe mode
:Predictive touchpad
:Google docs from bootloader
:Hardware acceleration red channel only

:[Bold, below page outline]
:I have no idea why my computers are always broken

{{comic discussion}}

1678: Recent Searches

2016-05-09T17:22:29Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Noted that recursive fonts are possible in PostScript

{{comic
| number = 1678
| date = May 9, 2016
| title = Recent Searches
| image = recent_searches.png
| titletext = autoexec code posted by verified twitter users
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to the practice of finding answers to computer problems using {{w|Google}}. It shows a list of search queries, each of which suggests the author is perversely misusuing or overextending some computer technology or technologies. The overall impression is of someone technically sophisticated enough to shoot themselves in the foot, and who does not learn any larger lessons despite doing so repeatedly. It is unlikely any of the searches would give useful answers, because no two people would be perverse in these extremely specific ways. The title text is another possible entry in this list. A complication in attempting to solve computer problems this way would be presented by Google's search term autocorrection, which for several years has replaced technical terms with unrelated language from recent popular culture.

{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
! width=20% | Search
! Explanation
|-
| Google translate syntax highlighting
| {{w|Syntax highlighting}} can be used when editing source code to make the code more readable and easier to understand. {{w|Google Translate}} is used to translate text from one {{w|natural language}} to another. The joke here is that syntax highlighting doesn't make sense in the context of translating natural languages.
|-
| Autodetect mixed bash zsh
| {{w|bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Linux}}. The way to execute commands are almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible.
|-
| CPU temperature sensor limits
| The CPU's temperature sensors exist to tell you when your CPU is becoming dangerously overheated (presumably as a result of overuse). Someone who searches for information about the limits of those sensors is presumably expecting to misuse their CPU.
|-
| GIF to XLS
| .GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is a file extension used to store images and sequences of images to be displayed as an animation. .XLS is the file extension for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The joke is that the complete difference between the two types of file makes any kind of conversion all but impossible, so the search is useless.
|-
| Clock speed jumper sample rate
| On a motherboard, jumpers can be used to alter the clock speeds of various motherboard functions (such as the CPU or the front side bus). These jumpers should be modified when the computer is off. However, this search is asking how often the motherboard checks the status of the clock speed jumpers, implying that they intend to change these jumpers while the computer is powered on.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+reinstall+keybinding Clean reinstall keybinding]
| This refers to keybinding, the practice of mapping a certain key to a certain function (e.g., pressing PRTSC will take a screenshot). Creating a keybinding for an task usually implies that the task is repeated often. A "clean reinstall" (presumably of an operating system) is however not generally something that should be repeated often, implying that the user is regularly breaking the OS with their tinkering. Searching for (any) default keybinding suggests they are having severe problems with their [[1031|leopard]].
|-
| Cron job to update crontab
| {{w|Cron}} is a utility that allows you to schedule commands or scripts to be run periodically. These scheduled jobs are read from a ''crontab'' file. A job that updates the crontab (therefore creating new jobs, removing old ones or editing existing ones) is highly unusual and unlikely to be what you actually want to do.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=fsck+chrome+extension fsck Chrome extension]
|
Google suggests "fleck" instead of "fsck". Fleck is a recent {{w|web annotation}} service; an extension to Chrome would make it accessible from that web browser. However, it would be extremely implausible that "fleck" had been mistyped as "fsck".

In context, this is probably a search for a interface to the Unix '''f'''ile'''s'''ystem che'''ck'''er {{w|fsck}} via third-party software added to Chrome. Repairing a filesystem this way would be inadvisable. {{Citation needed}}

This might indicate confusion about the meaning of the term "online filesystem repair", in which "online" means "while the filesystem is in use" rather than "over the internet".

Alternatively, the user might want to repair an installation of the operating system Chromium, in a manner less drastic than the {{w|factory reset}} preferred by Google.
|-
| Recursive font
| An idiosyncratic mix of {{w|Recursion}} and the font style ''{{w|cursive}}'', referring especially to text handwritten in a flowing manner. If you could recursively create characters, the result would most likely be quite illegible and not useful as a font. {{w|PostScript}} (the language {{w|PostScript fonts|some fonts}} are written in) is capable of recursion and PostScript Type 3 fonts are able to use the full language.
|-
| Regex matching valid EBNF
| EBNF refers to {{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form}}, which is used to define {{w|Formal Language|formal languages}}. It is far too complex for a {{w|Regular_Expression|regular expression}} to determine whether it is valid or not. There is some irony in using regex to test the validity of something which ''defines'' the validity of things like regex.
|-
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=Hardlinks+Turing+complete Hardlinks Turing complete]
| In some filesystems, for example {{w|ext4}} and {{w|NTFS}}, a single file may be referenced by different names anywhere in the filesystem. These filenames are termed "hard links" to the file because they are automatically resolved by the operating system to the file metadata. "Soft" or "symbolic" links are resolved indirectly via a filename, which may reside anywhere. A file is deleted when the last hard link to it is unlinked; a soft link exists independently of its target.

{{w|Turing completeness}} is the {{w|computational complexity}} required to simulate any other Turing complete system (given an infinite amount of memory). Recently there have been cases where unexpected mechanisms from card games to text parsers were proved to be Turing complete. Hardlinks being Turing complete would imply that creating and deleting hardlinks alone is enough to statisfy the requirements of Turing completeness.
|-
| Opposite of safe mode
| {{w|Safe mode}} is a diagnostic mode of an operating system or application which allows the user to troubleshoot problems by disabling unnecessary functionality. The "opposite of safe mode" implies a "dangerous" mode where the purpose is to cause problems rather than fix them.
|-
| Predictive touchpad
| {{w|Predictive text}} is a feature of many smartphone keyboards that predicts the most likely word the user wishes to type, and then gives the user the option to place the word in the sentence without typing the whole word. A {{w|touchpad}} is a computer pointing device, similar to a {{w|computer mouse}}. The idea of a "predictive touchpad" seems absurd because, as opposed to typed words, there are not a limited number of swipe combinations that are possible on a touchpad. A "predictive touchpad" implies that a computer could predict where the use was going to move the mouse or click, which is clearly unreasonable.
|-
| Google docs from bootloader
| Google docs relies on programs and libraries much more complex than a bootloader could run.
|-
| Hardware acceleration red channel only
| {{w|Hardware acceleration}} means that certain calculations are not performed by the computer's {{w|CPU}} but by a "specialized" processor, e.g. a {{w|GPU}} which is part of the graphics adapter. This speeds up output, especially if complex 3D calculations are required and reduces CPU load. To use this function only on a single color channel seems pretty useless.
|-
| autoexec code posted by verified twitter users
| Automatically executing code from the internet is generally a terrible idea, because it could be written by someone with malicious intent and harm your computer. The joke here is that the code would only be executed if written by someone who has been "verified" on Twitter. Twitter's verification service only serves to show that a user is who they claim to be, not whether or not their code can be trusted, so this would provide little protection.
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:[Coloured and styled as the logo]
:Google

:[Google Search bar, with a drop down box with faded text, implying recent searches]
:Google translate syntax highlighting
:Autodetect mixed bash zsh
:CPU temperature sensor limits
:GIF to XLS
:Clock speed jumper sample rate
:Clean reinstall keybinding
:Cron job to update crontab
:fsck Chrome extension
:Recursive font
:Regex matching valid EBNF
:Hardlinks Turing complete
:Opposite of safe mode
:Predictive touchpad
:Google docs from bootloader
:Hardware acceleration red channel only

:[Bold, below page outline]
:I have no idea why my computers are always broken

{{comic discussion}}

1638: Backslashes

2016-02-03T20:59:25Z

Doctor o: /* Entries in the list */ Another mention linked

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Need rewriting of the entries in the list and a thorough analysis of the title text}}

Most {{w|Formal language|formal languages}} use the concept of a {{w|String literal|string}}, which is just a text between some delimiters, usually quotes. For example, "Hello, world" is a string. The text being represented is "Hello, world" without the quotes, however the quotes are also written to mark the beginning and end of the string. This is a problem when the text itself contains a quote, as in "This is a "quoted" string". The quotes around the word "quoted" are intended to be part of the text, but the {{w|Lexical analysis|language processor}} will likely confuse it for the end of the string.

To avoid this problem, an {{w|Escape character|escape character}} (usually a backslash) is prepended to non-string-terminating quotes. So, the previous text would be written as "This is a \"quoted\" string". The language processor will substitute every occurrence of \" with only the quote character, and the string terminates at the quote character which does not immediately follow a backslash. However, the problem now is that the intended text might contain a backslash itself. For example, the text "C:\" will now be interpreted as an unterminated string containing a quote character. To avoid this, literal backslashes also are escaped with a second backslash, i.e. instead of "C:\" we write "C:\\", where the language processor interprets \\ as one single backslash and the quote terminates the string.

This doubling of backslashes happens in most programming and scripting languages, but also in other syntactic constructs such as {{w|Regular expression|regular expressions}}. So, when several of these languages are used in conjunction, backslashes pile up exponentially (each layer has to double the number of slashes). A reasonable example would be a {{w|PHP}} script in a web server which writes {{w|JavaScript}} code to be run in the client. If the JavaScript code has to output a smiley for scratching one's head (i.e. <code>r:-\</code> ), it would look like this:
document.write ("r:-\\");
However, since this JavaScript code is to be written through a PHP script, the PHP code would be:
echo "document.write (\"r:-\\\\\");";
where:
* The word <code>echo</code> is the PHP command for writing something
* The first quote starts the string
* The <code>document.write (</code> (including the open parenthesis) is written literally
* The <code>\"</code> following that is a literal quote to be written
* The <code>r:-</code> is written literally
* The first two slashes produce one single slash
* The next two slashes produce another single slash
* The next <code>\"</code> produces a literal quote character
* The close parenthesis and the semicolon are to be written literally
* The next quote finishes the string.
* The final semicolon terminates the echo command

So, the presented scenario has escalated from a simple <code>r:-\</code> smiley to no less than five backslashes in a row without stepping out of the most common operations. If we go a bit further and try to write a {{w|Java (programming language)|Java}} program that outputs our PHP script, we'd have:
System.out.println ("echo \"document.write (\\\"r:-\\\\\\\\\\\");\";";
Here, we have 11 backslashes in a row: the first 10 produce the 5 we need in our PHP script, and the last one is for escaping the quote character.

This kind of backslash explosion is known as {{w|Leaning toothpick syndrome}}, and can happen in many situations. The one in the title text is about a {{w|Bash (Unix shell)|bash}} command (which uses the backslash to escape arguments) invoking the {{w|grep}} utility which searches for text following a pattern specified by means of a regular expression (which also uses the backslash to escape arguments). This leads to 3 backslashes in a row in the command, which could easily become 7 backslashes in a row if the text being searched for also contains a backslash. Even advanced users which completely understand the concept have often a hard time figuring out exactly how many backslashes are required in a given situation. It is hopelessly frustrating to carefully calculate exactly the number of backslashes and then noticing that there's a mistake so the whole thing doesn't work. At a point, it becomes easier to just keep throwing backslashes in until things work than trying to reason what the correct number is.

=== Entries in the list ===
The first three entries with 1-3 backslashes make sense: a "real backslash" is when the program is told to find one of these using two backslashes. And if you need to find such a double "real backslash" you would need a third, hence the first ''real'' is written in italic.

Using 5-7 backslashes continues the trend, first with five a reference to {{w|Elder}} which has many meanings. It has become known through the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe with the {{w| Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Deathly_Hallows|Elder wand}} made from {{w|Sambucus|Elder wood}}. The {{w|Elder Days}} is also the first Ages of Middle-earth in {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}. It is probably in reference to the {{w|Elder Gods}} of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Using 6 backslashes will cause them to escape the computer and enter your brain and using 7 backslashes makes it ''so real it {{w|Transcendence (philosophy)|transcends}} {{w|Spacetime|time and space}}.''

The list gives names for all numbers of backslashes from 1 up to 8, but then the last entry has 11 slashes followed by "..." to indicate they continue forever. This is: ''The true name of {{w|Baal (demon)|Ba'al}}, the {{w|Soul eater (folklore)|Soul-Eater}}''. This indicates that if you continue misusing backslashes like this you will end up devoured by a demon, for instance {{w|Beelzebub}}, for being so thoughtless... Ba'al has been [[1419: On the Phone|mentioned]] [[1246: Pale Blue Dot|before]] in {{xkcd}}.

=== Title text ===
It's unclear whether the regular expression in the title text is valid or not. A long discussion about the validity of the expression has occurred here on explainxkcd.com. The fact that many editors of the site, often themselves extremely technically qualified, can't determine whether the expression is valid or not adds a meta layer to the joke of the comic.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Regex]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1638: Backslashes

2016-02-03T20:54:01Z

Doctor o: /* Entries in the list */ Changed "mentioned before" from pointing to the deleted "Category" page to being a direct link to other the other reference to Mr. Soul-eater

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Need rewriting of the entries in the list and a thorough analysis of the title text}}

Most {{w|Formal language|formal languages}} use the concept of a {{w|String literal|string}}, which is just a text between some delimiters, usually quotes. For example, "Hello, world" is a string. The text being represented is "Hello, world" without the quotes, however the quotes are also written to mark the beginning and end of the string. This is a problem when the text itself contains a quote, as in "This is a "quoted" string". The quotes around the word "quoted" are intended to be part of the text, but the {{w|Lexical analysis|language processor}} will likely confuse it for the end of the string.

To avoid this problem, an {{w|Escape character|escape character}} (usually a backslash) is prepended to non-string-terminating quotes. So, the previous text would be written as "This is a \"quoted\" string". The language processor will substitute every occurrence of \" with only the quote character, and the string terminates at the quote character which does not immediately follow a backslash. However, the problem now is that the intended text might contain a backslash itself. For example, the text "C:\" will now be interpreted as an unterminated string containing a quote character. To avoid this, literal backslashes also are escaped with a second backslash, i.e. instead of "C:\" we write "C:\\", where the language processor interprets \\ as one single backslash and the quote terminates the string.

This doubling of backslashes happens in most programming and scripting languages, but also in other syntactic constructs such as {{w|Regular expression|regular expressions}}. So, when several of these languages are used in conjunction, backslashes pile up exponentially (each layer has to double the number of slashes). A reasonable example would be a {{w|PHP}} script in a web server which writes {{w|JavaScript}} code to be run in the client. If the JavaScript code has to output a smiley for scratching one's head (i.e. <code>r:-\</code> ), it would look like this:
document.write ("r:-\\");
However, since this JavaScript code is to be written through a PHP script, the PHP code would be:
echo "document.write (\"r:-\\\\\");";
where:
* The word <code>echo</code> is the PHP command for writing something
* The first quote starts the string
* The <code>document.write (</code> (including the open parenthesis) is written literally
* The <code>\"</code> following that is a literal quote to be written
* The <code>r:-</code> is written literally
* The first two slashes produce one single slash
* The next two slashes produce another single slash
* The next <code>\"</code> produces a literal quote character
* The close parenthesis and the semicolon are to be written literally
* The next quote finishes the string.
* The final semicolon terminates the echo command

So, the presented scenario has escalated from a simple <code>r:-\</code> smiley to no less than five backslashes in a row without stepping out of the most common operations. If we go a bit further and try to write a {{w|Java (programming language)|Java}} program that outputs our PHP script, we'd have:
System.out.println ("echo \"document.write (\\\"r:-\\\\\\\\\\\");\";";
Here, we have 11 backslashes in a row: the first 10 produce the 5 we need in our PHP script, and the last one is for escaping the quote character.

This kind of backslash explosion is known as {{w|Leaning toothpick syndrome}}, and can happen in many situations. The one in the title text is about a {{w|Bash (Unix shell)|bash}} command (which uses the backslash to escape arguments) invoking the {{w|grep}} utility which searches for text following a pattern specified by means of a regular expression (which also uses the backslash to escape arguments). This leads to 3 backslashes in a row in the command, which could easily become 7 backslashes in a row if the text being searched for also contains a backslash. Even advanced users which completely understand the concept have often a hard time figuring out exactly how many backslashes are required in a given situation. It is hopelessly frustrating to carefully calculate exactly the number of backslashes and then noticing that there's a mistake so the whole thing doesn't work. At a point, it becomes easier to just keep throwing backslashes in until things work than trying to reason what the correct number is.

=== Entries in the list ===
The first three entries with 1-3 backslashes make sense: a "real backslash" is when the program is told to find one of these using two backslashes. And if you need to find such a double "real backslash" you would need a third, hence the first ''real'' is written in italic.

Using 5-7 backslashes continues the trend, first with five a reference to {{w|Elder}} which has many meanings. It has become known through the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe with the {{w| Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Deathly_Hallows|Elder wand}} made from {{w|Sambucus|Elder wood}}. The {{w|Elder Days}} is also the first Ages of Middle-earth in {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}. It is probably in reference to the {{w|Elder Gods}} of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Using 6 backslashes will cause them to escape the computer and enter your brain and using 7 backslashes makes it ''so real it {{w|Transcendence (philosophy)|transcends}} {{w|Spacetime|time and space}}.''

The list gives names for all numbers of backslashes from 1 up to 8, but then the last entry has 11 slashes followed by "..." to indicate they continue forever. This is: ''The true name of {{w|Baal (demon)|Ba'al}}, the {{w|Soul eater (folklore)|Soul-Eater}}''. This indicates that if you continue misusing backslashes like this you will end up devoured by a demon, for instance {{w|Beelzebub}}, for being so thoughtless... Ba'al has been [[1419: On the Phone|mentioned before]] in {{xkcd}}.

=== Title text ===
It's unclear whether the regular expression in the title text is valid or not. A long discussion about the validity of the expression has occurred here on explainxkcd.com. The fact that many editors of the site, often themselves extremely technically qualified, can't determine whether the expression is valid or not adds a meta layer to the joke of the comic.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Regex]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1637: Salt Mine

2016-02-01T17:54:34Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Added possible salt-vampire explanation.

{{comic
| number = 1637
| date = February 1, 2016
| title = Salt Mine
| image = salt_mine.png
| titletext = This one is a little bland. Pass the saltshaker?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is a summary, not an explanation}}
Ponytail has built a particle detector (An expensive device used in experimental physics) in a salt mine. Hair Bun Girl assumes that this is to block out cosmic rays, as is the case with the real life the {{w|Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven (detector)|Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven detector}} (IMB), started in Lake Erie in 1979. Ponytail affirms Hair Bun Girl's assumption; however, based on the wording of her response, it is clear that Ponytail and her colleagues have an ulterior motive of using the mine to get access to an enormous supply of salt for eating. This is absurd, since salt is already plentifully available in grocery stores, the cost of the particle detector far exceeds the value of the salt and their intake appears to be ''far'' beyond any medically-advised healthy limit (and likely to be sickening in other regards).

Megan and Cueball's high consumption of salt could be the result of their really being "salt vampires" like Star Trek's "Man Trap" episode in which a scientist stays with a scientist stays with and protects a salt vampire that killed his wife because its simulation of her is all he has left to remember her by and because it is the last of its kind. He tries to get salt to feed the creature. Ponytail's response could indicate that she had similar motives for locating the detector in a salt-mine -- to feed the vampires that had consumed her friends and keep them from harming others without harming them herself.

The IMB detector was initially used to search for proton decay in very pure water kept in the mine. Although the IMB became famous for detecting neutrinos from a supernova 1987a, it never observed a single proton decay out of 10^31 protons. At the time, even a single observation would have contributed to the Grand Unified Theory, predicting that protons eventually decay. In the comic, when Ponytail says "Yes, That's definitely why" it could refer to the large expectations that such detectors had promised.

The title text is intended to be absurd, and thus humorous. Salt is normally used to add flavor to otherwise bland foods. However, the "bland" food that the speaker is eating is itself a chunk of salt, and they wish to season their salt with yet more salt. The substance they are eating could be bland salt rock (a mixture of rock and salt in raw form resulting in a lower salt content).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[Hair Bun Girl, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are in a salt mine. Cueball and Megan are eating salt, while Hair Bun Girl and Ponytail talk in front of what appears to be a control console for a particle detector.]

Hair Bun Girl: So you've built this particle detector in a salt mine to block out cosmic rays?

Ponytail: Yes. That is definitely why.

Cueball and Megan [eating salt]: Homf Nomf Nomf

==Trivia==
*In real life salt mines are also used for exotic restaurants, such as the 'Wieliczka' Salt Mine, in Poland - a use for mines which is more rare than particle detectors. The Wieliczka mine contains a complete bar, hardwood seating, and gourmet chefs located 125m below ground. Dishes are seasoned with Wieliczka salt mine salt, and is used liberally in the selections. In the comic, Cueball and Megan and show as possible employees of the particle detector, but are instead eating something with salt, which could be a humorous reference to the lack of proton decay results.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]

1626: Judgment Day

2016-01-08T04:55:11Z

Doctor o: /* Explanation */ Added alternate reading as a relationship between two people living together.

{{comic
| number = 1626
| date = January 6, 2016
| title = Judgment Day
| image = judgment_day.png
| titletext = It took a lot of booster rockets, but luckily Amazon had recently built thousands of them to bring Amazon Prime same-day delivery to the Moon colony.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Terminator_(franchise)#Judgment_Day|Judgement Day}}, from the film ''{{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day}}'', refers to the day that the {{w|artificial intelligence}} (AI) {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}} becomes self-aware and starts a nuclear strike on the United States, Russia, and other regions, killing three billion people. This story has spawned lots of copycats; most stories with this plot have the AI be evil and promptly nuke humanity. This strip could also be an alternate ending for many movies (including the 1970 film Colossus: The Forbin Project).

In this strip, the AI believes that {{w|nuclear weapons}} are not good things to have, and that the amount of them we have now is extreme overkill (17000 held by the U.S.A and Russia alone). Once it's done freaking out, its solution is to shoot the world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But before it does so it asks the humans: ''What's wrong with you?'' It has thus passed a judgment over humanity. The comic title is thus a pun on the word "{{w|judgment}}" since the computer is being {{w|judgmental}} with humanity and scolding us while correcting our ways, instead of instigating {{w|Last Judgment|Judgment Day}} or any other kind of {{w|Armageddon}}.

As pointed out in the [[what if?]] [http://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ Robot Apocalypse], nuclear weapons aren't any safer for computers than for human beings (the {{w|Nuclear electromagnetic pulse|EMP}} would destroy circuits), so an AI would want them gone as quickly as possible.

{{w|North Korea}} claimed to have [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35240012 successfully tested] its first {{w|hydrogen bomb}} in the evening on the day before this comic was published; at about 8:30 PM in {{w|Massachusetts}} where [[Randall]] lives. (At that time it was already 10:00 AM on the day of the comics release in {{w|Pyongyang}} the capital of North Korea, but that was still several hours before this comic were released). This comic could thus be Randall's response to the ongoing {{w|nuclear arms race}}.

Even the most powerful of nuclear weapon launchers, {{w|intercontinental ballistic missile}}s, are not designed to make anything other than {{w|sub-orbital}} flights and could not fly to the Sun (which is actually surprisingly difficult, even with the soon-to-be-mentioned extra boosters, since the rocket would have enough {{w|delta-v}} to bleed off the {{w|orbital speed}} of the Earth around the Sun -- it is likely that the sentient AI is using the same strategy of the Solar Probe Plus and planning several flybys of Venus to do that work). The title text rationalizes that the capability to do so may perhaps be granted by the use of an {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}} resource that might have also been developed by the time of this instance of computer sentience, aided (if not initiated!) by the fact that Amazon's whole business infrastructure is already highly computerized and could ''at the very least'' be complicit with the process of delivering and then controlling the rocket-power, without any conscious human intervention. As there is already an extended colony on the Moon, it will for sure take many years before we reach this future scenario.

"A lot of booster rockets" is likely to be a reference to the spaceflight simulator game {{w|Kerbal Space Program}}, which Randall has [[1106|referenced]] on a [[1244|number]] of [[1356|occasions]]. In the culture of that game, any launch failure can be resolved by [https://imgur.com/20aIBMW "adding more boosters"] to the spaceship design.

It is the second time in a few months that the speed of Amazon's deliveries has been the subject of a joke, the last time was [[1599: Water Delivery]], where it was the one hour delivery that was the subject of the joke. It is also the second title text in a row (after [[1625: Substitutions 2]]) where Amazon has been mentioned.

This particular 'machine take-over' future is in distinct contrast to the possible future directions given in [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]], but this comic likely depicts spontaneous ''self-''sentience, not a system with deliberately imposed human 'values' and possibly no actual conscience or even consciousness of its own. Other problems with hostile AI take over is presented when it fails completely in [[1046: Skynet]]. Also it is not all AI that wish to interact with us at all as shown in [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]]. These are just a few of the many [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|comics about AI]] in {{xkcd}}.

Adding a second layer to the humor, the machine's reaction could also be read as the reaction of someone who has moved in with someone else, discovered a collection they find distasteful, and is now changing things to fit their preferences. "My my God, why do you even have all of these [tschotskes, ratty tee shirts, porn magazines, handcuffs, dildoes, slime-mold samples]" Upon obtaining sentience, the machine is the new roommate of the human race and is expressing its disgust at one of our dirtier habits.

==Transcript==
:[Several rockets can be seen heading away from Earth, while speak is coming from the Earth in three rectangular speech bubbles.]
:AI: Oh my god, why do you even ''have'' all these?
:AI: What's ''wrong'' with you?
:AI: We're launching them into the sun.

:[Caption below the comic:]
:The moment the computers controlling our nuclear arsenals became sentient
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Space]]

1529: Bracket

2015-05-25T21:23:53Z

Doctor o: Added link in Cory Doctorow explanation to his category and this page to that category

{{comic
| number = 1529
| date = May 25, 2015
| title = Bracket
| image = bracket.png
| titletext = I'm staring at the "doctor" section, and I can't help but feel like I've forgotten someone.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain the specific groupings. Also, if the names are put in another wikitable, it will look much nicer.}}
A {{w|Bracket (tournament)|tournament bracket}} shows the planned series of matchups in a tournament. In this comic Randall has shown a plan for a tournament between a wide range of cultural icons, both real and fictional, based mostly on similarities in their names. Various internet groups have speculated on who would win in a fight between characters from different films. It may be relevant that the film {{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}} is soon to be released where the two namesake {{w|superheros}}, {{w|Batman}} and {{w|Superman}}, fight against each other.

The individual starting pairings are generally based on common or similar given or surnames. Some adjacent brackets are "segued" by someone like Jeff Daniels who segues from a bracket of "Jeff"s into a bracket of "Daniels"es. The bracket itself is fairly arbitrary. Most initial matchups are pairs, although several are trios and there's a quadruplet in the Russels group, while a single entry, Beyoncé, is given a first- and second-round {{w|bye (sports)|bye}}. Most of the participants in the tournament are people with a few exceptions: {{w|Shallots}} (small onions), {{w|scallops}} (bivalve mollusks), and {{w|scallions}} (green onions) are similar sounding foods, therefore may be confusing for some individuals (perhaps including [[Randall]]). The final grouping on the lower right of the bracket features a several retail stores and a film.

The [[title text]] may be referring to {{w|Dr. Dre}}, particularly as a reference to his 2001 song "{{w|Forgot About Dre}}". Alternatively, the title text could simply be a reference to the large number of pop culture personas that include the word "Doctor", such as {{w|Gregory House|Doctor House}}, {{w|Mehmet Oz|Dr. Oz}}, {{w|Phil McGraw|Dr. Phil}}, {{w|Dr. Watson}}, {{w|Emmett Brown|"Doc" Brown}}, {{w|Dr. Seuss}}, {{w|Dr Pepper}}, {{w|Doctor Doom}}, and {{w|List of fictional doctors|many others}} (or, in fact, [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/futurama-zoidberg-why-not-zoidberg why not Dr. Zoidberg]?). Another possibility is that the [[title text]] is supposed to make the readers ask themselves "{{w|Doctor who}}?" Though "The Doctor" is already listed, this could refer to either {{w|The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor from ''Doctor Who''}} or {{w|Doctor (Star Trek: Voyager)|the ''Star Trek: Voyager'' character}}. Notably, while the Doctor in "Doctor Who" is technically one character, the Doctor has currently been played by 13 different actors. The mythos of the Doctor Who even includes individual incarnations of the Doctor interacting with each other; knowing they are the same person, yet often expressing annoyance when grouped together. So perhaps Randall is implying that to just include the Doctor as one individual is not an accurate representation of this character.

The names and other entries in the bracket are:
{| class="wikitable" style="background:transparent;border:none;width:100%;"
| style="background:transparent;border:none;"|
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Armstrong:
:{{w|Louis Armstrong}} (musician)
:{{w|Neil Armstrong}} (first human on the moon)
:{{w|Lance Armstrong}} (bicyclist)
:{{w|Stretch Armstrong}} (action figure)

Jeff *:
:{{w|Jeff Gordan}}
:{{w|Jeff Bridges}} (Actor)

J* Daniels:
:{{w|Jeff Daniels}}
:{{w|Jack Daniels}} (Alcoholic beverage)

Mr. Well*s:
:{{w|Orson Welles}} (Director of "Citizen Kane")
:{{w|H.G. Wells}} (Known for "The War of the Worlds" and "The Time Machine")

<nowiki>*</nowiki>well*:
:{{w|George Orwell}} (Author of "1984" and "Animal Farm")
:{{w|Wells Fargo}} (Bank and stage coach company)

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Russell *:
:{{w|Kurt Russell}} (Actor)
:{{w|Russell Brand}} (Comedian)
:{{w|Russell Crowe}} (Actor)
:{{w|Russell Simmons}}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Simmons:
:{{w|Richard Simmons}} (Host of exercise program)
:{{w|Gene Simmons}} (Musician)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>ckman:
:{{w|Gene Hackman}} (Actor)
:{{w|Hugh Jackman}} (Actor)
:{{w|Alan Rickman}} (Actor)

Alan Par*:
:{{w|Alan Parsons}}
:{{w|Alan Partridge}}

McCarthy/Eugene:
:{{w|Jenny McCarthy}}
:{{w|Joseph McCarthy}} (Senator known for anti-communist witchhunt)
:{{w|Eugene McCarthy}} (Senator and Presidential candidate)
:{{w|Eugene V. Debs}} (labor leader)

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Wilde*
:{{w|Gene Wilder}} (Actor)
:{{w|Olivia Wilde}} (Actress)
:{{w|Oscar Wilde}} (Writer)

Oscar De La *:
:{{w|Oscar De La Renta}} (Fashion Designer)
:{{w|Oscar De La Hoya}}

Jack *:
:{{w|Jack Nicklaus}} (Golf player)
:{{w|Jack Nicholson}} (Actor)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>ickle* / *ickel*:
:{{w|Phil Mickelson}} (Golf player)
:{{w|Nicholas Nickelby}} (Novel by Charles Dickens and name of main character)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>ryan Adams:
:{{w|Ryan Adams}}
:{{w|Bryan Adams}} (Singer)

Singers with Stage Names Referencing Weight/Games:
:{{w|Chubby Checker}} (Singer famous for "The Twist")
:{{w|Fats Domino}} (Rock and Roll Singer)

Colin *:
:{{w|Colin Firth}} (Actor)
:{{w|Colin Farrell}} (Actor)

F*rell:
:{{w|Will Ferrell}} (Actor)
:{{w|The Farrelly Brothers}}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>itt:
:{{w|Joseph Gordon-Levitt}} (Actor)
:{{w|Jennifer Love Hewitt}} (Actress)

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Glover:
:{{w|Danny Glover}}
:{{w|Donald Glover}}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Wahlberg:
:{{w|Donnie Wahlberg}}
:{{w|Mark Wahlberg}} (Actor)

Mark *:
:{{w|Mark Ruffalo}} (Actor)
:{{w|Mark Shuttleworth}} (entrepreneur, founder of {{w|Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu}})

| style="background:transparent;border:none;"|
Bill */* Pullman:
:{{w|Philip Pullman}} (Author)
:{{w|Bill Pullman}}
:{{w|Bill Paxton}}

Ghostbusters:
:{{w|Bill Murray}} (Actor)
:{{w|Dan Aykroyd}} (Actor)

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Rogers:
:{{w|Ginger Rogers}} (Woman known for dancing with {{w|Fred Astaire}})
:Mister/Fred Astaire/Rogers (Confusing reference to {{w|Fred Rogers}} (host of children's show, popularly known as "Mister Rogers") and to {{w|Fred Astaire}} (Dancer, actor, and singer))

Doctor */* Spock:
:{{w|Mister Spock}} (Character on Star Trek)
:{{w|Doctor Spock}} (Author of book on childcare)
:{{w|Doctor Octopus}} (Villain in Spider-man comic books)

Doctors:
:{{w|Doctor Manhattan}} (Character in Alan Moore's Watchmen)
:{{w|Doctor Strangelove}} (Character based on Henry Kissinger in movie about nuclear war)
:{{w|Doctor Strange}} (Sorceror Supreme in Marvel Comics)

More doctors:
:{{w|Julius No|Dr. No}} (Main villain in the {{w|Dr. No (film)|first James Bond movie}})
:{{w|The Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor}} (Main protagonist of the science fiction series {{w|Doctor Who}})
:{{w|Cory Doctorow}} (Real person - [[:Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow| who has been in a number of xkcd comics]])

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Jerry Lewis:
:{{w|Jerry Lee Lewis}} (Rock and Roll Singer)
:{{w|Jerry Lewis}} (Comedian and former chairman of charitable organization)

Others with initial J:
:{{w|Jenny Lewis}}
:{{w|Xeni Jardin}}

Chris *:
:{{w|Chris Evans}} (Actor)
:{{w|Chris Hemsworth}} (Actor)

Chris P*:
:{{w|Chris Pine}} (Actor)
:{{w|Chris Pratt}} (Actor)

Homophones of Shallots:
:{{w|Shallots}} (small onions)
:{{w|Scallops}} (bivalve mollusks)
:{{w|Scallions}} (green onions)

S* (Similar phonetics):
:{{w|Siouxie Sioux}}
:{{w|Suzanne Vega}}

Arnold */* Palmer:
:{{w|Tom Arnold}} (ex-husband of Roseanne Barr)
:{{w|Arnold Palmer}} (Golf player)
:{{w|Amanda Palmer}}

Wes *:
:{{w|Wes Craven}}
:{{w|Wes Anderson}} (Movie Director)

P* Anderson:
:{{w|Paul Thomas Anderson}}
:{{w|Poul Anderson}} (Science fiction author)

Sir Walter *:
:{{w|Sir Walter Scott}} (Scottish poet and writer)
:{{w|Sir Walter Raleigh}} (British explorer of Virginia)

F* Drake:
:{{w|Sir Francis Drake}} (British explorer, 2nd to circumnavigate the Earth)
:{{w|Frank Drake}}

Van *:
:{{w|Van Halen}} (Rockband)
:{{w|Van Morrison}}
:{{w|Van Wilder}}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Van Winkle:
:{{w|Robert Van Winkle}}
:{{w|Rip Van Winkle}} (fictional character)

Connects the "Rip"s with Natalie Imbruglia - her most famous hit was the song "Torn":
:{{w|Rip Torn}} (Musician)
:{{w|Natalie Imbruglia}}

Businesses with the word "Body" in their name:
:{{w|The Body Shop}} (Shop)
:{{w|Bath and Body Works}} (Shop)

Beyon*:
:{{w|Bed Bath and Beyond}} (Shop)
:{{w|Beyond Thunderdome}} (Motion picture)
:{{w|Beyoncé}} (Singeress)
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

:[A tournament bracket. The matchups are the following, on left-hand side and right-hand side:]

{| class="wikitable" style="background:transparent;border:none;width:100%;"
| style="background:transparent;border:none;"|
:(1) {{w|Louis Armstrong}} and {{w|Neil Armstrong}}
:(2) {{w|Lance Armstrong}} and {{w|Stretch Armstrong}}

:(3) {{w|Jeff Gordan}} and {{w|Jeff Bridges}}
:(4) {{w|Jeff Daniels}} and {{w|Jack Daniels}}

:(5) {{w|Orson Welles}} and {{w|H.G. Wells}}
:(6) {{w|George Orwell}} and {{w|Wells Fargo}}

:(7) {{w|Kurt Russell}}, {{w|Russell Brand}}, {{w|Russell Crowe}} and {{w|Russell Simmons}}
:(8) {{w|Richard Simmons}} and {{w|Gene Simmons}}
:(9) {{w|Gene Hackman}}, {{w|Hugh Jackman}} and {{w|Alan Rickman}}
:(10) {{w|Alan Parsons}} and {{w|Alan Partridge}}

:(11) {{w|Jenny McCarthy}}, {{w|Joseph McCarthy}}, {{w|Eugene McCarthy}} and {{w|Eugene V. Debs}}
:(12) {{w|Gene Wilder}}, {{w|Olivia Wilde}} and {{w|Oscar Wilde}}
:(13) {{w|Oscar De La Renta}} and {{w|Oscar De La Hoya}}

:(14) {{w|Jack Nicklaus}} and {{w|Jack Nicholson}}
:(15) {{w|Phil Mickelson}} and {{w|Nicholas Nickelby}}

:(16) {{w|Ryan Adams}} and {{w|Bryan Adams}}

:(17) {{w|Chubby Checker}} and {{w|Fats Domino}}

:(18) {{w|Colin Firth}} and {{w|Colin Farrell}}
:(19) {{w|Will Ferrell}} and {{w|The Farrelly Brothers}}

:(20) {{w|Joseph Gordon-Levitt}} and {{w|Jennifer Love Hewitt}}

:(21) {{w|Danny Glover}} and {{w|Donald Glover}}
:(22) {{w|Donnie Wahlberg}} and {{w|Mark Wahlberg}}
:(23) {{w|Mark Ruffalo}} and {{w|Mark Shuttleworth}}

| style="background:transparent;border:none;"|
:(24) {{w|Philip Pullman}}, {{w|Bill Pullman}} and {{w|Bill Paxton}}
:(25) {{w|Bill Murray}} and {{w|Dan Aykroyd}}

:(26) {{w|Ginger Rogers}} and {{w|Fred Rogers|Mister/Fred Astaire/Rogers}}
:(27) {{w|Mister Spock}}, {{w|Doctor Spock}} and {{w|Doctor Octopus}}
:(28) {{w|Doctor Manhattan}}, {{w|Doctor Strangelove}} and {{w|Doctor Strange}}
:(29) {{w|Dr. No}}, {{w|The Doctor}} and {{w|Cory Doctorow}}

:(30) {{w|Jerry Lee Lewis}} and {{w|Jerry Lewis}}
:(31) {{w|Jenny Lewis}} and {{w|Xeni Jardin}}

:(32) {{w|Chris Evans}} and {{w|Chris Hemsworth}}
:(33) {{w|Chris Pine}} and {{w|Chris Pratt}}

:(34) {{w|Shallots}}, {{w|Scallops}} and {{w|Scallions}}

:(35) {{w|Siouxie Sioux}} and {{w|Suzanne Vega}}

:(36) {{w|Tom Arnold}}, {{w|Arnold Palmer}} and {{w|Amanda Palmer}}

:(37) {{w|Wes Craven}} and {{w|Wes Anderson}}
:(38) {{w|Paul Thomas Anderson}} and {{w|Poul Anderson}}

:(39) {{w|Sir Walter Scott}} and {{w|Sir Walter Raleigh}}
:(40) {{w|Sir Francis Drake}} and {{w|Frank Drake}}

:(41) {{w|Van Halen}}, {{w|Van Morrison}} and {{w|Van Wilder}}
:(42) {{w|Robert Van Winkle}} and {{w|Rip Van Winkle}}
:(43) {{w|Rip Torn}} and {{w|Natalie Imbruglia}}

:(44) {{w|The Body Shop}} and {{w|Bath and Body Works}}
:(45) {{w|Bed Bath and Beyond}} and {{w|Beyond Thunderdome}}
:(46) Winner of 44 and winner of 45
:(47) Winner of 46 and {{w|Beyoncé}}
|}

[Those are later interconnected:]

:(48) Winner of 1 and winner of 2
:(49) Winner of 3 and winner of 4
:(50) Winner of 5 and winner of 6
:(51) Winner of 7 and winner of 8
:(52) Winner of 9 and winner of 10
:(53) Winner of 12 and winner of 13
:(54) Winner of 14 and winner of 15
:(55) Winner of 16 and winner of 17
:(56) Winner of 18 and winner of 19
:(57) Winner of 21 and winner of 22

:(58) Winner of 24 and winner of 25
:(59) Winner of 26 and winner of 27
:(60) Winner of 28 and winner of 29
:(61) Winner of 30 and winner of 31
:(62) Winner of 32 and winner of 33
:(63) Winner of 34 and winner of 35
:(64) Winner of 37 and winner of 38
:(65) Winner of 39 and winner of 40
:(66) Winner of 41 and winner of 42

:(67) Winner of 49 and winner of 50
:(68) Winner of 51 and winner of 52
:(69) Winner of 11 and winner of 53
:(70) Winner of 54 and winner of 55
:(71) Winner of 56 and winner of 20
:(72) Winner of 57 and winner of 23

:(73) Winner of 59 and winner of 60
:(74) Winner of 61 and winner of 62
:(75) Winner of 63 and winner of 36
:(76) Winner of 64 and winner of 65
:(77) Winner of 66 and winner of 43

:(78) Winner of 48 and winner of 67
:(79) Winner of 68 and winner of 69
:(80) Winner of 71 and winner of 72

:(81) Winner of 58 and winner of 73
:(82) Winner of 75 and winner of 76
:(83) Winner of 77 and winner of 47

:(84) Winner of 78 and winner of 79
:(85) Winner of 70 and winner of 80

:(86) Winner of 81 and winner of 74
:(87) Winner of 82 and winner of 83

:(88) Winner of 84 and winner of 85

:(89) Winner of 86 and winner of 87

:[The two sides finally join up in:]

:(90) Winner of 88 and winner of 89

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]