explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals

2026-04-09T13:00:23Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Transcripts */

<noinclude>{{Community links}}

{|-
|valign="top" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app ktip.png|left|120px]] <big><big>Proposals</big></big>

Place for ideas and suggestions to improve the wiki's design and organization on general issues can be incubated for later submission for consensus discussion. Be sure to check whether your proposal has already been submitted. {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals|Text=(+post)}}
|}</noinclude>

==ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS==
<div class="plainlinks" style="background:#edf6ff; border:1px solid #a7d7f9; margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:100%; font-size: 120%; padding: 0.5ex; text-align: center;">Most of the discussions on this page have been archived. The archive is available at '''[[explain xkcd talk:Community portal/Proposals]]'''.</div>

== Removing unnecessary 3-comic categories? ==

I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]]e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]o[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) So my proposal: remove them. -[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 20:37, 9 November 2019 (UTC)
:In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also seem rather in need of deletion.
:: Shouldn't the community at least have some time to expand on these categories, in case they're currently incomplete? For example, [[:Category:The Matrix]] is on your list and now contains 7 strips, and [[:Category:Tournament bracket]] got its 5th entry after your post. Even if they're not, a theme category can save some typing in the search box (and is probably also cheaper in terms of server resources than all the searches it'll eliminate). [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 22:43, 21 November 2019 (UTC)
:::So what do you think the limit should be for categories? Should we create a category when two comics mention the same topic? Three? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 16:28, 22 November 2019 (UTC)
::::Three seems reasonable to me, and I could see a case being made for two. Categories aren't expensive. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 00:17, 23 November 2019 (UTC)

== New transcript ==

The transcripts in the comic pages are quite inconsistent, especially in the brackets where you have to describe what happens in the panels. If I understand correctly, the transcripts are for people to copy the text in the comic without having to type them out. If that's the case, then I think propose a new transcript. This transcript should have the comic with the words erased, and then the copy-pasteable words on top of that. Such a transcript would have no room for error, which would let anyone contribute to a seamless transcript.
:The aim of the transcript is to provide a text-only version of the comic that would allow someone who is visually impaired to use a text-to-speech converter to understand the comic and also in a machine readable format for searching (see the [[explain_xkcd:Editor_FAQ#What_is_the_format_of_the_transcript_section?|Editor FAQ]]). Anything using mark-up, images or anything other than plain text will interfere with this and so should be avoided in the transcript. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 18:22, 23 November 2019 (UTC)User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al

== Add title text and heading to transcript section ==

It has always bothered me that the transcript did not include the title text since it contributes so much to the humor of the comics. Also, it looks to me like the comic heading is sometimes included as part of the transcript and sometimes left out. I checked the previous proposals and did not see any discussion of these issues. Please consider having a policy going forward of including the heading and the title text within the transcript. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:43, 1 January 2020 (UTC)
:To my understanding (and also others, see discussion directly above) one of the main points of the transcript is to make the comics searchable, the other is, to make it readable when images are not an option. In both cases the comic's name and the title text mentioned above and below the image should be sufficient. I personally think this convention is fine. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:28, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

::Pardon me -- (and, '''<big>''thanks'' for your patience</big>''') -- if this is too off-topic (/slash "boring") or [[wikt:TMI|TMI]] (see {{w|Information overload#Web accuracy}} e.g.), '''...OR''' if this should have been posted elsewhere ...instead of here.

::IMHO the term '''"title text"''' is a misnomer. I think the term is used to refer to the little (or, '''BIG!''') pop-up -- (kinda like what is sometimes called a <code>"tooltip"</code>, but ... aren't those usually pretty '''small?''') -- that appears when one "hovers" his mouse [pointer] over an XKCD cartoon. ...at least, according to '''the "Talk:" page section''' [[Template talk:comic#The template field called .22titletext.22]] which was added almost 3 years ago. I think that calling it a <code>"BONUS text"</code> would be even better than calling it a "caption". However, [to me], '''either one''' of those terms would make sense ''WAY'' more than calling it a '''"title text"''' ... for reasons which are stated in the [Template] "Talk:" page section mentioned (and ... '''LINKED TO''') above. '''<big>Any Comments? . . ''' *** Thanks! *** for listening!</big> --[[User:Mike Schwartz|Mike Schwartz]] ([[User talk:Mike Schwartz|talk]]) 08:57, 7 April 2020 (UTC)

:::Hi Mike, I see your point, and yes, something like "bonus text" might be a bit more descriptive. But FWIW, I think the reason it's called "title text" is because that's the text that appears in the <code>[https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_global_title.asp title]</code> attribute of the HTML <code>[https://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_img.asp <img>]</code> tag of the comic's image on the xkcd.com site. For example, at https://xkcd.com/2364/, the code for the comic image looks like this:
<pre>
<img src="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/parity_conservation.png"
title="Bloody Mary is made of antimatter. It explains so much."
alt="Parity Conservation"
srcset="//imgs.xkcd.com/comics/parity_conservation_2x.png 2x">
</pre>
:::In there, you can see the title text as <code>title="Bloody Mary is made of antimatter. It explains so much."</code> See [[title text|here]] for more explanation about that, and some discussions about it [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous#Common mistake|here]]. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 03:11, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
::: While the current layout suits the first purpose (ease of search), I would argue that having the "title text" come before in the page layout, and in a completely different section, makes it fail the second (accessibility). Often the contents of the title text are a continuation of the humour in the strip, so it's about as useful as having the explanation ahead of the transcript as far as accessibility is concerned. My suggestion on this matter is to either a) move the transcript to the top of the content, maybe within a collapse section or b) not claim it for accessibility.
::: As for the secondary topic, I've seen it called "Author Text" before, as it is text by the author and most people won't care what the element attribute is named. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.89|64.114.211.89]] 06:55, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

== Wikipedia links. ==

I think the links to Wikipedia should have symbols, so it's not confusing which ones lead to other comic pages.

== It's time to remove the HTTPS lock icon ==

Explainxkcd should do the same thing that browser makers have done: treat HTTPS as the modern standard, and mark HTTP as the deviation instead.

Here are appropriate replacement icons:
* https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unlock_Icon_Red_(32_bit).png
* https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unlock_Icon_Red_(4_bit).gif
- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 12:49, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

== New page for Randall's regular column in the New York Times ==
Randall Munroe has been writing and illustrating a monthly science column in the New York Times. I suggest a page in this Wiki, indexing those columns. For some reason the New York Times itself does not provide such an index. If they ever do add one, we would still have a topic article here, similar to the one we have for the What If blog, that could link to their index. --[[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 00:47, 11 June 2020 (UTC)
------
=== New York Times column: Good Question ===

'''Good Question''' is a more-or-less monthly column written and illustrated by '''[[Randall|Randall Munroe]]''' in the '''[https://www.nytimes.com/section/science Science section of the New York Times]''', beginning in November 2019. The columns give serious answers to science questions, in Munroe's inimitable style.

The New York Times website ordinarily requires registration, and its content is always protected by copyright. Most particularly it is ''not'' under [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License] the way [[xkcd]] is. The good news: anyone can register for a free digital subscription to the New York Times, with access to 'recent' Science articles among some others, but outside of that only five articles per month. See [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/info/help/freesearch.html Free Articles].

Unlike for many of their other regular columnists, the New York Times does not provide a clickable link either on the byline '''Randall Munroe''' or on the column title '''Good Question'''. The following tables are intended to correct that omission.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ New York Times columns ''by'' Randall Munroe
! Column !! Headline !! Byline !! Date
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/science/what-makes-a-red-sky-at-night-and-at-morning.html What Makes a Red Sky at Night (and at Morning)]
| Randall Munroe
| Aug. 13, 2019
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/science/randall-munroe-moon.html If I Touched the Moon, What Would It Feel Like?]
| Randall Munroe
| Nov. 12, 2019
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://nytimes.com/2019/12/10/science/earth-size-mass.html Is Earth Getting Bigger Over Time?]
| Randall Munroe
| Dec. 10, 2019
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/science/human-running-speed-quadruped.html How Fast Can a Human Run?]
| Randall Munroe
| Jan. 21, 2020 / Feb. 7, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/science/worst-odor-smell-thioacetone.html What’s the World’s Worst Smell?]
| Randall Munroe
| Feb. 17, 2020 / Feb. 26, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://nytimes.com/2020/03/10/science/question-randall-munroe-bobsled-gravity.html What if Galileo Had Dropped Bobsleds From the Tower of Pisa?]
| Randall Munroe
| March 10, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/science/pulsar-xkcd-munroe-stars.html How’s the View From a Spinning Star?]
| Randall Munroe
| April 7, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/science/traffic-barrier-rice-krispies.html What’s the Sweetest, Crispiest Way to Stay Safe in a Car Crash?]
| Randall Munroe
| May 11, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/science/randall-munroe-question-eggs.html Can You Boil an Egg Too Long?]
| Randall Munroe
| June 9, 2020
|-
! GOOD QUESTION
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/science/neutrinos-snowball-randall-munroe.html Could You Make a Snowball of Neutrinos?]
| Randall Munroe
| July 7, 2020
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ New York Times columns ''about'' Randall Munroe
! Column !! Headline !! Byline !! Date
|-
! LINK BY LINK
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/business/media/26link.html This Is Funny Only if You Know Unix]
| Noam Cohen
| May 26, 2008
|-
! BITS
| [https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/techs-favorite-cartoonist-enters-mainstream-publishing/ Tech’s Favorite Cartoonist Enters Mainstream Publishing]
| Noam Cohen
| March 14, 2014
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/science/randall-munroe-the-creator-of-xkcd-explains-complexity-through-absurdity.html He’s Glad You Asked]
| Kenneth Chang
| Nov. 3, 2014
|-
! BOOKS
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/books/randall-munroe-explains-it-all-for-us.html Randall Munroe Explains It All for Us]
| Alexandra Alter
| Nov. 23, 2015
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/science/randall-munroe-xkcd-science-textbook.html Randall Munroe, XKCD Creator, Goes Back to High School]
| Kenneth Chang
| March 21, 2016
|-
! SCIENCE
| [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/18/science/document-Munroepages.html Randall Munroe of ‘XKCD’ Explains the Human Body, Elevators and the Saturn 5]
| (Actual pages from '''{{w|Thing_Explainer|Thing Explainer}}''')
| March 21, 2016
|}
------

: Looks goods to me, you should probably make that an article of its own, maybe [[New York Times: Good Question]]? --[[User:SlashMe|SlashMe]] ([[User talk:SlashMe|talk]]) 22:58, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

: {{notice|I went and added the page, here: [[New York Times: Good Question]] --[[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 02:42, 11 July 2020 (UTC)}}

== Bring back the {{rw}} template! please ==

Can someone restore the <nowiki>{{rw}}</nowiki> template? I insist on its existence. I further assure that it will be of much use. It was deleted by an admin. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 06:10, 29 September 2020 (UTC)
:nm, did it myself. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 04:15, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

== Link to high-resolution images? ==

The wiki includes the "standard" resolution images, but would it be worth adding a link to the higher-resolution image on each page? It appears that this could be automated in at least a strong majority of cases: if the standard image is ''xyzzy.png'', the hi-res one is ''xyzzy'''_2x'''.png'' . [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 22:10, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
:Please stop adding this to the explanations. This is not needed. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:56, 6 October 2020 (UTC)
::The high-resolution image was quite useful in parsing the "Amelia's Farm Fresh Cookies" comic. I'm not convinced that the hi-res images are commonly known. I've been reading xkcd for about 7 years and hadn't heard about them until I stumbled across a mention of them in one of the Discussions here. What is the harm in having a one-line ''link'' here? -- not, I emphasize, the actual image, which would take up a great deal of space. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 17:00, 7 October 2020 (UTC)
:::I didn't know about the high-resolution images either. While it might be a bit repetitive to add a full sentence to every comic's explanation, I agree that having ''some'' easy way to link to the hi-res image on xkcd.com could be handy. For example, maybe a "hi-res" or "2x" button before the "Next >" button above the comic in [[Template:comic]]? That's a bit extreme, but I added an example template, derived from the existing [[Template:comic]], to demonstrate how that could work:
:::* Template: [[User:Yfmcpxpj/Template:comic 2x test]]
:::* Demo: [[User:Yfmcpxpj/Sandbox#2x comic template test]]
:::With those changes to the template, for all comics as of [[1084]] the "2x" button would automatically appear. (No need to go back and change all comics.) This assumes the images hosted on explainxkcd generally have the same filename as on xkcd.com, but there are optional parameters to override the filename or omit the "2x" button altogether for specific exceptions. I'm not suggesting we actually go ahead and implement this; but if there was enough interest, an admin would be needed anyway, to make the changes within [[Template:comic]], which is currently protected. – [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 23:25, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
::::FWIW, I like this. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 20:25, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
:::::My proposal is that a bot should add it automatically to the description of each comic image when available so that it does not take up space anywhere and is easily accessible. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 13:49, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

== Proposal to replace the top section with this... ==

I have come up with a new design for the top section of all community portals...
It’s located here... https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=explain_xkcd:Sandbox&oldid=199882 — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 14:15, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
<hr/>
{|-
|valign="top" width="80%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app ktip.png|left|120px]] <big><big>Proposals</big></big>

Ideas to improve the wiki's design and organization can be added here. {{AddNewSection|Page=Explain XKCD:Community portal/Proposals|Text=(+post)}}

|valign="top" xalign="right" width="100%"|[[File:Crystal Clear app package settings blue.png|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical]][[File:Crystal Clear teamwork.png|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination]][[File:Mop.svg|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Admin_requests]][[File:Internet-group-chat.svg|50px|link=https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous]]
|}

== I made a template for welcoming new users. ==

{{Welcome}}
<hr/>
Any ideas? Suggestions? Objections? — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 16:35, 13 December 2020 (UTC)
: this is now in at the top of the Main Page --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:38, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
::Why? This looks like a template intended for (newly created) UserPages. And it replaces interesting data from the frontpage with something not useful for casual visitors (or even non-casual lurkers). I'd undo this change in an instant if I had authority to do so. ((The template looks good, to clarify, just obviously not intended to be in that location.)) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.154|141.101.76.154]] 01:36, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
:::[[User: Jeff|Jeff]] is the owner of explainxkcd you dingus. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:46, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

== comic groups ==

i think we should have a tech problems list of comics ( as there are quite a few)
:We already have a category for it. [[:Category:Cueball_Computer_Problems]]. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 13:44, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

== Archiving interactive comics? ==

Has the possibility of archiving interactive comics been discussed? Of course, users can view them on the original website, but it’d be nice to have a working backup of sorts, especially considering some of the interactive comics haven’t aged too well in terms of compatibility or support (e.g. Umwelt displays a blank page for me.)

It probably wouldn’t be possible to do so directly from mediawiki, but I’d be happy to experiment with cloning a few of them on another server, or as simple PHP pages that could be embedded, if it would help. Most of the interactive comics appear to be implemented mostly in client side JS anyways, so replicating them shouldn’t be too bad.

[[User:Tague|Tague]] ([[User talk:Tague|talk]]) 13:12, 29 April 2021 (UTC)

== Replace head shots of characters in the wiki with these new and high quality head shots! ==

https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/n2u28r/i_took_head_shots_of_the_reccuring_characters_and/

These are not only upscaled, but are all squares and have all the features of the characters. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 03:33, 2 May 2021 (UTC)
:I think you should do it (because higher quality = better) :] [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:42, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
::There seemed to be no objections, so I went ahead and did it. — [[User:Sqrt-1|The 𝗦𝗾𝗿𝘁-𝟭]] [[User talk:Sqrt-1|talk]] [[Special:Contributions/Sqrt-1|stalk]] 12:40, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

== Cleaning up [[Special:WantedTemplates|Special: Wanted Templates]] ==

I decided to take a look at the list of wanted templates. Imagine my surprise when I see that a lot of the templates wanted were mis-capitalizations or misspellings of existing templates. I hereby request permission to create redirect pages for some of the most popular errors.
I intend to do five, wait a week, and do another five as to not spam the wiki. I will not begin for a week, at which point I will only proceed if nobody has said no OR a moderator has said yes. May I proceed? [[User talk:Quillathe Siannodel|{)|(}]][[User:Quillathe_Siannodel|Quill]][[Special:Contributions/Quillathe_Siannodel|{)|(}]] 11:34, 15 May 2021 (UTC)

== Knit Cap ==
Sometimes Knit cap has long hair, sometimes short. Is Knit Cap meant to be a male character that sometimes has long hair, or is Knit Cap sometimes female? I want to clear this up before I finish editing [[1350: Lorenz]]. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:40, 18 June 2021 (UTC)
:Hm, in the 'Enemy Pikachu used theft' scene in [[1350: Lorenz]], Knit Cap's hair looks merely slightly unkempt. From this, I will assume that Knit Cap just sometimes has long hair and is always male. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 13:10, 21 June 2021 (UTC)
::Ok, the official transcripts say that Knit Cap is 'A guy in a knit cap'. I will take that to mean that Knit Cap is definitely male.
:::(Sorry for necroposting) Knit cap is shown to represent Randall's wife in the "X years" series, I assume that they are thusly female. {{unsigned|B for brain|15:07, 29 March 2026}}

== We still need to complete some explanations like this one: ==

I think should change the banner shown at the top of every page to show a comic that is still incomplete, like Hoverboard or something. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 21:32, 30 August 2021 (UTC)

== Update MediaWiki ==
explainxkcd is running MediaWiki 1.30.0, which reached end-of-life in June 2019. There are likely security issues because of this, so please update MediaWiki to the latest version (or LTS) using the instructions here https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Upgrading [[User:Cam1170|Cam1170]] ([[User talk:Cam1170|talk]]) 19:41, 26 September 2021 (UTC)
:It seems like the mysql is too outdated for the upgrade [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 17:37, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
::Upgrade MySQL then[[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 03:16, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
Does anybody know how to contact an admin for this? I have no clue. [[User:Cam1170|Cam1170]] ([[User talk:Cam1170|talk]]) 03:25, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

== Allow Users to Edit their own talk page if not auto confimed ==

I can edit this page, but I can't create my own talk page! [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 17:34, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

== Upgrade Icons ==

The icons look quite old fashion (the ones on the sidebar and the ones above the editing text area), could they be replaced? [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 23:07, 26 November 2021 (UTC)
:They probably could be, but changing icons the moment they're not absolutely cutting-edge just means using new icons that are as easily edged-out (as tastes change yet again), meanwhile annoying those who prefered the first set and rather wouldn't see a revolving door of ever-evolving aesthetics.
:If I had a vote, I'd say keep the simple glyphs we're used to. If any are not totally obvious (perhaps some would not be, without the text captions) consider revising, but I think you'll get less agreement on what new images to use than that which would advocate the retention of the current ones.
:Alternately, it would definitely be on-theme to find Randall-drawn illustrations to replace them all. But the constraints of adapting (say) any particular stick-figure-world depiction of randonmess to ''meaningfully'' replace the current Random Page icon (at the same scale!) might be less than optimal.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.57|172.70.162.57]] 01:08, 27 November 2021 (UTC)

== Make searchbar not case-sensitive ==

The way the search bar is currently set, it only suggests comic links when what is being typed is capitalized ("Assigning Numbers" rather than "assigning numbers" for instance). Would be nice if we could make it not case-sensitive :D [[User:Char Latte49|Wielder of the Staple Gun]] ([[User talk:Char Latte49|talk]]) 02:48, 27 April 2022 (UTC)
:Good idea. [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 17:46, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

== Do not allow ordinary users to edit redirects that are just numbers ==

This overrides the default page you're sent to when you check a comic; e.g. recently a vandal edited the page entitled "2614" so it overrode the actual page, [[2614: 2]] on the main page.
:The problem would be when creating a new page and the overrides are needed... [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 17:48, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

== ExplainXKCD discord (or other platform)? ==

I'm just saying if we had instant messages, pings etc. there would be a lot faster reaction to vandals.
The community portal is hard to get attention from and comments are all very well and good but conversations on Discord could get very quick response, and people could request edits, organise page re-writing etc.
Idk if we can get "official" backing by anyone high up but we could make one anyways?
:The problem with platforms like Discord or others is that we can't guarantee that everyone has access to them; on the wiki, anyone can edit, while some people may not have access to discord or such. A possible solution would be having a sort of service built into the wiki, but not sure how that might be done. Besides, this is a wiki, not an xkcd chat site. This is a good idea, though. [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 17:43, 5 May 2022 (UTC)
::Anyone can create a discord account like anyone can create an account on this wiki. You don't even need a dedicated client/app as it can run in browser. Just like the wiki. Just my two cents. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:28, 20 May 2022 (UTC)
:::Some user may not wish anyone to be able to contact them outside this wiki. You do not need an acount to edit this wiki... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:14, 22 July 2022 (UTC)

== So, I got a question about transcripts. ==

A lot of comics show links (e.g.: all the ones with a drawing of wikipedia on it), and the transcripts don't really have a standard. In the transcript, should it be an actual link or just blue text or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.52|162.158.79.52]] 15:03, 2 June 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:I'd say that if the linked thing (presuming it's a real linkable target!) is linked in the Explanation, it doesn't need to be (re)linked in the ostensibly flat-and-descriptive Transcript.
:And I know that some Transcripts are hypertext formatted to emulate the thing they are transcribed from (whether bolded, enbiggened, sub-/superscripted and and/or given the hue) but maybe ''primarily'' the "<code>[:Text that describes the text]</code>" should be explaining the details, in case the screen-reader (or text-searching algorithm grepping the Transcript text for "green text" or "superscript" instances can't quite work it out from the various style-tags that can be applied to that effect in so many an various ways.
:But this is IMO, I don't know if there's a specific policy about it, but it is how I've seen it vaguely applied... Not everywhere quite so consistently, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 20:28, 2 June 2022 (UTC)
::We try to keep links and explanations out of the transcript. The link and the explanation goes in the explanation section above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 22 July 2022 (UTC)

== Use 2X Images ==

Apparently xkcd.com provides double-sized versions of almost every comic if you add '''_2x''' to the end of the image name. For instance,

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/watches.png

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/watches_2x.png

Since we are in 2022 and computers can load high-resolution images just fine, and they are easier to read, I propose that this website should use the provided double-sized images. Really, I think Randall ought to be doing this himself as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.18.107|172.68.18.107]] 12:22, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

:While I agree with using the higher quality images which are default on xkcd.com for many people, there has been [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Link_to_high-resolution_images.3F discussion] about this issue already. At the moment, the consensus seems to be to continue using the 'standard' size to 'use less space,' and instead link to the higher quality image on the image page. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 14:35, 17 August 2022 (UTC)

::I think I may have mentioned it on that link (or similar), but often when the 2x image is used (or even an unwise too wide image/unbreakable-line-of-content) the explainxkcd site cannot sensibly handle it and it forces the default 'page width' of stuff into a zoomed out narrower column to the left (including the margin-line normally inset a dozen or so pixels in from the right) so that browser-window can display the whole of this wide element.
::While "saving space" does apply to server resources and viewer download bandwidth/quotas (e.g.[https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/unreliable_connection.png 53kb] vs [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/unreliable_connection_2x.png 109kb]) may seem insignificant, screen-space can be badly hit by this.
::The motherlode xkcd site has code behind it to (usually?) serve the right image for the right displays, but explainxkcd isn't currently equipped to do the same choose-and-provide (which would need ''both'' images uploaded to it and a revised {{template|comic}} implementation, once we work out the method it could use). And I've never seen any case where the 'low quality' comic is conversely too small and narrow to appreciate (though occasionally the larger one reveals minor drawing details that have been obscured by the downscaling), just when the _2x one makes everything ''else'' too small.
::...this may not apply to everyone's browser implementation, but it definitely happens, and consistently, on my usual Chrome and/or Firefox on Windows and/or Android platforms (according to which system I happen to be on at the time). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 21:20, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
:::ExplainXKCD actually does have the capability to do this. For example, see [[1079:_United_Shapes]]. It generates multiple images, automatically choosing one based on screen size (similar to how xkcd.com does it). The bot could use the `imagesize` parameter to keep the image within the page's width by using the 'standard' image size. This does add a button labeled "click to enlarge," but if that is annoying, the comic template can be modified to hide that button if specified.
:::Here is what it might look like:
:::{{cot}}
{{User:Theusaf/Template:comic_2x
| number = 2647
| date = July 18, 2022
| title = Capri Suns
| image = capri_suns_2x.png
| titletext = [As security is dragging me away] "Come on, at least I didn't make the mistake in the other direction!"
| imagesize = 315x317px
| noexpand = true
}}
{{cob}}
:::which is clearer than the original comic page and the same size. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 05:20, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
::::As specificaly implemented above, I certainly see no immediate problem (need to check across machines/devices), but I suspect that part of the mechanism here is the "imagesize = 315x317px", which seems like it would need (albeit by the page-create bot, algorithm8cally) to be tailored to the 'input' image, not always in this ratio). I'm not technically conversant with the nature of your back-end scripting and doubtless it's all possible (scripts can do almost anything... once you know that they (may) need to do them and rewritten them to catch all the contingencies ;) ), but I don't know know if that's something you've accounted for (e.g. test with a three/four-panel wide comic, or the Earth Temperature Timeline or whatever, and see if it can facilitate them all nicely). Not to mention that if theusafBOT goes offline, the manual-add instructions (as used prior to your replacing the prior functioning bot, for which I thank you) also need this extra step of user involvement to be done, whereas usually the fallback manual method needed little thought in this direction (or indeed however much carbon or silicon there is in the 'brain' involved) except for exceptional circumstances or those rare prior slip-ups by Randall.
::::I'm just going through the first obvious issue (to me), didn't mean to concentrate so many words on just this before even checking everything else! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.80|172.70.91.80]] 09:15, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
:::::Basically, on the backend, the bot will fetch both the small and the large images, and measure the size of the small image, which is what it will use for the <code>imagesize</code>. I have actually used this system in the past for this bot, but was told to revert it due to the "click comic to enlarge" text. As for if the bot goes offline, there is no problem with falling back to the small image, and if editors want to, I can also provide instructions for using the large image. I'm mostly just waiting to see what others think about this. Are there any other problems to consider? —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 14:44, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

== I'm making an App that collects web comics ==

My original idea was to use the rss feed present on xkcd, and other webcomic websites, but now im starting to wonder if there was a way to make a better service, that allowed users to maybe look at older comics, and explanations and such as well, and thats how i happened to come across explainxkcd.com. The RSS Feed for this website, would be pretty helpful, if it were like reddit's but apparently, the rss feed is only maintained for the home page. I was wondering if you guys provided that data through an API or something? Also are there wikis for other famous comics like this one? Any other suggestions and ideas for the app are welcome 🙌🙌.

== Comics edited after their publication ==

many more comics have been changed than are in Category:Comics edited after their publication ! please add them (i already have done two i remember off the top of my head) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.223|172.70.134.223]] 12:56, 7 October 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

== What if 2 book page creation ==
What if 2 has come out, but I don't know which page is to be created. There is already a comic under the same name. [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 08:54, 3 May 2023 (UTC)

== Default to 3 Section Headings for Each Explanation: Non-Obvious Info, Recap, and Background Trivia ==

This is a proposal that all new comic explanations should, by default, have 3 Sections:

'''I. Explanation of the Non-Obvious''' (an actual explanation of the non-obvious elements of the comic for the average reader who might not understand the references/joke/relevant science)

'''II. Full Recap'''

'''III. Background Trivia'''

Most of us can agree that Category I is where the value of this website shines.

But today, all 3 of these categories of explanation are typically merged together, making it hard to find the Category I nuggets of goodness.

If we make these 3 section headings the default on every comic explanation, then this default will helpfully nudge editors to put the juiciest stuff up top, and not to clutter that section up with fluff or trivia.

——

As an example, take the recent comic #2878 about Astronomer Happiness and Supernova distance.

The main thing a lay reader would want to know — the Category I information — is…

..That the shape of the graph is probably a clever reference to a Light Curve, a type of supernova graph

..why astronomers like it when a supernova is close, and what happens when it gets too close

Everything else in the (currently) very wordy explanation gets in the way of the lay reader finding out these two things. It’s a bunch of Category II and Category III info that makes it hard to tease out the Category I info. It’s not BAD information, but it’s sandpaper. It’s friction slowing down the average reader.

Obviously I could go in and edit this particular comic, and I often do this kind of edit, but I think this issue pops up for most explanations, so I think changing the standard default interface will help everyone put their contribution into the right section.

In sum, my proposal would elevate Category I info to the top of each explanation, so instead of full recaps, we get right into the explanation that is going to be most efficiently illuminating for the average, non-expert reader, answering the most common questions.

[[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 10:50, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
:In general (if I get dibs on the edit, or think I can legitimately re-edit/rearrange), I do try to go for "hook, line, sinker" format (i.e. establish the basics, relate that to what the comic shows, move on to any relevent speculations/extrapolations), very like your setup. Though it is often ''much'' too complicated (multi-layered, cross-disciplinary, etc, so that maybe it has to be interwoven 'mini explanations' per tabulated item) so I'm not sure how easy it would be to enforce a strict structure. I think there's merit to the principle, though. Assuming we can all agree what each comic needs focus on (apply that problem to the following proposal too!), as I've occasionally inserted a sort of "first you need to know <subject>" into an established cold-start explanation ("you see <foo>" only for a later editor to consider it more an afterthought and shuffle it to later ("you see <foo>" ... "<foo> is part of <subject>"), or variations on such layouts. Especially as different people have different ideas as to what's obvious/can be keyword-wikilinked and what needs more waffle to properly enlighten readers.
:Also, prosaic variation is a good thing. Too formulaic and it could be (whilst accurate) considered too robotic, so some leaway should really always be allowed as we collectively bash together a community interpretation and elaboration. Within communal guidelines, clearly. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.203|172.69.194.203]] 15:53, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

== FAQ Style Editing should be the norm ==

Simply, we should experiment with more FAQ-style explanations.

We think of the top questions that the average reader might have about a comic, and we use those as bolded headers to explain the most curious/confusing/subtle/sciency parts of the comic.

The structure would be this (using a recent comic as an example)…

'''Q: Why did Randall use this shape of graph?'''
A: It’s likely a clever reference to a Light Curve, a similarly shaped graph in the study of supernovae that…

'''Q: Why do astronomers prefer it when supernovae are closer?'''
A: It makes it easier to glean information because…

[[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 10:50, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

== sidebar revamp ==
I think that the sidebar looks plain and it should have a new design. It could be voted on by users [[User:Moderator|Moderator]] ([[User talk:Moderator|talk]]) 02:16, 5 February 2024 (UTC)
:In leiu of you telling us what you think would be better, my starting vote is that I'm perfectly happy with that 'plain'. If it has the links I might need, why does it need a reskin? Or, worse, a functional revamp which probably removes the easy to use bits I was using already.
:...could you do a mock-up screenshot (or render equivalents directly in markup) of before/after side by side, at least? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.120|172.69.194.120]] 03:11, 5 February 2024 (UTC)

My biggest problem is it doesn’t scroll down with you which can be a big pain [[User:Moderator|Moderator]] ([[User talk:Moderator|talk]]) 01:43, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
:Don't know about anyone else, but (when not on a desktop) I read this on a tablet, in landscape, with the effective window quite short (ratio of 1:2 with width, approaching 1:3.5 with already narrowed onscreen keyboard popped up) and if I'm scrolled to the top I see nothing beyond Browse Comics.
:If we assume separate scroll-control on the sidebar, setting Main Page at the top of browser pane gives What Links Here at the bottom. Now, I rarely use the next three links (or at least reach those pages using them), and separate scrolling wouldn't stop me even seeing the even lower Ad bit (but it ''would'' defeat the entire purpose of the Ad, in that position, whether or not I bother to notice it these days).
:So whatever missing about you propose, I'm betting it would impact me. Perhaps not negatively, but I've seen enough awful assumptions about my screen-area in the name of scroll-free design. Including the "give us permission (or not) to give you cookies" popovers where it appears the actual buttons to confirm (or deny, or go somewhere to review and customise, if they have that option) are beyond the bottom of my screen. I can temporarily rotate the screen, of course, but often I just back out and don't bother in those cases. I wouldn't be reticent to rotate this site, on occasion, but ''I'd really rather not have to'', if I can be so selfish and stick-in-the-mud, because websites just are not good to use (even temporarily) in narrow-portait mode. (What's worse is the websites that detect I'm on a mobile platform and redesign styles/placements on-the-fly to 'fit portrait view', assuming a vertical smartphone, ''regardless'' of my actual viewport orientation, etc.)
:So, please, a hard no from me. Notwithstanding that just as solidly "always browse in portrait" people might be overjoyed at changes that would give ''them'' a better site design. But that's a tricky circle to square (or letterbox!), and not what you were suggesting anyway (now we know what it is). I just want to plea that any changes be made with a very good idea of all the knock-on effects of 'improving' certain edge-cases, especially when it comes to yet other edge-cases. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.23|172.70.85.23]] 10:29, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
==New Logo and Banner Proposals==
:I have new logo and banner proposals for this site.
:They're made on Scratch, an all-ages block-based programming language, and are in the style of Right Click.
:Here they are!
:Logo proposal: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_proposal_for_explain_xkcd.png
:Banner proposal: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banner_proposal_for_explain_xkcd.png {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.37|01:54, 19 February 2024 (UTC)}}
::I can't see the xkcdicity of the logo, really. The banner is certainly flavourful in the right way (does it scale down well? ...is that what your use of Scratch is for, as opposed to standard static Photoshop/GIMP image editing?), but not sure it'll work better for the current top-left-of-page xkcd (with three xkcd figurses idling away, sat on the letters).
::Decent concept art for something else related, certainly. I could believe it was a Randall's-own interactive comic front-end of some kind (which would make sense of the "play button" that is the "►"-bit). Given that it's now in a programming system already, have you tried making a drag'n'click game of the idea of linking/looping the blue-trail, and animating the hanging-on characters? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.29|172.70.90.29]] 13:34, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
:::It's an arrow, not a play button. Get it right. {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.72|01:05, 20 February 2024 (UTC)}}
::::Hold your horses... I was just trying to find a good reason for the whatever-it-is triangle to be there (gave the example of a 'play' button in my speculated usefulness of it). And it isn't really obviously any more of an arrow (c.f. "→"), either. I like your(?) banner's use of xkcd-figures, just not sure where the logo exhibits any form of being xkcd-related, except by the literal reading of it.
::::Perhaps if it were "xkcd font" (i.e. artfully composited from actual samples of Randall's ALLCAPS comic-writing) then it wouldn't matter so much, but I just wouldn't say it was any more on-brand than the current logo/etc. This being intended as constructive criticism, I hope you understand. And there's more opinions than mine, so maybe I've indeed just missed some point that ''everyone else'' (especially named-users) have already realised. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.5|172.70.86.5]] 02:33, 20 February 2024 (UTC)

== Regarding precision in the Unexplained popup ==

Would it be possible to add an extra decimal point for the sake of precision? Currently, it shows that 0% of comics are unexplained, which is (as of 13:21 UTC on March 27, 2024) incorrect. It's a small thing, but it's rather annoying. {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.233|13:23, 27 March 2024 (UTC)}}
:With the current 2911 comics (give or take #404), 0.1% would be slightly under 3 comics. You'd need at least three before 0.1% appeared instead of the equally unuseful 0.0%.
:I'm of the "at least give everyone a week before you unilaterally declare it 'done'..." camp, so right now ''just'' the latest M/W/F comic incomplete would hover at a token 0.1%.
:(Actually, from two (0.06...% rounded up) to 4 (0.13...% rounded down. The good news is that it'll be almost seven years until two-rounded-up is insufficient, but also up to six-rounded-down is now "0.1%", if I've not goofed the carries/etc.)
:If going to the trouble of editing it to 1DP, make it 2DP with ''exactly'' the same editing effort..?
<blockquote>
<center>
''Welcome to the '''explain [[xkcd]]''' wiki!'' 
We have an explanation for all [[:Category:All comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:All comics|R}}-1}}''' xkcd comics]],

and only {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}}
({{#expr: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} / {{LATESTCOMIC}} * 100 round 2}}%) [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|are incomplete]]. Help us finish them!
</center>
</blockquote>
:(As of time of posting, the above says "only 2 (0.07%)". From 0.0687049...% rounded up to 2DP.)
:Though given that we're only going to go into the future,{{Citation needed}} I suggest we can state the flat-out number. It's not now really going to be as scarily huge as it might have been, as the actual percentage becomes generally less significant.
:And, for niceness, give it a grammatically/factually agreeable form:
<blockquote>
;General form:
:<code><nowiki>... and {{#ifeq:  | 0 | no |  }} comic{{#ifeq:  | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq:  | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...</nowiki></code>
;Zero cases (hardcoded):
:... and {{#ifeq: 0 | 0 | no |  }} comic{{#ifeq: 0 | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: 0 | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
;One case (hardcoded):
:... and {{#ifeq: 1 | 0 | no | 1 }} comic{{#ifeq: 1 | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: 1 | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
;Multiple cases (hardcoded):
:... and {{#ifeq: 42 | 0 | no | 42 }} comic{{#ifeq: 42 | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: 42 | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
;Current cases (dynamic):
:... and {{#ifeq: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} | 0 | none | {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} }} comic{{#ifeq: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} | 1 | | s }} [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|{{#ifeq: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} | 1 | is | are }} incomplete]]. ...
</blockquote>
:...easy to replicate to get "Help us finish them!" to change (upon a zero-test truth) to "But they all might be improvable!". Or change the :Cat:Link to not even be a link when zero, with alternate phrasing dodged over to in order to avoid "no comics are incomplete" in other ways.
:I wrote the above for minimal nesting of overlapping conditions. You might prefer just to go with <code><nowiki>{{#ifeq: <count> | 0 | <whole "zero cases" version> | {{#ifeq: <count> | 1 | <whole "single case" version> | <whole "plurality of cases" version> }} }}</nowiki></code> - both approaches involve repetitions, but maybe this other one can be given a ''degree'' of wikimarkup-readability within each case, to take pity on future editors. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.166|172.70.160.166]] 16:02, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

== Hear me out: What If? discussion page. ==

That's it. That's my idea. Go crazy, everyone. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 14:05, 4 April 2024 (UTC)
:Yup, I've been thinking the same thing. I would like a page on each What If entry. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 07:42, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::I've thought about this, over the years. Having 'a page' (rather than the summary table, in the [[what if? (blog)|overview page]], etc) does sound more completist than what we currently have but I then tend to hit the main ontological problem...
::In the What-Ifs, Randall takes a 'simple' question and then ''explains'' the consequences. At length. A 'comic page' structure (starting with how we'd deal with the multiple midpoint images, so we would stray far from using the {{template|comic}} introduction) that followed the header(image,etc)/explanation/transcript/(trivia)/included-comments format would be silly and have many parts inappropriate. Remove the Transcript, for starters. ''Or'' need a mini-Transcript for each 'illustrative' image. (e.g. ":[Black Hat:] What if we tried more power?", several times.)
::Is there an actual need to ''explain Randall's explanation..''? Because that's the only thing 'we' can do. Which is rather silly, and seems like it would take a small (entertainingly rambling) essay and expand it into a large (pedantically rambling) one.
::Or else we just straight-copy the What-If over here as a 'backup'-blag? Allowable, but not exactly a USP, there'll be Internet Archive and personal copies, should things go bad at Randall's end. Not really a noble-cause.
::My suggestion, as to how to cover the remaining "explanation gap" and provide a useful 'service' that's worthwhile maintaining, is ''maybe'' two What If? (Blag) sub-pages:
::#A place to collate all inter-text images (and hover-/title-texts), and Transcript them, for easy searching.
::#*e.g. when you know you want to refer to the "bomb to the eyeball" one (internally or for something external) but think you might not realise where you need to go to (the supernova neutrinos one!) just by scrolling a bare comic list.
::#*Or you'd like to see, at a glance, how many different places the Black Hat Try More Power running joke occurs.
::#*Even if you don't want to open the page itself (160+ 'comics' with say 5 images each, is an 800ish-image page, less rationalising 'repeats' to a single entry), it should at least give you a search result for "dry waterfall" that points you in the direction of the "Niagra Straw" one (and maybe others?).
::#*I could see these being brief Image/Titletext/Transcript/(optional explanatory context), but not enough material to make them separate comic-style-pages in their own right, right?
::#Something of the same 'collation page mechanism' for all those superscript-popup-'footnote' bits. Though I admit I'm not entirely sure for what purpose except that it just ''seems'' like a good "collection page" to maintain. Perhaps to offer updated onward-links if any of the originals suffer link-rot? (But then, that fate can occur to all non-popupped links, so maybe I've chosen the wrong thing to highlight.)
::...the question is, what do you want from it. Bear in mind that if you can creae pages here then you can set up what ''you'' think you'd like to see (e.g. for What-If#1, for starters) then get the community to assess it. Do it as a sub-page to your Userspace, maybe, as proof-of-concept.
::Just because it's not been seen as necessary so far, doesn't mean it's not necessary. I've thought about it a lot (not thst I'm in a position to inplement anything), but I've only decided that I don't see a need for a straight copy (others' views may differ on that) and not enough reason to pester for ''my'' 'ideas' to be fulfilled. But I aint 'in charge' here, and happily so. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.100|172.69.194.100]] 11:29, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:::You make a fair point. He did already explain in great detail what would happen if [x] scenario happened. It just seems like it would be nice to have a page exclusively for discussing all the ''What If'' articles. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 20:49, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
::::People just need to make a draft or two and see what happens. Be sure to link a draft here if one is created, I would like to help on it. "I want to learn more and explore this scenario further" is a valid feeling to have. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 07:34, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

== Randall-ify the Captcha ==

Let's have some fun: Is it feasible to replace the Captcha with something "xkcd-ish" like "click on Randall's work" with a mix of XKCD stuff and generic pictures. If not, how about a replacing it with a quiz like "which of the following IS [or IS NOT] xkcd character" with one obvious correct answer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.75|172.68.26.75]] 16:11, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:are YOU able to create a CAPTCHA from scratch? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 15:59, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
::Choose any images that contain user-made CAPTCHAs from the following selection. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 21:22, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
::We could also make captchas based on most of [[:Category:CAPTCHA|these]]. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 02:57, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

== Incomplete Tag Vote ==

I think each comic's discussion page should have a section to vote on whether the explanation is complete or not. How long do you think the voting period should be?[[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 03:42, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:Rather than a voting period, I think it would be ideal if people could "vote" on the completeness of an article at any time. As I go through all the old pages, I come across lots of pages that feel a little bit incomplete. It would be nice if we had a measurement of completion that wasn't binary. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 10:16, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::Feel free to add the incomplete tag again. But don't forget to mention WHY (either in the tag or the discussion or both) you think it's incomplete. :) The tag is mainly there so you can have a list of "incomplete" comics. A comic is either on that list or it isn't. This is pretty much binary. As for voting: If I think an explanation is complete and it bothers me that it's flagged as not I generally juts make a comment in the discussion asking if someone has still something to add or actually knows WHY it's still incomplete. If there's no response after a few days I delete the tag. There's no need to make a voting out of this. And if somone strongly disagrees to you there's always the "Undo"-link ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:09, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:::Sometimes I just feel "this could use more detail," without specifically knowing what the detail would look like. This can be a problem when it's about explaining complicated science: the "completion" of a description of quantum mechanics that is readable by a novice, is very subjective. I am realizing the problem with the persistent voting idea tho: many people will vote something as "incomplete" but wouldn't come back to check on it later. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 12:08, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::::I'm more in the "less is more" camp. Most of my recent contributions to this wiki were deleting parts of bloated explanations: You don't need to explain quantum mechanics unless it's absolutely crucial for understanding the respective comic. Of course, if you are an expert in any given field, [[2501|it's hard to tell]] whether or not the current explanation is sufficient for a layperson and most contributors tend to write "too much". Which is totally fine. People like me take care of the "too much". ;) So, if you are an expert in quantum mechanics ignore "completed" comics about quantum mechanics. Surely you could contribute a lot to it but chances are high that most of it is unnecessary for the comic. Instead ask yourself if you need more information to understand that comic about biology. And if you do, add an incomplete and ask for that information ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
:I've been here a long time, effectively back to when there were ''missing'' explanations (other than the "too new to have the barebones put in" ones, these days only seen when the current BOT is tardy or offline for some reason), and I've seen the Incomplete template change from the useful 'infill marker' to become a regular joke-tag of a similar nature to the Citation Needed. Yes, I agree that both of these (and the Because You're Dumb" tag) are perhaps a bit confusing for new users (like the one who badly edited out a link, just now, apparently thinking it was spam, because of the way it mentioned viagra), but I have grown to see them as community in-jokes (of various degrees of subtlety) that many people seem to appreciate under their current incarnations.
:We've recently removed the Main Page's more literal "there are # incomplete articles" announcement, which leaves the purpose of ''more accurately'' using the Incomplete tag a little less important. Apart from letting us dive into the (purported) list of Incomplete Explanations, one of the main ''serious'' purposes of the Incomplete tag is removed, leaving the now consistently employed purpose of doing a "Created by a THING OTHER THAN THE BOT" joke much more prominent.
:Really, all articles are potentially incomplete, still. Some more than others. Something big, like Hoverboard or Gravity, might truly have easter-eggs or subtle details as yet not properly commented upon, but there have been edits to ''double-digit'' comics recently which might be considered improvements. As such, there are really only two 'sensible' direct courses of action:
:#Completely remove the Incomplete tag, from use, as all pages are only ever as complete as the eye of any particular beholder, and the more recent pages are ''obviously'' incomplete by their being barely 15 minutes (or a day, or ''maybe'' a week) old. Or being so huge (or Time-like!) that they clearly still haven't been 'completely' documented. Maybe the BOT can add a Created By The Bot tag that gets wiped out by the first serious attempt at human editing, but if we wish to lose this part of our site culture so readily then why ever have it at all? A wikivote system is not really that accurate under these circumstances, for a number of reasons that I needn't explain, so go straight to assuming that any such 'vote' would pass, right from the off...
:#Embrace it for its THING OTHER THAN A BOT usage, alone. Don't be so eager to remove them just because you have no personal changes you'd wish to see. (Votes or not, there could always be another editor along in a minute who has, unlike the rest of you, picked up on an obscure visual pun rendered in what turns out to be hieroglyphs, or similar.) If we have to cull them (not a given!), then let it be an unstated rule (or a stated one?) that if there are more than (e.g.) half a dozen then the 'least amusing' may be removed by the first editor who wishes to express a critical opinion. Just the one at a time. No reinstating, no resurrection, no adding to old articles that never ever had a 'joke Incomplete' before, no entirely new joke (but you can refine what's there, to a degree), just a rolling (and not necessarily consecutive!) set of the "finest natjve explainxkcd wit". Or at least the least objectionable surviving examples of same.
:As a practical guide, the "reason why you think it is Incomplete element" could be entirely served by in-line tags (the "What?" and "Why?" and "Date?" things you might see elsewhere). Perhaps we could even do ''both'' things by instead having a "Complete" tag ''explicitly'' for BOT-REPLACEMENT-type tomfoolery (and tongue-in-cheekness about Completion, as we might currently be about Incometeness) from the off. That might confuse the newbods, of course. At least until it doesn't, and then they're not newbods anymore...
:The companion tag, for Incomplete Transcript, is presumably going to serve as it currently does (as a still serious hint as to actual Incompleteness), albeit that I've noticed a trend for the first editor of a brand new published comic to (possibly ''after'' doing the BOT-replacement joke, or after the editor who did ''only'' that) go straight in and enTranscript it (to varying degrees of accuracy and completion), whether or not they also then remove that specific tag-template at the same time. It seems that some people are more comfortable at providing a ''Transcript''ion-service than they are at establishing even the seed of an Explanation. (Or they only have enough time to do the latter, to the level of detail they wish to achieve in the moment open to them.)
:This is, of course, a cultural issue. All the above (from me) is just my own perception of practical aspects, notwithstanding those opinions already expressed before that (and elsewhere). I don't speak for everyone. And, as a perpetual IP, technically I should say that I don't speak for ''anyone'', either... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.140|172.70.160.140]] 14:21, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

::I like the idea of removing the Incomplete tag. What do you think? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:57, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
::I greatly approve of a <nowiki>{{what}}</nowiki> tag, as a Wikipedian that's actually really funny. I would want to keep the Incomplete tag, as I think it has purpose, even if it no longer represents a goal to achieve. I think this website will never reach 100.00% completeness and that is good, actually. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 14:05, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
::Okay. If someone wants to they can just ignore the incomplete tags. [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 14:37, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

== "As of <now>"... ==

What would be rather useful is an <code><nowiki>{{As of now}}</nowiki></code> template (or similar wording, and perhaps an "as of now"-cased alternative for use mid-sentence). There are many articles that will have words along the lines of "this has not yet happened, as of August 2024" or "this situation is continuing, as of August 2024". Every now and then, someone will come across one of these with an older date (perhaps only just out of date, perhaps years old) and [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1858:_4th_of_July&curid=20285&diff=348082&oldid=315524 edit it accordingly]. You could also seek them all out, deliberately, with a bit of effort in the search-bar.

(Note that "as of" does not ''always'' need updating, there are non-dated examples such as in [[1074: Moon Landing#Trivia]], static transcript versions, like [[1071: Exoplanets#Transcript]] and other instances where the text "as of", with or without a date, really does not need to be changed... but sometimes is anyway by a well-meaning passer-by.)

Sometimes, this can be done along with another useful edit/update/revision that is spotted, or is just one of the revisions that some other need for change conveniently allows. But it seems a bit vague to rely upon occasional attention. Instead the template will implement something like "<code><nowiki>As of {{Monthyear}}</nowiki></code>" (here having to use <code><nowiki>{{#time:F Y}}</nowiki></code>, ..."As of {{#time:F Y}}"...), though there's the possibility that a parameter-mediated switch can let it alternatively become a to-the-day-level format option (at which point you could even implement/calcuate something like {{template|Yesterday}} would be) or just to the year-level. (Or add {{template|As of this year}}, {{template|As of this month}} and {{template|As of this day}} separately.)

This would negate the need to ''just'' poke and prod any article that happened to 'need' updating every month (or year, or possible day). And to deal with the possibility that some of these cases might actually need to be edited because "as of" does ''not'' now apply, include within it a {{:Category:As of}} membership, letting anyone who is interested keep an eye on these aggregated 'As of's, ready to jump in there and change it to some straight up "Up until <fixed date>" equivalent should any one of them actually no longer apply.

...obviously, I can't even begin to create the template page required, but I'd be happy to work on the exact wikimedia code required if anyone thinks it needs anything but the most basic transcluded formatting and doesn't know how. Open to discussion, and I'll tag on more if I happen to see that discussion developing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.186|172.70.162.186]] 18:04, 4 August 2024 (UTC)
:As an addendum/change to my above suggestion, considering a simpler {{template|as of}} (and {{template|As of}}) which does ''no'' automagical continuous updating (just gives the "as of" literal on its own), but still guarantees "Category:As of" membership, so that it doesn't actively give wrong (new) date+circumstance relationships in the likes of [[1047: Approximations]]. In that, the several mentions of populations can safely stay as old years until someone rewrites the proposed value and assessment as well, but it still could be a task to pursue every new year after checking the Cat for likely comics needing a quick check'n'edit.

== “Grammar Bot” ==
I’m working on a python based bot written with the Pywiki library that aims to use the replace.py scripts to fix simple grammatical mistakes, e.g. correcting Citation needed placements, cleaning up extra spaces, etc. I will be posting the code in a few weeks after I finish it (I’m a bit busy at the moment with school and orchestra) so the entire community can view it. Any thoughts on the idea? Thanks. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 21:05, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:First thoughts are that there are going to be so many exceptions. I definitely agree with the idea of {{template|Citation needed}}s being made consistent (if only it weren't sometimes complicated{{Citation needed}}), as well as that of mysterious extra spaces. But that's not really grammatical. Punctuation, in the first case. I fear a full (or even fragmentary) grammar-checker is going to be complicated and give many false positives.
:At least at first, perhaps have it ''report'' what it thinks it has found. You may discover definite times that it isn't necessary and it would indeed create new errors.
:At the very least, run it with two checklists: One to do an automatic replace.py and one to just report. Start with the first list empty. Introduce potential ones to the latter, review all the reports carefully, ''then'' move any sensible-looking ones to former.
:And have it not fighting other bots (particularly theusafBOT), perhaps selected users (e.g. the likes of Kynde, and of course yourself) or indeed itself (if it makes a change that might inadvertently trigger another 'check') by excluding such changes for a recheck/rechange. Keep a record of what it changed, so that if anybody reverts/recorrects something that seems to have gone wrong it doesn't force it 'wrong' again. At the simplest, give a whole page a decent time-out and/or number of subsequent limits before it ''considers'' a new change. Implement from the start the option of a 'whitelist' (of pages it can ignore) or 'blacklist' (of rules it shouldn't apply, or at least actively apply, to a given page), so you can quickly manually add a throttle-down by simple config-file rather than have to add in a code-kludge when something obviously (in hindsight!) needs correcting about the way it works. And also maybe throttle it to have no more than one bot-edit per hour (while starting from scratch) to not swamp the system and give the rest of us time to assess any errors it has made (and its successes!) - you can unstick that throttle later, when you consider it tested with all its backlog of microcorrections.
:...there are a few other guidelines I would suggest, but the cautiousness already present in the above approaches might mean that they are left as not so important. Just consider what ''could'' go wrong before unleashing it on our world.
:And all power to your elbow, it is of course something we all might have considered (I know I have... not that I have the login for it, but what really stopped me was knowing how badly I could mess it up by getting just one detail wrong if I tried it).
:Among changes/alerts I would have it make would be cases of {{template|cn}}, {{template|citation needed}}, etc, instead of the 'main' template. Plus []-links to either wikipedia pages (most of them should be {{template|w}}-templated) or explainxkcd.com pages (most of them should be [[]]ed), although there are even then some exceptions. It'd also be nice if it can identify all Talk (and Community Portal) contributions that were not signed (more complex, as some may be after the fact, or have been after several years and further editings). I know how I'd do all this, or think I do (only upon starting to do it can I be sure I've actually theorised it correctly!), but I mention this mostly to point out how ''you'' might want to cautiously implement ''your'' ideas. HTH. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.15|172.70.86.15]] 00:07, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
::you have made plenty of wonderful points that I clearly have not thought about-quite the critical oversight on my part. Is anyone interested in collaborating? I don’t think that my skills are good enough to satisfy all of those points. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 01:06, 6 September 2024 (UTC)
:::hello? Anybody? Please help… [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 17:38, 9 September 2024 (UTC)
::::I believe this would be a great idea and also an incredibly complicated feat. Randall is no stranger to using weird punctuation in comics or misspelled words. I think it would be neat if it weren't automated and just reported errors it found so we could manually fix them, which would make its development much easier, but at that point it's very similar to a series of search queries for misspelled words, which we can already do. I have no coding skills so I'm not going to be of help. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:33, 7 November 2024 (UTC)
;Update
I have found a solution to fix most grammatical mistakes, I just need to make sure that it doesn’t correct character names like “Cueball”, not edit war with other bots, come up with a system to log the edits it makes so that it doesn’t revert again, and fix Citation needed templates. I already know how to make sure that it asks me before editing, so I want to create an account to test it out. Does anybody have ideas on what to name the bot? I don’t want to call it 42.book.addictBOT, since the username would be a bit clunky. ToriBOT could work, but I’m also open to any other names. Feel free to reply to this or reply to me on my talk page! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:30, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

== "dark mode" ==
add dark mode [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 09:54, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
:See [[User:Certified nqh/common.css]] or copy/paste my old [[User:42.book.addict/common.css|common.css]] page history into your common.css page: -42.book.addict [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.208|172.69.134.208]] 16:10, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
::ha, thx tori, nqh's common.css works like a charm :) [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 08:51, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

== reddit ==
Add reddit- Anonymous {{unsigned ip|172.71.214.80|08:31, 21 November 2024 (UTC)}}
:You probably need to explain what you mean by that. Add reddit discussions to here? Add this site to reddit? Add some simple link to one from the other? Something else? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.163|172.70.162.163]] 13:02, 21 November 2024 (UTC)
::>Add some simple link to one from the other?
::I have no idea what they meant either, but I hadn't thought of this! I could see the addition of a simple link to the comic template, like "https://reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/{{PAGETITLE}" or "https://reddit.com/r/xkcd/search/?q={{PAGETITLE}"
::I don't partecipate much in the r/xkcd subreddit, so i'm not sure if they have structured post titles or even if they posted all the comics, or if it's automated, but I think this could be cool! Some people will likely come from Reddit, so it would be a straightforward way for them to go back. Thoughts? {{unsigned|FaviFake|16:55, 11 January 2025 (UTC)}}

== viewer ==
i propose to add random page to comic viewer {{unsigned ip|172.71.150.14|00:17, 25 February 2025 (UTC)}}
:There's already a "Random Page" link.
:If you mean (it's ambiguous!) a "Random Comic Page" link, then I'm not sure it's needed. There are so many "Comic pages" that it's a fairly good chance that you'll land on one of them for any given click, much more chance within two clicks. The likelihood of not getting a comic within ''three'' clicks will be tiny. Another way to do it is to just use the xkcd.com "Random" button, then (whichever comic you land on, which will be any but [[404]]), change the "xkcd.com" bit of the URL to "expxkcd.com" and... you end up here.
:If none of that really does what you want (especially if you mean something completely different from what I read it as), some more explanation would probably be appreciated. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.164|172.69.79.164]] 01:02, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:If you want to make sure to land on all comics, you can go to "Special pages" on the sidebar, scroll down to "Random page in category", and enter "All comics". As far as I'm aware, there isn't really a way to automate this, so you have to keep inputting it manually. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 06:38, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
::I think they meant a button on the {{tl|comic}} template. Would it be technically possible to make it such that it works exacly like the one on the official site? --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 17:47, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:::It ''should'' be a matter of using [[Special:RandomInCategory/All Comics]], I think, but doesn't seem to work when I try that exact attempt. Perhaps mediawiki or the mediawiki extension is not updated enough, or else I'm getting my wikisyntax slightly wrong.
:::Functionally, though, where the website has its Random button, we have our "go to the xkcd.com original", so more thought is needed before we just "add a button". If we do, we want it where the 'mothership' website does, but we still ought to have our details-and-link-to-original given, and I like it as a (faux) button.
::: Perhaps the {{template|comic}}, where it currently has header 'buttons':
[|<<] [Prev] [#9876 (Grune 32, 2525)] [Next] [>>|]
::: Needs to be changed to maybe:
[ #9876 (Grune 32, 2525) ]
[|<<] [Prev] [Random] [Next] [>>|]
:::...or equivalent. Haven't checked, but if it's a one-line table, can be easily made into a two-line one with colspan=3 (or 5?) in the right bit. If it's just centred, then it should come out Ok, in a simple way. But I'm not too keen on that change, really, and you'd need to actually have the Random->Comic link working first, ''anyway''. So I'm giving you my opinions and (slightly lacking) knowledge, in case that can at least make for the better outcome than either nothing (though not sure that's bad!) or some half-hearted ideas from elsewhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.116|172.70.86.116]] 21:52, 25 February 2025 (UTC)
:::: Unless someone can figure out the requests made by the random in category, a workaround could be to use a (pseudo)random number generator (mediawiki has a [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Template:Random_number template] on their website) to get a random number in the range of 1 - {{template|LATESTCOMIC}} and put in a link to that comic number using <nowiki>[[number]]</nowiki>.
:::: Note: There already is a "Random" template, but it was just using random page and was blanked by the person who made it [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 03:50, 26 February 2025 (UTC)

:::::{{Done|Done!!!}}  I tried that wikimedia templaete but couldn't figure out how to make it work. I did it using Special:Random, hoping there aren't too many non-comic pages. Check [[{{LATESTCOMIC}}]] for an example of how it looks and works. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:02, 23 April 2025 (UTC)

::::::thanks! (i hav an account now) [[User:Bb777|me, hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 22:30, 25 April 2025 (UTC)

:::::::No problem! There's also a special custom-designed navbar for the original comics: try clicking the "|<" button! (It's not complete yet, but i'm slowly finishing it!) --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 22:36, 25 April 2025 (UTC)

== Contentious Topics Template ==

I propose that we create a unified template to slap on contentious and possibly controversial comics, with a warning similar to the one I (and a couple other people added on) wrote in [[3073: Tariffs]]. Now, since I don’t know how to create a template and don’t understand how they work, this is my request for help. If you are available to help write it or have any tips for me, please contact me either in this thread or on my [[User talk:42.book.addict|talk page]]. Thanks! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 18:01, 16 April 2025 (UTC)
:Hey, I just wanted to ask why you think a new template is needed. {{tl|notice2}} and {{tl|notice}} seem pretty solid. How would a new template differ from them? Btw, I switched the template in [[Talk:3073: Tariffs]] from {{tl|notice}} to {{tl|notice2}} so it's more like a warning, feel free to revert it if you prefer {{tl|notice}}. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:56, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
::I read the idea (which I'm not too enamoured with, but wouldn't argue against either) as being to create a <code><nowiki>{{contentious}}</nowiki></code>-like template in its own right that (perhaps by using {{template|notice2}} within it) had a standard "This comic, and its explanation, covers a particularly contentious subject. Take even more care than usual when adding to or editing this Explanation/Talk Page" (or similar) text with it.
::It would probably also have the ability to add further (or alternate) info, by standard template parameters, in case you want to personalise it to the ''exact''nature of the contention.
::But, my reasons why I didn't volunteer my ideas immediately are:
::*It paints targets. Anybody who wants to can look at all "pages using the Contentious template" and then troll-bomb them ''specifically''
::*Looking at the Tariffs-comic warning, that's ''huge'', and catering for that with a "standard text + additional notes" would be awkward... if you really believe it should be so huge in the first place,
::*Just by being so obviously available, there'd be creep. "Hey, this comic talks disparagingly about Newton's belief in alchemy... Surely that needs a warning too!", or start off with "Well, nobody's warning about our attitude to the US Senate in this comic, so I can be disparaging" which then practically forces another contentious-tagging (''possibly'' useful, but maybe in making a bolt for the barn door only ''after'' the horse has already made its own bolt through it) as it gets toned-down/-back again.
::And, though I also imagined the Tariff comic ''would'' get some push-back (there was some minor bits, but we seem to have kept it mature enough, IMO), it seems to be quiet. Can't say for sure it would have been without the warning it now has, but it survived ok before that was added. Hence why I'm ''meh'' about the very proposal. Hard cases make hard laws, and hard situations may prompt hard solutions. But I'm dubious about the actual case for the need. (As you say, we have 'freeform' notice+notice2, and I haven't seen proof even that was necessary as it was used.)
::But it would be trivial to implement, give or take some fine-tuning. I'll say that as a positive for the idea. Even if we never really use it as much as we could. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.216.83|162.158.216.83]] 20:35, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
:::Agreed. Maybe it's a good thing that we have to craft one for each comic we want to tag; this makes sure only actually contentious comics get tagged. An upside to having a specific template is that we wouldn't need to type <nowiki><noinclude></nowiki> every time, to avoid it displaying on the transcluded talk page.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:00, 17 April 2025 (UTC)
::::mm. all of these are good points. now that i think about it, copy-pasting old warnings and tweaking them as needed is probably better than creating a new template. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:45, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

==Proposal for template page==
I was thinking that making a template page with instructions about what should and should not be included in which sections would make it easier for new editors to help. I have no idea how I would do this, though.[[User:BobcatInABox|BobcatInABox]] ([[User talk:BobcatInABox|talk]]) 11:49, 4 May 2025 (UTC)
:Which particular template? Many templates ''do'' contain instructions (from basic to rather thorough), and some common ones are also gone into in the FAQ page. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.245|172.70.91.245]] 20:25, 4 May 2025 (UTC)

== The newest stuff goes at top ==

I’ve been thinking the newest comments should go at top and replies are under the chose comment with a colon or more. Because every time someone makes a comment but not replying to you, you still get a message. So you only get notifications when someone replies to you. And the always get notifications not related to you is kind of annoying. [[User:Aprilfoolsupdate!|Aprilfoolsupdate!]] ([[User talk:Aprilfoolsupdate!|talk]]) 04:30, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
:(Ah, so you found it, before I even wrote my directions down on how to get here.)
:Not sure this helps.
:Firstly: Top-posting is <s>the work of the Devil... burn it! Burn it all!</s> very hard to read.
::A: Because it's in totally the wrong order.
::Q: Why is Top Posting bad?
:(Yes, I know you want top-posting ''threads'' but retain bottom-posting ''thread replies'', but can you even imagine the chaos involved with people not properly realising what's top- and what's bottom-posted. Or inter-posted into an existing hierarchy? Not with this 'flatfile' structure, anyway.)
:Secondly: Does this count for headers (like <code>== The newest stuff goes at top ==</code>)? For 'no-colon' starter comments under a Discussion header? For both?
:Thirdly: what are we doing with all the past ''pages and pages'' of things that are (more or less..) consistently chronological and bottom-posted? To make new additions work, someone (and probably ''before'' the first commentator who wants to add a brand new one-line witicism to the top of any multi-year-idle page) has to go into every Discussion page (and more?) to reshuffle it all by whatever Top(ish)-Post Criteria are adopted.
:Fourthly: It wouldn't even change how frequently you get notifications. (Actually, it might make it worse, as inveterate bottom-posters have to be 'corrected' by the followers of the 'new rule', as well as for any actually idle pages that get redone as part of the "thirdly" point.) But I don't think Notifications are clever enough to imagine that a new section ''above'' what you previously wrote doesn't possibly interest your registered "watch and notify" intent upon any given page.
:I have a Fifthly and Sixthly, too, but I assume I've made my general opinion quite clear. (And I noted that this is not the only Community Portal edit you made, just before arriving here. Will check the other in a moment.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.229.142|172.68.229.142]] 06:19, 15 May 2025 (UTC)
::Never mind. I don’t even need to read the whole thing to know it is complicated. To many words {{unsigned|Aprilfoolsupdate|07:54, 15 May 2025 (UTC)}}

:::Short version: It's complicated, confusing and troublesome to change to. And won't even solve your problem. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.197|172.70.160.197]] 12:22, 15 May 2025 (UTC)

:::Agree with this message but disagree with the proposal. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 09:28, 18 May 2025 (UTC)

== By the Numbers ==

Greetings all,

So we all know that Randall numbers each XKCD comic with an ordinal number in a simple ascending sequence. I have become exceedingly intrigued by the particular properties of numbers now, especially their factors and primes. The most recent prime-numbered comic is [[3109]] and we'll soon see another one with [[3119]]. Does Randall ascribe any meaning or humor to the numbers that happen to appear as the posts play out? He certainly celebrates special dates! As a math-humor-based comic, there certainly must be jokes or surprises hidden therein. I'm not sure I've noticed any yet, though. [[386]] is certainly notorious, though doesn't seem to have a direct sort of Intel connection. [[42]] is unremarkable.

I once read a novel with an autistic protagonist, and each chapter was assigned a prime number. I will henceforth be on the lookout for interesting numerical happenstance as Randall continues to post! Anyone else? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 08:56, 12 July 2025 (UTC)

== Misc pages ==
I would like to propose the creation of an additional category for "miscellaneous pages" that aren't really comics, and which generally have a URL slug that's an English word or phrase instead of a number. This includes xkcd.com/YES and xkcd.com/NO, both of which currently have articles. It also includes these ones:

::''[Note by User:FaviFake: I organised this section and moved the links below]''

...and others as they are found or recovered. If only we could access the forum thread mentioned on the YES and NO pages! I was able to find a link to the thread here, but it's inaccessible. A
It's the one labeled "Hidden pages on xkcd": [https://web.archive.org/web/20170927200737/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=973b8a1dcd0a727a9177aa757108d4f6&start=250]. I was able to find the pages above via Reddit: [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/gixd96/what_are_all_the_hidden_pages_on_xkcd_that_you/] [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/35whzf/what/] --[[User:Rumbling7145|Rumbling7145]] ([[User talk:Rumbling7145|talk]]) 00:16, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

Update: I got into the forum page! [https://web.archive.org/web/20151206001238/http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=110093] We can now add these pages to the list:
[[User:Rumbling7145|Rumbling7145]] ([[User talk:Rumbling7145|talk]]) 23:37, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

===Pages===
* http://xkcd.com/yes {{Done|Created: [[YES]]}}
** http://xkcd.com/no {{Done|Created: [[NO]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/nakedpictures {{Done|Created: [[nakedpictures]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/spiral {{Done|Created: [[spiral]]}}
**Likely a reference to [[1488: Flowcharts]] and [[2322: ISO Paper Size Golden Spiral]], spirals above images of people and things

* http://xkcd.com/burlap {{Done|Created: [[Burlap]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/simplewriter {{Done|Created: [[Simple Writer]]}}
**Tool to Write Like [[Up Goer Five]] and [[Thing Explainer]]

* http://xkcd.com/tree_prank
**This is so funny

* http://xkcd.com/blue_eyes.html {{Done|Existing: [[Blue Eyes]]}}
** http://xkcd.com/solution.html, the solution to the problem (also found on [[Blue Eyes]]

* http://xkcd.com/morphs ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130313175333/http://xkcd.com:80/morphs/ archive only] — [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219184352/http://www.xkcd.com:80/morphs/ earlier version with more text])
**"Using several pieces of imaging software, including Photoshop and an image morphing program, I make composite photos of people."

* http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster
**"People playing chess on roller coasters, inspired by this comic:" image

* http://xkcd.com/kite
**"These are pictures I took by hanging cameras from kites, a hobby I've played with on and off over the years"

*https://xkcd.com/kite/kite_trick.jpg

* http://xkcd.com/dot {{Done|Created: [[dot]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/election ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141014075718/http://xkcd.com/election/ archive only])
**Used by randall for tracking elections, "it's the fastest analysis of the state of the race minute-by-minute".

* http://xkcd.com/event {{Done|Created: [[event]]}} (I still don't quite get it)
**There's an image on this site that a web browser fails to load, but when downloaded, Windows Photo Viewer can view the image.

* http://xkcd.com/now (redirect to [[1335: Now]])

* http://xkcd.com/plus {{Done|Created: [[plus]]}}

* http://xkcd.com/sub ([https://web.archive.org/web/20130111054027/http://xkcd.com/sub/ archive only]) — "The Sub Project", a long explanation of how Randall and others build submarines?

* http://xkcd.com/temp ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061219193846/http://www.xkcd.com/temp/ archive only])
**This is super interesting! It lists other sub-directories. [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.xkcd.com/temp/* These are the ones that survived in the archive]:
**http://xkcd.com/temp/email.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20100305065807/http://xkcd.com/temp/email.txt archive only]) — Seems to be an email exchange between Randall and someone else?
**http://xkcd.com:80/temp/euphoria.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160401222138id_/http://xkcd.com:80/temp/euphoria.txt archive only]) — This says "<Sphere> Ok, that last Randall who said 'to clarify' was actually Randall, but pretty much none of the others were. Also no Sphere after this gets linked in chat a second time is actually Randall either. Randall is probably not there."
**https://xkcd.com/temp/evidenceofidentity.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20201118232320/https://xkcd.com/temp/evidenceofidentity.txt archive only]) — "[Randall] Hello to everyone who waited in line to say hi to me on my How To book tour and specifically mentioned this chat! [Sierra] Hello mr. probably not the real Randall :D [...]"
***The rest are all images:
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/baby_mop.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070127045748/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/baby_mop.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/darthswingset.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070127045624/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/darthswingset.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/deb6d13b50a581304bac385c463b09c1.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070225103228/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/deb6d13b50a581304bac385c463b09c1.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/Hacker%20Grave.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070213182708/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/Hacker%20Grave.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/hotornot.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061219194445/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/hotornot.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/how_rumors_start_office.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070111000437/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/how_rumors_start_office.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/owned.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070228031547/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/owned.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/shark.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20061214082834/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/shark.jpg archive only])
**http://www.xkcd.com/temp/humor/you_cannot_pass.jpg ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070323001005/http://www.xkcd.com:80/temp/humor/you_cannot_pass.jpg archive only])

* http://xkcd.com/test ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170510061033/https://xkcd.com/test/ archive only])
**This appears identical to the regular xkcd.com homepage, it returns a 404 as of today

* http://xkcd.com/time (redirect to comic [[1190: Time]])

* http://xkcd.com/twitter (redirect to https://x.com/xkcd)

* http://xkcd.com/cyborg.txt
**Interesting script. According to [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/05/20/gps-cyborg-implant/ an old blag article], it is "a short Python script that uses a USB GPS device under Linux to help with navigation. It doesn’t have maps or anything — it just gives distances and, while you’re moving, the direction to the destination (as in 'two o’clock'). It prints this info on the terminal and speaks it using speech synthesis."

* http://xkcd.com/channel.html ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141011002528/https://xkcd.com/channel.html archive only])
**I have no idea what this it. It's full of gibberish and Chinese text.

* http://xkcd.com/channel.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141014083026/http://xkcd.com/channel.txt archive only])
** Same as above, but it downloads the file to the PC.

* http://xkcd.com/me.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141014101900/http://xkcd.com:80/me.txt archive only])
**Only says "I am not in 1110.n01se.net anymore". [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/5tqrew/xkcd_secret_page/ Learn more in this Reddit thread], in this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvLxOVYeo5w YouTube video of how it used to work], and in the [https://github.com/n01se/1110 GitHub for 1110.n01se.net]. I'm assuming Randall wanted to say that anyone who tries to impersonate him in the future isn't him?

* http://xkcd.com/why.txt ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180729163548/https://xkcd.com/why.txt archive only])
**Contains 33 THOUSAND "why" questions. May be related to [[1256: Questions]]? Very interesting!

* http://xkcd.com/bitcoin {{Done|Existing: [[Bitcoin address]]}}
**There's also this one, which we have dissected on the page [[Bitcoin address]] (very interesting read!)

* http://holistic.xkcd.com ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031258/http://holistic.xkcd.com/ archive only])
**"The XKCD Holistic Browser. Because we are all one. Type a web address and you'll be taken to one typed by someone else."

* https://aram.xkcd.com ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110816163403/http://aram.xkcd.com/ archive only])
**"This page is regenerated every day and may be NSFW. It shows a random result from a Google image search for IMG_????.jpg plus a random caption:" Seems it stopped working completely after a few years and got stuck one image&caption. Aram inspired [[Black Hat]], see his page for more.

* https://xkcd.com/verizon/ {{Done|Created: [[verizon]]}}

* http://mail.xkcd.com ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120321204721/http://mail.xkcd.com/ archive only])
**Seems Randall set it up but never used it.

* https://xkcd.com/personal
**There was a /personal folder on xkcd, but it's been entirely wiped https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://xkcd.com/personal/*

*https://xkcd.com/ngram-charts/ {{Done|Created: [[ngram charts]]}}
**Still online, but the images are missing even in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120225171410/http://xkcd.com:80/ngram-charts the archive]. "Some of the interesting charts I've come across while using Google Books ngrams (which analyzes the frequency of word use in their scanned books corpus over time)"

* https://xkcd.com/color/rgb/
** https://xkcd.com/color/rgb.txt

* http://68.57.186.221:8080/ ([https://web.archive.org/web/20041024201125/http://68.57.186.221:8080/ archive only])
** xkcd.com redirected to this at some points during 2004, this capture is from October 24th of 2004 specifically.

* https://throw.xkcd.com (only available [https://web.archive.org/web/20200919232527/throw.xkcd.com/ in the archive])
**This was likely hacked, see [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/iw9jsg/throwxkcdcom/ this Reddit thread]: ''"I emailed the xkcd.com webmaster, it was a testing URL he forgot to shut down. It's fixed now."''

* https://c.xkcd.com
**This is mostly all for comics with dynamic content. There are many subpages, see [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/j54lx3/does_anyone_know_what_cxkcdcom_is/ this reddit thread].
**https://c.xkcd.com/xb/feed
**http://c.xkcd.com/random/comic (redirects to random comic)
**https://c.xkcd.com/graph/1
**[https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/j54lx3/does_anyone_know_what_cxkcdcom_is/ There are others].

* https://static.xkcd.com/ (404, not in archive. [http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://static.xkcd.com/* archived subpages])
** http://static.xkcd.com/bl.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213845/http://static.xkcd.com/bl.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/br.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213841/http://static.xkcd.com/br.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/favicon.ico ([http://web.archive.org/web/20071208203917/http://static.xkcd.com/favicon.ico archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/general.css ([http://web.archive.org/web/20071208203917/http://static.xkcd.com/general.css archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/ieonly.css ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070911163429/http://static.xkcd.com/ieonly.css archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/ml.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213838/http://static.xkcd.com/ml.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/mr.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213832/http://static.xkcd.com/mr.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/tl.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213828/http://static.xkcd.com/tl.png archive only])
** http://static.xkcd.com/tr.png ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070912213835/http://static.xkcd.com/tr.png archive only])
** http://www.static.xkcd.com/robots.txt ([http://web.archive.org/web/20070501000000*/http://www.static.xkcd.com/robots.txt archive only])
** https://almamater.xkcd.com/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20130402215109/https://almamater.xkcd.com/ archive only])
:: https://almamater.xkcd.com/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20150209005631/https://almamater.xkcd.com/ archive only])
:: and errors out: https://almamater.xkcd.com/ ([http://web.archive.org/web/20160528035956/https://almamater.xkcd.com/ archive only, errors out])
*** http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv ([http://web.archive.org/web/20130511122543/http://almamater.xkcd.com/best.csv archive only])
***See comic [[1193: Externalities]]
{{misc page}}
You can monitor the pages that are using this template (so the brand new webpage explanations) by going to [[Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:misc_page]]

===How should we treat them?===
This is great! I think we should first create an article for each of them, and after we have a few articles then we can start to figure out a good name for the category and answer some questions, like:

*Should we add a new parameter to the template for these non-comics? To do that, we would have to ask an admin to edit the {{tl|comic}} template to allow us to do that. We can ask Kynde, no big deal.

*Some pages, like [[Blue Eyes]] and [[Bitcoin address]] are already in other categories, like [[:Category:Extra comics]] and [[:Category:Design of xkcd.com]]. Should we use the existing categories, or add a new one? How do we distinguish between, for example, [[Blue Eyes]], [[Bitcoin address]], and [[YES]], which are all in theory "misc pages".

*Where should the new category be categorised?

*What title should we give for explanations of pages that don't have a name, like xkcd.com/dot? That one is just titled "xkcd.com/dot", unlike pages like Blue Eyes and [[YES]]. Would it become "dot", "Dot", something else? Should we keep it coherent or base ourselves solely on the rendered title on the official site?

I love the idea! I currently don't have time, but I will create these pages eventually. If anyone else wants to chime in, please do! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:11, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

:"Unnumbered publications", or similar, could cover ''anything'' that wasn't xkcd.com/<digits>. Wouldn't cover replacements ([[2642: No One Was Hurt]] was originally 2642, for example), but that's a different class from deliberately off-series items. Also, given that often they are entirely non-image (the Yes and No), or straight text and multi-image (as per Blue Eyes, or other articles with a WhatIf-ish feel to them), I think calling them "comic"s is stretching the term.
:Though "miscellaneous pages" sort of covers this, I've a feeling that there's at least one... 'entity'... that is built upon multiple actual 'pages', but the list of candidates above doesn't contain any that look like they're what I'm vaguely thinking of. (Neither was it anything like the xkcd survey, or other interactive (numbered) comics, but maybe I'll bring it back to mind sooner rather than later.)
:As to the use of {{template|comic}}, I think we could spring to a (modified, 'inspired-by') template specifically for all these no-number/off-sequence explanation headers. Either explicit "prev=" and "next=" (per comic, ''could'' get quite mixed up if not kept uncontradictory) or a "position=" which could help maintain a list (and, from that, an auto-generated first/prev/next/last 'page ring') without having to subvert expectations of fitting in with the normal [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]] system.
:With the Comic template already equipped to deal with "no-number 'comics'", there wouldn't (in the first instance) be much work needed to "decomic" the new copy, with the exact method of resequencing (if desired) as a parallel series being the biggest question. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.49|172.70.85.49]] 17:20, 11 March 2025 (UTC)

::I'm not sure what the last sentenc means, but I like the idea of a new template! However, I don't think we should call the category "Unnumbered publications". Isn't that just [[:Category:Extra comics]] but without comics [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[No One Was Hurt]]? We should establish a criterion to add pages to this category and then figure out a name i think. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:42, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

On this subject, is there any reason why it's [[YES]] and [[NO]] (currently the valid links) rather than [[Yes]] and [[No]] / [[yes]] and [[no]] (currently invalid links)? And I don't mean "why aren't there redirects?", which I don't even think is the right way of resolving this, but what was the thinking? (Which then didn't result in [[DOT]], etc, so there's ''definitely'' some inconsistency, one way or another.) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.92|172.68.205.92]] 21:54, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

:I don't see inconsistencies. The name of the browser tab for the yes page is "YES" by Randall, same for NO. Instead, the page for [[dot]] is called "xkcd.com/dot/". We could use that, but that's likely not what Randall intended and might have been a coding oversight. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:01, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

I've created the {{tl|misc page}} template for these pages and removed the incomplete template until we reach consensus on what to do with them. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 14:40, 11 May 2025 (UTC)

Ahem, I'd like to remind everyone that they can feel free to comment on the best way to manage these. Or if they should be included in the wiki at all. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:38, 17 August 2025 (UTC)

What if we just create a subcategory for These. It is xkcd so it should belong here. Should not be in the random queue but something like a button to get to these. {{unsigned ip|216.125.50.226|16:51, 18 March 2026 (UTC)}}

=== New page "Spiral" ===

I found a new page at [http://xkcd.com/spiral xkcd/spiral]. what should I do? Thanks!
This is my first post, sorry it's not formatted correctly. -- [[Special:Contributions/73.169.159.188|73.169.159.188]] 00:27, 12 October 2025‎

: Welcome. Good find! Any suggestions? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 01:47, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
::I've moved this over to Coordination and uploaded all images on spiral. I'll be making the page soon. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 05:04, 12 October 2025 (UTC)
:::Moving to correct location where we're discussing these pages. More discussion about how we should treat them is welcome! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:00, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

=== [[:Category:Extra pages]] ===
I've created a category called Extra pages for all of these pages. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 03:14, 5 November 2025 (UTC)
:So, right now we have "Category:Extra pages" ''and'' "Category:Extra comics". Some ''are'' unnumbered comics (plus at least one "was a number, then replaced") and some are 'merely' pages (with possible a fuzzy line between for 'pages' that show images-that-aren't-comics), perhaps we should be consistent between which are which, and how they relate to 'standard' numbered comics.
:For example, being an Extra Comics was (officially, but you could also manually add it) initiated by the "extra=yes" param to {{template|comic}}. This also (theoretically, problems with the randomness backend aside) adds them to the Random Comics link-choice, ''without'' adding them to the Comic List numbers (such that it states "we have #### comics", where #### should not be different from the latest comic number, as recently established).
:Perhaps:
:*Make the comic template accept "extra=comic" or "extra=page", instead of "extra=yes".
:**Perhaps "extra=yes" 'remains' to default to one or the other? ...nah, just make sure all the current "=yes" ones are assigned beforehand.
:**"extra=no" just defaults back to behaviour without any "extra=" at all, of course, pretty much as currently.
:*Each of these new distinctions assigns to the 'Extra' category that fits it, but keeps it out of the All (numbered) Comics list, as being not numbered (and some not being 'comics')
:*Either ''just'' keep Extra Comics feeding to the Random Comic list (All Comics+Extra Comics, as we've painstakingly set it up to do, recently) or ''also'' include Extra Pages (it being AC+EC+EP in the Special:Random target list/whatever). TBD, depends upon whether you like a strictly "non-comic page" potentially popping up as a 'treat' for people.
:...that's all a ''little'' extra work. Some of which I could probably do right now (though maybe some pages are Protected against my input, haven't checked), but I think this needs discussion before doing any actual refining of the current setup.
:Might have been better to have proposed and discussed the Extra Pages details before starting that, too, but I'm happy to use this setup as a stepping stone given that it's been done already. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.89|82.132.244.89]] 14:20, 5 November 2025 (UTC)

=== Update on ngrams ===

The images on the ngrams page appear to be generated dynamically. The original URLs are broken, but can be restored by changing "/chart" to "/graph". This doesn't fix the HTML page, but it does render each of the 58 URLs accessible - see below.

All graphs default to a corpus from 2009. Note that some graphs, such as the one noted "cherry picking" below, look very different using a more recent corpus.

* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=President+Lincoln%2CPresident+Roosevelt%2CPresident+Kennedy%2CPresident+Johnson%2CPresident+Nixon%2CPresident+Reagan%2CPresident+Bush&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=5&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=fuck&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=the+Great+War%2Cthe+World+War%2CWorld+War+I&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=2
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=christian%2Cchristianity&year_start=1700&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=aliens%2C+predators&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=explosion+in+popularity&year_start=1900&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=blue+line&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=upward+trend&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=gay%2Clesbian%2Cbisexual&year_start=1940&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Leviticus+18%2Cturn+the+other+cheek&year_start=1960&year_end=2000&corpus=5&smoothing=3 (cherry-picking)
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=vegetarian&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=drunk&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=television%2C+tuberculosis&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=love%2Chope%2Cfaith%2C+sex&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hope&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=entomology%2Cetymology&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=carriage%2Ccar%2Cautomobile&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=irregardless%2Cregardlessly%2Cunregarding&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=a+bird+in+the+hand%2Clive+by+the+sword%2Clook+before+you+leap%2Ca+penny+saved&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=war&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Muslim%2CMoslem%2CMoslim%2CMussulman%2C+Moslam&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Empire%2C+empire&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=decline%2Cprogress&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=progress&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=6&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=war&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Rapture&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=history%2Cpast%2Cfuture&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Star+Wars%2C+Star+Trek&year_start=1950&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=0
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Jesus+Christ&year_start=1720&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=President&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=5&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=tyranny&year_start=1700&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=power+to+the+people&year_start=1700&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=flag&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=4&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=end+of+the+world&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Bible+study&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=God+bless+America&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=merry+Christmas%2Chappy+holidays&year_start=1960&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Space&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=old+fashioned&year_start=1750&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=sword%2C+gun&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pirate&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Ayn+Rand&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Marx&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Marx%2C+Marxy%2C+Marxist%2C+Marxiest&year_start=1850&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=0
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=communism%2Ccommunist%2Csocialist&year_start=1830&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=1
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Russia%2C+USSR&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=0
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=savior%2CSavior&year_start=1720&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=trend&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=girly&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=restroom%2C+bathroom%2C+toilet&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pursuit+of+happiness&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=telechart%2Ctelephone%2Ctelegram%2Ctelevision%2Cradio%2Cinternet&year_start=1840&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=king&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=science&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=decade&year_start=1780&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=thousand&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hundred%2Cthousand%2Cmillion%2Cbillion%2Ctrillion&year_start=1700&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3
* http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=jillion%2Czillion%2Cbazillion%2Ckazillion&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=0&smoothing=3

[[User:Rumbling7145|Rumbling7145]] ([[User talk:Rumbling7145|talk]]) 16:14, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

==Visual Editor?==
I, being a nerd in high school, edit on more than just this wiki. For example, I edit on Wikipedia. On Wikipedia, the default editing mode is a visual editor, which automatically converts your wikitext into the final product in real time. It's useful on many levels, and would save all of us a lot of time (I've spent at least 2 hours total fixing broken wikitext). I feel that using this tool would increase overall productivity in the wiki, and probably lessen the amount of people who are intimidated when attempting to edit, allowing more people to join and contribute to the community. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 22:43, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

:Good luck telling that to jeff! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 12:22, 8 August 2025 (UTC)

::Ugh. Well, he's gotta come back eventually, right? He's paying for the domain, after all. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 16:43, 8 August 2025 (UTC)

:::Or maybe he just forgot and we actually don't want him to come back. Who knows! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:45, 11 August 2025 (UTC)

::::Name one person who wants Jeff to just not come back. Either way, I want him back, and I suggested this just in case. This would also be really cool for me, as I joined after jeff's last known user page edit in 2018. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 23:31, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

:::::Jeez that was a joke. Ofc I want him back lol. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 20:09, 15 August 2025 (UTC)

::::::still no response from Jeff or any of his friends on: Reddit, X/Twitter; GitHub; Bluesky; Mastodon; and email. Oh, and I asked some person on YouTube with the username lcarsos (as in the other 'crat on here) but I think that he deleted my comment on his video (multiple times). (just a little fyi) '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 18:17, 19 August 2025 (UTC)

:::::::Does he even remember this? Maybe they all got struck by lightning at the same time while calling someone who just sneezed and saying 'bless you'. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 16:28, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

==Unicode emoji support==
This suggestion was made in response to the discussion above. I was completely unable to realize that FaviFake was joking. I feel that Unicode emojis would drastically improve the wiki and allow for more detailed conveyance of thoughts and feelings, and prevent catastrophic misunderstandings not unlike the one above. Other people have insulted me due to the fact that I was unable to convey enough emotion. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al |DollarStoreBa'al]][[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al |'''''Converse''''']][[Special:Contributions/DollarStoreBa'al|'''''My life choices''''']] 17:18, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
:Text-only media, like this, always has the issue of not being understood, but if someone forgets (or consciously declines) to put a "/s" or ";)" in there, they'll probably also not add an emoji.
:Of course, one person's very dry humour might go so far over the head of another person that not even a strong hint helps, whereas another's sense of fun might be so obvious that gilding the lilly even sends the ''wrong'' message about it. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 20:03, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
: I don't understand your suggestion. 😕 The site appears to allow such emojis to be included; I just copied and pasted. There's also the HTML entity option, e.g. <code>&#128533;</code>. 😕 Or are you asking that the site include code to make it easier to insert emojis? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 16:57, 29 August 2025 (UTC)

== Custom User-based Signature Template ==

DollarStoreBa'al and I came up with a pretty interesting idea: a template called "sig" that can hold the signatures of other users. This is to allow users to have signatures longer than 255 characters, which is the hard limit set by MediaWiki. To call the template, we can use <nowiki>{{sig|User:XYZ}}</nowiki> and encode the template with wikitext so that each user's signature can be pasted in without confusion. To make things even easier, users can adjust their signatures in Preferences to call this template so that the 4 tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) can still be employed. If enough positive feedback is received, I would love to work on it with the community. If anybody is interested in helping out, please mention it! The template could also function as a signature museum, where you can view other user's custom signatures and get inspiration. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 16:50, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
:Update. I have found another solution. By creating a sig page, you can call <nowiki>{{User:XYZ/sig}}</nowiki>, which enables you to literally copy-paste whatever's in that page into another page. This was first discovered, I believe, by [[User:Omega/sig|User:Omega]]. I don't believe we need the template anymore, but the signature museum would still be cool! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:10, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
::Not quite sure what it will do. Seems to me that for instance you and [[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] already have very advanced signatures (using Dollar's here as another example). My own preferences would be a normal signature, where it is easy to see who has made the comment and where the links takes me... But since you can already make this complicated signatures anyway, I'm not as such opposed to the idea. Am I correct in assuming I need to do something in order for this to be possible as the only active admin at the moment? As I will not come by here regularly, then let me know when there has been some relevant activity. Not just a reply to these questions here. But once some other than you two has chimed in. Else I might forget to come back to look! (I wrote this and then had an edit conflict with 42. So maybe this is not relevant anymore? But I will post it now none the less. But this was as a reply to the first proposal) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:16, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Hi Kynde. Yes, I believe that we don't need your assistance anymore. The need for a template is erased by the existence of /sig pages, and we can create a museum by ourselves. Thanks for trying and chiming in, though! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:18, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
::::I do believe the template would work fine... that way it wouldn't show the full wikitext of the signature. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 19:46, 29 August 2025 (UTC)
bad bad bad bad idea, the sig character limit is 255 for a reason, see {{w|WP:SIGLENGTH}}.

a sig template is an even worse idea, because every instance of it will call #ifexist, an [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgExpensiveParserFunctionLimit expensive parser function]. these make a page take even longer to load, which this wiki definitely does not need. also, expensive fucntions are capped at 500, so you're making a maximum of 500 signatures (not counting other templates). [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 04:50, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:As well as the WP:SIGLENGTH bit, if anybody actually cares about the precedent set by 'mother Wikipedia' then various other dos-and-don'ts from {{w|Wikipedia:Signatures}} might well apply to some extant personal signatures, from the "don't make it look like it's not your signature" through to being inconsiderate of the colour-blind and those otherwise vision-limited.
:It also gives some nice demonstrations of what ''can'' be done (within reason). Though I still say that just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. "Looks complicated, codes simply" would be my suggestion. Elegance of spirit, not a bloomin' juggernaut, if you're inclined to take my advice at all. You can still use personally distinctive signatures, and probably should. (Though, quite possibly, by the middle of next week, half the latest Talk comments are going to have orange-background. Don't care about that possibility, as much as I's like having vaguely recognisable namepage and timestamp bits to it that don't take effort to discern properly ''either'' when rendered ''or'' in raw code.) I have simple tastes, perhaps more than others... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.193|82.132.247.193]] 05:45, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Fully agree with raeb here, the last thing we need is more server load.
:*If you transclude them, then there's the server load and maximum transclusion problem.
:*If you substitute the template each time, the issue of hard-to-parse editing views gets worse. It's already annoying having to mentally "remove" your html codes when adding a comment, and we also don't have the VE, which would hide the code. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:52, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::I got edit conflicted, dangit. Anyway, both your complaints are either invalid or could easily be solved. The #ifexist limit could easily be bypassed if we simply delete the signatures of people who haven't contributed in, say, 6 months. The wikitext complaint is also invalid. Using the template as a signature would simply show <nowiki>{{User:XYZ/Sig}}</nowiki>, '''not the wikitext required to display the signature.''' Sincerely, --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 14:14, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Hi
simply delete the signatures of people who haven't contributed in, say, 6 months
:::''What?!''
:::Also, my 1st point wasn't mainly about #ifexist but about server load. It's as if you were adding the amount of code roughly equivalent to {{tl|incomplete}} to every single page you commented on, multiple times on the same page. This absolutely causes a ton of unnecessary server load. Imagine adding {{tl|incomplete}} hundreds of times to dozens and dozens of talk pages across the entire wiki. The software needs to keep all of them up-to-date. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:47, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
::::What's wrong with deleting signatures? They can just make a new one, and 6 months seems like a good cutoff for 'they aren't coming back.' I know Tori was away for more than 6 months, she's an exception. The server load is an issue though. Maybe we need to wait for that until Jeff is able to fix the current server issues. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 17:26, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::I randomly drop in every 6–12 months, for what it's worth. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 13:52, 5 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Why penalize people who only occasionally contribute? What does it buy us? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 17:49, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
::::DSB, the Template is a horrible idea, ok? I slept on it and after further reflection, it really doesn't add much. People can always subst in signatures through <nowki>{{_}}</nowki>, and it'll also strain the server way too much. There's also a reason why sigs are capped at 255 characters-it'll become impossible to read talk pages if everyone had hulking 1000+ character sigs (like the one that I created). Please stop fixating so much on this specific idea. Also, it is quite rude to penalize people who only occasionally edit (and I don't want to be a special case or something like that-please stop treating me as some godly figure who is better than everyone else.) '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:02, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::Yeah, you're right. The 255 character limit stands. Thread over, back to explaining. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 14:46, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

== Explain XKCD Discord/Social Media Server? ==

I was experiencing Cloudflare errors in the past 24 hours that had prevented me from accessing this website. It's working now, but I'm worried that something else would happen again. Would anybody be interested in organizing a group chat/server or something of the like outside of Explain XKCD? I would personally love if it was on Discord, as it's easy to use, convenient, is built great, and I use it often. If anybody else has suggestions, I'd be open to hear them! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:24, 12 September 2025 (UTC)
:Me too. It greatly worried me. If you want, I can set up a discord server. Personally, I prefer discord as it's very simple and has a clean interface. Again, only if you're interested. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:38, 15 September 2025 (UTC)
::[https://discord.com/invite/zGEVanBBAx Here you go!] '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 00:38, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::NICE! I wonder if we should message Kynde and see if he'll add it to the global messages. The more people, the better. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 01:17, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::I didn't want to influence your original choice, but it would have been nice if you'd have chosen something less 'commercial', as a platform. Hope it helps, just don't forget about everyone else! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.131|82.132.238.131]] 09:07, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::::Discord is free. I feel it should be easy for everybody to join, even if they didn't already have discord. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 12:53, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::"Freemium" would be a better description, with all the Nitro-mandating stuff. But I already deleted my more specific past observations about all that. And see no point in resurrecting my original Discord presence as you probably can do more chatting about the rest of us without too many random strangers like me turning up, whatever the other IP-onlies decide to do. ;) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.82|82.132.246.82]] 17:18, 17 September 2025 (UTC)

===Updating the global message board===
::''Moved from [[User_talk:Kynde#Updating_the_global_message_board]]'' [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 19:40, 16 September 2025 (UTC)

I am excited to announce that explainxkcd now has a discord server! I was wondering if you could add it to the global message board (idk what it's called, actually. The one with the incomplete explanations message.) to include the discord invite link? The more people who join, the better, just in case cloudflare decides to have those issues again. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:01, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:Hi. you did not include the link? Also I would like to know if other frequent editors think this is a great idea? Not all who edit here wish to be contactable on other platforms. I do understand where you wish the message to be though, and if this is a good idea we can put it there. I'm not certain what other people thinks though? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::I, for one, think it's a good idea. It's managed by Tori, so it's in very good hands. The only thing I'm afraid of is that discussions may not take place here, but I don't think that's enough of a reason not to promote it.
::The link is at [[User:42.book.addict]], in the second notice. I think we should say something like
In case this site goes down, we have created a Discord server as an emergency form of communication. (link)
::We aren't "excited to announce" a backup form of communication. Discussions must be public, not on external sites. This is merely a backup. I think it can then be removed from the sitenotice after a month or less, and mentioned on another page somewhere else, discretely. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:23, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::Thanks for chiming in FaviFake. Can you find a good place for this, because I would like to link to a local page from the sitenotice. I do realize that people will have to go to this discord before problems arises, but I guess that is the way it ism and that wont change no matter how we announce it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:49, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::::But 42 does intend for this to be used as "a fun place to connect with each other". Leaving it discrete would make it impossible for this to happen, because people won't see it. Also, for the record, FaviFake, 42 and I were. Multiple people. Me and her. That's how the English language works. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 16:41, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::Yes you two are the ones who wishes for it and FaviFake was the first to chime in. Don't patronize me please! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:44, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::I have no idea what you're saying regarding the "English language", but please refrain from saying... whatever that was.
But 42 does intend for this to be used as "a fun place to connect with each other"
:::::Could you stop talking on behalf of 42? I believe you've been asked many times not to do that. You can either tell us what '''you''' think, or let others speak for themselves. 42 isn't a goddess and is able to engage in this conversation without someone "defending" her opinions.
:::::I'll create [[explain xkcd:Discord]] but need to think more about how this is supposed to be pitched. I do not want people to be incentivised to use a private, inaccessible discord server to, for example, talk about the newest comic. --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 19:32, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::I moved this discussions back here because it's relevant to the entire wiki, not just Kynde' talk.
:::::''Moved from [[User_talk:Kynde#Updating_the_global_message_board]]'' [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 19:40, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::::::Sorry, I was just trying to simultaneously defend both of our opinions and state the facts. Also, thank you to FaviFake for moving this conversation to the proposals. This seems to be happening with Kynde's talk page a lot recently. (that being twice, but I've never seen it happen before, soo...) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 20:02, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:Hi, it's me. The "global message board" DSB was referencing to is the [[MediaWiki:Sitenotice|site notice]]. If Kynde could add it in the format that FaviFake said, that would be great! Also, I had thought that the server ''could'' be a fun place for us to bond/talk, but that can obviously be conducted in DMs. FaviFake's reasoning for having all conversations on-site makes perfect sense to me. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 20:35, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
::So THAT'S what it's called! I am one of today's lucky 10,000. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 23:35, 16 September 2025 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure if I'm wrong or not, but I think of the discord as 2 things:
*A backup form of communication
*An informal place to hang out with fellow readers and editors.

Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:23, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

==Dark theme?==
I saw a post about this in the archives that went unanswered, so I'll ask it here: Why doesn't the wiki have a dark theme? I feel it would be very useful for those who don't want to be blinded by editing. Wikipedia's got one, and it looks great! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:27, 18 September 2025 (UTC)
:Dark mode IS a thing. You need to create a common.css page to use it though. Copy paste in this to get dark mode (make sure to hit "Show preview" to test it out before you save!):

<code><nowiki> /* NQH's totally cool and amazingly radical dark mode */
/* Licensed CC0-1.0, no rights reserved. */

/* Sets everything to dark background. */
body * {background-color: #111 !important; color: #DDD !important;}
div.mw-body, div.mw-body * {background-color: #222 !important;}

/* Vector */

.mw-wiki-logo {background-color: #00000000 !important; filter: invert(100%);}

/* Monobook */

div#column-one > div#p-cactions > div.pBody > ul > li > a {background-color: #222 !important;}

/* Modern */

div#mw_header, div#mw_header h1#firstHeading {background-color: #000 !important;}
div#mw_content {background-color: #222 !important;}

/* Cologne blue */

/* Diff. */
td.diff-context, td.diff-context * {color: #777 !important; border-color: #333 !important;}
td.diff-deletedline {border-color: #F33 !important;}
td.diff-addedline {border-color: #3F3 !important;}
del.diffchange-inline {color: #F55 !important;}
ins.diffchange-inline {color: #5F5 !important;}

/* Numbers in history view. */
span.mw-plusminus-pos {color: #5F5 !important;}
span.mw-plusminus-neg {color: #F55 !important;}
strong.mw-plusminus-pos {color: #0F0 !important; font-size: 1.2em;}
strong.mw-plusminus-pos {color: #0F0 !important; font-size: 1.2em;}

/* Links. */
a[href$="redlink=1"] {color: #F00 !important; text-decoration: line-through !important;}
a:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #88F !important;}
a:visited:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #AAF !important;}
a:hover:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #AAF !important; text-decoration: underline !important; font-weight: bold !important;}
a:active:not([href$="redlink=1"]) {color: #FFF !important; text-decoration: underline !important; font-weight: bold !important;} </nowiki></code>

--'''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 19:01, 18 September 2025 (UTC)

::In response to DSB, in your userpage... The links being white... Which links? See the "/* Links. */" section. The various links are #F00 (red, the invalid ones), #88F (light blue), #AAF (lighter blue), or #FFF (white). If you don't like them, change them.
::The other things can probably be fixed if we know exactly what you're getting and what you actually expect. Also a good idea to check for typos/miscopying, via basic troubleshooting. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.204|82.132.246.204]] 22:43, 18 September 2025 (UTC)
:::I got edit-conflicted with... seemingly no change. Anyway, I found a better version which I now use. It's much cleaner and looks like it belongs. Only issue is that the sidebar templates have inverted colors? But very minor. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 01:24, 19 September 2025 (UTC)
:::CODE!!!<code><nowiki>/* WikimediaUI Dark Mode
*
* Wikimedia Design Team 2019-2021
* Original authors:
* - Volker E. – [[User:Volker_E._(WMF)]]
* - Alex Hollender
* - MusikAnimal
* - Carolyn Li-Madeo
* - Jdlrobson
*
* Original at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Volker_E._(WMF)/dark-mode.css
* Version for Gadget CSS skin override usage only.
* Basically removed of all interaction element styles and
* set to `html` instead of JS injected `.client-dark-mode` class.
*
* Last updated: 2021-04-20
*
*/

/** To prevent 'jumping' effect within #p-personal in Vector/Monobook. Overrides [[MediaWiki:Gadget-dark-mode-toggle-pagestyles.css]] **/
body.skin-vector-legacy :not(#pt-darkmode) + #pt-watchlist::before,
body.skin-monobook :not(#pt-darkmode) + #pt-watchlist::before {
content: "Light mode";
}

@media screen {

/* set height for monobook and timeless, because the filter in FF needs dimensions to get it to apply */
html {
height: 100%;
}

/* Filter needs to reside on `html`, see https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T221425#5153917 */
html,
/* All other selectors have `filter` double-applied to turn back to “normal” by inheritance */
html img:not( .mw-invert ),
html video:not( .mw-invert ),
html ogvjs:not( .mw-invert ),
html svg:not( .mw-invert ),
html iframe:not( .mw-invert ),
html .mw-no-invert,
html .cdx-no-invert,
html td .diffchange,
html .wvui-typeahead-suggestion__thumbnail,
html .skin-minerva .mw-notification-visible .mw-notification-content,
html .oo-ui-searchWidget-results .oo-ui-iconElement-icon,
html .list-thumb,
/* Extensions */
html .media-viewer .image img,
html .media-viewer .mw-file-description img {
filter: invert( 1 ) hue-rotate( 180deg );
}

/* Reset overrides, needed where double application above isn't working. */
/* Vector modern */
html .skin-vector .mw-logo-wordmark,
html .skin-vector .mw-logo-tagline,
html .skin-timeless .mw-wiki-title > img,
html .wvui-icon svg,
html .mw-ext-score img,
html .skin-invert img,
html .skin-invert-image img,
html .mw-hiero-table img {
filter: none;
}

/* Backgrounds */
html table,
html table.ambox-content,
html table.toccolours,
html .mw-notification,
html .mwe-popups,
html .infobox,
html .toc,
html .thumbinner,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'] > figcaption,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'] > figcaption,
html .wikitable,
html .cbnnr-main,
html .cx-callout,
html .overlay.media-viewer,
html #simpleSearch,
html #simpleSearch #searchInput,
html #siteNotice #centralNotice .cnotice {
background-color: #ddd;
}

/* Borders */
html body,
html h1,
html h2,
html h3,
html h4,
html h5,
html h6,
html table.ambox-content,
html table.toccolours,
html .mw-notification,
html .infobox,
html .toc,
html .thumbinner,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'],
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'] > figcaption,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'] > figcaption,
html #mw-head,
html #mw-panel,
/* Vector 2022 uses a transparent border for margin collapsing
(T312822) so don't apply this rule there */
.skin-vector-legacy #content.mw-body,
html #simpleSearch,
html #simpleSearch #searchInput,
html #siteNotice #centralNotice .cnotice {
border-color: #cdcbc8;
}

/* Links */
/* Links: normal */
html a,
html .vector-menu-tabs li a,
/* Backwards compatible VectorTabs, deprecated in MW v1.35. */
html .vectorTabs li a,
html .toctogglelabel,
html .mw-parser-output a.external,
html .mw-parser-output a.extiw,
html .mw-parser-output a.extiw:active,
html #mw-panel .portal .body li a {
/* color: #69f; Proposal below for level AA conformance, see also https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T233266
`#36c` is transformed by :root `filter` to be closer to chosen `#69f`. */
color: #36c;
}

/* Links: visited */
html a:visited,
html .mw-parser-output a.extiw:visited,
html #mw-panel .portal .body li a:visited {
/* color: #709bbd; Proposal below uses to-be-standardized color from https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T213778 */
color: #6b4ba1;
}

/* Links: red */
html a.new,
html .vector-menu-tabs li.new a,
html .vectorTabs li.new a {
color: #ff6e6e;
}

/* ::: Special Element Treatments ::: */
/* Image thumbnails */
html .thumbimage,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Thumb'] > :not(figcaption) .mw-file-element,
html figure[typeof~='mw:File/Frame'] > :not(figcaption) .mw-file-element {
border: 0;
}

/* Content image (thumbnail) SVGs */
/* `*not( .mbox-image )` exception doesn't work for unclear reasons */
html .image img[ src*='svg' ],
html .mw-file-description img[ src*='svg' ],
html img[ src*='Wiktionary-logo'] {
background-color: #fff;
border-radius: 1px;
}

/* Dealing with false positives from selector above */
html .mw-echo-ui-notificationItemWidget-icon img[ src*='svg' ],
html .mbox-image .image img[ src*='svg' ],
html .mbox-image .mw-file-description img[ src*='svg' ],
/* Emoji generated by [[Template:Emoji]] */
html .emoji .image img,
html .emoji .mw-file-description img,
/* Vote symbols on Talk pages */
html .image img[ alt^="Symbol" ],
html .mw-file-description img[ alt^="Symbol" ] {
background-color: transparent;
}

/* Page previews */
html .mwe-popups {
box-shadow: 0 30px 90px -20px rgba( 0, 0, 0, 0.3 ), 0 0 1px #000;
}

html .mwe-popups.flipped-y:after,
html .mwe-popups.flipped-x-y:after {
border-top: 11px solid #ddd;
}

html .mwe-popups.mwe-popups-no-image-pointer:after {
border-bottom: 11px solid #ddd;
}

/* Contributions menu */
html .cx-callout-1:after {
border-bottom-color: #ddd;
}

/* Mobile Wikipedia logo mobile header */
html .branding-box img {
filter: brightness( 0 );
}

}

@-moz-document url-prefix() {
body {
background: #000;
}
}

@-moz-document url-prefix() {
@supports (overflow-clip-margin: 1px) {
body {
background: #fff;
}
}
}
</nowiki></code>
--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 13:27, 19 September 2025 (UTC)

==Page Creation site notice for new accounts==
Many, many, '''''many''''' new people come around and ask other users about how to create their own user pages. Personally, I think we could stop the confusion by coding a different type of 'you do not have permission to create this page' error for new accounts, which would look something like this:

'To create new pages, your account must be at least a week old and have 50 edits. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs, but you do not have permission to create this page.'

Just a thought, in case admins can do that without Jeff's involvement. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 20:02, 30 September 2025 (UTC)

: I'd {{template|Actual citation needed}} on the "many"s, unless you're aware of off-site discussions about this one. It's actually pretty infrequent, so I feel you must be counting over several years, having found a number of historic examples dotted around on pages such as this. That said, it ''is'' currently as much an FAQ as anything else ([[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ#Why can't I create my user page and upload images?|as actually mentioned there]], for anyone who bothers to read it). And we do sometimes get a new-users, the ones freshly post-validated to create pages merrily 'helping out' all those they think need their help in that regard.
: Can I suggest that we do not have the exact number of edits so prominantly, though. Within the last day, as a matter of fact, we seem to have had someone making many useless edits (mostly of the form of adding extra spaces into seemingly random places within seemingly random articles), possibly in order to have created a new page of their own. And that's ''really'' not to the spirit of things. Inviting, or at least suggestively hinting, the possibility of near-vandalism (hopefully not ''actual'' vandalism) for the impatient who just see it as a 'target' to try to reach. And the truly and genuinely eager to contribute can easily have clocked up that number of edits to existing pages ''with no edit-tallying motive'' by the time the mandatory week has also expired.
: The caveat, I know, is that saying "a week and ''a certain number of edits''", aluded to but unspecified, will have the some of the same uselessly-editing people chasing an arbitrarily high edit-tally in order to be 'ready' for the week finishing. But that kind of person is already of the wrong initial mindset. And people desperate to create new pages with perhaps little more than a week of having, in ''most other respects'', full editing rights (which is only marginally more than IPs like me have, as there only a few key places that I am prevented from editing) tend to find themselves likely to be contributing to the Category: Pages to Delete list (perhaps courtesy of more established editors).
: On balance, perhaps the page you mention should instead briefly contain a link to the existing FAQ section, via link text explaining that there ''are'' reasons, but "see here" for details, or similar non-specific wording. Anyone who hasn't read the FAQ could benefit from being aware that it exists. And if anything ever changes (rise or fall of the time or tally limits, even removal or addition of specific criteria), the FAQ will probably be sooner updated with the new details before anyone thinks to edit the 'error page' again (a particular page that long-established users will have rarely, if ever, seen). Assuming, of course, even that anyone can edit that level of page content right now. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.184.204|82.132.184.204]] 23:08, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
::I don’t have time to read ip's comment but i definitely think the number shouldn't be so public, and i don’t see a need. i would support a small editnoce for letting users know they have to vaguely contribute more. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:17, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

== Some suggestions surrounding the use of the {{template|unsigned}} and {{template|unsigned ip}} templates. ==

;Where I just reference the {{template|unsigned}} template, there should also be an obvious extension of the same principle to the {{template|unsigned ip}} one as well.)

These are some interelated proposals, that could be implemented singly/incrementally (as desired and agreed upon). But might deserve doing in 'one go', at least the agreed upon elements. I'm just putting each bit into different subsections for isolated discussion (or ignoring) of the specific merits/otherwise of each. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
;TD;DR;s added, if you don't like the author's original verbosity. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

===Aesthetic/semantic change===
Issue: Not often, but sometimes, comments that are 'unsigned'-tagged (with the words "please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>") invokes retrospective use of <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> by those who take the words at face value. This ''can'' result in a (previously) 'unsigned' message having a later timestamp than its replies, or later 'top level' messages more immediately signed by their editors.

The more 'proper' way to replace an {{template|unsigned}} tag, for those that want to, would be to copy-paste a valid signature of the same type and replace the username(/IP) and datestamp as already (usually!) given in that initial pester-tag. But this is by no means made obvious in the above message.

Proposal: Wording to be changed to something like "in future, please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>", or "this comment should have been signed with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>". Or other wording, to be agreed upon, to make as snappy as the original ("was not signed with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>"). The aim is to omit the implicit request to anachrnistically sign, however.

Overall effect: Any change to the template(s) will transclude to what would probably be an overwhelming majority of Talk pages (at a guess), plus other 'discussion' pages like these Portal ones. But there's no change in functionality or any individual page-updating, just the slightly different text when viewing in future.
*Note1: the {{template|unsigned}} template already takes a (rarely used) third parameter, which overwrites the "please sign..." message (i.e. <code><nowiki>{{unsigned|<username>|<timestamp>|<alternate message>}}</nowiki></code>, and it'd still be overwritten exactly the same wherever that has been applied.
*Note2: it also would not rewrite the text given of any originally "subst:"ed version of the template, but that's a completely different issue.

Justification: The need may be slight, but it's also a trivial tweak to implement (or even to trial) with a marginal but maybe useful long-term gain. But we'll need a proper discussion of what wording to move to, or else that it's not necessary. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

: Case in point {{diff|389535|the few edits that led up to here}}. Didn't really 'spoil' any actual chronology but shows how easily it is obeyed wrongly. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 18:04, 24 October 2025 (UTC)

;TL;DR;:Change the text from "please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>", slightly. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

===Additional templates to complement 'unsigned' ones===
Issue: Retrospective 'honest faking' of previously missing signatures is mildly awkward, as mentioned above. It's easy to get wrong, even easier to just not bother at all with it. (Either leave 'unsigned' or create the issue from the prior item.

Proposal: Complement the template usage <nowiki>{{</nowiki>''un''<nowiki>signed|<username>|<timestamp>}}</nowiki> with one that is <nowiki>{{</nowiki>''retro''<nowiki>signed|<username>|<timestamp>}}</nowiki>. Take the same parameters (except the 'alternate pester text') but return just the effective <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>-style format, now no longer with the 'please sign...'-type appended message.

There are a number of possible uses for this:

#''user1'' forgets to sign; ''user2'' spots this, invokes {{template|unsigned}} to it; ''user1'' '''acknowledges''' their goof, by simply changing the template-invocation of "unsigned" to "retrosigned" and the rendered page is left neater (any "whoops, my bad!" apologies can be given in the edit-comments, as unused third-parameter, etc, if they wish),
#''user1'' forgets to sign; ''user1'', themself, spots this (before anyone else) and applies this as easily as they would apply a {{template|unsigned}}. Slightly easier than 'honest faking' that involves the valid copypaste-method (again, with "whoops!, my bad!" opportunities, should they feel like it),
#''user1'' forgets to sign; ''user2'' spots this; knows that it's an oversight by a regular contributor who just slipped up, and there's no reason to make it a 'pester message'; so ''user2'' just goes straight to using Template:retrosigned, and doesn't bother with the 'pestering' or 'blaming' implications inherent in Template:unsigned),
#''user1'' forgot to sign ''...a decade ago or more!''; We know that (for example) User:Jeff is unlikely to benefit from being reminded/pestered/shamed, so it just seems better to let the more recent editor 'retrosign' any such example that gets discovered,
#or possibly, '''with care, ''and honesty'':''' someone, as ''newusername'', wishes to associate themselves with comments made by ''oldusername'', or even any given ''ip-address'' contrinution they previously used; that's something I wouldn't do myself, but I could see the appeal.
*Note1: my method (and that of others?) to edit in an 'unsigned'-tag is to copy the header info from the appropriate diff page's column, paste that text (containing datestamp and ID of contributor, together with some other textual cruft) as unsigned-tag parameters, rearrange edit ("timestamp" then "userid", with a few extra characters, becomes "|userid|timestamp" parameters), the same method would entirely work with the retrosigned version too.
**This, however, does not contain the "(UTC)" timezone info that <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> would give by default, so a similarly direct retroactive 'fake' will also lack this. Eagle-eyed readers might pick up on this. Which isn't an issue that concerns me. (One could always manually append " (UTC)" to the second-param, or after the template itself, even if I don't think it worth the bother.)
*Note2: It doesn't reproduce the appearance of anyone's custom signature, if they had one that should have been invoked. But also a trivial differemce, having resolved the whole issue of "no longer being unsigned".
**Should anyone ''really'' care to reproduce a custom/non-standard signature, they can still do so (on their behalf or someone else's). This is just the quick and easy

Justification: The idea is to allow for the 'tidying up' of the front-facing pages with less convoluted and more honest back-end edits. I don't expect, or want, anyone to retrospectively convert historic 'unsigned' tags just for the sake of it, but it adds a tool to the kit of anyone who is already prepared to 'correct' these things (their own, or others) in any given page-source.

I'd potentially use it for long-standing editor's lapses (the "Template:retrosigned" version), to feel less guilty about apparently nagging them about it. Or upon myself (the "Template:retrosigned ip" version), if I slipped up, to feel less guilty for going back in and 'honestly faking' what I had forgotten to sign, but (as noted above) there are several other applicable uses. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

;TL;DR;:Let there be "retrosigned" and "retrosigned ip" to be used where {{template|unsigned}} and {{template|unsigned ip}} are not (any longer) what is needed somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

===Tracking parameter underutilisation===
Issue: Early implementation, and sometimes more recent, of the {{template|unsigned}} template may use its most basic <code><nowiki>{{unsigned}}</nowiki></code> form with ''no parameters given''. This gives an 'error', of sorts, due to having no official check-and-fallback upon not being given the username parameter. The error is visual only, and ''may'' have been allowed/forced to happen as a way to force its correction (though, at least until recently, it sees not to have done this as much as it should have).

Other times, perhaps immediately after the first parameter (contributor name) started to be routinely added, <code><nowiki>{{unsigned|username}}</nowiki></code> is used ''without the timestamp parameter'' that we now mostly take for granted.

(While the current third parameter, the 'alternate "pease..." text' is entirely an optional and a mostly unused feature, future changes may require/encourage further elements (perhaps 'named parameters') and leave our default "unsigned|username|timestamp" format lacking.)

I've been known to update any discovered 'bare bones'-unsigned formats, if I find any in pages I edit. Someone else seems to have adopted it as a task of its own, recently. This relies upon spotting the non-standard (or at least non-modern) usages.

Additionally, there ''is'' the in getting the rather ugly <code> -- [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]]) ''(please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~</nowiki>~~)''</code> 'error' for all no-param versions that exist.

Proposal: Firstly, just implement the 'catch' code upon the (lack of) first parameter. Make it 'fail cleanly', or at least less 'errorlike'. This is trivial to implement (i.e. <code><nowiki>{{{1|}}}</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki></code>). (I'd do that right now, if I could.)

Secondly, within the 'failover' half of the 'non-parameter' parsing, give it a Category: membership.

I have several possible suggestions for the style of Category membership:
# If the 'userID' isn't given, perhaps "Category:Unsigned no-UserID", if the 'timestamp' isn't given, "Category:Unsigned no-timestamp", and any others.
#* Note: the system could be extended to other templates, such as "Category:Incomplete no-reason" or perhaps "Category:Comic no-image", but that's not officially part of this suggestion.
# More simply, just have "Category:Unsigned-error", without specifying. (Or even "Category:Template-error" for far more generalised use.)
# Differently specific, use the category re-indexing (something like <code><nowiki>[[Category:Template-error|blah]]</nowiki></code>) for handy grouping-with-differentiation

Obviously, the appropriate category-page needs to be there to show any (and all) invocations. Similar to the [[:Category:Incomplete explanations]] one, etc, it would invite action to ''remove'' membership as examples are sorted.

Justification: This is a solution for 'meta-problems', really. Which 'category membership' option is used would define how much additional editing(/correcting) this might prompt for historic problems, as well as identifying improperly added new template-invocations. But it might be good to know exactly how wide or narrow a scope people might wish to apply to this, before going ahead and creating many new 'error' categories... one even just the single catch-all one. [[Special:Contributions/2.98.65.8|2.98.65.8]] 21:33, 20 October 2025 (UTC)
;TL;DR;:Make it easier to find 'incompletely implemented' templates (initially the Unsigned ones), so they can be fixed by anyone who would like to. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
----
This looks AI-generated. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:36, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
:Really? Unless AIs are doing 'accidentally on purpose' typos, I think it just looks like someone with more ideas trying to burst out onto the page than they can easily (and accurately) summarise. And I'm also that type of person, so I can ''easily'' relate. There, but for the grace of <s>God</s> any-unspecific-generalised-universal-force-of-non-deterministic-fate goes I! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.237|82.132.245.237]] 18:50, 12 November 2025 (UTC)
:Added a "''Too Long; Didn't Read;''" summary to each, as I understand the intents. ;) Now I'm wondering if there are any other things I might do that for! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.30|82.132.244.30]] 19:07, 12 November 2025 (UTC)

==Banning the phrase "WhatsApp"==
I've noticed that lately, much of our vandalism has come out of scamvertisements asking you to contact the scammers on WhatsApp. As I don't believe Randall has ever actually used WhatsApp, and as such it is unneeded, I feel we should just prevent any edits containing the word 'WhatsApp' from going through if the edit removes more than 90% of the page's byte count (let's be honest, nobody is going to delete that much from a page). --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 17:37, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
:The standard protection is to have [[user:theusaf]] to refine/expand what theusafBOT reacts to. Which it seems they occasionally do.
:I don't know whether they're paying attention, but I'd hope they'd pick up on such things. Given that it's the Feedback/etc comics that regularly get spammed like this, I'd hope they'd at least try to see what someone else reverted in leiu, and adapt accordingly, when they get the time.
:I don't know the various sets of exact criteria in use (some seem generally obvious enough, key patterns and keywords involved) and I think something to at least start with "blanked page and replaced with ...", on specific sets of pages, as an edit comment could be a good predictor with minimal false-positives. But I wouldn't want to explicitly suggest that (or your idea), lest the more attentive spammers made a trivial change to their future edit plans to by-pass it.
:...though I frankly think those responsible in this case don't care/think ''too'' much about it, it's more for all the other things I'd rather leave trivially unguessable how to get round. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.138|82.132.244.138]] 18:30, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
::I'll look into this. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 22:34, 6 November 2025 (UTC)
:::Hey look, an admin that isn't Kynde! That's... actually the first time I've seen an admin that isn't Kynde in person. Cool! --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 17:15, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
::::Yeah, I'm not super active in the discussions, but I occasionally edit and check that by bot is still working and not destroying anything. The whatsapp check has been added. —[[User:Theusaf|theusaf]] ([[User talk:Theusaf|talk]]) 05:00, 13 November 2025 (UTC)
:::::*SKIBIDI-POP PA-DOOP TA-DA TAAAA!!!!* --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 14:48, 13 November 2025 (UTC)

==Adblock popup==
This wiki uses ads as a way to make money and keep the website up, and many people use adblockers (the absolute state of YT ads is insane). So, why don't we add one of those AdBlock popups that they have on some sites? Maybe the message could be:

{{Header text|So, about that AdBlock... 

explain xkcd uses ads to keep our server online. Please consider turning off your AdBlock so we can continue providing quality explanations. Thanks!}}

This would be an optional thing and easily closable, but it could provide at least a bit of extra revenue. Maybe we could also make a 'thank you' screen for people who do actually turn off their adblocker (it would only pop up once, after they turn off the AdBlock):

{{Header text|Thank you for turning off your adblocker!

Sincerely, the explain xkcd community.}}

What do you guys think? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 15:58, 30 October 2025 (UTC)

Adblockers often also can block anti-adblock popups, but sure, go ahead. I guess you could also ask for donations to run the site. Same caveat applies. - an adblock user. [[User:None|None]] ([[User talk:None|talk]]) 20:47, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

== categories template ==

Hear me out: I've been doing a lot of category adding to mostly files that are uncategorized (BTW, we have a 11,000-12,000 backlog of pages-any help (or maybe a bot!) would be greatly appreciated). I think that we should make a template called Category or "cat" so that we can add categories faster. Of course, HotCat exists, but it only renders when there are already existing categories. For all the uncategorized files/pages, we would have to manually add it in. My strategy currently is moving my mouse to the edit button, clicking it, hit return to make a whitespace (for organization), hitting CTRL-V, moving my mouse to the "Save changes" button, and clicking it. And that's only for the really repetitive ones, like the comic images or Hoverboard or Time. Does anybody have any thoughts/objections to this? Of course, we would still need to edit, but it would be a lot easier than typing out <nowiki>[[Category:___]]</nowiki> IMHO. Additionally, I've studied up a bit of template code (Lua) and I've sort of fleshed out some code. I don't really know if it works, but if there's anybody more experienced feel free to look through it! I've included Pages to delete (ptd) and Helper comic images (hci) as examples. 

<code><nowiki>
{{#ifeq:{{{1}}}|ptd|
[[Category:Pages to delete]]
}}

{{#ifeq:{{{1}}}|hci|
{{#if:{{{2|}}}
| [[Category:Helper comic images ({{{2}}})]]
| [[Category:Helper comic images]]
}}
}}
</nowiki></code>

Thanks, --'''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 10:17, 3 December 2025 (UTC)
:That's actually a good idea! So, it would be: <code><nowiki>{{cat|Helper comic images (1190)}}</nowiki></code>? That would be quite convenient. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 20:53, 4 December 2025 (UTC)
::As written, I read it as...
::If "ptd" in the first spot, i.e. <code><nowiki>{{cat|ptd}}</nowiki></code>, that would give the Pages To Delete category.
::If "hci" in the first spot, i.e. <code><nowiki>{{cat|hci}}</nowiki></code>, then it would instead Helper Comic Images
::If "hci" in the first spot and a number in the second, i.e. <code><nowiki>{{cat|hci|1234}}</nowiki></code>, then it would instead give you Helper Comic Images (1234).
::There are maybe a few minor issues with it, as written. I'd use <code><nowiki>{{{1|}}}</nowiki></code>, for starters, and nest it so that any non-specified (including blank) param would give out an obvious mis-use error result. And you'd probably end up having <code><nowiki>{{cat|<whatever>}}</nowiki></code> sitting in your paste buffer (or would <code><nowiki>{{subst:cat|<whatever>}}</nowiki></code> be better?) exactly the same as you'd have had the basic Category, anyway.
::But I really wouldn't know where it sits in the [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] scale... Almost a "death by supernova neutrinos" issue, I suspect... ;) [[Special:Contributions/78.144.255.82|78.144.255.82]] 21:37, 4 December 2025 (UTC)
: I would use a switch instead of an if, like
:<code><nowiki><includeonly>[[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{{1}}}
| ptd = Pages to delete
| hci = Helper comic images {{subst:#if: {{{2|}}} | ({{{2}}}) }}
| {{{1|}}}
}}]]</includeonly></nowiki></code>
: It should be used with <nowiki>{{subst:</nowiki> because otherwise the category won't be able to be removed normally, but it technically works without it. The substs before the ifs make the resulting wikitext nicer, as otherwise when the overall template is used with <nowiki>{{subst:</nowiki>, it inserts the if statements directly. Consequently, it must be enclosed in includeonly's to prevent the substitution from occurring when the template is saved. It will also default to inserting the category with the name of the first argument, but it is longer to type using the template like this (<nowiki>{{subst:cat|All comics}}</nowiki>) than just typing the category directly (<nowiki>[[Category:All comics]]</nowiki>).
:If having an obvious error message is desired, you could replace the default case (the <code><nowiki>{{{1|}}}</nowiki></code>) with something like <code><nowiki>]] Invalid argument for [[Template:cat</nowiki></code>. [[User:Firestar233|guess who]] ([[User talk:Firestar233|if you desire conversing]] | [[Special:Contributions/Firestar233|what i have done]]) 05:02, 16 December 2025 (UTC)
All fo this sounds good! I don't have the time to look into this but Firestar233 is incredible with templates so i trust their code will work! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:41, 17 December 2025 (UTC)

== New Character Proposal for Kid Cueballs ==

I'm somewhat new to editing, though I've been using this wiki for some time now. And I've noticed that with comics such as 3178, whenever a kid is represented by Cueball the transcript says "a Cueball like kid" which is long and slightly annoying to read. So I propose giving the kid a name that's shorter and easier to use but still let's the reader know that a kid is being represented by Cueball: Kidball.

Thoughts? -- [[User:MikeTheNewGuy|MikeTheNewGuy]] ([[User talk:MikeTheNewGuy|talk]]) 13:25, 17 January 2026‎ (UTC)
: Hi, Mike; welcome to ExplainXKCD. BTW, I added your signature to your comment.
: But, on-topic: this sounds like an interesting idea. But, in your mind, is this "Kidball" always the same kid, rather than a type of kid? Would you expect that if you see "Kidball" in a new comic he'll behave the same way? If not, then I wouldn't add this name. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 13:32, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
::Thanks for adding my signature, I’m gonna have to remember to do that.
::What I had in mind with Kidball was that most of the time he’s the same kid (since most of the time he only appears in Miss Lenhart’s class, at least that’s where he’s been the majority of the times I’ve seen him), but is occasionally used to represent someone else; in the same way that Cueball appears to be the same person most of the time, but Randall occasionally uses him to represent someone else. And using “Kidball” in the explanations/transcripts might be more efficient than “a Cueball like kid”.
::And yes, if I saw him in a new comic, I would expect him to more or less behave the same way, unless it’s clear that he’s representing someone else.[[User:MikeTheNewGuy|MikeTheNewGuy]] ([[User talk:MikeTheNewGuy|talk]]) 18:04, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
::I'm not sure; let's see what others think. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 18:11, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
:::I do think that he can and should be named, as he's very similar to [[Jill]], even if she has more personality than him. And Kidball is an amazing name! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 18:01, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
::::I concur. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:57, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
:::::Me too. I'm not trusting myself with the actual page creation, so somebody else will need to create it. (sorry, just don't want to mess things up) --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 22:51, 28 January 2026 (UTC)
::::I've made them. See [[Kidball]] and [[:Category:Comics featuring Kidball]]. I've also changed the header of this thread for more clarity. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 01:40, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::Thanks! Anyone up for populating it? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 08:14, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::I'll try to see if I can find the time (and motivation) to do so this week. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 03:07, 2 February 2026 (UTC)
::::::I just went through [[:Category:Comics featuring children]] and added about 9 to [[:Category:Comics featuring Kidball]]. We're getting there! [[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 14:34, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::Should comics with multiple Kidballs be placed in [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs]], or should a new category be created? [[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 12:37, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::: (First, I made it markup as a "visible category link", as you intended, rather than the invisible category membership that normally happens, hope you don't mind.)
:::: A further question is if a comic was Multiple Cueballs, by dint of having a Cueball ''and'' a now-IDed-as-Kidball, is it still Multiple Cueballs? [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.239|82.132.239.239]] 13:26, 15 February 2026 (UTC)

:::: We've only just got to the point where we're naming this character Kidball; I'd say don't complicate the situation just yet. Too many categories makes the categories less useful. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::: Children are rarely alone, normally being with other children and/or with one or one-or-more adults. So [[:Category:Comics featuring children]] covers Multiple Kidballs.
:::: I'd say that Multiple Cueballs is a notable 'common strangeness' that I think it's useful to continue note, for various reasons, but multiple non-Cueball characters (e.g. how [[1000]] has it, in-extremis) aren't worth all the various different character-specific 'multiple' categories. (And, yes, an adult Cueball and a Kidball should not be "Multiple Cueballs".) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 18:29, 15 February 2026 (UTC)
:::::Agreed. Multiple Cueballs is usually for unusual cases where there isn't a different main character other than cueball. A bald kid and a bald adult are two different people. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:52, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
== Bring back mboxes! ==

[https://mediawiki.org/wiki/Template:Mbox Mboxes] (do read that link) are message boxes that prompt editors to edit.
They say things such as, "'''Please help expand this page.'''"
However, they aren't on this wiki!

So, there are a few different templates resembling mboxes:
* {{template|notice}},
* {{template|notice2}},
* {{template|incomplete}}, and
* {{template|incomplete transcript}}
are just a few I've seen.

I just don't think this is the way! Also, I checked {{template|ambox}} and it said it was deleted. However, the proposal archive
isn't working and I can't check the reason. So I can't see why we aren't using them!

Here are a few arguments for mboxes:
* Mboxes can be different types, such as a notice or an alert, or even an incomplete notice, with a <code>type</code> attribute.
* Mboxes are <abbr title="Don't Repeat Yourself">DRY</abbr>, they're reusable.
* Mboxes are used on Wikipedia, and other sites I'm sure, so using them here will make it more comfortable for new editors coming from other sites such as Wikipedia.
* Using mboxes will make styling all alerts easier. (OK YES I ADMIT IT I WANT MY USER STYLES)

So why aren't we using them? I'm thinking that if this topic gets enough support, we can bring mboxes back, and
start transitioning old alerts to mbox variants.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. [[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 14:38, 16 February 2026 (UTC)
:The discussion, as you said, is in the archive: [[explain_xkcd_talk:Community_portal/Proposals#Notice_templates]]. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:58, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

== Transcripts ==

ATTENTION!

THIS:

Blah blah '''BLAH'''
''BLAH blah blah''
Wordssss…………

(Fill in blahs with your own words! Choose your own adventure fun!)

Is not a transcript!

I’ve had the impression that transcripts were for blind people (well, not ''just'' blind people) and making transcripts like the one above is only making things harder for people who may read aloud for blind people. Use things like [bold text] or [italics] or [comic in red text].

Idk wh6 I wrote this it just been bothering me. {{unsigned ip|2600:4040:52f7:9a00:cdb5:8d4d:4a6c:9917|16:58, 24 February 2026 (UTC)}}
:I've always wondered who the transcripts are even for. Since both the comics and the transcripts are in the same medium, those who are blind wouldn't be able to see the transcript. I guess they could have it read to them, but it's still confusing. As far as I know, it's just a thing that very early editors used to do, and the tradition stuck. What's the reasoning behind the transcripts? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] (BLM)''''' 14:22, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
::There exists the {{w|screen reader}}, which (at least until you start to trust AI, and there ''are'' undoubtely some good AI ATs out there that do this, these days, but are trained more to help with RL situations, like "what items are on the shop shelf I'm currently standing in front of?", not stick-figures and line-art...) can't do anything useful with the non-meta contents of an image but will happily speak out a transcript.
::It probably also helps, even if you don't need it spoken out for you, if you have a hankering of searching for a particular comic and you know some written words in it that might not ''necessarily'' be quoted verbatim in the Explanation. The text being all there in the Transcript section means you can get this site (or perhaps your caching search-engine of choice) to find it, without even relying on someone having decided to quote it directly elsewhere (which is often not good and/or necessary for an Explanation/Discussion/Trivia section contribution).
::If you're ''really'' lucky, you can even search for [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=%22office+chair%22&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go some random visual thing], as long as it's been mentioned, without relying upon it havng already had a thoroughly populated Category... That relies upon any useful example having the same exact wording in the Transcript (and/or Explanation), but it's better than if you don't have any Transcripts at all.
::There are other useful things, a bit less obvious. Yet perhaps you could argue the presence of the Transcript may not actually be that vital... I don't know if anyone here ''does'' even use a screen-reader (but is still interested in webcomics ...a very visual medium). And there are probably other ways to get the other other advantages of the Transcript. Perhaps we could just make sure ''everything'' currently Transcripted is added to the Explanation (though that seems wasteful, and might make the Explanation far ''less'' useful/readable, having to fight past the obligatory in-depth explanation of whether Cueball's arm is raised in a particular panel or not...). But currently the Transcript exists, for those that need (or like) it, and also anybody who doesn't can just ignore it.
::And unless you're going to fold ''all'' Transcripts into the rest of the Explanation, it seems rather strange to just stop creating them. Honestly, it's probably half the fun for some people. And even another 'First!'-brag for users to bag, without being actually so crass as to edit anything just to say "First!" ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 19:58, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
:::I still do think that the people who need a screen reader would be interested in webcomics, although there probably exists a small population of people who are. Also, screen readers do not necessarily need to use AI in anything except for the voice. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 20:09, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
::::Not sure if you're agreeing with me or not there. You may have missed a "not" or something in there somewhere. And screen-readers don't need ''any'' AI (as we would currently expect it), although doubtless the last few years development of LLM/GenerativeAIs has probably improved them from 'dumb phonology' (with quirks that users would have to get use to) to actually saying things more eloquently and even correctly voice non-homophonic homographs correctly...
::::But, anyway, there's the other reasons for a Transcript, even if I don't know if anyone does bother to use SRs. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 20:45, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
:::::I did, indeed, accidentally miss a 'not'. I DON'T think that those who need screen readers would be interested in webcomics. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 20:55, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
::::::You'd be surprised. Just take a look at this discussion: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Sightless_readers_offended_by_the_.22It.27s_.27cause_you.27re_dumb.22_tagline. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:00, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-07T07:24:33Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0. (However, it may also lead workers to cover up or conceal accidents, for the same reason, which would tend to increase future accidents, because they do not report the need to correct hazardous conditions that are causing accidents.)

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative value −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time, and is at least self-consistent, like with [[363: Reset]])

Floating-point errors occur because computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3s repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight rounding error. Unless carefully controlled, these rounding errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999, which might not trigger the code to do what it should do when three thirds have been accumulated (it can be mitigated by allowing a match for a value which is within a suitably very small difference to the test value, but this must be considered carefully to not be over-/under-sensitive). The amount of required space for rational numbers is not universal, it depends on the base used (⅓ in base 3 requires just two digits: 0 as the units and 1 after the {{w|Decimal separator#Radix point|radix (ternary) point}}). Floating point arithmetic standards, like the popular IEEE 754, define how and when an approximation should take place, leading to predictable results, but they don't respect some basic properties of common arithmetic operations, which someone may take for granted, e.g. in floating point arithmetic addition and multiplication are commutative (a+b=b+a; a*b=b*a), but aren't guaranteed to be associative ((a+b)+c≈a+(b+c)); (a*b)*c≈a*(b*c)).

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.000110011001100110011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000000000000004].

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it typically "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231−1 (2,147,483,647) to −231 (−2,147,483,648).

Integer overflow was the topic of [[571: Can't Sleep]], with yet another example of a 'days since' sign being [[3140: Biology Department]] (two examples, in both the comic and its title text).

It should be noted that computers displaying things like "-1 seconds until the next [blank]" is a glitch that actually happens.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign, which appears to be attached to the wall at its four corners. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

==Trivia==
As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it were a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign maintains its own "error state" in a self-referential way. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over and over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days.{{actual citation needed}} It was changed later though, probably so that it would be more realistic, −0.00000000000000017 would correspond to the very last bit of mantissa being incorrect and only for numbers between 1 and 2 (not including 2), and operation (1-1) is unlikely to result in rounding errors, so the smallest difference from integer is usually higher, which would result in −0.00000000000000044 the smallest possible rounding error for values between 2 and 4.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-07T07:24:19Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ Added a little bit coherecne in the explanation - it still needs some polish

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0. (However, it may also lead workers to cover up or conceal accidents, for the same reason, which would tend to increase future accidents, because they do not report the need to correct hazardous conditions that are causing accidents.)

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative value −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time, and is at least self-consistent, like with [[363: Reset]])

Floating-point errors occur because computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3s repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight rounding error. Unless carefully controlled, these rounding errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999, which might not trigger the code to do what it should do when three thirds have been accumulated (it can be mitigated by allowing a match for a value which is within a suitably very small difference to the test value, but this must be considered carefully to not be over-/under-sensitive). The amount of required space for rational numbers is not universal, it depends on the base used (⅓ in base 3 requires just two digits: 0 as the units and 1 after the {{w|Decimal separator#Radix point|radix (ternary) point}}). Floating point arithmetic standards, like the popular IEEE 754, define how and when an approximation should take place, leading to predictable results, but they don't respect some basic properties of common arithmetic operations, which someone may take for granted, e.g. in floating point arithmetic addition and multiplication are commutative (a+b=b+a; a*b=b*a), but aren't guaranteed to be associative ((a+b)+c≈a+(b+c)); (a*b)*c≈a*(b*c)).

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.000110011001100110011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000000000000004].

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it typically "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231−1 (2,147,483,647) to −231 (−2,147,483,648).

Integer overflow was the topic of [[571: Can't Sleep]], with yet another example of a 'days since' sign being [[3140: Biology Department]] (two examples, in both the comic and its title text).

It should be noted that computers displaying things like "-1 seconds until the next [blank]" is a glitch that actually happens.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign, which appears to be attached to the wall at its four corners. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

==Trivia==
As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it were a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign maintains its own "error state" in a self-referential way. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over and over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days.{{actual citation needed}} It was changed later though, probably so that it would be more realistic, −0.00000000000000017 would correspond to the very last bit of mantissa being incorrect and only for numbers between 1 and 2 (not including 2), and operation (1-1) is unlikely to result in rounding errors, so the smallest difference from integer is usually higher, which would result in −0.00000000000000044 the smallest possible rounding error for values between 2 and 4.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-07T07:22:24Z

Elektrizikekswerk: Moved nerdgasm to trvivia section

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0. (However, it may also lead workers to cover up or conceal accidents, for the same reason, which would tend to increase future accidents, because they do not report the need to correct hazardous conditions that are causing accidents.)

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3s repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight rounding error. Unless carefully controlled, these rounding errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999, which might not trigger the code to do what it should do when three thirds have been accumulated (it can be mitigated by allowing a match for a value which is within a suitably very small difference to the test value, but this must be considered carefully to not be over-/under-sensitive). The amount of required space for rational numbers is not universal, it depends on the base used (⅓ in base 3 requires just two digits: 0 as the units and 1 after the {{w|Decimal separator#Radix point|radix (ternary) point}}). Floating point arithmetic standards, like the popular IEEE 754, define how and when an approximation should take place, leading to predictable results, but they don't respect some basic properties of common arithmetic operations, which someone may take for granted, e.g. in floating point arithmetic addition and multiplication are commutative (a+b=b+a; a*b=b*a), but aren't guaranteed to be associative ((a+b)+c≈a+(b+c)); (a*b)*c≈a*(b*c)).

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.000110011001100110011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000000000000004].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative value −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time, and is at least self-consistent, like with [[363: Reset]])

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it typically "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231−1 (2,147,483,647) to −231 (−2,147,483,648).

Integer overflow was the topic of [[571: Can't Sleep]], with yet another example of a 'days since' sign being [[3140: Biology Department]] (two examples, in both the comic and its title text).

It should be noted that computers displaying things like "-1 seconds until the next [blank]" is a glitch that actually happens.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign, which appears to be attached to the wall at its four corners. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

==Trivia==
As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it were a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign maintains its own "error state" in a self-referential way. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over and over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days.{{actual citation needed}} It was changed later though, probably so that it would be more realistic, −0.00000000000000017 would correspond to the very last bit of mantissa being incorrect and only for numbers between 1 and 2 (not including 2), and operation (1-1) is unlikely to result in rounding errors, so the smallest difference from integer is usually higher, which would result in −0.00000000000000044 the smallest possible rounding error for values between 2 and 4.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3192: Planetary Alignment

2026-04-01T12:32:29Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3192
| date = January 9, 2026
| title = Planetary Alignment
| image = planetary_alignment_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x327px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We're going to need to modify the surface to mount it on the test stand. Which ocean basin do you like the least?
}}

==Explanation==
This is the third in a [[:Category:Home Inspections|series of comics]] about [[Ponytail]] inspecting Earth as if it were the client [[Cueball]]'s house.

[[Ponytail]] (presumably a planetary mechanic, which is not a real thing) appears to have been inspecting a planet, which seems to be the Earth, as if it were a vehicle. She is informing [[Cueball]] of the results, as if he were the owner of the planet.

According to her, the planet needs to be re-aligned, as the {{w|Earth's magnetic field|magnetic}} and {{w|Earth's rotation|rotational}} axes of the planet are 400 miles (640 km) offset from each other. She claims that this could create a number of problems with the planet, such as unbalanced magnetic fields. This is presented in the same casual manner as a car mechanic might regarding {{w|wheel alignment}}, or perhaps even the {{w|tire balance}}. Earth's magnetic alignment does change (both {{w|Geomagnetic pole#Movement|gradually drifting}} and {{w|Geomagnetic reversal|relatively sudden reversals}}), but not for any reasons that can be compared to typical vehicle maintenance issues.

Ponytail mentions radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic ocean. This is a real phenomenon, known as the {{w|South Atlantic Anomaly}}, where satellites experience increased malfunctions because solar radiation is higher than average, due to the alignment of the magnetic field, as well as {{w|Large low-shear-velocity provinces|a massive rock structure underneath Africa}}.

In the final panel, Ponytail says that they will provide a loaner planet while Earth is in the shop. This is typically done with vehicles, not planets,{{Citation needed}} but perhaps this particular shop has a [https://www.clivebanks.co.uk/THHGTTG/THHGTTGradio3.htm very large back room]. Ponytail then asks if a gas giant is okay, as they are out of solid surface planets. This is likely alluding to the practice of car dealerships offering replacements or loaner vehicles that are very different from those brought in for service, which can greatly frustrate and inconvenience the customer.

The title text continues the mechanic metaphor, stating that they (the shop) will have to modify Earth to fit it on the test stand, asking Cueball which ocean basin he likes the least, implying that they intend to remove or alter one of the Earth's oceans to mount it for adjustment and retesting.

This is the second comic in recent history with the word "Alignment" in the title, with [[3177: Chessboard Alignment]] being the first.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is approaching from off-screen, holding a clipboard and some sort of handheld apparatus. She is talking to Cueball, standing to the right.]
:Ponytail: The inspection revealed a few problems.
:Ponytail: Looks like your planet needs an alignment.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[Close up of Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Yeah, your magnetic axis is 400 miles off-center from your rotational one.
:Cueball (off-panel): Is that bad?

:[The view zooms back out, showing Ponytail holding her equipment, with Cueball holding a hand to his face, as if thinking.]
:Ponytail: The unbalanced magnetic field could cause radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic. Have you noticed any spacecraft equipment failures in that area?
:Cueball: There '''''have''''' been a few, actually.

:[The final panel shows the same as the third, apart from Cueball's gestures.]
:Ponytail: We can give you a loaner while yours is in the shop. Is a gas giant OK?
:Cueball: I'd '''''really''''' prefer a solid surface.
:Ponytail: Sorry, it's all we have. But it'll just be for a few days.

{{comic discussion}}
<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Home Inspections]]

Talk:3226: Home Solar

2026-04-01T07:53:27Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

Beep Boop [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 21:49, 30 March 2026 (UTC)

Black Hat, because who else??? [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:52, 30 March 2026 (UTC)

Title text may refer to policy decisions in the second Trump administration which promote the use of fossil fuels or undo existing policies which promote the use of renewables. The burning of industrial waste in his front yard may or may not be an oblique reference to the environmental damage being done in the current war in Iraq, in which petroleum-processing facilities and ships containing oil are being set on fire. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:56, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
:Possible, and logical. Let's not ignore the possibility that this is just random environmental activism from Randall though, like what he seems to be exhibiting in xkcd #2948. [[User:WikipedianPolitician|WikipedianPolitician]] ([[User talk:WikipedianPolitician|talk]]) 22:00, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
:Just to note, for future readers who might get confused (who knows what they remember of this particular moment in time, and what's going on in ''their'' era), the war is in ''Iran'' right now (and/or the region in general, but not particularly in Iraq more than also in plenty of other places nearby). The "War in Iraq" was Bush's thing (Senior or Junior, either or both), mainly, give or take what spilled over into subsequent Administrations. And, by the way, the current President always said that the Iraq thing was a bad idea, and that starting wars was always a bad thing, and... (I could go on. But one can't really do much satire about it, because straight reality is already being plainly ridiculous in its own right.) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:58, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
:A side-note from Poland - Przemysław Czarnek, the candidate for the future prime minister of the right-wing Law and Justice (if the win the upcoming elections) was recently talking against renewable sources of electricity... when he was reminded that he put solar panels on the roof of his house a few years ago (and he admitted that thanks to solar panels he saves on electricity bills. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:18, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:My guess is that it's a reference to Trump's forcing coal power plants to stay open (or in some cases, re-open), which ends up raising the price of power in many of the affected areas. [[Special:Contributions/206.193.5.5|206.193.5.5]]
Could be just replacing an environmentalist's excuses for not getting solar with the exact opposite, because Black Hat. Picture the following:
[Black Hat and Cueball stand next to a house with ''an oil fill spout outside'']
Cueball: Wait, you ''have an oil furnace''? I thought you were against ''fossil fuels''.
[Black Hat and Cueball are still discussing]
Black Hat: Oh, Definitely. I ''love'' the environment and want to ''save'' it as much as possible.
Black Hat: I'd love to have ''solar panels''.
[Zoom on Black Hat]
Black Hat: But the technology just isn't there and the cost is too high.
Black Hat: I despise ''oil'', but it makes more financial sense in my situation.
[Return to previous zoom]
Black Hat: But with the money I'm saving, I can buy ''industrial credits'' to try to make up for it.
Cueball: Ah, yeah, carbon ''off''sets.
Granted, that's far less amusing. --[[User:DontKillPablo|DontKillPablo]] ([[User talk:DontKillPablo|talk]]) 00:39, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:There's only one problem with that; the character would then probably be Megan or Ponytail, not Black Hat. {{unsigned ip|2600:8802:3a10:8e00:889f:9579:d419:5fd8|00:54, 31 March 2026 (UTC)}}
:: Or White Hat... [[Special:Contributions/45.178.3.49|45.178.3.49]] 15:56, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:That "reversal" is actually a quite accurate description of the situation about 30 years ago. And thus, the joke is actually that the comic is the reversal of that situation. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:43, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

being eco-friendly is OUT. being eco-antagonistic is IN [[Special:Contributions/171.33.202.199|171.33.202.199]] 12:26, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

I don't quite understand the comic. Solar panels provide electricity and oil furnaces provide warmth. How does installing solar panels help with heating? You'd have to install a heat pump or use solar thermal energy instead of solar panels. Or is it supposed to mean using AC for heating because it can act as a heat pump? [[User:Imurik|Imurik]] ([[User talk:Imurik|talk]]) 19:38, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:Pretty sure it's referring to an electric heat pump since they are generally significantly cheaper than oil heating, especially at latitudes where rooftop solar is economical (due to higher average winter temperatures). [[Special:Contributions/206.193.5.5|206.193.5.5]] 21:14, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:It could be {{w|solar water heating}}, rather than PV. But some places will use electric heaters (centrally or as individual units dotted around the house) rather than fuelled boilers, and they can be supplied/augmented from solar panels energy.
:Especially as oil-fired boilers require deliveries of oil, and seem to be more common in in places without mains-gas (gaseous gas, that is, not 'gasoline' gas) ''or'' electricity, so probably already logistically less convenient and more expensive, day-to-day, than just converting captured sunlight into heat, one way or another. Assuming you're set up to do enough of that with the available energy (and Black Hat wouldn't skimp).
:More efficient ''is'' the Heat Pump/exchanger method, of course, leveraging the electricity to just move heat around rather than try to generate it. Or possibly even something using the Peltier Effect. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:34, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3226: Home Solar

2026-04-01T07:43:58Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

Beep Boop [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 21:49, 30 March 2026 (UTC)

Black Hat, because who else??? [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:52, 30 March 2026 (UTC)

Title text may refer to policy decisions in the second Trump administration which promote the use of fossil fuels or undo existing policies which promote the use of renewables. The burning of industrial waste in his front yard may or may not be an oblique reference to the environmental damage being done in the current war in Iraq, in which petroleum-processing facilities and ships containing oil are being set on fire. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:56, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
:Possible, and logical. Let's not ignore the possibility that this is just random environmental activism from Randall though, like what he seems to be exhibiting in xkcd #2948. [[User:WikipedianPolitician|WikipedianPolitician]] ([[User talk:WikipedianPolitician|talk]]) 22:00, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
:Just to note, for future readers who might get confused (who knows what they remember of this particular moment in time, and what's going on in ''their'' era), the war is in ''Iran'' right now (and/or the region in general, but not particularly in Iraq more than also in plenty of other places nearby). The "War in Iraq" was Bush's thing (Senior or Junior, either or both), mainly, give or take what spilled over into subsequent Administrations. And, by the way, the current President always said that the Iraq thing was a bad idea, and that starting wars was always a bad thing, and... (I could go on. But one can't really do much satire about it, because straight reality is already being plainly ridiculous in its own right.) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:58, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
:A side-note from Poland - Przemysław Czarnek, the candidate for the future prime minister of the right-wing Law and Justice (if the win the upcoming elections) was recently talking against renewable sources of electricity... when he was reminded that he put solar panels on the roof of his house a few years ago (and he admitted that thanks to solar panels he saves on electricity bills. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:18, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:My guess is that it's a reference to Trump's forcing coal power plants to stay open (or in some cases, re-open), which ends up raising the price of power in many of the affected areas. [[Special:Contributions/206.193.5.5|206.193.5.5]]
Could be just replacing an environmentalist's excuses for not getting solar with the exact opposite, because Black Hat. Picture the following:
[Black Hat and Cueball stand next to a house with ''an oil fill spout outside'']
Cueball: Wait, you ''have an oil furnace''? I thought you were against ''fossil fuels''.
[Black Hat and Cueball are still discussing]
Black Hat: Oh, Definitely. I ''love'' the environment and want to ''save'' it as much as possible.
Black Hat: I'd love to have ''solar panels''.
[Zoom on Black Hat]
Black Hat: But the technology just isn't there and the cost is too high.
Black Hat: I despise ''oil'', but it makes more financial sense in my situation.
[Return to previous zoom]
Black Hat: But with the money I'm saving, I can buy ''industrial credits'' to try to make up for it.
Cueball: Ah, yeah, carbon ''off''sets.
Granted, that's far less amusing. --[[User:DontKillPablo|DontKillPablo]] ([[User talk:DontKillPablo|talk]]) 00:39, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:There's only one problem with that; the character would then probably be Megan or Ponytail, not Black Hat. {{unsigned ip|2600:8802:3a10:8e00:889f:9579:d419:5fd8|00:54, 31 March 2026 (UTC)}}
:: Or White Hat... [[Special:Contributions/45.178.3.49|45.178.3.49]] 15:56, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:That "reversal" is basically an accurate description of the situation about 30 years ago. And thus, the joke is actually that the comic is the reversal of that situation. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:43, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

being eco-friendly is OUT. being eco-antagonistic is IN [[Special:Contributions/171.33.202.199|171.33.202.199]] 12:26, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

I don't quite understand the comic. Solar panels provide electricity and oil furnaces provide warmth. How does installing solar panels help with heating? You'd have to install a heat pump or use solar thermal energy instead of solar panels. Or is it supposed to mean using AC for heating because it can act as a heat pump? [[User:Imurik|Imurik]] ([[User talk:Imurik|talk]]) 19:38, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:Pretty sure it's referring to an electric heat pump since they are generally significantly cheaper than oil heating, especially at latitudes where rooftop solar is economical (due to higher average winter temperatures). [[Special:Contributions/206.193.5.5|206.193.5.5]] 21:14, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
:It could be {{w|solar water heating}}, rather than PV. But some places will use electric heaters (centrally or as individual units dotted around the house) rather than fuelled boilers, and they can be supplied/augmented from solar panels energy.
:Especially as oil-fired boilers require deliveries of oil, and seem to be more common in in places without mains-gas (gaseous gas, that is, not 'gasoline' gas) ''or'' electricity, so probably already logistically less convenient and more expensive, day-to-day, than just converting captured sunlight into heat, one way or another. Assuming you're set up to do enough of that with the available energy (and Black Hat wouldn't skimp).
:More efficient ''is'' the Heat Pump/exchanger method, of course, leveraging the electricity to just move heat around rather than try to generate it. Or possibly even something using the Peltier Effect. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:34, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

3190: Tensegrity

2026-03-30T08:55:20Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3190
| date = January 5, 2026
| title = Tensegrity
| image = tensegrity_2x.png
| imagesize = 260x352px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some people argue that the tension and compression in the human skeleton is technically tensegrity, but it's missing the defining characteristic: making people say 'wtf, how is that thing floating?' when they see it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Tensegrity}} structures are structures that are suspended using a combination of rigid and compressional components, usually a series of rods and cords that give the illusion of a floating object held down by the cords, which subverts people's expectations about what is physically possible. [[wikipedia:Buckminster Fuller|Buckminster Fuller]] coined the term [[wikipedia:Tensegrity|tensegrity]] from the words "tensional integrity" ([https://doi.org/10.7556%2Fjaoa.2013.113.1.34 see here]), and Steve Mould describes the mechanism in [https://youtu.be/0onncd0_0-o?si=-S-QMrZffi9L06ky this video].

[[Randall]] makes the claim that there are animals which use tensegrity in their anatomy, naming the (fictional) "Buckminster's Giraffe" as an example. The panel shows the legs of the {{w|giraffe}} using a structure similar to that of a tensegrity table. Some people consider the giraffe to be an example of a body form that appears to defy their expectations of biophysical laws because of their unusually long legs and neck as compared to the body.

[https://www.physio-pedia.com/Biotensegrity Biotensegrity] does study the role that tensegrity plays in living organisms, such as plants and animals. However, this is at cellular level, rather than the macroscopic level shown in the comic.

The title text points out that it can be argued that humans (and other vertebrates) use tensegrity in our anatomy, since we're held up by the combination of compression in our bones and tension in our muscles. Randall, however, argues that this misses the "defining characteristic" of a tensegrity structure, which is that the mechanism support isn't immediately obvious, causing the structure to appear as though it is "floating" to a casual or uninformed observer (and making them wonder ''how'' it is floating until they learn about or self-construe the nature of tensegrity). Humans, thanks to our skin and other various layers, outwardly look like a single solid structure, making the tensional forces less obvious and less impressive.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball stands at the left of the panel, and at the right is a giraffe-like animal whose legs appear to be made of a tensegrity structure, with disconnected segments held together by strings]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:While tensegrity is rare in the animal kingdom, a few species, such as Buckminster's Giraffe, are known to employ it.

==Trivia==
*While this comic was up the [[header text]] changed back to the [[Header_text#2025-01-07_-_Back_to_standard_text|standard header text]] for the first time in 4 years.
**It was also the first time in more than 13 months that the header text changed at all, with the previous change occurring on [[Header_text#2024-12-05_-_Special_10th_anniversary_edition_of_WHAT_IF.3F_-_order|2024-12-05]].
**There had thus been promotion for the new Special 10th anniversary edition of WHAT IF? for more than 1.5 years, and for [[what if? (blog)|what if?]] in general for more than 4 years.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Giraffes]]

3188: Anyone Else Here

2026-03-30T08:54:14Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3188
| date = December 31, 2025
| title = Anyone Else Here
| image = anyone_else_here_2x.png
| imagesize = 285x350px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Anyone else watching this Youtube video in 1954? If so, my last trip definitely messed with the timeline.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic makes fun of a common method that YouTube commenters use to farm likes and replies by saying "Who is watching in [year]?" The comment is considered something of a meme within YouTube, and besides that is intended as a compliment implying the video is "timeless" or otherwise a happy memory worth revisiting. However, since these comments fail to contribute much to any sort of discussion, they are seen as annoying by many (especially when large numbers of people make very similar comments.)

The comic, however, presents them instead as time travelers who are lost, and their preferred method of communicating with other time travelers is posting YouTube comments about watching a specific video in a specific year. This may be a somewhat ingenious way of staying incognito while still being able to relay messages, as many people don't read the comments. Even when people do read the comments, these ones are somewhat innocuous and easily overlooked, so they would cause little-to-no disruption in the timeline.{{Citation needed}}

The title text shows a time traveler stuck in the year 1954, somehow commenting on a YouTube video despite Youtube not being invented until 2005. In order to comment on a Youtube video in 1954, one would have to mess up the timeline badly enough that computers, the internet, and Youtube become common much earlier.

==Transcript==

:[The bottom of a YouTube video is shown, with the play and volume icons visible.]
:[There are two lines of illegible text below the videos.]
:564 Comments
:[To the right of "564 Comments" are three parallel lines of different lengths representing YouTube's "sort by" function. A long horizontal line is below.]
:[Three YouTube comments are shown. Each one has an avatar to the left, an @ sign before an illegible name, with smaller illegible text next to it. Below each comment are the YouTube thumbs-up icon, illegible text, the YouTube thumbs-down icon, and more illegible text.]
:[Avatar: A Cueball-like person seen from the chest up, but with a wider torso than usual.] Who else is here in 2023?
:[Avatar: A double chevron pointing to the upper left.] Is anyone else watching this in 2017?
:[Avatar: A Megan-like person standing.] Anyone else here in 2025??

:[Text below the panel:]
:For some reason, confused time travelers always try to find each other using YouTube comments.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:YouTube]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Internet comments]]

3187: High Altitude Cooking Instructions

2026-03-30T08:53:26Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3187
| date = December 29, 2025
| title = High Altitude Cooking Instructions
| image = high_altitude_cooking_instructions_2x.png
| imagesize = 389x370px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 1,300,000-1,400,000 ft: Ask a crew member to show you how to use the ISS food warmer.
}}

==Explanation==
At very low air pressures, typical of higher altitudes, cooking involves extra complications. This was previously mentioned in [[2153: Effects of High Altitude]]. This comic imagines food preparation instructions with additional caveats specifically for high-altitude cooking. These types of instructions are relatively common in the real world for certain kinds of products, such as cake mixes, but the comic involves extreme extrapolation of the concept.

As air pressure decreases, the boiling point of water also decreases. Such a pressure decrease would be caused by any increase in altitude, but the effect isn't usually significant except for locations that are high up on mountains or highly elevated plateaus. This has two major effects on food cooking. If the food is cooked by boiling in water, that will be happening at a lower temperature than usual. The lower temperature means that to fully cook the food, it will be necessary to cook it for longer than at sea level. Lower pressure means that water will evaporate more easily, and for foods that aren't being boiled, longer cooking times will also give any moisture in the food more time to evaporate. This would leave the food relatively dried out. In this case, it will be necessary to add more water to begin with, so that the amount of moisture left at the end of the cooking process is correct.

People who live at high altitudes and cook frequently are often aware of the kinds of adjustments to instructions that they need to make to have their cooking come out "right", but it's useful to have the adjustments given explicitly. This is especially true for foods of a kind likely to be used by people who will be cooking at unfamiliar altitudes, such as dehydrated foods for backpackers and amateur explorers. This comes at a "cost" of giving non-high-altitude people more instructions to read, which can appear daunting at first glance, and occupying more space on the food's packaging, leaving less for pretty pictures or other inducements to buy the product. Or the instructions can be printed in a smaller font, making them harder to read for some users.

At the top of this comic, there are a part of these instructions that can only partly be seen; presumably, these are the "sea level" instructions. What can be seen for sure is "remove from" and "for 3 minutes before serving." A qualified guess is that it says "remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes before serving," but as nothing above this is visible, it is impossible to tell what the meal is, and the original cook time and temperature can only be guessed at. Below follows the separate High Altitude version, which lists instructions for three different heights above sea level.

While the first two sections are reasonable accommodations, given the lower boiling point of water under less pressure, for altitudes of 3,500-6,500 ft (1-2 km) and 6,500-9,500 ft (2-3 km), the instructions - as is typical for xkcd - soon veer into absurdity.

At an altitude of 250,000-450,000 ft (approximately 76-137 km), the instructions assume the user is partaking in some kind of controlled spaceflight. The "cooking instructions", therefore, are instead instructions for reentry; basically, telling the user "You can wait until you get home". Once back on the ground it tells you to use the sea level cooking instructions.

In this range of altitudes, you are ''highly'' likely to actively be either on the way down or, perhaps, still on the way up to space; cooking shouldn't be your primary concern in either case. The air-launched {{w|North American X-15|X-15}} and the later {{w|SpaceShipOne}} ultimately 'flew' at around 350,000 ft, though (as with rockets, re-entry capsules or {{w|Project HARP|projectiles}}) there is no real capability to loiter at these altitudes, being well above even the unmanned balloon-flight record or that of any {{w|AeroVironment Helios Prototype#Records|sustained level flight}}. Only in the latter might you even expect to be a passenger — not too busy to enjoy a light pre-prepared snack — already cooked, as necessary, at ground level. Additionally, these altitudes are [https://www.freemars.org/jeff/speed/index.htm too low to orbit], being subject to high atmospheric drag.

The title text goes a step further and assumes that the user is in orbit — specifically, on the {{w|International Space Station}} — at an altitude of 1,300,000-1,400,000 (396-426 km) (the ISS is between 413-422 km above Earth's surface). Anyone on an orbiting space station is presumably going to be there for an extended period, so they cannot wait until after they return to Earth for a meal, so the "cooking instructions" simply direct the user to someone who can show them how to use the on-board facilities. Even if the pressure is one atmosphere, cooking with boiling water in a microgravity environment (as one might experience on a free-falling space station) is likely not the best of ideas, so it's better to ask someone for directions.

Interestingly, ''just'' below the 1,300,000 feet limit, you may instead be able to ask a Taikonaut how to use their {{w|Tiangong space station#Food and personal hygiene|microwave or recently installed air-fryer}}.

In 2022, spaceman extraordinaire Scott Manley uploaded a rigorously scientific presentation titled [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwf0RWXx8BY Can You Cook a Turkey by Dropping It From Space?]. A similar question was discussed in the 2013 [[what if? (blog)|What if]] blog post, "{{What If|28|Steak Drop}}".

==Transcript==
:[Two notes, of black writing on white background, are printed upon an item of grey packaging that is shown in closeup, slightly inclined and rotated within the comic panel. Only the latter parts of the top note are visible — because of the slant, only the first few characters of the penultimate line, and the entire final line of text, can be read. The bottom note is fully visible, as the bottom of the board is all within view.]

:[The readable part of the top note's two lines:]
:Remove fro[m heat]
:for 3 minutes before serving.

:[The bottom note:]
:'''High altitude cooking instructions:'''
:'''3,500-6,500 ft''': Add ½ cup water, increase cook time to 12 minutes
:'''6,500-9,500 ft''': Add 1¼ cups water, increase cook time to 18 minutes
:'''250,000-450,000 ft''': Orient reentry vehicle for aerodynamic stability. Deploy parachutes at 10,000 ft. Descend, keeping crew capsule tightly covered, for 3-4 minutes. After splashdown, follow sea level cooking instructions

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Food]]
[[Category: Space]]

3177: Chessboard Alignment

2026-03-30T08:47:50Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3177
| date = December 5, 2025
| title = Chessboard Alignment
| image = chessboard_alignment_2x.png
| imagesize = 397x289px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Luckily, the range is limited by the fact that the square boundary lines follow great circles.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic shows an overhead view of three chess boards side by side, with an average of two players facing each other across the boards. Yellow squares (used to show the available or actual movement of a given piece) have been marked leading from the starting position of the middle board's right bishop (F1) to the upper-right. The path continues beyond the edge of the middle board, across four columns of empty space or unseen table, and ends in the top left corner (A8) of the right board. The right board has only one rook (black rectangle) while the other two boards each have two, so it is implied that the bishop has captured the rook, and the player who made the move is now apparently paying attention to (and plausibly co-playing with the neighbouring player on) the board he has moved his piece to. The text below jokingly claims that if you align chess boards exactly, pieces can cross the boundary like this. This is not legal in normal chess,{{Citation needed}} but fits into [[Randall]]'s long history of comics about unusual chess rules or boards.

The position on the left board is from a blitz game played between Judit Polgar and Magnus Carlsen in Madrid in 2022.[https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2325478] The middle board's position seems to have followed (up until before this cross-boards move) the game seen in [[3045: AlphaMove]].

The title text refers to the fact that chess boards are normally placed approximately level (parallel to the surface of the Earth). As such there are two different possible interpretations of the title text, whether you are following geodesics on the surface of the Earth (any great circle) or following the geodesics of spacetime (leaving the Earth and going into space).

; Following great circles
A perfect line of chessboards placed end-to-end on the surface of an Earth-sized sphere (or on perfectly placed tables on that sphere) would form a {{w|great circle}} - the longest possible path around that sphere, as well as only straight path on spheres. This rule would allow chess moves between boards that were kilometers (or even whole countries) apart in any direction, along {{w|great circles}} of the Earth, as any straight line on any sphere or ellipsoid can be extended all the way across. If following the great circle along the ground was considered a straight line, then it would also be possible for each side's rooks, bishops and queen to capture their counterparts in the other color's back row, or, in a later game, they would be able to teleport between left and right sides, or jump onto the other side of any diagonal for pieces that move diagonally, as it would be possible to go around planet following any horizontal, vertical or diagonal line of the chessboard. If no other chessboard were involved it would make it into [https://www.chessvariants.org/shape.dir/torus_standard_board.html Torus chess], but only for pieces that can move an unlimited amount of squares. It would also function differently from Torus Chess for diagonal-movers, because they would move around to the other end of their own diagonal, not loop to the diagonal 4 squares away in a perpendicular direction. There is a caveat to all of this though: the size of a square would have to divide the great circle exactly a rational number of times, with a precision down to micrometers. (The denominator of such number represents how many times that piece would have to go sound the earth.) Quite possibly only one direction would work, if any at all, since Earth is not a perfect sphere, so distance around the Earth would differ in different directions. Notable exceptions would be the South and North Poles, where all great circles are the same. While the North Pole is in the {{w|Arctic Ocean}}, so you won't be able to stay level there easily, at the South Pole there is the {{w|Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station}}, where this variant of chess could be more interesting if you had the correct size of board squares, with both verticals and horizontals working. Alternatively, you could replace squares on the chessboard with rectangles. The difference between vertical and horizontal length would not have to be more than 0.08%, which at regular chessboard size would result in difference of less than 0.5mm, which will be barely noticeable. Replacing squares with rectangles presents a problem, because if you want for chessboard to always be aligned, the required dimensions would depend on the latitude where the chessboard is located, and you would need to put the chessboard at a precise angle on top. Having many different chessboards for different latitudes would not be sustainable.{{Citation needed}}

When you have to pick a single direction that works for looping your own chessboard then there are three options for orienting the chessboard:
* If you choose a horizontal line, then you will get a limited variant of {{w|Cylinder chess}}, where only the Queen and Rooks can utilize the wraparound, and only when moving horizontally.
* If you choose a vertical line, it is technically also a cylinder for Rooks and Queens, but it will create an interesting dynamic, where players would be able to exchange queens and rooks in the first 2 turns (for example, doing this opening: 1. Qxd8+ Kxd8 2. Rxh8 Rxa1).
* If you choose a diagonal, then it will result in Queens and Bishops being able to jump over all pieces (they cannot switch to a different diagonal, as in cylinder chess, as all diagonals will loop on themselves), though they would have to have visibility of one of the edges of the chess board. Also, they cannot jam themselves in-between 2 or more pieces, as they would emerge on the opposite side of the diagonal. Most likely, diagonal works only in one of the two possible directions too, so there is an extra choice there (unless you are at one of the Earth's poles, where you can make both diagonal directions work).

; Following the geodesics of spacetime
While nearby boards would appear to be in the same plane, the curvature of the Earth would cause boards more distant than 3.57 meters away to be in planes so different that the squares would be more than a micrometer off from the ideal straight lines leading off the board. It is thus implied that each infinite-range piece's valid path is a straight line of virtual squares that eventually leads into space. Straight lines would have to be in the overall spacetime of the universe along a {{w|Geodesics in general relativity|geodesic}}. This would not rule out motion to another board on another celestial body or spaceship, though delivery of a chess piece across this distance would be impractical{{Citation needed}} and other objects in space would move so fast relative to your board that they would be in alignment for only a fraction of a second, unless it is a satellite in a {{w|geostationary orbit}}. If you want to be level with Earth and 'aim' your chessboard at a geostationary satellite, you would have to be at latitude of around 81.4° in either Arctic or Antarctic, because those orbits are so far away from the Earth. So chess games would have to take place at some {{w|List of northernmost settlements|arctic research station}} ({{w|Station Nord, Greenland}} being the optimal) or somewhere on the continent of {{w|Antarctica}} (the best research station there would be {{w|Sobral Base}}, though not as good as Station Nord). If this interpretation is accepted then this can be considered a second comic in a week about [[3174: Bridge Clearance|distances extending past typical boundaries]].

[[:Category:Chess|Chess]] is a common recurring theme on xkcd.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[An aerial view of three chess-games, with six players shown, in each case with white at the near-side of board (towards the bottom of the comic panel) and each having reasonably developed game positions.]
:[The middle board has yellow highlight on the squares from white's King's Bishop's original position, diagonally forward-right to the respective edge square of the board, then four more squares in the gap between boards until ending on the black Queen's Rook square of the right-hand board, which appears now to have three white bishops, one of them on this rook's starting square.
:[There is just one black rook, elsewhere on the right board, whether or not the other was lost to middle-board's bishop, and the middle board has only one bishop (and is lacking three pawns, with just two others still in their starting positions), for white, with apparently their King sent forward-left by two successive diagonal moves but no other major pieces having noticably relocated.]
:[The middle board's near-side player has now also moved across to pay attention to the right hand board, leaving only his opponent facing his original board.]

:[Text below the main scene's panel:] It doesn't happen often because it requires micrometer precision, but if two chess boards are '''''perfectly''''' aligned, it's actually legal to move pieces between them.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geometry]]

3173: Satellite Imagery

2026-03-30T08:47:01Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3173
| date = November 26, 2025
| title = Satellite Imagery
| image = satellite_imagery_2x.png
| imagesize = 429x526px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Every weekend I take an ATV out into the desert and spend a day tracing a faint "(C) GOOGLE 2009" watermark across the landscape.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is another entry in the "[[:Category:My_Hobby|My Hobby]]" series of comics, and the first entry into the series since mid-2023.

[[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] are intelligence analysts, scrutinizing a projected image of an apparent satellite (or aerial) photograph. It features a parched landscape, of indeterminate scale, though has some clear watercourses flowing through it that suggest a fairly wide river and tributary, plus thin tracks that must be dirt roads serving various small buildings or compounds (depending upon the true zoom level) rather than game-trails.

In the middle of the image, spanning the river banks around a small bend, the image ''appears'' to have been pixelated, at least to the two characters viewing it.

They express concern that they're relying upon censored resources. Their commentary indicates that they are perhaps working for an intelligence agency working with classified imagery, who would expect to be using raw imagery, not something obscured. They're first considering whether they'd been provided the 'public'-level classification prepared by the satellite operator. Alternatively, they have stumbled upon a location that higher levels of their own agency (or partner domestic organisations) deem of greater security than they are entitled access to. The most frightening thought, though, is that a foreign counter-intelligence agency is protecting their own national secrets by hacking into their image-feeds and rendering them functionally useless.

To add to the confusion, the chosen location does not appear to have ''any'' relevant information recorded for it, such as whether it should contain a military base (of their own or their allies'; or of a potential/actual adversary). The lack of any other information, in the light of clearly hidden details, leads to a non-justifiable level of paranoia and concern over what might be being obscured.

As the caption reveals, the ''only'' pertinent things in that physical location are some very large squares, given various flat hues closely matching the original average ground appearance, entirely intended to be misinterpreted as post-process image pixelization. Since the combined structures stretch across several implied features (the width of the river and significant quantity of its bank, with possible buildings served by one of the dirt-tracks). Since this is another one of [[Randall]]'s hobbies, he must have done this a number of times, on the off-chance that someone will make the indicated assumptions.

Randall's deception could be exposed by sufficiently detailed clouds floating above the colored panels. If the tactical image was really pixelated, the clouds would appear pixelated too. Not to mention if the photography was not perfectly aligned with his own squares, even after rotation to more conventionally align with the usual modern {{w|Map#Orientation|'grid north'}} orientation.

In the title text, he continues to further confuse the remote-sensing people by drawing a {{w|watermark}} in the sand, leading people to believe the picture was taken in 2009 and is part of Google's publicly released material. Though this is indeed a possible source for the general public, it could be unexpected in more serious and separately sourced ground imagery directly taken for more commercial, governmental or intelligence-agency purposes. Also if this is supposed to be either live images or those just taken today, and then if they have an old watermark from 2009 it seems like someone is feeding them old images, rather than the expected newer ones. This would be very concerning. It may make them wonder how those that could hack their system would be so remiss as to use watermarked and clearly dated images.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Ponytail are standing on either side of a board on a wall, which is displaying a satellite image of an area without cities. A large river is going through the left part of the image, going from north to south. Another river joins it from the left in the lower part of the image. A lake is in the right upper part of the image. There are a few white lines running through the image, probably roads. However, in the left part of the image over the middle of the north/south going river there is a square area which looks pixelated into 36 equal sized smaller squares. The color of the image is brownish with white and black and gray scales as well. The 36 smaller squares are held in these colors, though not white or black, but each small square is held in a uniform color, where the rest of the landscape has a smooth transition in colors from one place to the next.]

:Cueball: Wait, when was this imagery taken? Is this censorship the work of the contractor? One of our people? '''''Foreign actors!?'''''
:Ponytail: Do we know who's operating a facility at that location?
:Cueball: We can't find '''''anything'''''.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My hobby: Setting up big colored panels in the middle of nowhere as a prank on remote sensing people.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
</noinclude>

3171: Geologic Core Sample

2026-03-30T08:45:44Z

Elektrizikekswerk: No reason for <incomplete> tags given. Explanation and transcipt seem complete, removed tags.

{{comic
| number = 3171
| date = November 21, 2025
| title = Geologic Core Sample
| image = geologic_core_sample_2x.png
| imagesize = 493x790px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you drill at the right angle and time things perfectly, your core sample can include a section of a rival team's coring equipment.
}}

==Explanation==
This image presents a core sample taken by a slightly overenthusiastic team of geologists.

A {{w|core sample}} is a cylindrical piece of something, in this case the rock of Earth's crust, obtained with special drills, taken in order to study the layers within. In typical xkcd fashion, the core sample depicted here contains a mix of real rocks found in core samples, and many humorous or fictional additions. It's shown that, on the way down, the coring drills have hit many, many obstacles they really shouldn't have, culminating in the punchline that the geologists have drilled straight through the Earth to the opposite hemisphere and out the other side — far deeper than any core sample could be taken in reality. In the real world the deepest borehole is the [[1330: Kola Borehole]] which attained maximum true vertical depth of 12,262 metres (40,230 ft; 7.619 mi) in 1989.

;Topsoil :{{w|Topsoil}} is the uppermost layer of the typical {{w|pedosphere}}, which often needs to be dug through before reaching actual rock. Whether the soil section of the core would actually be retained and counted is up to the nature of the study being made, but it will become clear that this core sample wasn't obtained with much thought of finesse.
;Till :{{w|Till}} is unsorted glacial sediment, which might underlie the soil layer and form the transition to the foundation rock below.
;Granite bedrock :{{w|Bedrock}} is solid rock, and there may normally be nothing but more bedrock beneath it until the Earth's {{w|Mantle_(geology)|mantle}}. {{w|Granite}} is a very common igneous rock that could normally form such bedrock.
:There are suggestions, from what is seen beneath it, that this particular layer of 'bedrock' (though being a natural material, at source) has been placed here as a construction base, infilled over with the above layers in this particular spot.
:Bedrock could also be a reference to the unmineable blocks that make up the bottom of the world in Minecraft.
;Bottomsoil :A fictional counterpart of topsoil. Topsoil is so named because it is generally found on top of other layers, and not to distinguish it from a separate 'bottomsoil' layer. Here, however, there are apparently two layers of soil somehow sandwiching the bedrock layer. Theoretically, the intervening granite could have been laid (as a slab) upon the lowest layers of an excavated area, later to be sampled by this corer ''as if'' a natural layer.
;Roof/Floor of subway car :These two layers are indications that the drill has broken into a subway tunnel (possibly from amongst those shown in [[1196: Subways]]), dug deep into the rock, or perhaps {{w|Tunnel#Cut-and-cover|cut'n'covered}} into the ground (hence, perhaps, the anomalous granite being added above — though the further tunnel lining/ceiling is not given a label, that would hold up the initial infill of soil). The section of tunnel it penetrated happened to contain a subway train, which has also been 'sampled'. The drill has essentially compressed the 'void' that is the interior of the car and the rest of the tunnel. This may seem to be good luck (given a later layer), but this still doesn't bode well for the subway train that may have been trying to move when the drill started to pierce it.
;More granite :Granite ''is'' a very common igneous rock.
;Municipal water main:A pipe has been partly sliced through (enough to one side to not force the collapse of its void). Most water pipes of this size would not normally be forced through rock, only the loose material above it, relying upon pressure to carry water upwards, where necessary.
:However, {{w|combined sewer|drainage systems}} (that rely upon gravity for most of the route) may need at times to be dug deeper to maximize the natural flow. Some {{w|Thames Tideway Tunnel|particularly large projects}} may be excavated deeply through rock, even below some subway lines, though they'll be tunnels/pipes with a far larger bore than seen here, for both construction and capacity reasons.
;Slightly different granite:There are {{w|QAPF diagram|''many'' subtypes}} of granite, as well as being a lot of it.
;Piece of screaming spelunker's arm:Cave systems exist underground in many places, though more usually within rock-types more likely to dissolve than granite layers. The main exception might be from {{w|Lava tube|volcanic tunnels}} left in {{w|basalt}}, but that's technically ''still'' not granite, meaning that any cave system here would need explaining.
:{{w|Spelunkers}} (also known as cavers) explore caves, and one must have been in the wrong place when the corer passed through, suffering a clear injury (possibly greater than any that the unknown (but not ''directly'' impacted) subway users might have already suffered). If the spelunker was not already screaming ''before'' the drill came through (perhaps for help, if they were stuck — the size of the cave is unknown, with the open space closed up, as with the subway), losing a chunk of arm will have definitely prompted screams.
;Cool crystals with no resale value:There are many geological processes that can concentrate elements and compounds in a way that form crystalline minerals. Some are useful as ores, others are valued just as the crystals themselves (for aesthetic reasons or otherwise).
:Whatever these crystals are, as a small seam within the granitic layer just below the spelunker's location, they look nice (or are otherwise interesting), but either have little further application or are just so common that there's no point trying to make use of this deposit (even if they could perhaps be more 'easily' reached by any spelunker not put off by the threat of drillbits).
;Mangled fragments of drillbit from previous attempt
:When coring rock, it's possible for the tip of the coring drill to encounter problems (like particularly dense and hard rock) that damage it, perhaps by bending its track too much and shearing off the head.
:This latest attempt, probably sent down slightly to the side of the prior one (unless it had managed to gouge out ''just'' the remains of the previous drillpipe, and retain the rock/subway/spelunker layers previously cored out) has encountered the tip of the prior attempt.
:If there's one thing guaranteed to be as tough as a drillbit, it's ''another'' drillbit, which must necessarily be hard enough to cut through the expected rock types. Luckily, the first one was clearly damaged enough, by its prior encounter, that it didn't thwart this next attempt and (perhaps literally) grind it to a halt. Nor, apparently, was there a repeat of whatever issue left that first drill like this.
:Being in the middle of the core, it could be that these bits are meant to be from another attempt to drill the diameter of the Earth from a complete different location. Assuming absurd precision, all such drill holes would meet at the center of the Earth.
;Some boring intrusive rock that's basically granite but has a name like "diorite" or "andalite" that you always have to look up
:{{w|Diorite}} is a real type of igneous rock — an intermediate between actual granite and {{w|gabbro}} — but an [http://animorphs.fandom.com/wiki/Andalite Andalite] is an alien from the Animorphs book series, which [[Randall]] enjoys and has [[:Category:Animorphs|referenced before]]. Perhaps Randall is "misremembering" the name of {{w|andesite}}, another type of igneous rock, from his [[1223: Dwarf Fortress|knowledge of]] the complex set of reality-inspired rock types encountered in the game {{w|Dwarf Fortress}}. As the sample appears right before the Netherrack sample, it may also be referencing {{w|Minecraft}}, as granite, diorite, and andesite exist in that game as mineable stone types.
;Netherrack:A dark red, and entirely fictional{{Citation needed}} stone appearing in Minecraft, with which Randall is [[861: Wisdom Teeth|also well acquainted]]. In Minecraft, Netherrack typically only appears naturally in The Nether, an alternate dimension resembling hell. In the overworld, where the core sample is presumably being taken, Netherrack only naturally forms in ruins of Nether Portals. (Some fan theories suggest that the nether is under the overworld, which isn't literally true in-game, but some [https://modrinth.com/datapack/nether-under-overworld mods] exist that make this true.)
;Balrog wing:The balrog is a creature in {{w|Lord of the Rings}}, found deep beneath the world, awakened when the dwarves delved too deep and too greedily, as it could be suggested that the geologists are doing here. It was previously encountered in the title text of [[3141: Mantle Model]]. The {{w|Balrog#Characteristics|balrog's wings}} are often discussed, in the context of whether it had them, and therefore whether they could or should have helped it escape the fall that was forced upon it in the books. At least one balrog, however, now appears to have at least one less wing than those it previously had. We do not know if there was any screaming involved.
;Granite:This label is applied to rock that appears to cover both ends of a 'height' of rock-core that is simplified by a diagrammatic cut. From the context of later layers, this would include a very long length of drilled material that passes into the {{w|Earth's mantle}}, and [[3145: Piercing|perhaps]] at least some of its core, before coming back up through the granite to be found somewhere on the other side of the planet.

; Topsoil:Beyond the indeterminate length of granite, the sample transitions back into the loose upper layers, indicating that the exploratory core is now being taken from ascending layers (albeit in a location lacking subways, etc, or just managing to miss everything seen in the preceding section).
;Cement: {{w|Cement}} is a chemical binder used as a component of construction materials like {{w|concrete}} (in a similar way to how flour is a component of bread), and it is not used by itself. From the adjacent layers one can infer that on emerging from the other side of the Earth, the geologists have drilled through the foundations of a building with a strange material choice. Considering the poor mechanical qualities of cement by itself as a foundation, it is not unusual that the homeowner is angry, as their home probably suffers from cracks and other structural problems derived from poor foundation design. Another possibility is that the author of the drawing fell in the common confusion between cement and concrete, or that the analysis of the core material failed to identify the additional expected {{construction aggregate}} content of this section of the sample.

;Floorboards / Carpet:These two layers are typical of a reasonably well-equipped residential building — probably the ground floor, without any basement level. The core is coming up inside a furnished room.
;Possessions of a confused and angry homeowner in the other hemisphere
:The core sample has tunneled up into somebody's house, probably while they are there, and has traveled through some of the furniture, fixtures and/or fittings, to their clear annoyance.

Apart from the less expected elements to the core that was cut and retrieved (and the sheer impossibility of drilling the necessary several thousand miles 'down' through the Earth, and then drawing that sample back out again), the comic heavily plays upon the fact that someone with the ability and equipment to take this sample is, nevertheless, not as sure about geology as they perhaps ought to be, with almost all rock just being considered 'granite', without any better (or more accurate) qualification.

The title text suggests that core sampling is a competitive pursuit, in which, with the correct drilling angle, dark arts can be employed to interfere with the coring experiment of a "rival team". This is, outside of cold war-type pettiness, not considered a constructive approach to science.{{Citation needed}}

Only about 15% of the Earth's land surface is directly antipodal to other land, which would make this sample less than "typical" if it was aimed directly down through the exact centre of the Earth and back up again (a distance of almost 8,000 miles, or more than 12,000 km). If one were to do this from a random spot of land, one would be much more likely to have the sample terminate in an ocean; the chances of ending up in a house would be even lower. However, considering that the title text mentions drilling at an angle, the 'other hemisphere' point might be not necessarily be at the antipodal point, and there also seems to be the capacity to aim at a more desirable target, in which case this is a "typical" core under ''deliberately'' chosen circumstances. The exact nature of reaching "the other hemisphere" is not expanded upon — it could be as simple as drilling (mostly sideways) a short distance across the {{w|equator}}, or {{w|prime meridian}}, or having to go at least a quarter of the way of a great circle under the planet's surface (slightly over 1.4 times the Earth's radius, by the most direct route), in any direction, such that the two ends cannot be counted as being in any single arbitrary hemisphere.

This comic comes not long after [[3162: Heart Mountain]], which involved strange stratification, so may be part of the same thought process about the nature, and occasional oddities, of the geologic column.

==Transcript==
:[Caption at the top of the panel:] Typical geologic core sample
:[Below this is a drawing of a cylindrical core sample with various labels, in order from the top of the panel toward the bottom.]
:[A short, dark section of core:] Topsoil
:[A more obviously granular shorter section with a diagonal transition:] Till
:[A light and lightly-marked phase:] Granite bedrock
:[Repeating the Topsoil appearance:] Bottomsoil
:[A short/squat and possibly squeezed 'lump':] Roof of subway car
:[A similar squeezed-out lump:] Floor of subway car
:[A longer length of the 'granite' texture, within which...:] More granite
:[Not quite half of a pipe-width, cut out as a gap perpendicular and not quite all the way across the core:] Municipal water main
:[Slightly more grainy version of the 'granite':] Slightly different granite
:[In a junction between 'granites', an squat, unidentifiable lump:] Piece of screaming spelunker's arm
:[Within a longer granite layer, a short stretch of spiky/crystalline features:] Cool crystals with no resale value
:[Within the same granite layer, an intrusion of mechanical-looking junk:] Mangled fragments of drillbit from previous attempt
:[As per granite, but slightly more grainy:] Some boring intrusive rock that's basically granite but has a name like "diorite" or "andalite" that you always have to look up
:[Dark, cobbly textured stone:] Netherrack
:[Within a stretch of granite, a short, dark but otherwise unidentifiable lump:] Balrog wing
:[At this point, there is a discontinuity indicating that an arbitrary length has been omitted. The sample then resumes:]
:[Still 'granite':] Granite
:[Dark soil texture:] Topsoil
:[Light, fine and sparse 'grains':] Cement
:[Two very short cross-sections, each with contrasting wood-grain stripes:] Floorboards
:[Two very short sections with a textile-base plus piles appearance:] Carpet
:[A mish-mash of 'stuff', possibly including cloth, metal components, grainy wood and 'topped' at the lowest end by something equally puzzling at an angle:] Possesions of a confused and angry homeowner in the other hemisphere

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:Minecraft]]

623: Oregon

2026-03-23T11:42:45Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ Removed dead link

{{comic
| number = 623
| date = August 14, 2009
| title = Oregon
| image = oregon.png
| titletext = A century later, the harrowing flight of the survivors from Oregon was dramatized in a popular video game.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic relates to the computer game ''{{w|The Oregon Trail (video game)|The Oregon Trail}}'', and humorously depicts the consequences to real-world Oregon if everyone had arrived in the same manner they did in the game.

''The Oregon Trail'' was an educational computer game released in 1971, but the version referred to is likely the more popular 1985 version. In the game, players would play as a character taking a trek west along the {{w|Oregon Trail}} from Missouri to Oregon. The player's journey starts in 1848 and typically takes less than one year to complete. Along the way, the player must manage resources (food, spare parts, etc.) {{tvtropes|DoomedExpedition|and face risks and dangers (starvation, disease, etc.)}}. Most players at the time were grade-school students. The game was very popular, and thousands of players played it monthly.

The game made it very easy to hunt for food. Large animals (bison, bears, etc.) were very easy and rewarding targets, where spending a single bullet could be enough to collect enough food for multiple days. There were also smaller prey available (rabbits, squirrels, etc.) which were harder to catch and provided less food. Since bullets are much lighter and cheaper than food, it was a good strategy to bring the minimum amount of food and plan to hunt for meals. Extra food can even be traded for money or other supplies, so it wasn't necessary to start the journey with anything except bullets.

Another aspect of hunting was that it made it fun to try to kill every animal available. You could end a hunt at any time, but if you played until time expired, you could amass thousands of pounds of food in a single hunt; a single buffalo could net 1,000 pounds. The game would then give a message like, "You collected 4,000 pounds of food, but you could only bring 100 pounds back." The discrepancy was amusing to grade schoolers, who would practice shooting as much game as possible.

The comic tries to document, as though in a historical fashion, what would have been the result if all the players had been real settlers who really had prepared for their journey on the Oregon Trail in that way. The parts before 1848 are historically accurate. Starting from 1848, however, players of the game would form an unbelievably large influx of people arriving nearly simultaneously, with very little food or supplies being brought along. Massive overhunting would soon strip the land bare, all large game slaughtered for meat, with hunger, starvation and disease soon to follow. {{w|Dysentery}} in particular was very common in the original game and perhaps the most infamous way to die, hence its listing as the most prominent epidemic.

The title text makes things rather recursive. In this alternate reality, thousands upon thousands of people fleeing ''from'' the overpopulated, devastated Oregon becomes the focus of another video game, much like ''The Oregon Trail'' in our universe.

==Transcript==
:History of 19th-century Oregon

:[Timeline, with relevant images next to various dates.]

:1805
::[Two men stand at the edge of a cliff. One has a walking staff.]
::Arrival of Lewis & Clark

:1825
::Early settlers arrive

:1841
::Oregon Trail established

:1843
::Larger western migration begins

:1848
::[A horse is pulling a covered wagon. A gun peeks out the back.]
::Huge wave of 500,000+ settlers arrives from Missouri. Largely children and adolescents, most bring nothing but cartloads of bullets for hunting.

:1849
::[Cueball and Megan with rifles aim at something.]
::Overhunting begins to devastate ecosystem
::Dysentery epidemic.

:1850
::[Tombstones and bodies.]
::Shooting deaths skyrocket
::Typhoid epidemic
::Measles epidemic
::Cholera epidemic

:1851
::All mammals larger than squirrels wiped out by overhunting
::Massive famine

:1852
::[Sun low over a land, devoid of life. Scattered remains of corpses and skeletons.]
::Last survivors flee
::Oregon territory abandoned

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]

3176: Inverted Catenaries

2026-02-04T10:16:20Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3176
| date = December 3, 2025
| title = Inverted Catenaries
| image = inverted_catenaries_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x317px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some tires are marketed as 'all-shape tires,' but if driven in a climate with both inverted catenary falls and triangle falls, they wear out really fast.
}}

==Explanation==
During the winter, in snowy / icy areas, people may replace their car's summer or all-season tires with {{w|Snow tires}} made specifically for the cold environment. In this comic, instead of snow, rounded shapes called inverted {{w|Catenary|catenary curves}} fall from the skies. On a plane covered in inverted catenaries all the same size, square wheels whose side length matches the arc length of the catenary [https://mathtourist.blogspot.com/2011/05/riding-on-square-wheels.html are capable of rolling smoothly], contrary to how they would act on a normal road. People have made real tracks demonstrating this. Regular wheels would cause a significantly bumpier ride on this terrain, so Cueball plans to swap them out with {{w|square wheel}}s to better suit the season.

Note, however, that this assumes the catenaries are arranged periodically with no spacing between them, fully cover the surface, and are consistent in shape and orientation. The orientation would also restrict the direction of travel, effectively meaning your vehicle would be traveling on rails. Changes in direction could be managed using catenaries whose arc length was consistent but whose segment length varied, with the variations in vertical size being accommodated by vehicles' suspension systems. Letting the direction changes be controlled by drivers (e.g. branching roads) would require complex 3D road surface shapes.

The title text mentions all-shape tires (as a play on all-season tires), which are advertised to supposedly fit any shape road. However, different shapes would require very different wheels; for example, falling triangles would form a sawtooth road, for which one would optimally use wheels pasted together from pieces of an equiangular spiral. The all-shape tire is said to wear out very quickly like low quality all-season tires used to. (The best modern all-season tires perform better than the average winter tire and have a 62k mile warranty.)

The comic might be a comment on the aforementioned experiments. While mathematically interesting and a good example of experimental mathematics (see [[3180]]) the "real life" applications of this are rather... limited. At least in this literal form.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball are walking together as inverted catenary curves fall from the sky (presumably from an "inverted catenary tree"). A few have landed in a regular formation, all flat-side down and evenly spaced, with some touching each other.]
:Cueball: Oh wow, the first inverted catenary fall of the year!
:Cueball: Time to swap out my all-season tires for square ones.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3176: Inverted Catenaries

2026-01-30T09:59:38Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ Removed winter tire explanation again (not really relevant) but provided wiki link instead.

{{comic
| number = 3176
| date = December 3, 2025
| title = Inverted Catenaries
| image = inverted_catenaries_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x317px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some tires are marketed as 'all-shape tires,' but if driven in a climate with both inverted catenary falls and triangle falls, they wear out really fast.
}}

==Explanation==
During the winter, in snowy / icy areas, people may replace their car's summer or all-season tires with {{w|Snow tires}} made specifically for the cold environment. In this comic, instead of snow, rounded shapes called inverted {{w|Catenary|catenary curves}} fall from the skies. On a plane covered in inverted catenaries all the same size, square wheels whose side length matches the arc length of the catenary [https://mathtourist.blogspot.com/2011/05/riding-on-square-wheels.html are capable of rolling smoothly], contrary to how they would act on a normal road. People have made real tracks demonstrating this. Regular wheels would cause a significantly bumpier ride on this terrain, so Cueball plans to swap them out with {{w|square wheel}}s to better suit the season.

Note, however, that this assumes the catenaries are arranged periodically with no spacing between them, fully cover the surface, and are consistent in shape and orientation. The orientation would also restrict the direction of travel, effectively meaning your vehicle would be traveling on rails. Changes in direction could be managed using catenaries whose arc length was consistent but whose segment length varied, with the variations in vertical size being accommodated by vehicles' suspension systems. Letting the direction changes be controlled by drivers (e.g. branching roads) would require complex 3D road surface shapes.

The title text mentions all-shape tires (as a play on all-season tires), which are advertised to supposedly fit any shape road. However, different shapes would require very different wheels; for example, falling triangles would form a sawtooth road, for which one would optimally use wheels pasted together from pieces of an equiangular spiral. The all-shape tire is said to wear out very quickly like low quality all-season tires used to. (The best modern all-season tires perform better than the average winter tire and have a 62k mile warranty.)

The comic might be a comment on the aforementioned experiments. While mathematically interesting and a good example of experimental mathematics (see [[3180]]) the "real live" applications of this are rather... limited. At least in this literal form.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball are walking together as inverted catenary curves fall from the sky (presumably from an "inverted catenary tree"). A few have landed in a regular formation, all flat-side down and evenly spaced, with some touching each other.]
:Cueball: Oh wow, the first inverted catenary fall of the year!
:Cueball: Time to swap out my all-season tires for square ones.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3184: Funny Numbers

2026-01-23T09:13:07Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3184
| date = December 22, 2025
| title = Funny Numbers
| image = funny_numbers_2x.png
| imagesize = 360x453px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In 1899, people were walking around shouting '23' at each other and laughing, and confused reporters were writing articles trying to figure out what it meant.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the recent meme {{w|6-7 meme|"6-7"}}, which is often accompanied by moving your hands up and down. This meme is often referenced in physical space, primarily among the younger generation, often to the great annoyance of their elders.

Like many youth trends, this habit is often looked down upon by adults, who may see it as anything from an irritating fad to a symptom of social and intellectual decay. This strip takes exactly the opposite tack, depicting a Mathematical Society (apparently composed entirely of adults) noting this trend with no hint of condemnation. Rather, their attitude seems indulgent and nostalgic. The strip references a long history of young people adopting specific numbers as slang, often for quasi-arbitrary reasons, and treats this latest meme as simply a continuation of that history. Seen from that perspective, the trend seems like something that the different generations have in common, with one researcher fondly saying that she's "glad they're still doing that".

The numbers listed are:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Number!!Adopted!!class="unsortable"|Explanation
|-
|data-sort-value="23"|23 (skidoo!)||data-sort-value="1899"|around 1899||The number relates to leaving quickly (a suggestion to go away), for indeterminate reasons.
{{w|23 skidoo|It was a death row prisoner's number}} in a then-new stage play based on ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens, but it's unclear whether that was the source of the slang. Soon after its coining, it was popularly combined with a term of similar use to become the phrase "{{w|23 skidoo}}".

23 gained some popularity again in the 1970s via the {{w|23 enigma}}, the suggestion that the number appears unusually often in significant contexts. This was first noticed by William S. Burroughs, and spread by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's book ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'', and by ''Principia Discordia''.
|-
|42||1978||A number made popular by {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, a radio play and book by Douglas Adams.
These works include a plot where a supercomputer is designed to answer {{w|Phrases from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy#The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42|"the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything"}} and (after a great deal of calculation) reports that the answer is "forty-two" (the joke being that the answer is useless because we don't understand the question). This number became a reference among fans of the series, and passed into more common usage.
|-
|69||data-sort-value="1795"|1790s?||Refers to {{w|69 (sex position)|the act of mutual oral sex}}, because the two digits (identical but inversely rotated) are reminiscent of two people in that sexual position.
This usage dates back at least as far as the eighteenth century (though the act itself is far older). The earliest known use was in French: "faire soixante-neuf", and it passed into English usage in the 1880s. It's not clear when the number began to be commonly referenced by young people, though it was arguably gained particular popularity due to a reference in {{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure}} (1989).
|-
|420||1971||This number (originally the time "4:20 pm", and later connected to April the 20th) has become {{w|420 (cannabis culture)|slang}} for smoking {{w|marijuana}}.
Randall previously made reference to this number in [[2153: Effects of High Altitude]]. Michigan's 2026 budget assumes the increased tax on marijuana will raise precisely $420 million for road repairs.
|-
|1,337||data-sort-value="1985"|1980s?||"{{w|Leet}}-speak" is a form of textual obfuscation using an alternative orthography (various character substitutions and phonetic shifts) to 'spell' words. This particular type of orthography initially became popular among young computer hackers ("leet" being slang for "elite" — i.e. the self-description of the in-group who are using this system).
"1337" is the usual way to represent the term "LEET" ("1" is commonly a lower-case "L", "3"s are often used as "E"s – see 58,008's calculator-speak examples – and "7" somewhat resembles a "T").
Randall has previously referred to 1337 in the [[:Category:1337|1337]] series and in [[1337: Hack]].
|-
|58,008||data-sort-value="1975"|1970s?||The number "58008" {{w|Calculator spelling|when typed into a seven-segment display and inverted}}, spells "BOOBS". There is also a longer version "5318008" which spells "BOOBIES". When calculators with these displays became common in schools in the 1980s, young people (particularly young men) took delight in this discovery, and in the fact that they could use an apparently inscrutable number as a salacious reference.
|-
|data-sort-value="67"|6 7||2025||{{w|6-7 meme|This meme}} originated from the song "Doot Doot" by Skrilla and quickly became an in-crowd joke, together with hand actions, among many young people.
The meme quickly became sufficiently divorced from its original meaning that even many people referencing it didn't know its origins, leading to many people seeing it as [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/67-meme fundamentally meaningless], though that hasn't stopped people from trying to assign a meaning to it.

{{w|At sixes and sevens}} is a possibly unrelated expression meaning a condition of confusion or disarray.
|}

The title text claims that the media reaction to "23-skiddoo" around the turn of the 20th century (''one'' of the oldest terms, ''possibly'' the first noted by the mathematicians of that day) was very similar to the current media reaction to "6 7". This highlights a perennial historical cycle of youth culture being confusing to the old; with the young generation growing old and, in turn, being confused by a new generation of youth culture.

Other cartoons featuring lists of symbolic numbers include [[487: Numerical Sex Positions]]. The trend of new manifestations of long-running phenomena being treated as signs of social decay is referenced in [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]].

==Transcript==
:[A banner is hanging from the ceiling with a large line of text above a smaller one:]
:<big>Mathematical society</big>
:2025 meeting

:[Below the banner there are four people, three of them are standing close together to the left with Hairbun leftmost addressing Cueball and Megan who is looking at her. Ponytail is standing to the far right next to a whiteboard, and is using a marker to circle round the last of several items on the board.]
:Hairbun: Any other new developments from the year to cover before we wrap?
:Cueball: Oh, the teens picked a new funny number.
:Megan: Aww, I'm glad to hear they're still doing that.
:Ponytail: I'll add it to the list.

:[The board generally contains two columns of numbers, the first row having text after its number, thus across both columns. The last pair of digits is the new 'number' circled round by Ponytail. From top, in reading order, they are:]
:23 (skidoo!)
:42    1,337
:69    58,008
:420   6 7

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Math]]
[[Category: Language]]

3185: Sauropods

2026-01-23T09:12:37Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3185
| date = December 24, 2025
| title = Sauropods
| image = sauropods_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x424px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Vertebrae Georg
}}

==Explanation==
The reconstruction of dinosaurs often has to be done on the basis of incomplete or disorganised fossil evidence. As a result, it can be based on a form of educated guesswork, based on the fossils that are available, and knowledge of other likely analogous creatures. This has led to some {{w|Crystal_Palace_Dinosaurs|significantly erroneous reconstructions}}, which have later been revised when further evidence came to light.

This comic attempts to correct people on the skeletal structure of {{w|sauropod}} dinosaurs, claiming that, rather than being long-necked and -tailed, most individuals actually had short necks and tails, and the "queen" of the colony had an enormous number of vertebrae, possibly resembling a snake with legs. The idea is that paleontologists misconstrued the skeletons, averaging the vertebrae out between all specimens, instead of 'correctly' allocating most of them to a single queen, leaving the rest of the creatures with shorter necks and tails.

In reality, most of the animal species that have {{w|eusociality|colonies with queens}} are fairly small insects, particularly termites, ants, bees, and wasps; with {{w|naked mole-rat}}s as a famous exception. No sauropods or other reptiles are known to do so. Also, while queens are often larger specimens than their workers or drones, they always share the same general anatomy. The comic suggests however that regular sauropods have a vastly different anatomy than their supposed queens.

The comic shows the sauropod queen as a serpent looping around several times and floating in the sky without support, which is impossible.{{cn}} Additionally, it is obviously impossible that a single sauropod could have a neck (and tail) anywhere near that long; it would collapse under its own weight. In fact, all known sauropods already have substantial skeletal adaptations just to accommodate their {{w|sauropoda#Necks|elongated necks}}.

The title text references {{w|Spiders Georg}}, a fictitious internet meme character who allegedly eats over 10,000 spiders a day, skewing the average and creating the factoid "The average person swallows 3 spiders a year."

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[Top panel: A sauropod with a normal long neck and tail, crossed out with a large red X.]
:[Bottom panel: Two sauropods with very short necks and tails, with a green check mark drawn in between and an eel-like supposed "sauropod queen" situated above them, who is predominantly composed of sauropod necks winding off both sides of the panel, with a single head and tip of the tail visible. The sauropod queen and the sauropod on the left look at each other.]
:[Caption below the comic:]
:Thanks to modern paleontological reconstructions, we now know that most sauropods had short necks, and all those extra vertebrae belonged to the sauropod colony's queen.
:[Hover text: Vertebrae Georg]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

3182: Telescope Types

2026-01-23T08:11:41Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3182
| date = December 17, 2025
| title = Telescope Types
| image = telescope_types_2x.png
| imagesize = 517x680px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I'm trying to buy a gravitational lens for my camera, but I can't tell if the manufacturers are listing comoving focal length or proper focal length.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows diagrams of a number of different types of {{w|telescope}} — some real, while others are other objects, or made up by [[Randall]]. It includes both refracting and reflecting designs; see [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector]] for the important (according to Randall) differences between them.

{| class="wikitable"
! Type !! Telescope? !! Refractor? !! Reflector? !! Description
|-
| {{w|Reflecting telescope#Prime_focus|Prime focus}} || Yes || No || Yes || A telescope design where the observer/receiver is situated at the focal point of a single mirror. Rare in optics, but a common design in radio telescopes.
|-
| {{w|Herschelian telescope|Herschelian}} || Yes || No || Yes || A telescope design much akin to Prime Focus but with the mirror tilted so that the observer does not block incoming light. Named after astronomer William Herschel.
|-
| {{w|Newtonian telescope|Newtonian}} || Yes || No || Yes || Newtonian telescopes employ a second, flat mirror along with the primary parabolic mirror.
|-
| {{w|Galilean telescope|Galilean}} || Yes || Yes || No || What might usually come to mind when picturing a telescope. A long tube that uses lenses rather than mirrors (making it a refracting telescope) to magnify images.
|-
| {{w|Keplerian telescope|Keplerian}} || Yes || Yes || No || An improvement on Galilean telescopes, using a convex lens rather than a concave one at the eyepiece (as shown in the diagram). It does however invert images.
|-
| {{w|Gregorian telescope|Gregorian}} || Yes || No || Yes || Uses two concave mirrors, the secondary being placed beyond the primary's focal point. The image is reflected back through a hole in the primary mirror. Unique among reflectors in that the image is not inverted.
|-
| {{w|Cassegrain telescope|Cassegrain}} || Yes || No || Yes || Similar to prime focus, but uses a secondary mirror to reflect light through a hole in the primary mirror to the observer (situated at the rear)
|-
| {{w|Cardboard}} tube || No, does not magnify || No || No || Children may sometimes use tubes, particularly the cardboard middles from paper rolls, as a play 'telescope'. Looking through a tube can give an illusion of magnification by removing distractions and focusing your attention on the object in view, but it doesn't actually magnify the object being viewed. It will still cause a minor optical effect due to {{w|diffraction}} on the edges of the tube.
|-
| {{w|Kaleidoscope|Kaleido''(scope)''}} || No, just used to create decorative patterns || No || Yes || A {{w|kaleidoscope}} is similar in form to the stereotypical 'ship's telescope', being a tubular object that you look in to one end of. However, it isn't really a telescope, because you can't use it to magnify arbitrary objects of interest. The non-viewing end is closed, and you view patterns created by many fragmented reflections of tiny objects contained at the end, rather than remote objects. The mirrors (set lengthways and angled to each other) are also usually flat, so provide no magnification.
|-
| {{w|Liquid mirror telescope|Liquid mirror}} || Yes || No || Yes || A telescope with the same design as Prime Focus, using a rotating pool of reflective liquid (most commonly mercury) as a mirror, the steady rotation creating a parabolic lens. The diagram adds a straw so that someone can drink the liquid. This would not improve telescope performance or end well for the drinker (if the liquid was to be anything but water).
|-
| Narcissian || No, observers view themselves || No || Yes || This is like a prime focus telescope, but the focus is outside the end of the telescope where the viewer is located, so they can only see themselves, magnified by the concave mirror. This is inspired by the myth of {{w|Narcissus}}, who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water. A {{w|house of mirrors}} (a typical attraction at a funfair) might feature such a 'telescope', because it is basically a concave mirror.

Furthermore, a narcissist, someone who is inordinately self-centered and arrogant (named for Narcissus), would likely appreciate this kind of mirror, as a narcissist considers self-viewing more worthwhile than viewing the outside world.
|-
| {{w|Gravitational lens|Gravitational}} || Not as shown || Yes || No || Using the gravitational effect of very large objects on the light passing around them to gain a magnified (if distorted) view of objects beyond them. These are formed naturally by large stars (particularly {{w|black holes}}) and galaxies, but can't be constructed on Earth{{cn}}. There are proposals to launch missions to the very far reaches of the Solar System to "construct" a {{w|Solar gravitational lens}} telescope, but the masses and distances involved are not compatible with consumer camera hardware.
<hr/>In the title text, Randall is concerned about whether the listed focal length of a gravitational lens is measured in the {{w|comoving and proper distances|comoving or proper}} reference frame — that is, whether the expansion of the universe (between the place and time of the lens's creation or construction and Randall's decision to purchase) has been factored out or not. At the cosmological scales between stars and galaxies, where gravitational lensing is most relevant, this is a useful distinction to make, but [https://iauarchive.eso.org/public/themes/buying_star_names/ stars are not for sale] (by any legitimate commercial entity) and so nobody would be advertising any focal length in either reference frame for any purchaser.
|-
| Geological || No || No || Yes || This 'telescope' employs a single mirror to show the observer the 2003 movie {{w|The Core}}, which was broadly derided by science-minded people. As a telescope it would not be useful, not least because it cannot be pointed at an arbitrary object. Its relevance to real geology is also dubious.{{Citation needed}}
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[The comic contains cross-sections/diagrams of 13 different types of telescopes, each with a small eye representing the observer and shaded areas representing the path of light, with darker areas indicating where light overlaps itself. The light originates from the left in all but the Liquid Mirror and Geological diagrams.]

[Prime Focus: A telescope that contains a concave mirror at one end, which reflects and focuses a column of light directly to an observer within the telescope.]

[Herschelian: Similar to Prime Focus, except the mirror is angled such that its focal point is outside the telescope, along with the observer.]

[Newtonian: Similar to Prime Focus, although there is a smaller angled mirror that changes the direction of the light by 90° after being focused so that the focal point is outside of the telescope.]

[Galilean: Rather than being reflected, the light is refracted by a convex lens and focused until it hits a concave lens at the other end, where the observer is.]

[Keplerian: Similar to Galilean, although the light narrows to a point and effectively "flips" before being straightened out by a second convex lens.]

[Gregorian: Similar to a Prime Focus telescope, though the light is refracted a second time by a small concave mirror slightly after the focal point and exits through a gap in the first.]

[Cassegrain: Similar to Gregorian, though the second mirror is convex and slightly in front of the focal point.]

[Cardboard Tube: A simple tube that allows only a small potion of light in, which is then seen by the viewer.]

[Kaleido: A tube with several small pieces of some material at one end, which light passes through and is then repeatedly bounced around in a reflective inner tube.]

[Liquid Mirror: Similar to Prime Focus, except the mirror is vertical and made of liquid being rotated at a constant speed by a motor underneath. A drinking straw leads out of the liquid and toward a small closed mouth.]

[Narcissian: Similar to Prime Focus, except the light is emanating from Cueball, who is standing ~4m away from a Cueball-sized mirror. The light is being refracted directly into Cueball's face.]

[Gravitational: A small black hole is in the middle of the telescope, positioned just right to warp two streams of light coming around it directly to the observer.]

[Geological: Similar to a Newtonian telescope, except the primary mirror is replaced by a small television labeled "TV playing ''The Core'' (2003)."]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Telescopes]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:The Core]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3183: Pole Vault Pole

2026-01-23T08:07:24Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3183
| date = December 19, 2025
| title = Pole Vault Pole
| image = pole_vault_pole_2x.png
| imagesize = 550x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My goal in life is to be personally responsible for at least one sports rule change.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic shows three hypothetical ways to compete creatively at {{w|pole vault}}, taking advantage of the fact that the rules let athletes bring their own poles yet don't limit the physical size of the pole. {{w|World Athletics}}' competition [https://www.worldathletics.org/download/download?filename=1db01fe4-2229-4591-81ec-745bcc6042c7.pdf rules], rule 28.11, states, "The pole may be of any material or combination of materials and of any length or diameter, but the basic surface must be smooth."

The first way uses a pole that's short, but with a very large diameter, slightly smaller than the height of the bar to be cleared. It's then turned 90 degrees horizontally, so it can actually be used as a large wheel. The vaulter balances on top, then uses their feet to make it roll towards the bar. When it reaches the bar, they simply jump a short amount to clear it.

The second method uses a pole whose length is more than twice the height of the crossbar. It's stretched over the bar and somehow attached to the ground at each end. Then the vaulter simply climbs up and over the bar.

The third method ties the ends of a very long and wide pole together, forming a large hoop that can be rolled towards the crossbar. The vaulter grabs onto the hoop, and when they reach the top they let go, and their momentum tosses them over the bar.

There are several flaws with these designs:

* Chiefly, the reason that the IAAF has not yet specified a standard measurement for poles is because there have not been any attempts to use a bizarre or potentially-advantageous design like these in sanctioned competitions. Were someone to try to do so, the authorities would {{tvtropes|ObviousRulePatch|take notice}} (though as we will see in the title text, [[Randall]] would count this as a win).

* All three designs may violate rule 28.2.2, which states that no part of the pole may touch the ground beyond the box until after the athlete has cleared the bar (there is an exception for the pole touching the landing mats after being properly planted in the box, but none of these designs would be properly planted, and all three would likely touch the ground beyond the landing mats). The first and third design may avoid this with careful timing, but it would be a deal breaker for the second.

* The first and third designs would continue to roll forward after the vaulter makes their jump. If the "pole" was deflected from its straight-line path, it would risk a collision with the vaulting frame, potentially dislodging the bar and disqualifying the attempt.

* The first design is hampered by its size; any material sturdy enough to take a human's weight would cause a wheel that big to be considerably massive (difficult for a human to start in motion from a dead stop) and dangerous if the user falls off while rolling it down the track. Vaulting poles don't have to be solid (indeed, modern poles usually aren't), but it would probably be necessary to add spokes to provide the necessary strength.

* The first design would also necessitate the use of multiple poles of different widths to account for the bar being raised throughout the competition. Similarly, the third design would require the tie point to be adjusted to change the diameter of the circle created.

* The second design violates rule 28.2.3, which effectively prohibits climbing the pole by banning moving the upper hand or swapping which hand is the upper hand after leaving the ground which was introduced after [https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1au258q/controversial_pole_vault_olimpics_story_is_it_true/ someone actually did it]. In addition, the time it takes for the pole to be sturdily embedded in the take-off & landing pits, plus the time to traverse the arch, may exceed the time limit allowed for the vault.

* The third design combines the first design's risks of the vaulter falling off and dislodging the bar with an additional violation of rule 28.1.1 that states that the use of tape may not result in the creation of any "ring" on the pole. The vaulter would also need to judge very carefully at what point to 'mount' the pole in order to be at the top of the circle when they reach the bar.

The title text says that Randall wants to be responsible for a sports rule change. Based on the contents of the comic, the implication is that he would go about this by exploiting some loophole that the organizers would be forced to patch (though his second design couldn't possibly do that, as something similar already happened in 1890).

How you could jump higher at certain places on Earth than others, for instance using a pole, was the subject of [[852: Local g]]. Pole vaulting and unfair methods of gaining height are also discussed in the first chapter of [[How To]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[At top left: A large wheel whose diameter is more than 4 times Cueball's height. Cueball is at the top, running backwards so that the wheel will roll towards a pole-vaulting crossbar at the same height.]
:[At top right: A long pole is bent into an arch going over a very high pole-vaulting crossbar. Cueball is climbing up the left part, and is about 3/4 of the way to the top.]
:[Along the bottom: A long pole has been bent into a circular hoop, with the ends tied together. It's rolling left-to-right towards a very high pole-vaulting crossbar, and three positions are shown. On the left Cueball is running to catch up with it. In the middle he has jumped and caught the left part of the pole. On the right, he has let go and is thrown into the air towards the crossbar.]
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Fun fact: There are no limits on the length or diameter of the pole in pole vault.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sport]]

3178: Hyperacute Interdynamics

2026-01-23T08:00:42Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

{{comic
| number = 3178
| date = December 8, 2025
| title = Hyperacute Interdynamics
| image = hyperacute_interdynamics_2x.png
| imagesize = 696x265px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Our models fall apart where the three theories overlap; we're unable to predict what happens when a nanometer-sized squirrel eats a grapefruit with the mass of the sun.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching a class, a recurring theme on [[xkcd]]. She correctly describes two of the three pillars of physics: {{w|general relativity}}, concerning very large objects, and {{w|quantum mechanics}}, concerning very small objects. The third pillar is {{w|thermodynamics}}, but she replaces this with the fictional ''hyperacute interdynamics'', which supposedly specifically covers objects 10 – 30 cm (~4″ – ~12″) in size and 200 – 700 g (0.44 lb – 1.54 lb) in mass.

When a student points out that the application of hyperacute interdynamics is quite limited, Miss Lenhart responds by stating that this is made up for by the fact that it is apparently very accurate and precise, giving {{w|squirrel}}s and {{w|grapefruit}} as examples of objects that it is able to perfectly describe, since they fit the necessary size and weight specifications (see trivia section below). Her comment that there are hopes to unify this system with the other two reflects the efforts of physicists to {{w|Quantum gravity|unify}} general relativity with quantum mechanics, so far without success.

While there is no actual field called hyperacute interdynamics, there is one of {{w|mesoscopic physics}}, described as the study of materials of an "intermediate size". The upper end of mesoscopic physics studies objects whose length is measured in micrometers — much smaller and lighter than those that hyperacute interdynamics would study, so the analogy is not perfect. On the other hand, it happens fairly frequently in science that two separate length scales may be studied by different fields with no overlap. In this situation, innovations are, in principle, possible by trying to fill in this gap. An example is that structural biology is concerned with proteins and protein-sized objects, while cell biology is concerned with organelles; experimental techniques for studying phenomena between these two scales were less well-established until the development, in the 2010s, of cryo-electron microscopy.

The title text extends the riff on unification, noting that, under the current system, measurements which require elements from all three pillars are impossible. The example given — when a nanometer-sized squirrel (suggesting an understanding of equivalence across both quantum mechanics and hyperacute interdynamics) eats a grapefruit with the mass of the Sun (similarly, general relativity meshing with hyperacute interdynamics) — would cover all three domains. Such objects are not known to occur in real life, so it is unknown how or why scientists would be trying to measure them. A black hole with the mass of the Sun would have a Schwarzschild radius of 2.95 km, so it would take some significant revisions to theory to accommodate a grapefruit-sized object with that mass, before even considering how a squirrel of such small size (but more normal mass) could exist ''and'' eat the former object. (By way of comparison, a black hole with the mass of Neptune — 1.024 × 1026 kg — would have a Schwarzschild radius of 15.2 cm / 6.0″, about the size of a large grapefruit.)

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom holding a finger up in front of the class. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a Cueball like boy is on the first row and Jill, taking notes, is in the second row.]
:Miss Lenhart: Modern physics rests on three main pillars:
:General relativity, which describes very massive objects,

:[Close up of Miss Lenhart.]
:Miss Lenhart: Quantum Mechanics, which describes very small objects,

:[In a frame-less panel the view zooms back out, but shows only Miss Lenhart.]
:Miss Lenhart: and Hyperacute Interdynamics, which describes objects 10-30cm in size and 200-700g in mass.

:[The panel zooms back in to a close up of Miss Lenhart.]
:Student (off-panel): That last one seems kind of limited.
:Miss Lenhart: Yeah, but over it's domain it's '''''really''''' precise. Absolutely '''''nails''''' squirrels and grapefruit.
:Miss Lenhart: Someday we hope to unify it with the other two.

==Trivia==
The {{w|eastern gray squirrel}}, which is the most prevalent squirrel in Massachusetts (where [[Randall]] lives), measures 16–20 inches (approx. 40–50 centimeters) on average when fully grown — outside the range of sizes given for hyperacute interdynamics to apply. It does, however, weigh between 400 and 600 grams — within the weight range. Whether hyperacute interdynamics would apply, then, would appear to depend on whether the 'and' in Miss Lenhart's statement is inclusive (a {{w|Union (set theory)|union}} of candidates from the two separately applicable ranges) or exclusive (only items within the {{w|Intersection (set theory)|intersection}} of both stipulations), though the title text suggests that the former is the more logical.

Individually, the head-and-body size and the tail size of the eastern gray squirrel are each within the hyperacute effective size (though potentially not mass). If they were modelled individually, or if the squirrel curled up, then they may become able to be effectively modelled by hyperacute interdynamics, even if the entire, stretched out squirrel cannot. This shows the absurdity of hyperacute physics, with such a strict cut-off making it easy for objects to enter and exit the hyperacute effective size. By contrast, relativity and quantum mechanics slowly become worse at describing reality as size increases/decreases.

Some squirrels, such as the {{w|Borneo black-banded squirrel}}, do entirely fit into the hyperacute effective size and mass.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]] 
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Food]]

3178: Hyperacute Interdynamics

2026-01-23T08:00:05Z

Elektrizikekswerk: Moved the discussion about different squirrel species to trivia. Interesting and arguably related but not really relevant for explanation. Otherwise it seems complete, no reason for tag gven, removed incomplete tag

{{comic
| number = 3178
| date = December 8, 2025
| title = Hyperacute Interdynamics
| image = hyperacute_interdynamics_2x.png
| imagesize = 696x265px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Our models fall apart where the three theories overlap; we're unable to predict what happens when a nanometer-sized squirrel eats a grapefruit with the mass of the sun.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching a class, a recurring theme on [[xkcd]]. She correctly describes two of the three pillars of physics: {{w|general relativity}}, concerning very large objects, and {{w|quantum mechanics}}, concerning very small objects. The third pillar is {{w|thermodynamics}}, but she replaces this with the fictional ''hyperacute interdynamics'', which supposedly specifically covers objects 10 – 30 cm (~4″ – ~12″) in size and 200 – 700 g (0.44 lb – 1.54 lb) in mass.

When a student points out that the application of hyperacute interdynamics is quite limited, Miss Lenhart responds by stating that this is made up for by the fact that it is apparently very accurate and precise, giving {{w|squirrel}}s and {{w|grapefruit}} as examples of objects that it is able to perfectly describe, since they fit the necessary size and weight specifications (see trivia section below). Her comment that there are hopes to unify this system with the other two reflects the efforts of physicists to {{w|Quantum gravity|unify}} general relativity with quantum mechanics, so far without success.

While there is no actual field called hyperacute interdynamics, there is one of {{w|mesoscopic physics}}, described as the study of materials of an "intermediate size". The upper end of mesoscopic physics studies objects whose length is measured in micrometers — much smaller and lighter than those that hyperacute interdynamics would study, so the analogy is not perfect. On the other hand, it happens fairly frequently in science that two separate length scales may be studied by different fields with no overlap. In this situation, innovations are, in principle, possible by trying to fill in this gap. An example is that structural biology is concerned with proteins and protein-sized objects, while cell biology is concerned with organelles; experimental techniques for studying phenomena between these two scales were less well-established until the development, in the 2010s, of cryo-electron microscopy.

The title text extends the riff on unification, noting that, under the current system, measurements which require elements from all three pillars are impossible. The example given — when a nanometer-sized squirrel (suggesting an understanding of equivalence across both quantum mechanics and hyperacute interdynamics) eats a grapefruit with the mass of the Sun (similarly, general relativity meshing with hyperacute interdynamics) — would cover all three domains. Such objects are not known to occur in real life, so it is unknown how or why scientists would be trying to measure them. A black hole with the mass of the Sun would have a Schwarzschild radius of 2.95 km, so it would take some significant revisions to theory to accommodate a grapefruit-sized object with that mass, before even considering how a squirrel of such small size (but more normal mass) could exist ''and'' eat the former object. (By way of comparison, a black hole with the mass of Neptune — 1.024 × 1026 kg — would have a Schwarzschild radius of 15.2 cm / 6.0″, about the size of a large grapefruit.)

The {{w|eastern gray squirrel}}, which is the most prevalent squirrel in Massachusetts (where [[Randall]] lives), measures 16–20 inches (approx. 40–50 centimeters) on average when fully grown — outside the range of sizes given for hyperacute interdynamics to apply. It does, however, weigh between 400 and 600 grams — within the weight range. Whether hyperacute interdynamics would apply, then, would appear to depend on whether the 'and' in Miss Lenhart's statement is inclusive (a {{w|Union (set theory)|union}} of candidates from the two separately applicable ranges) or exclusive (only items within the {{w|Intersection (set theory)|intersection}} of both stipulations), though the title text suggests that the former is the more logical.

Individually, the head-and-body size and the tail size of the eastern gray squirrel are each within the hyperacute effective size (though potentially not mass). If they were modelled individually, or if the squirrel curled up, then they may become able to be effectively modelled by hyperacute interdynamics, even if the entire, stretched out squirrel cannot. This shows the absurdity of hyperacute physics, with such a strict cut-off making it easy for objects to enter and exit the hyperacute effective size. By contrast, relativity and quantum mechanics slowly become worse at describing reality as size increases/decreases.

Some squirrels, such as the {{w|Borneo black-banded squirrel}}, do entirely fit into the hyperacute effective size and mass.

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom holding a finger up in front of the class. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a Cueball like boy is on the first row and Jill, taking notes, is in the second row.]
:Miss Lenhart: Modern physics rests on three main pillars:
:General relativity, which describes very massive objects,

:[Close up of Miss Lenhart.]
:Miss Lenhart: Quantum Mechanics, which describes very small objects,

:[In a frame-less panel the view zooms back out, but shows only Miss Lenhart.]
:Miss Lenhart: and Hyperacute Interdynamics, which describes objects 10-30cm in size and 200-700g in mass.

:[The panel zooms back in to a close up of Miss Lenhart.]
:Student (off-panel): That last one seems kind of limited.
:Miss Lenhart: Yeah, but over it's domain it's '''''really''''' precise. Absolutely '''''nails''''' squirrels and grapefruit.
:Miss Lenhart: Someday we hope to unify it with the other two.

==Trivia==
The {{w|eastern gray squirrel}}, which is the most prevalent squirrel in Massachusetts (where [[Randall]] lives), measures 16–20 inches (approx. 40–50 centimeters) on average when fully grown — outside the range of sizes given for hyperacute interdynamics to apply. It does, however, weigh between 400 and 600 grams — within the weight range. Whether hyperacute interdynamics would apply, then, would appear to depend on whether the 'and' in Miss Lenhart's statement is inclusive (a {{w|Union (set theory)|union}} of candidates from the two separately applicable ranges) or exclusive (only items within the {{w|Intersection (set theory)|intersection}} of both stipulations), though the title text suggests that the former is the more logical.

Individually, the head-and-body size and the tail size of the eastern gray squirrel are each within the hyperacute effective size (though potentially not mass). If they were modelled individually, or if the squirrel curled up, then they may become able to be effectively modelled by hyperacute interdynamics, even if the entire, stretched out squirrel cannot. This shows the absurdity of hyperacute physics, with such a strict cut-off making it easy for objects to enter and exit the hyperacute effective size. By contrast, relativity and quantum mechanics slowly become worse at describing reality as size increases/decreases.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]] 
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Food]]

3179: Fishing

2026-01-15T11:00:14Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag. Also: Not sure what that part about "weightless conditions" adds to the explanation of the comic - so I removed it.

{{comic
| number = 3179
| date = December 10, 2025
| title = Fishing
| image = fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'That's definitely above the catch-and-release size minimum for planetesimals.' 'I'm going to throw it back anyway.'
}}

==Explanation==
[[Ponytail]] and [[Beret Guy]] are fishing in the middle of a body of water, and Beret Guy has hooked a rock. Similarly to the common meme that sees people catching objects such as boots and shopping carts, he exclaims that it "feels like a big one". Fishers may judge the size of a fish by the amount of resistance they feel on the line, using their judgement of what a given mass and power of fish feels like when submerged and resisting the leverage of their fishing rod, and non-fish objects that are 'hooked' (especially those stuck in the sediment at the bottom) can seem to be reacting like a proper catch. (Also, the boat would be pulled down when reeling, so they could only tell that their downward pull is greater than the boat’s buoyancy.) In this case, though, Beret Guy can apparently feel that it must be "at least 1024 kilograms" — that is, an object with a size in the order of that of the {{w|Earth}} in its entirety, whose mass can be estimated at approximately 6.0 × 1024 kilograms (~1.31 × 1025 pounds). It would be unlikely that this could be confused with a fish.

Catch-and-release sizes restrict what sizes of catch of various species can be kept, generally to protect stocks. There may be minimum sizes (to protect young fish and ensure that they can reach mature reproductive age) or maximum sizes (to protect existing breeding populations). The title text claims the Earth is large enough to be kept, suggesting that {{w|planetesimals}} ({{w|asteroids}} and {{w|comets}}, for example) might be considered immature, and that they might be expected to eventually grow to 'adult' planet size. Beret Guy is big-hearted enough to want to release the planet back after reeling it in, even though he could keep it, or sportsmanlike, in allowing the catch to be potentially recaught by the next 'lucky' individual.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Ponytail and Beret Guy are sitting in a boat floating on a body of water, both holding fishing rods, with Ponytail looking at Beret Guy. One large fish and four smaller fish are seen swimming in the water, with three of the smaller fish in a group. Ponytail's fishing rod is about halfway down to the bottom, while Beret Guy has hooked his fishing line on an outcrop of bedrock overhanging the very deepest part.]
:Beret Guy: It feels like a big one! At least 1024 kilograms!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

3172: Fifteen Years

2026-01-15T10:55:33Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3172
| date = November 24, 2025
| title = Fifteen Years
| image = fifteen_years_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x2623px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "Want to feel old?" "Yes."
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]]'s then-fiancée (now wife) was diagnosed with cancer in late 2010. This is a matter he has discussed in the comic [[:Category:Cancer|multiple times before]], with [[Randall]] being depicted as [[Cueball]] and his wife as [[Megan]]. At this comic's release, it had been 15 years since her diagnosis and treatments.

This comic continues previous comics in [[:Category:X Years|the series]] – [[1141: Two Years]], [[1928: Seven Years]], and [[2386: Ten Years]] – the initial parts of which are shown in the first 20 panels, which are grayed-out. These take us through the initial diagnosis and inability to imagine what the future might be, into concerns about the illness potentially recurring, and up to enjoying ten years of life together that they weren't sure they would have.

After some new panels marking more significant non-cancer-related events from the most recent five years of their life, Megan announces some potentially concerning-sounding symptoms she's experiencing. However, the punchline is that these are just the signs of growing old, which Cueball is experiencing too. This is good news, considering the serious medical scares they lived through.

The title text continues that ending with a play on a common conversation topic. Normally someone rhetorically asks "Want to feel old?" and then follows it with a description of a difference the conversants have with the younger generation, or how long it's been since some significant event they both experienced, as Randall has done in [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|several previous comics]]. This is meant to make the other person feel bad about their age. In this case, though, the question is taken literally, with a simple "Yes" response to indicate that feeling old is better than being dead and they are happy to be alive and to have had the time they have.

The finality of this new installment suggests that it may be the last in the series, as it is solely related to Randall's wife's recovery from cancer.

===The new panels===

The first of the new panels shows Randall and his wife in bed, with Randall reading her {{w|Tove Jansson}}'s ''{{w|Moominland Midwinter}}''. He wants to stop because they need to get to sleep, she convinces him to read one more chapter. It didn't take much arm-twisting, her argument was simply a grunt. The choice of this particular book, which deals with the adventures of someone who should really be sleeping, might be meaningful for one or more of several reasons.

The next panel appears to depict the {{w|Covid-19 pandemic}}. [[Hairy]], Megan, Cueball, [[Ponytail]], and [[White Hat]] are all wearing masks and looking at graphs showing the progression of the virus. Happily, they both survived this.

The next panel shows them feeding birds. It's apparently winter, since Randall is wearing a knit cap and they're both wearing scarves. There are three birds around Randall, including one perched on his head; there's one bird that has landed on Megan's phone. Randall concludes that the birds like his birdseed more than hers. Megan can't figure out how to take a picture of her bird, since the phone's camera can't be pointed at the phone itself.

The next panel shows them on a kayaking expedition in a pond or river surrounded by cattails and a dense forest. They're kayaking past lily pads and turtles, with clear skies and birds above.

The next panel shows Randall in a bed, recovering from appendicitis. He has previously mentioned getting an appendectomy in [[2508: Circumappendiceal Somectomy]], in August, 2021. His wife is enjoying the shoe being on the other foot, going overboard taking care of him after a major medical procedure, but Randall tries to downplay the severity of his procedure.

The next four panels show them driving. They notice something, pull over, and get out of the car. The panel after this shows them viewing a spectacular {{w|aurora borealis}}. 2025 has been a {{w|solar maximum}}, producing a number of auroras that have been visible at unusually low latitudes, including Massachusetts, where Randall lives.

The final four panels show them sitting and talking in a field. Randall is lying down, his wife is sitting against a tree. They're celebrating her being cancer-free 15 years after her diagnosis and enjoying growing old together.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[The panels from the older strips are presented in gray.]

'''From [[1141: Two Years]]'''
:[Randall (drawn as Cueball) and Randall's fiancée (drawn as Megan) sit on a bed, Randall's fiancée is talking on the phone. The person she is talking to, a doctor holding a clipboard, is shown inset.]
:Randall's fiancée: Oh god.

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée sit together while Randall's fiancée, now bald, is receiving chemotherapy. They are both on their laptops.]
:IV pump: ... Beeep ... Beeep ... Beeep ...

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée (who is wearing a knit cap) are paddling a kayak against a scenic mountain backdrop.]

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée sit at a table, staring at a cell phone. There is a clock on the wall. Her head is stubbly.]
:Randall's fiancée: How long can it take to read a scan!?

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée are back at the hospital again, Randall's fiancée receiving chemo. They are playing Scrabble.]
:Randall: "Zarg" isn't a word.
:Randall's fiancée: But ''caaaancer.''
:Randall: ...Ok, fine.

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée (wearing a knit cap) are listening to a Cueball-like friend. A large thought bubble is above their heads and it obscures the friends talk. The text below, split in three is the only part there can be no doubt about:]
:Friend: So next year you should come visit us up in the mounta
::ea
::and
:Randall and Randall's fiancée (thinking): '''"Next year"'''

:[Randall and Randall's fiancée are getting married, with a heart above their heads. Randall's wife's hair is growing back.]

:[Randall and Randall's wife (wearing a knit cap) stand on a beach, watching a whale jump out of water.]
:''Fwoosh''

'''From [[1928: Seven Years]]'''

:[Randall and Randall's wife (with her hair noticeably longer) are walking through a forest.]

:[Randall's wife is sitting down, not in the forest anymore.]
:Randall's wife: My toe hurts and I found a report of a case in which toe pain was an early sign of cancer spreading.
:Randall: Wait—didn’t you stub your toe yesterday?
:Randall's wife: Yes, but what if this is unrelated?

:[Randall and his wife are going spelunking. The guide is gesturing deeper into the cave while Randall and his wife are climbing down.]

:[Randall's wife stands on a rock above an alligator in a swamp, photographing the alligator. Randall is on a balcony behind safety railings.]
:Randall: When they estimated your survival odds, I think they made some optimistic assumptions about your hobbies.

:[Randall's wife sits on an examination bed, listening to a doctor holding a clipboard.]
:Doctor: This is probably nothing.
:Doctor: But given your history, we should do a full scan.
:Doctor: We'll call with the results in a few days. Try not to worry about it until then!

:[Randall and his wife stand above a deep pond full of fish and other objects. Randall's wife is piloting a wired underwater camera with lights.]

:[Randall and his wife are standing next to each other. Randall's wife has shoulder-length hair covering most of her face.]
:Randall's wife: Hard to believe—six years ago, I was bald. But today, after a long struggle, I finally look like the little girl from ''The Ring''.
:Randall: That's, uhh... good?
:Randall's wife: ''Hissssss''

:[A line of six people, including Randall and his wife, stand and watch the solar eclipse.]

'''From [[2386: Ten Years]]''':
:[Randall and his wife are sitting in a room with five bunnies sitting around and on them. The Poster on the wall reads: Rabbit rescue.]
:Randall: Do you think they're socialized enough?
:Randall's wife: This one might need one more head pat.

:[Randall is running and pushing his wife on a hand cart.]
:Someone off-panel: Has anyone seen the hand cart?
:Randall's wife: Wheee!

:[Randall and his wife walks up hill with snowy mountains near by and in the background. his wife is gesturing to something ahead of them.]

:[A large dark panel, to the right of the previous three, to the left in two rows. Randall and his wife sits, leaning back on their hands looking up, at the end of a pier going into a lake. The end is broader and they sit to each side of the middle of the pier. It is night and behind the lake there is a forest of pine trees. Above the three is a clear starlit night sky with hundreds of stars and the band of the Milky Way clearly visible. The trees and some of the stars are reflected in the water of the lake, distorted by the movements of the water. There is a box with the words "Ten Years" in the center of the image.]

'''[From here to the end of the strip are new panels, drawn in the usual black rather than grayed out, except one panel drawn in inverted color.]'''

:[Randall and his wife are cuddling in their bed together. Randall is presumably reading from the book he is holding in his hand, {{w|Moominland Midwinter}}.]
:Randall's wife: One more chapter?
:Randall: Don't we both have to get up early tomorrow?
:Randall's wife: ''Nnnnnggggh''
:Randall: Sure, good point.

:[Randall and his wife are walking through a city. In the background is Hairy, Ponytail, and White Hat. Everyone is wearing a face mask and looking on their cellphones. On the phone are various graphs of COVID-19 statistics.]]

:[Randall is wearing a beanie and a scarf, while his wife is wearing a matching scarf. Randall is holding out his hand to feed birds birdseed, while his wife is holding a cellphone with a bird on it.]
:Randall: Hah! They like '''''my''''' seeds best.
:Randall's wife: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one?

:[Randall and his wife are kayaking in a river. There are 3 fluffy clouds in the sky and 6 birds. A forest grows on the riverbank, which is partially covered by reeds. There are lily pads on the river and a small turtle is on one of them.]

:[Randall is lying in bed with his head propped up by 3 pillows, facing his wife. She is holding a large pile of items in her hands: a takeout box, a pillow, two blankets, a pill box, and a mug.]
:Randall's wife: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a—
:Randall: It was just appendicitis, I'm really—
:Randall's wife: '''It is my turn to take care of you and I'm going to do it right!'''

:[Randall and his wife are sitting in their car, still and in shock. Randall is in the driver's seat.]::

:[Randall and his wife are still sitting in the same position in their car.]
:Randall's wife: Oh my god.
:Randall: Oh my god.

:[The car is moving quickly and gravel can be seen bouncing up behind the car, as well as exhaust.]
:Randall's wife: Pull over!
:Randall: I am!

:[The car has been parked and Randall and his wife are scrambling to get out of the car.]

:[Randall and his wife are standing by the edge of a lake. The color is inverted, with the background geography black and their bodies white. A beautiful aurora of reds and greens is spread across the night sky.]

:[Randall's wife is leaning against a tree and Randall is lying down on the grass looking up towards the sky.]
:Randall's wife: Fifteen years. No signs of cancer.

:[Zoom in of Randall's wife's face.]
:Randall's wife: I '''''am''''' having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I'm losing my close-up vision.
:Off panel voice: Yeah. Me too.

:[Zoom out, back to the original panel with the tree on the hill. Randall's wife is facing down towards Randall.]
:Randall: I think we're getting old.

:[Randall's wife is looking forward again.]
:Randall's wife: I guess that's okay.
:Randall: It's all I wanted.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:X Years]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

3176: Inverted Catenaries

2026-01-12T12:01:26Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag. Added some sort of interpretation of the comic.

{{comic
| number = 3176
| date = December 3, 2025
| title = Inverted Catenaries
| image = inverted_catenaries_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x317px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some tires are marketed as 'all-shape tires,' but if driven in a climate with both inverted catenary falls and triangle falls, they wear out really fast.
}}

==Explanation==
During the winter, in snowy areas, people may replace their car's summer or all-season tires with winter tires made specifically for the cold environment. In this comic, instead of snow, rounded shapes called inverted {{w|Catenary|catenary curves}} fall from the skies. On a plane covered in inverted catenaries all the same size, square wheels whose side length matches the arc length of the catenary [https://mathtourist.blogspot.com/2011/05/riding-on-square-wheels.html are capable of rolling smoothly], contrary to how they would act on a normal road. People have made real tracks demonstrating this. Regular wheels would cause a significantly bumpier ride on this terrain, so Cueball plans to swap them out with {{w|square wheel}}s to better suit the season.

Note, however, that this assumes the catenaries are arranged periodically with no spacing between them, fully cover the surface, and are consistent in shape and orientation. The orientation would also restrict the direction of travel, effectively meaning your vehicle would be traveling on rails. Changes in direction could be managed using catenaries whose arc length was consistent but whose segment length varied, with the variations in vertical size being accommodated by vehicles' suspension systems. Letting the direction changes be controlled by drivers (e.g. branching roads) would require complex 3D road surface shapes.

The title text mentions all-shape tires (as a play on all-season tires), which are advertised to supposedly fit any shape road. However, different shapes would require very different wheels; for example, falling triangles would form a sawtooth road, for which one would optimally use wheels pasted together from pieces of an equiangular spiral. The all-shape tire is said to wear out very quickly like low quality all-season tires used to. (The best modern all-season tires perform better than the average winter tire and have a 62k mile warranty.)

The comic might be a comment on the aforementioned experiments. While mathematically interesting and a good example of experimental mathematics (see [[3180]]) the "real live" applications of this are rather... limited. At least in this literal form.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball are walking together as inverted catenary curves fall from the sky (presumably from an "inverted catenary tree"). A few have landed in a regular formation, all flat-side down and evenly spaced, with some touching each other.]
:Cueball: Oh wow, the first inverted catenary fall of the year!
:Cueball: Time to swap out my all-season tires for square ones.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3175: Website Task Flowchart

2026-01-12T11:51:28Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3175
| date = December 1, 2025
| title = Website Task Flowchart
| image = website_task_flowchart_2x.png
| imagesize = 333x683px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Tired of waiting on hold? Use our website to chat with one of our live agents, who are available to produce words at you 24/7!
}}

==Explanation==
This is a flowchart comic. It ostensibly shows how to accomplish a task on a generic website. With the improvements to web infrastructure, {{w|accessibility}}, and {{w|user experience}} research over the decades, one might think that this would be simple. And sometimes, indeed, everything just works as expected. However, the flowchart indicates that this system often fails to handle error states gracefully and can {{wiktionary|a chain is only as strong as its weakest link|completely shut down}} when the smallest [[2347: Dependency|dependency]] breaks.

The first step is to try to access the website. This includes {{w|Loading (computing)|pulling it up}}, and possibly {{w|Login|signing into an account}}. Websites may have legitimate or [[792: Password Reuse|nefarious]] reasons to profile their users. Either way, it is often another step in the way of the user's goals.

The very start of the process can already fail if the website doesn't load, you enter an incorrect username or password, or the website's {{w|authentication}} service is having problems and rejecting legitimate credentials, for example. Issues at this stage are often out of the user's control, and can kneecap your productivity if you rely on that website, as was recently discussed in [[3170: Service Outage]]. The flowchart provides no specific {{w|troubleshooting}} guidance, as the exact steps will vary greatly depending on the specific problem, and readers may have their own troubleshooting process similar to [[627: Tech Support Cheat Sheet]]. It could involve visiting another website like "[https://www.isitdownrightnow.com Is It Down Right Now?]" to see if others are having the same issue, double-checking your login information, or looking up any specific error messages the site gives. You may simply have to wait until the broken service is restored.

If you can enter the website, the next part of the flowchart asks if you finished your task successfully. If you have managed to both log in and do your work (perhaps eventually), it simply congratulates you for finishing your task. Failure here could be because of other issues with the website, such as {{w|Software bug|bugs}}, or [[3170: Service Outage|service outages]] in the middle of your work, or simply because the site doesn't have the tools to accomplish your specific task. You may have to use tools that ''are'' available in alternative or creative ways to accomplish what you need to. This might not be an option if your data or workflow relies on a specific site, or if alternatives are sketchy or paywalled.

As the flowchart suggests, troubleshooting a website can be a major deviation from your goals, and can involve following many false leads for hours on end. There's a chance that the issue resolves, putting you back on track. But in the meantime, you're trying to find a solution on your own. According to the chart, talking to tech support is a last resort.

If your troubleshooting fails at either stage, the chart guides you to call the website's {{w|customer service}} line, which is framed as admitting defeat. The flowchart reckons that an {{w|Automated attendant|automated}} phone system will put you {{w|Hold (telephone)|on hold}} and a {{w|On hold messaging|prerecorded message}} will then suggest trying to use the website ''instead'' of calling directly. While this would be helpful for someone calling the support line ''before'' trying the website, it assumes that the site is working properly and that the task can actually be accomplished there. It's like kicking you when you're already down to hear that "advice" after spending hours trying to use a website that simply would not work like you need it to.

From there, the flowchart predicts that you will be so frustrated, you'll throw away both your computer and your phone into the sea before even listening to the rest of the on-hold message. This would be a drastic and non-trivial way of responding to the situation, as it would destroy those devices. (It would, at least, formally end your attempt to use the website.) The flowchart presents this as an inevitability as a form of {{w|hyperbole}}.

The title text is another part of the presumed hold message, perhaps for anyone who had not followed the flowchart as faithfully. It encourages the caller to visit the website's {{w|live chat}} function, a fairly recent development that combines the best and worst aspects of both online and phone-line support. It can be ambiguous whether the "live agent" is zero, one, or many people. You may reach a qualified staff member with all the answers to your questions; or, the conversation may be passed around between various less-than-knowledgeable staff who are merely following a ''script'' with a flowchart process (hopefully more useful than this one) to let them give more expert advice than they might be capable of; or, increasingly, you may connect to a {{w|chatbot}} that processes your queries, follows a similar script, and may be more difficult to reason with or escalate the issue. It may {{wiktionary|triage}} your initial responses before 'bothering' a real human who can help you with your request, if it is able to transfer you to a human at all.

The claim that the agent can "produce words at you" (rather than "talk", "speak", or "communicate") implies that their responses won't convey any information, or perhaps even basic understanding of the problem. If the live chat is open 24/7, you may reach a human agent elsewhere in the world who {{w|English as a second or foreign language|doesn't speak English natively}} and struggles to understand you. This could also be a blatantly honest admission that you will converse with a potentially inexhaustible {{w|large language model}} AI, where the words you receive might demonstrate {{w|Markov chain|even less understanding}} of your problem, as merely being able to send even [[1068: Swiftkey|vaguely logical sequences of words]] might be worse than useless. Additionally, giving random vague sequences of words would add to the user's frustration, strengthening their urge to throw their laptop into the ocean.

==Transcript==
[Caption above the panel:]
Doing a task using a company or organization's website:

[Below this is a flowchart, starting with "Go to website, try to log in"]

[Box 1 (start):] Go to website, try to log in (go to to box 2)

[Box 2:] Did it work? (Yes/No)
*Yes: Go to box 3
*No: Go to box 6

[Box 3:] Try to do your task (go to box 4)

[Box 4:] Did it work? (Yes/No)
*Yes: Go to box 5
*No: Go to box 8

[Box 5 (end):] Nice! Done!

[Box 6:] Spend hours troubleshooting account/login (go to box 7)

[Box 7:] Did it work? (Yes/No)
*Yes: Go to box 3
*No: Go to box 10

[Box 8:] Spend hours troubleshooting website (go to box 9)

[Box 9:] Did it work? (Yes/No)
*Yes: Go to box 5
*No: Go to box 10

[Box 10:] Give up and call customer service (go to box 11)

[Box 11:] Hold message: "Did you know you could do all of this more quickly and easily on our website? Just go to W-W-W dot..." (go to box 12)

[Box 12 (end):] Throw phone and laptop into the sea
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Internet]]

3170: Service Outage

2026-01-12T09:58:02Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3170
| date = November 19, 2025
| title = Service Outage
| image = service_outage_2x.png
| imagesize = 376x364px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Now, if it were the *Canon* wiki, it's possible to imagine someone with a productivity-related reason for consulting it, but no one's job requires them to read that much about Admiral Daala.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic compares the effects that different internet service outages can have on people's {{w|productivity}}. When the service is essential to someone's work, their productivity will clearly go down. They may initially be able to switch to alternative tasks, but the longer the outage goes on, the more of their task stack will be blocked and the less they will be able to accomplish. However, if the service (such as the {{w|Star Wars Legends}} wiki) is non-essential, their productivity improves, implying that without access to the service they are less distracted and get more work done.

The title text makes a distinction between the productivity effects of the {{w|Canon (fiction)|canon}} and non-canon {{w|Star Wars}} wikis. (In reality Wookieepedia, the main Star Wars wiki, covers both the Canon and Legends continuity.) A writer or editor for a forthcoming Star Wars product may have a work-related reason to review a wiki containing Star Wars canon, in order to ensure consistency with the work they are developing. Star Wars Legends, on the other hand, have been considered non-canon since 2014. While a fanfiction author {{tvtropes|FanonDiscontinuity|might have a reason to peruse information regarding the Legends continuity}}, there are vanishingly few people lucky enough that "writing fanfiction" can be considered "productivity" in any meaningful way. The character of [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Natasi_Daala Admiral] [https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Natasi_Daala Daala] is well documented, but a relatively niche line of interest.

This comic was posted the day after a major worldwide outage at {{w|Cloudflare}}, a major {{w|content delivery network}} (CDN) whose failure affected this very site (among many others). This outage followed outages a few weeks before at {{w|Microsoft Azure}} and {{w|Amazon Web Services}}, which provide {{w|cloud computing}} services, and fifteen months since {{w|2024 CrowdStrike-related IT outages|another significant outage}}. These aren't sites that most non-technical users are directly familiar with, but they provide infrastructure for many popular web sites, so their failures have wide-ranging impacts even for those who had been previously unaware of their role in their online life. For example, popular websites such as Netflix, Spotify, and Pinterest were affected by the AWS outage. The same day as the Cloudflare outage, there was also a {{w|Github}} outage; this site is used mainly to support software development.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[A graph of "Productivity when a major internet service goes down" over time]
:[The productivity line starts at average. A point in time is labelled 'outage begins']
:[After that, the line splits into two lines: one labelled "People whose work relies on the service". It goes down over time.]
:[The second line is labelled "People whose work doesn't rely on the service". It jumps a little and stays roughly constant after.]
:[The second line is illustrated by Cueball seated at a desk, using a laptop computer. A thought bubble says: "Aw man, the outage took down the Star Wars Legends wiki."]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

Talk:3180: Apples

2025-12-16T08:53:35Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

As heretical as it is, I almost want to keep the explanation just like this [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 00:09, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:I wasnt going to ruin it, when I saw it like that. But now it's been expanded, I've added in my own thoughts on the subject. Namely elemental number-theory, i.e. the possibility of counting any item just like you count any other item, plus what's going on with the title text, including a slightly kludgy call-back to the fact that (''to have a budget'', that must have people succesfully counting expenditures and purchased values) the Exp. Maths Dept. has clearly trained people in the use of numbers enough for them to now be awkwardly snapping at the heels of the EMD querying the justifiability of at least one of their ongoing studies. (Not sure how long my thoughts will actually last, though, in the light of further editing. But I hope at least some of what I'm getting at will be successfully distilled into any more succinct version.) [[Special:Contributions/78.144.255.82|78.144.255.82]] 01:05, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::I guess [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3180:_Apples&oldid=401411 this was the explanation] at the time of this comment!? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 14 December 2025 (UTC)
:::Oh, that's a good one :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:53, 16 December 2025 (UTC)

Twelve apples! <*thunder rolls*> Ha! Ha! Ha! [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:36, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Oh the irony! How did they count the twelve apples? 0,succ(0),succ(succ(0))..., I bet. This is already heavy math. (For example, what guarantees you that succ(0) exists and has exactly one value 1 and is the successor only of 0? Peano envy.) [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:FD7E:5F02:5364:961|2A02:2455:1960:4000:FD7E:5F02:5364:961]] 08:52, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:Thank you for starting your counting at 0. I have espoused that zero IS a counting number, as you can't get to 1, unless you first arrive at 0. "Sherman, count how many unicorns there are in this field." "Um, there are zero, Mr. Peabody." [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:11, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::How'd you "get to" zero? You have to start somewhere and it is arbitrary. You could start at 17, define succ^-1(x) and go back to 1 or 0. Clearly this is inconvenient but not wrong. If you need zero it may make sense to start at zero but if you need negatives it may not matter. If you are teaching you might want to deal with other concepts and not "we start at zero because". There is no one true set of axioms & definition. Usefulness of Non-Euclidian geometry does not make Euclidian geometry useless.[[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 17:35, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

In fact if you really want to nitpick, while most people would accept that 7+5=12 it is demonstrably false that my seven apples plus your 5 apples are equal to a pool of 12 apples. In fact it is demonstrably false that I even have 7 apples. Because no 2 apples are identical they can't be combined together. We may be willing to disregard such gross inaccuracies for the sake of, you know, being able to continue to survive for a little while longer, though. [[Special:Contributions/176.138.186.7|176.138.186.7]] 11:10, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:When you say "seven apples plus 5 apples is 12 apples" you are saying when a set of apples that can be put in a 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of the 1st seven cardinal numbers is combined with a set of apples that can be put in a 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of the 1st five cardinal numbers you get a set that can be put in a 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of the 1st twelve cardinal numbers". Like Cantor's proof that the cardinality of the unit interval is the same as the unit square. There is such a natural correspondence between (finite) cardinal numbers and strictly positive integers that it can be hard to keep in mind that, in a fussy sense, they are not the same things. [[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 05:50, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
:The physicists have already shown that all apples are perfect spheres of uniform density and cannot be split into smaller apples. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:11, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::Are the perfect spheres bosons or fermions?[[Special:Contributions/76.180.39.133|76.180.39.133]] 15:38, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:::Not spinning? spin=0 => boson.[[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 17:35, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

This comic makes me wonder if Randall is aware of us, and if he might someday try to make a comic so bizarre, we become unable to "explain" it at all. Would such a thing be possible? Something so absurd, we're forced to shrug and say "I got nothing"? It's possible I've been awake too long.[[Special:Contributions/69.5.140.194|69.5.140.194]] 18:32, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:Cranberry sauce.[[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 05:17, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

i think there's a direct connection between this and {{w|Ultrafinitism}}!! [[Special:Contributions/129.64.0.34|129.64.0.34]] 04:56, 14 December 2025 (UTC)Bumpf

"Okay, with my hrair apples added to your hrair, we have ... let's see ... hrair apples!"
"Incredible! Perfect agreement with the theory!"
It even works with multiple theories!
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 19:22, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

Holy overexplanation, Batman! [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:29, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
: And yet somehow still seeming to miss the heart of the joke, in that maths rests on proving ''generalizable'' rules, so that any ''specific'' instance of a rule doesn't have to be proven from first principles. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 14:17, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

AI bros must not have a sense of humor because LLM's clearly don't get jokes. Seriously, can we please stop accepting these auto-gen explanations as anything close to being sufficient and work to replace them ASAP? This site functioned fine for years getting well crafted hand written explanations up within 24 hours, but today it seems that editors see the walls of text and just declare mission accomplished.[[User:Sturmovik|Sturmovik]] ([[User talk:Sturmovik|talk]]) 17:12, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
:what the... what makes you think you are smarter than everyone???--[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 17:29, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
::I don't know about any other edits, most of which actually just looked like honest hand-crafted attempts to me but I must admit that sometimes I feel that maybe [[3126: Disclaimer]] needs applying to some of mine. (I know that my rushed "rejig", aiming to shave things down again, ended up with some typos. Though you'd be excused for thinking they were AI 'double-bluff' remnants, I suppose.) [[Special:Contributions/78.144.255.82|78.144.255.82]] 17:37, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
:::I agree this explanation is way tooo long. I even added this to the incomplete reason, but that has been removed. I still think we at this moment would be better of with the original explanation mentioned in the top post 5+7=12! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:41, 16 December 2025 (UTC)

And then there's the disappearing leprechaun [https://www.math.ucla.edu/~tao/resource/general/131ah.1.03w/leprechaun.htm][[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 20:04, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3180: Apples

2025-12-15T11:29:39Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

As heretical as it is, I almost want to keep the explanation just like this [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 00:09, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:I wasnt going to ruin it, when I saw it like that. But now it's been expanded, I've added in my own thoughts on the subject. Namely elemental number-theory, i.e. the possibility of counting any item just like you count any other item, plus what's going on with the title text, including a slightly kludgy call-back to the fact that (''to have a budget'', that must have people succesfully counting expenditures and purchased values) the Exp. Maths Dept. has clearly trained people in the use of numbers enough for them to now be awkwardly snapping at the heels of the EMD querying the justifiability of at least one of their ongoing studies. (Not sure how long my thoughts will actually last, though, in the light of further editing. But I hope at least some of what I'm getting at will be successfully distilled into any more succinct version.) [[Special:Contributions/78.144.255.82|78.144.255.82]] 01:05, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:I guess [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3180:_Apples&oldid=401411 this was the explanation] at the time of this comment!? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

Twelve apples! <*thunder rolls*> Ha! Ha! Ha! [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:36, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

Oh the irony! How did they count the twelve apples? 0,succ(0),succ(succ(0))..., I bet. This is already heavy math. (For example, what guarantees you that succ(0) exists and has exactly one value 1 and is the successor only of 0? Peano envy.) [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:FD7E:5F02:5364:961|2A02:2455:1960:4000:FD7E:5F02:5364:961]] 08:52, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:Thank you for starting your counting at 0. I have espoused that zero IS a counting number, as you can't get to 1, unless you first arrive at 0. "Sherman, count how many unicorns there are in this field." "Um, there are zero, Mr. Peabody." [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:11, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::How'd you "get to" zero? You have to start somewhere and it is arbitrary. You could start at 17, define succ^-1(x) and go back to 1 or 0. Clearly this is inconvenient but not wrong. If you need zero it may make sense to start at zero but if you need negatives it may not matter. If you are teaching you might want to deal with other concepts and not "we start at zero because". There is no one true set of axioms & definition. Usefulness of Non-Euclidian geometry does not make Euclidian geometry useless.[[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 17:35, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

In fact if you really want to nitpick, while most people would accept that 7+5=12 it is demonstrably false that my seven apples plus your 5 apples are equal to a pool of 12 apples. In fact it is demonstrably false that I even have 7 apples. Because no 2 apples are identical they can't be combined together. We may be willing to disregard such gross inaccuracies for the sake of, you know, being able to continue to survive for a little while longer, though. [[Special:Contributions/176.138.186.7|176.138.186.7]] 11:10, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:When you say "seven apples plus 5 apples is 12 apples" you are saying when a set of apples that can be put in a 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of the 1st seven cardinal numbers is combined with a set of apples that can be put in a 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of the 1st five cardinal numbers you get a set that can be put in a 1-to-1 correspondence with the set of the 1st twelve cardinal numbers". Like Cantor's proof that the cardinality of the unit interval is the same as the unit square. There is such a natural correspondence between (finite) cardinal numbers and strictly positive integers that it can be hard to keep in mind that, in a fussy sense, they are not the same things. [[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 05:50, 15 December 2025 (UTC)
:The physicists have already shown that all apples are perfect spheres of uniform density and cannot be split into smaller apples. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:11, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
::Are the perfect spheres bosons or fermions?[[Special:Contributions/76.180.39.133|76.180.39.133]] 15:38, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:::Not spinning? spin=0 => boson.[[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 17:35, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

This comic makes me wonder if Randall is aware of us, and if he might someday try to make a comic so bizarre, we become unable to "explain" it at all. Would such a thing be possible? Something so absurd, we're forced to shrug and say "I got nothing"? It's possible I've been awake too long.[[Special:Contributions/69.5.140.194|69.5.140.194]] 18:32, 13 December 2025 (UTC)
:Cranberry sauce.[[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 05:17, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

i think there's a direct connection between this and {{w|Ultrafinitism}}!! [[Special:Contributions/129.64.0.34|129.64.0.34]] 04:56, 14 December 2025 (UTC)Bumpf

"Okay, with my hrair apples added to your hrair, we have ... let's see ... hrair apples!"
"Incredible! Perfect agreement with the theory!"
It even works with multiple theories!
--[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 19:22, 14 December 2025 (UTC)

Holy overexplanation, Batman! [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:29, 15 December 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3173: Satellite Imagery

2025-11-28T10:18:46Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

This is another comic in the ''My Hobby'' series, and is also about pranking conspiracy theorists. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C08:2800:DC6F:548F:9B29:AAE1|2001:4C4E:1C08:2800:DC6F:548F:9B29:AAE1]] 21:43, 26 November 2025 (UTC)
:Not pranking conspiracy theorists... Pranking the kind of people that conspiracy theorists theorise about. There's clear indication that they are working for one or other "three letter agency" (or else they'd be directly blaming No Such Agency/whoever, over and above the other explanations they're considering) and are trained and salaried analysts, rather than armchair hobbyists of the more nebulously self-organised and self-motivating kind. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.70|82.132.245.70]] 00:12, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

I know there are places (like parts of Oregon) that ''look'' pixelated due to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkerboarding_(land) checkerboarded land ownership]. But something like ''this'' would be next-level! --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 03:32, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

imagine how much more terrifying it'd be if you did that with the sky :P [[Special:Contributions/176.126.228.189|176.126.228.189]] 08:41, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

If that (original, pre 'censorship tiles') image is not cleverly composited from multiple sources (including perhaps decorated by perlin-noise and/or hue-shifted), it might ''just'' be possible to chase down the actual shot used, with a little dedication. The particular colour of the landscape (being wary of seasonal variation) might tie it down to a subset of semi-arid regions through which rivers are flowing, with a bit of cultural guessing on top. I'm guessing, from the limited cues (the 'track' footprints, and the natural evolution of the junction curves through continued use of a turnoff) that the 'pixel' tiles are 100-200 yds on-the-ground. There's limited topological information (except for in analysing the fluvial and alluvial vicinities of the riverine cutbanks) but no immediate sign of extreme gradients — only hints that some adjacent dirt-tracks don't connect due to it being less flat/level in places. A practiced jigsaw-doer should be able to scroll across a Google Maps (or other vendor's) photo-overheads and twig when the right sort of features pass by. We're even good at handling orientation differences (the trickiest thing Randall might have done is to rotate his 'piece' arbitrarily, but we've all had to deal with bits of fuzzy cloud/undergrowth/stonework that could be ''any'' way round, when trying to match against the box image — which is additionally faded or otherwise not really properly colour-matched). The difference being that there's no 'giving up on this piece' (maybe no more than a couple of miles square, 'on the ground'), after five or ten minutes, to pass onto the next awkward 'middle of the difficult patch' one to see if you might have slightly better luck in whittling down the unmatched spaces. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.70|82.132.245.70]] 16:55, 27 November 2025 (UTC)
:Well, if we are assuming that this image is of a real location, I would suggest analyzing datasets containing all the water features of a region (lakes, rivers, etc.) to help narrow down general regions to look at. However, looking closely at the image, I am fairly certain that it's a digital painting and not a photo. [[Special:Contributions/199.247.247.123|199.247.247.123]] 22:36, 27 November 2025 (UTC)
::If totally drawn, there's a ''lot'' of unnecessary and fiddly pixel-level detail (sandbars in the river, bankside tracks, the nature of the track-ends around whatever nature of outpost they lead to) that really needn't have been contrived from all the necessary digital-pen strokes needed to implement.
::And you'd be referencing real overhead images, at the very least, to even think you'd need those. And to not try to represent the water as much bluer (there are several reasons it wouldn't be, which also persuades me that it's a satellite ground-survey rather than a mere aerial one), because "reality is unrealistic". [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.49|82.132.244.49]] 00:54, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

The title text reminds me of the Map Men episode in which the existence of the watermark was presented as proof that Google was trying to claim Bir Tawil. [[Special:Contributions/209.188.63.98|209.188.63.98]] 17:11, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

'''WHERE IS THIS?''' Can anyone figure out from the map where this is? [[Special:Contributions/154.47.27.37|154.47.27.37]] 22:47, 27 November 2025 (UTC)
: According to ChatGPT it's most likely somewhere in Namibia (assuming it's showing a real place at all). The explanation is quite long (and plausible, imo), this is its concusion: "Based purely on visual features — terrain color, river shape, road type, isolation, and the dark depression — the image most plausibly resembles: An area in Namibia shaped by an ephemeral river system (especially in the Kuiseb–Ugab–Huab region, or nearby gravel plains)" Other, less likely options it mentioned were: Nevada/Arizona, Australia and (Saudi) Arabia [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:14, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

The explanation jumps to conclusions that are not stated in the comic. Satellite images are used by various professions, intelligence officers are only one of them. Other professions are stock analysts, environmental investigators, or data journalists. The comic itself only speaks of remote sensing. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:638:807:507:D4BF:ABF3:E094:D532|2001:638:807:507:D4BF:ABF3:E094:D532]] 09:27, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3173: Satellite Imagery

2025-11-28T10:14:01Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

This is another comic in the ''My Hobby'' series, and is also about pranking conspiracy theorists. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C08:2800:DC6F:548F:9B29:AAE1|2001:4C4E:1C08:2800:DC6F:548F:9B29:AAE1]] 21:43, 26 November 2025 (UTC)
:Not pranking conspiracy theorists... Pranking the kind of people that conspiracy theorists theorise about. There's clear indication that they are working for one or other "three letter agency" (or else they'd be directly blaming No Such Agency/whoever, over and above the other explanations they're considering) and are trained and salaried analysts, rather than armchair hobbyists of the more nebulously self-organised and self-motivating kind. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.70|82.132.245.70]] 00:12, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

I know there are places (like parts of Oregon) that ''look'' pixelated due to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkerboarding_(land) checkerboarded land ownership]. But something like ''this'' would be next-level! --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 03:32, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

imagine how much more terrifying it'd be if you did that with the sky :P [[Special:Contributions/176.126.228.189|176.126.228.189]] 08:41, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

If that (original, pre 'censorship tiles') image is not cleverly composited from multiple sources (including perhaps decorated by perlin-noise and/or hue-shifted), it might ''just'' be possible to chase down the actual shot used, with a little dedication. The particular colour of the landscape (being wary of seasonal variation) might tie it down to a subset of semi-arid regions through which rivers are flowing, with a bit of cultural guessing on top. I'm guessing, from the limited cues (the 'track' footprints, and the natural evolution of the junction curves through continued use of a turnoff) that the 'pixel' tiles are 100-200 yds on-the-ground. There's limited topological information (except for in analysing the fluvial and alluvial vicinities of the riverine cutbanks) but no immediate sign of extreme gradients — only hints that some adjacent dirt-tracks don't connect due to it being less flat/level in places. A practiced jigsaw-doer should be able to scroll across a Google Maps (or other vendor's) photo-overheads and twig when the right sort of features pass by. We're even good at handling orientation differences (the trickiest thing Randall might have done is to rotate his 'piece' arbitrarily, but we've all had to deal with bits of fuzzy cloud/undergrowth/stonework that could be ''any'' way round, when trying to match against the box image — which is additionally faded or otherwise not really properly colour-matched). The difference being that there's no 'giving up on this piece' (maybe no more than a couple of miles square, 'on the ground'), after five or ten minutes, to pass onto the next awkward 'middle of the difficult patch' one to see if you might have slightly better luck in whittling down the unmatched spaces. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.70|82.132.245.70]] 16:55, 27 November 2025 (UTC)
:Well, if we are assuming that this image is of a real location, I would suggest analyzing datasets containing all the water features of a region (lakes, rivers, etc.) to help narrow down general regions to look at. However, looking closely at the image, I am fairly certain that it's a digital painting and not a photo. [[Special:Contributions/199.247.247.123|199.247.247.123]] 22:36, 27 November 2025 (UTC)
::If totally drawn, there's a ''lot'' of unnecessary and fiddly pixel-level detail (sandbars in the river, bankside tracks, the nature of the track-ends around whatever nature of outpost they lead to) that really needn't have been contrived from all the necessary digital-pen strokes needed to implement.
::And you'd be referencing real overhead images, at the very least, to even think you'd need those. And to not try to represent the water as much bluer (there are several reasons it wouldn't be, which also persuades me that it's a satellite ground-survey rather than a mere aerial one), because "reality is unrealistic". [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.49|82.132.244.49]] 00:54, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

The title text reminds me of the Map Men episode in which the existence of the watermark was presented as proof that Google was trying to claim Bir Tawil. [[Special:Contributions/209.188.63.98|209.188.63.98]] 17:11, 27 November 2025 (UTC)

'''WHERE IS THIS?''' Can anyone figure out from the map where this is? [[Special:Contributions/154.47.27.37|154.47.27.37]] 22:47, 27 November 2025 (UTC)
: According to ChatGPT it's most likely somewhere in Namibia (assuming it's showing a real place at all). The explanation is quite long (and plausible, imo), this is its concusion: "Based purely on visual features — terrain color, river shape, road type, isolation, and the dark depression — the image most plausibly resembles: An area in Namibia shaped by an ephemeral river system (especially in the Kuiseb–Ugab–Huab region, or nearby gravel plains)" [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:14, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

The explanation jumps to conclusions that are not stated in the comic. Satellite images are used by various professions, intelligence officers are only one of them. Other professions are stock analysts, environmental investigators, or data journalists. The comic itself only speaks of remote sensing. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:638:807:507:D4BF:ABF3:E094:D532|2001:638:807:507:D4BF:ABF3:E094:D532]] 09:27, 28 November 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3172: Fifteen Years

2025-11-25T08:29:56Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

Part of a series:
* https://xkcd.com/1141/
* https://xkcd.com/1928/
* https://xkcd.com/2386/
--[[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 21:28, 24 November 2025 (UTC)
:[[:Category:X Years]]. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 22:03, 24 November 2025 (UTC)
"Growing old is a fabulous alternative to death." [[Special:Contributions/85.255.235.101|85.255.235.101]] 21:30, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

OH MY GOD THIS IS SO SWEET EEEEEEEEEE. So happy for you Randall! <3 '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:36, 24 November 2025 (UTC)
: this made me, too, tear up - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 00:22, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Growing old ... '''together'''. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 21:59, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

The paragraph about the title text could use a reference to the series of comics of the form "Students graduating this year have never...". I'm not sure how to find them. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:11, 24 November 2025 (UTC)
: I added a link to what I think is the right category. It might be a little too broad though. [[Special:Contributions/2601:281:C802:9170:0:0:0:4150|2601:281:C802:9170:0:0:0:4150]] 01:53, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Just. The. Cutest. This is an ideal relationship.--[[User:Maxcodes|Maxcodes]] ([[User talk:Maxcodes|talk]]) 22:32, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

I love being reminded I’m (pretty dang sure I’m) going to die alone, yaaaaaay [[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:12A0:E200:D1D1:1F63:C1A:31F2|2600:4040:12A0:E200:D1D1:1F63:C1A:31F2]] 23:05, 24 November 2025 (UTC)

yay they have survived [[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]])

As John Lennon once said, “Grow old along with me.” [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 00:19, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

This weekend, as well as today, I've been quite sick. This was a much-needed boost. <3 love ya, Randall. [[User:DollarStoreBa'al|--'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]]] ([[User talk:DollarStoreBa'al|talk]]) 02:28, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

This might be my favorite xkcd comic of all time. [[Special:Contributions/68.2.204.250|68.2.204.250]] 03:02, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Based on the pattern, the next in the series will be "Eighteen Years" [[Special:Contributions/209.52.88.184|209.52.88.184]] 03:23, 25 November 2025 (UTC)
::Nah, a +5,+3,+5,+3 seems too basic. Maybe 22 would work, since this is maximum k for which the grid graph P_2 X P_k is a subgraph of the n X n knight graph. Definitely didn't just copy from the oeis. ANYWAYS, by the time they get to 46 we'll have solved it by then... --[[Special:Contributions/2.50.0.22|2.50.0.22]] 03:39, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Very happy for Randall here, this is very sweet. [[User:Clayel|Clayel]] ([[User talk:Clayel|talk]]) 03:42, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Why is my vision getting so blurry? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:29, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

1079: United Shapes

2025-11-17T13:56:57Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Objects */ Added some wiki links

{{comic
| number = 1079
| date = July 9, 2012
| title = United Shapes
| image = united_shapes.png
| imagesize = 800px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = That eggplant is in something of a flaccid state.
}}
A larger version of this comic is available [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ here].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|
*Need to finish explaining all the states in [[#Objects]]. Some are missing an explanation.}}
In this comic, each state of the United States of America has been filled-in with an object of similar shape. Several years later Randall made a new map of the US mainland [[1653: United States Map]], where he shuffled the positions of the states but filled out the outline. Also in this map Michigan has been split into two separate parts. (Here it is the mitten and the eagle). This comic could also be a reference to {{w|Giuseppe Arcimboldo}}'s portraits, which were composed of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, books, and fish.

Very few, if any, of the shapes used are stereotypes of the state; they are merely objects that look like the state. Some of the objects are those which the states are widely known to resemble. For example, Michigan is represented by a mitten and an eagle, and a pot with handle takes the place of Oklahoma (with the panhandle region of the state filled with a literal handle). Others, however, are more creative. Few would have likely pictured Texas as a dog or Alaska as a bear with a jet pack and laser gun. There are several incredibly simple objects filling some states. Kentucky is filled by a cloud, which conceivably could have been used for any state, and Wyoming, one of the nearly rectangular states, is simply an envelope. There are three pairs of states that are related. Georgia and Missouri each contain an image of the other, drawing attention to their similar shapes, North and South Dakota are the top and bottom halves of a {{w|guitar amplifier}} {{w|speaker cabinet}}, and Alabama and Mississippi are {{w|moai}} facing in opposite directions.

Colorado contains what looks like a Wikipedia article. [http://xkcd.com/1079/colorado/ A close-up of the fake article is provided.] The following references are made in the Colorado article:

*The pronunciation is not that for Colorado, but for {{w|Eyjafjallajökull}}, a volcano in Iceland that erupted in April 2010. There is a missing [[859#Trivia|close parenthesis]].
*The way it has a demilitarized zone towards Wyoming resembles {{W|North Korea}} and {{W|South Korea}}.
*Eleven dimensions refers to {{w|string theory}}.
*A {{w|wormhole}} is a theoretical relative of the {{w|black hole}}. This is a reference to the television series {{w|Stargate SG-1}} where a device capable of creating wormholes is located in the {{w|Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker}} in Colorado.
*A {{w|Horcrux}} is a type of magical object in the world of {{W|Harry Potter}} that prevents the creator of it from passing on. They may die, but their soul remains to be resurrected by another wizard
*The radiation zones around Longmont are caused by {{w|Radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
*The fake motto ''Si parare possis, vivere septem'' can be roughly translated as "With preparation, survival is possible for over a week."

New Mexico, according to [https://xkcd.com/1079/info.0.json official transcript], is "A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger". The labeling is upside down and it refers to the nuclear testing facility White Sands Missile Range located in New Mexico for the nuclear bomb. The joke is that it presents the white sand itself as extremely hazardous. The phrase "contains chemicals known only to the state of Nevada" may be a reference to the nuclear weapons testing that occurred in Nevada (although in that case, it is not really the ''state'' of Nevada that knows those chemicals, but rather the {{w|Nevada Test Site}}, home of Area 51 ''et al''), and is also a reference to California's {{w|1986 California Proposition 65|Proposition 65}} warning label, "WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm."

The title text makes fun of Florida which is sometimes called "The penis of America". Obviously, this penis is somewhat flaccid (not erect). The use of the word "state" is a pun, as it means some particular condition (flaccid state) as well as a political entity (The State of Florida).

===Objects===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!State!!Image!!Description!!Explanation
|-
! {{w|Alabama}}
|[[File:Alabama.png|200x200px]]
|A moai head facing east.
|{{w|Moai}} are Easter Island stone statues.
|-
! {{w|Alaska}}
|[[File:Alaska1079.png|200x200px]]
|A bear with a jet pack and a ray gun.
|The ray gun and {{w|jet pack}} are fixtures of science fiction during the {{w|Cold War}} era, and the {{w|Russian Bear}} is an often-used personification of the country {{w|Russia}}/{{w|USSR}} in political cartoonage; the "teddy bear" image may be related to Alaska's former Russian heritage. The USA acquired Alaska from Russia in the {{w|Alaska Purchase}} of 1867 and it became a state in 1959, during the Cold War. The Cold War often featured baseless worries of a potential Russian invasion of Alaska due to their geographical proximity across the {{w|Bering Sea}} and {{w|Bering Strait}}, which persisted through the 1980s; Alaska was the location of a large number of interceptor missiles as part of {{w|Ronald Reagan}}'s {{w|Strategic Defense Initiative|"Star Wars Defense Initiative"}} intended to shoot down missiles that might be launched from the USSR. The ray gun is pointed across the Bering Strait at Russia, consistent with Alaska's often being described as the "first line of defense" against Russian aggression. The teddy bear is similar in appearance to {{w|Winnie the Pooh}}.
|-
! {{w|Arizona}}
|[[File:Arizona.png|200x200px]]
|A refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries.
| There is likely no relation, although it is possible that it is a reference to Arizona's [https://www.kjzz.org/kjzz-news/2025-01-01/2024-will-likely-be-confirmed-as-phoenixs-hottest-year-ever extreme heat waves], of which it is well-known for.
|-
! {{w|Arkansas}}
|[[File:Arkansas1079.png|200x200px]]
|A measuring cup.
|As the text is illegible, it is unclear if the cup is graduated for imperial units (fractions of a cup) and metric units (milliliters) or both.
|-
! {{w|California}}
|[[File:California1079.png|200x200px]]
|A vacuum.
|An old-fashioned upright vacuum cleaner (lying down on its right side), green with a yellow bag.
|-
! {{w|Colorado}}
|[[File:Colorado1079.png|200x200px]]
|The Wikipedia article on Colorado.
|See the [[#Transcript|Transcript section]] to read the text in the fake article. The pronunciation of "Colorado" given by Randall [ˈeːijaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥] is the phonetic writing of {{w|Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull|Eyjafjallajökull}}, and Icelandic volcano that {{w|Air_travel_disruption_after_the_2010_Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_eruption|caused disruptions to air travel in Western Europe}} between March and June of 2010. An analogy pronunciation guide, it would be something as "a [as in the letter]-ya-fiat-la-JOE-cutl. The Demilitarized Zone is the official name of the border between North Korea and South Korea. It is impossible for the state to have always existed, as that would require the existence of the United States, which was only founded in 1776. The Motto may be a reference to the very harsh conditions located on especially tall mountains, as the Rocky Mountains run directly through the state. Alternatively, danger may have been introduced via the 'erratic' wildlife and the presence of a wormhole within the state, which would make Colorado nearly uninhabitable.
|-
! {{w|Connecticut}}
|[[File:Connecticut1079.png|200x200px]]
|A train conductor's hat.
| Connecticut is known for its [https://portal.ct.gov/dot/travel-gateway/public-transportation/ctrail?language=en_US extensive rail system] and its many residents who build {{w|Rail transport modelling|Model train systems}}.
|-
! {{w|Delaware}}
|[[File:Delaware1079.png|200x200px]]
|A {{w|meerkat}}.
|There is no obvious relationship between Delaware and meerkats. Meerkats have appeared in xkcd before, notably in [[115: Meerkat]].
|-
! {{w|Florida}}
|[[File:Florida1079.png|200x200px]]
|An {{w|eggplant}}.
|The title text mentions the eggplant being in a flaccid state, which might be a reference to the sexual use of the eggplant emoji. The eggplant may reference the {{w|Florida Man}} meme, which commonly involves undressed males doing unusual things.
|-
! {{w|Georgia}}
|[[File:Georgia1079.png|200x200px]]
|{{w|Missouri}}.
|The outline of the state of Missouri, with the {{w|Gateway Arch}} in {{w|St. Louis}}. This is paired with Missouri, which contains an outline of the state of Georgia.
|-
! {{w|Hawaii}}
|[[File:Hawaii1079.png|200x200px]]
|The island of Hawaii is a snowball. The smaller islands are small bits of snow.
|This may be an ironic reference to the fact that Hawaii is located near the equator and generally receives temperatures far too high to create snow.
|-
! {{w|Idaho}}
|[[File:Idaho1079.png|200x200px]]
|A garden gnome, sitting down.
|While there is no obvious relation between Idaho and garden gnomes, it is possible that the gnome is a reference to the Gnome Mine, a mine in Idaho that produced a lot of gold in the 1900s.
|-
! {{w|Illinois}}
|[[File:Illinois1079.png|200x200px]]
|A gangster with a guitar case, upside down.
|In fiction it is common to depict {{w|Prohibition}}-era gangsters and mobsters smuggling a {{w|Thompson submachine gun}} (also called a "Tommy gun" or "Chicago typewriter") in musical instrument cases.
|-
! {{w|Indiana}}
|[[File:Indiana1079.png|200x200px]]
|The brush of a paintbrush.
|While there is no obvious relation between Indiana and paintbrushes, it may be referring to Indian Paintbrushes.
|-
! {{w|Iowa}}
|[[File:Iowa1079.png|200x200px]]
|A tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.
|This may be a reference to their famous Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, which is the official state sandwich.
|-
! {{w|Kansas}}
|[[File:Kansas1079.png|200x200px]]
|A {{w|spinet}} piano.
|This may have been referencing J.W. Jenkins Music Company, which selled spinet pianos from the Elburn Piano Company.
|-
! {{w|Kentucky}}
|[[File:Kentucky1079.png|200x200px]]
|A cloud.
|While there are no direct relations between Kentucky and clouds, it's location and weather conditions can produce a plethora of interesting cloud formations.
|-
! {{w|Louisiana}}
|[[File:Louisiana1079.png|200x200px]]
|A boot with some gum stuck to the bottom of it.
|In grade schools, Louisiana is often remembered via its shape, being very similar to a boot.
|-
! {{w|Maine}}
|[[File:Maine1079.png|200x200px]]
|A {{w|Vulcan salute}}.
|Maine's camp sunshine has had {{w|Star Trek}} related events in the past, including the opportunity to appear in a film.
|-
! {{w|Maryland}}
|[[File:Maryland1079.png|200x200px]]
|A wolf howling to the moon, upside down.
|Maryland used to have wolves, but they were extirpated in the mid-1800's from excessive hunting; In the present day, only coyotes and coy-wolves are present in the wild.
|-
! {{w|Massachusetts}}
|[[File:Massachusetts1079.png|200x200px]]
|An elephant, being ridden by a man, carrying tea.
|Might be a reference to the {{w|Boston Tea Party}}, which occurred in Massachusetts, and the Republican political party. The man seems to be wearing a tricorn hat.
|-
! {{w|Michigan}}
|[[File:Michigan1079.png|200x200px]]
|A mitten for the lower portion, an eagle for the {{w|Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}.
|In grade schools, Michigan is often remembered via its shape, being very similar to a glove.
|-
! {{w|Minnesota}}
|[[File:Minnesota1079.png|200x200px]]
|$160 in $20 USD bills, tied together.
|This could be a pun on the name of the state, as 'Moneysota.'
|-
! {{w|Mississippi}}
|[[File:Mississippi1079.png|200x200px]]
|A moai head facing west.
|This is a mirrored image of Alabama, referencing the fact that the two states appear symmetrical at a glance.
|-
! {{w|Missouri}}
|[[File:Missouri1079.png|200x200px]]
|Georgia.
|The outline of the state of Georgia, with a pair of {{w|Georgia Peach|Georgia peaches}}. This is paired with Georgia, which contains an outline of the state of Missouri.
|-
! {{w|Montana}}
|[[File:Montana1079.png|200x200px]]
|One half of a muffin, sideways.
|Muffins, especially ones with huckleberries, are a common treat in Montana.
|-
! {{w|Nebraska}}
|[[File:Nebraska1079.png|200x200px]]
|A blue {{w|Volkswagen Type 2}} with mattresses sticking out the back.
|This may be a reference to the {{w|Great Depression}}, where violent {{w|Dust storm|dust storms}} would sweep across the Midwest, destroying entire farms and forcing people to move west in search of jobs. During this time, many families would pack up all their belongings and move, which the VW type 2 may be modelling in this image.
|-
! {{w|Nevada}}
|[[File:Nevada1079.png|200x200px]]
|A clothes iron.
|Nevada has a history of iron ore mining, so it may likely be a play on their similar names.
|-
! {{w|New Hampshire}}
|[[File:NewHampshire1079.png|200x200px]]
|A tall brick factory building.
|There are many brick mill buildings in Manchester, the largest city in the state. During the industrial revolution, New Hampshire was a major player in the textile industry.
|-
! {{w|New Jersey}}
|[[File:NewJersey1079.png|200x200px]]
|A bent-over old person. He is carrying a cane.
|This may be referring to the state's growing percentage of elderly individuals. However, it could also just be a joke about the state's name being ''New'' Jersey.
|-
! {{w|New Mexico}}
|[[File:NewMexico1079.png|200x200px]]
|A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger.
|This may be a reference to the many nuclear tests conducted In New Mexico during the {{w|Cold War}}. See the [[#Transcript|Transcript section]] to read the labels on the container.
|-
! {{w|New York}}
|[[File:NewYork1079.png|200x200px]]
|A hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half.
|The Northern states, especially around Michigan, are known for their history of auto manufacturing. New York is not particularly well known for this, but they do have {{w|Category:Motor_vehicle_manufacturers_based_in_New_York_(state)|some firms}}, many from the early 1900s.
|-
! {{w|North Carolina}}
|[[File:NorthCarolina1079.png|200x200px]]
|A bouquet of flowers. They appear similar to {{w|Galium palustre|dogwood}}.
|Dogwood is known to be North Carolina's state flower since 1941. It is common in the mountains, and has small white flowers that are in loose, flat-topped clusters. Various animals eat its small, deep-blue or black fruit.
|-
! {{w|North Dakota}}
|[[File:NorthDakota1079.png|200x200px]]
|The top half of a guitar amplifier speaker cabinet.
|Possibly a {{w|Randall Amplifiers|Randall}} [https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-49c12/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/12694/26126/apihqruad__00850.1479879391.jpg RD412A] angled 4x12" cabinet, which is similar in appearance and bears [[Randall]]'s name.
|-
! {{w|Ohio}}
|[[File:Ohio1079.png|200x200px]]
|Underwear (Briefs).
|Possibly a reference to ''{{w|Captain Underpants}}'', which takes place in Ohio.
|-
! {{w|Oklahoma}}
|[[File:Oklahoma1079.png|200x200px]]
|A covered pot, dripping with boil-over.
|Western Oklahoma is often called "{{w|Oklahoma Panhandle|the panhandle}}"; sure enough, this is where the boiling pot's handle fits.
|-
! {{w|Oregon}}
|[[File:Oregon1079.png|200x200px]]
|A locomotive.
|Possibly a reference to the {{w|Oregon Trail}}.
|
|-
! {{w|Pennsylvania}}
|[[File:Pennsylvania1079.png|200x200px]]
|A very thick book with a bookmark.
|Could possibly represent Pennsylvania's rich history. This state witnessed important historical events such as the {{w|United States Declaration of Independence|declaration of independence}} and the {{w|battle of Gettysburg}}.
|-
! {{w|Rhode Island}}
|[[File:RhodeIsland1079.png|200x200px]]
|The bow half of a boat's hull.
|This is relevant as the state of Rhode Island is known for its boating industry. An anchor is also located on the {{w|Flag of Rhode Island|state flag of Rhode Island}}.
|-
! {{w|South Carolina}}
|[[File:SouthCarolina1079.png|200x200px]]
|A slice of pizza.
|There is no obvious correlation between pizza and South Carolina. Notably, other states like New York and Chicago have styles of pizza named after them; however, South Carolina is not known for its pizza.
|-
! {{w|South Dakota}}
|[[File:SouthDakota1079.png|200x200px]]
|The bottom half of guitar amplifier speaker cabinet.
|Possibly a {{w|Randall Amplifiers|Randall}} [https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-49c12/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/12694/26126/apihqruad__00850.1479879391.jpg RD412A] angled 4x12" cabinet, which is similar in appearance and bears [[Randall]]'s name.
|-
! {{w|Tennessee}}
|[[File:Tennessee1079.png|200x200px]]
|A number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile.
|Possibly a reference to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The books are {{w|Where's Waldo?}}, {{w|The Wreck of the Zephyr}}, {{w|The Way Things Work}}, Free Fall, {{w|Paddle-to-the-Sea}}, What It Feels Like to Be a Building, and {{w|The Crab with the Golden Claws}}.
|-
! {{w|Texas}}
|[[File:Texas1079.png|200x200px]]
|A dog sitting in a bowl.
|This may be a reference to a Texan stereotype in which many residents are dog-owners.
|-
! {{w|Utah}}
|[[File:Utah1079.png|200x200px]]
|An oven.
|This could possibly relate to Utah's official state cooking pot, which is the {{w|Dutch Oven}} from its history with pioneers. This could also reference to historic coke ovens, remnants of Utah's coal mining industry.
|-
! {{w|Vermont}}
|[[File:Vermont1079.png|200x200px]]
|A microscope, upside down.
|There does not seem to be a clear link between Vermont and microscopes. As a stretch, this might be a reference to Vermont being fairly strong in education, especially in the 2000s and early 2010s.
|-
! {{w|Virginia}}
|[[File:Virginia1079.png|200x200px]]
|A {{w|stegosaurus}}.
|May be referencing the Stegosaurus fossil in the {{w|Virginia Museum of Natural History}}.
|-
! {{w|Washington}}
|[[File:Washington1079.png|200x200px]]
|A whale.
| The {{w|Puget Sound}}, which is in Washington, is well known for its whale watching scene.
|-
! {{w|Washington DC}}
|[[File:WashingtonDC1079.png|200x200px]]
|A star.
|On most maps, capitals are shown as stars. Washington DC is the capital of the United States.
|-
! {{w|West Virginia}}
|[[File:WestVirginia1079.png|200x200px]]
|A {{w|frog}}.
|May be referencing one of the 12 known frog species in West Virginia.
|-
! {{w|Wisconsin}}
|[[File:Wisconsin1079.png|200x200px]]
|A side profile of a skull, oriented facing toward Lake Michigan.
|This could be a reference to a skull found in western Wisconsin in 2002. In August 2025, it was [https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/wisconsin-sheriff-skull-found-in-ravine-what-kind-of-person-would-separate-a-head-from-a-body/89-68d02640-fd4a-486d-8ee6-5e4419a38a22 identified as the skull of 92-year-old Alyce Peterson.]
|-
! {{w|Wyoming}}
|[[File:Wyoming1079.png|200x200px]]
|The back side of a white envelope, sealed with red wax, with a black heart next to a signature (lower left corner).
|There is no obvious correlation between envelopes and Wyoming, other than their shape.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|This transcript isn't detailed enough for our standards. Weirdly enough, the third column of the table above is more descriptive, so you could start by transferring the descriptions from the table over to this section.}}
:The '''United Shapes'''
:A map of things states are shaped like

:[Each state has some item wedged to stay inside its borders]]
:[Washington contains a whale.]
:[Idaho contains a garden gnome sitting down.]
:[Montana contains half of a muffin turned on its side.]
:[North Dakota and South Dakota contain the top and bottom halves of a guitar amplifier speaker cabinet, respectively.]
:[Minnesota contains $160 in $20 bills, tied together.]
:[Upper peninsula and lower peninsula of Michigan contain an eagle and a mitten, respectively.]
:[Ohio contains a single pair of white underwear briefs.]
:[Pennsylvania contains a very thick book with a bookmark.]
:[New York contains a hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half.]
:[Vermont contains an upside-down microscope.]
:[New Hampshire contains a tall brick factory building.]
:[Maine contains a hand doing a Vulcan salute.]
:[Massachusetts contains an elephant carrying crates of tea and being ridden by a man.]
:[Rhode Island contains the bow half of a boat's hull.]
:[Connecticut contains a train conductor's hat.]
:[New Jersey contains a bent-over old person carrying a cane.]
:[Delaware contains a meerkat.]
:[Maryland contains a wolf, howling at the moon while upside-down.]
:[Washington D.C. is represented by a star.]
:[Virginia is represented by a stegosaurus.]
:[North Carolina contains a bouquet of flowers which appear similar to Marsh Bedstraws.]
:[South Carolina contains a slice of pizza.]
:[Georgia contains a red Missouri, which contains a drawing of the Gateway Arch.]
:[Florida contains an eggplant.]
:[Alabama contains a Moai head facing east.]
:[Mississippi contains a Moai head facing west.]
:[Louisiana contains a boot with gum stuck to the bottom.]
:[Texas contains a dog sitting in a bowl.]

:[New Mexico contains a yellow liquid container with upside-down labeling.]
::This end up!!
::Property of White Sands Missile Range
::Contains White Sand
::[Written inside a hazardous-materials {{w|NFPA 704|NFPA diamond}} with the ? very large, and the three '4' in the three top part of a diamond shape divided in four these three sections being blue(health), red(flammability), and yellow(instability). The lower part has a radioactive sign on the same grey background as the large rectangle.]
::??? 4 4 4
::Flammable
::Warning
::This product contains chemicals known
::Only to the State of Nevada.
::Contents under pressure from parents
::If swallowed, induce labor
::56 fluid ounces
::and 14 other ounces
::NB - There are several chemicals such as {{w|Pentaborane(9)}}(reacts with water) and {{w|tert-Butyl hydroperoxide|''tert''-Butyl hydroperoxide}}(explosive) which have a 4-4-4 rating, however, a substance that is both 4-4-4 and radioactive is unlikely to be handled in bulk.

:[Arizona contains a refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries.]
:[California contains a vacuum cleaner.]
:[Oregon contains a locomotive.]
:[Wyoming contains the back side of a white envelope, sealed with red wax, with a black heart next to a signature in the lower left corner. ]
:[Nebraska contains a blue VW type 2 with mattresses sticking out of the back. ]
:[Iowa contains a tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.]
:[Illinois contains a gangster with a guitar case, upside down.]
:[Indiana contains the brush end of a paintbrush.]
:[Kentucky contains a cloud.]
:[West Virginia contains a frog.]
:[Wisconsin contains a side profile of a skull, oriented facing toward Lake Michigan.]
:[Tennessee contains a number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile.]
:[Arkansas contains a clear measuring cup.]
:[Oklahoma contains a covered pot, dripping with boil-over.]
:[Nevada contains an iron for clothing.]
:[Utah contains an oven with a towel on a towel bar on the side.]
:[Colorado contains a fake Wikipedia article on Colorado. Below the text as seen in the provided close up:]
:[web address:]
::en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado
:[Headers]
::Wikipedia
::Article Talk
::Colorado
:[Main article]
::Colorado (Pronounced [ˈeːijaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥] is a US State encompassing portions of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. The region has been inhabited since at least 11,000 BCE, and some archaeological evidence suggest the state – with roughly its current borders – has literally always existed. Colorado is separated from Wyoming by a 28-mile demilitarized zone, and has at times exercised substantial regional power via the installation of puppet governments in neighboring states. Geographically, Colorado is eleven-dimensional, though seven of those dimensions are tightly compacted and difficult to detect in most areas of the state. Colorado is home to the nation's oldest continually-operated wormhole and two of President Lincoln's horcruxes. The wildlife in Colorado is commonly characterized as "erratic", particularly in the radiation zones around Longmont. The State's timber wolf population is largely bipedal; the Park Service has expressed "concern" at their attempts to enroll in
:[Fact box with correct (though black instead of blue) state flag and emblem and fake motto:]
::State of Colorado
::Motto:
::"Si parare possis, vivere septem."
::(With preparation, survival is possible for over a week.)

:[Kansas contains a spinet piano.]
:[Missouri contains an olive-green Georgia, which contains a branch of a peach tree.]
:[Alaska contains a bear with a jet pack and a ray gun.]
:[Hawaii contains a snowball on the island of Hawaii. The smaller islands are small bits of snow.

==Trivia==
This comic used to be [https://web.archive.org/web/20220125014714/https://store.xkcd.com/products/united-shapes-poster available as a poster] in the xkcd store before it was [[Store|shut down]].

In the [[:Media:Colorado1079.png|fake Wikipedia article about Colorado]], Randall [[859|forgot the closing parentheses]] ')' after the pronunciation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:US maps]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Dogs]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]] 
[[Category:Volcanoes]] 
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]
[[Category:Music]]

3129: Archaeology Research

2025-11-17T13:30:32Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ Removed incomplete tag

{{comic
| number = 3129
| date = August 15, 2025
| title = Archaeology Research
| image = archaeology_research_2x.png
| imagesize = 381x433px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The academic archaeology establishment is suppressing my breakthroughs because of the disruption it would bring to their prepared-core flake-based toolmaking industry.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]], tasked to look at details of active {{w|Paleolithic}} culture (the "Old Stone Age"), has 'discovered' developments that render obsolete the practices that he was supposed to be studying. He presents {{w|Copper extraction#History|the use of metals}} as his improvement over the stone {{w|arrowhead}}s used by early humans.

The caption below the comic tells us that Cueball has based his entire {{w|dissertation}} on the false proposition that an archaeologist's job is to advance technology from some historic level, rather than revealing it. This would be considered disastrous for Cueball, as dissertations take a large amount of time and effort to complete, and he may have instead used the effort to effectively reengineer several thousand years of human development, leading away from the original subject, if not just have taken on entirely modern techniques and learnt nothing of any value at all. He even calls the process he uses "my method", perhaps implying/claiming that it is a personal innovation with ''no'' historical standing.

The title text claims that his 'discoveries' are unappreciated ''not'' because they are useless (in a completely different context, they might be an exciting academic pursuit), but because the academic 'establishment' has a stranglehold on the arrowhead industry and too many vested interests in flint-knapping to allow the {{w|disruptive innovation}} that this new change to copper weaponry might herald. This is a humorous mashup of two classes of conspiracy theories, those of academia suppressing "the TRUTH" (according to pseudo-historians) and of oil, pharmaceutical, or other industries suppressing "free energy" or other such "innovations". In addition, {{w|Industry (archaeology)|"industry"}} is a term used in archaeology to describe specific types of tools made with the same methods; Cueball's technique would, technically, be its own new industry.

It also opens up the alternate interpretation that the comic instead depicts a historic presentation, as a counterpart to how others depict [[2990: Late Cenozoic|future ones]], set in the actual later-Paleolithic age, where this depicts the ''actual'' innovation of previously unknown metalworking techniques, leading up to the actual disruption of society that occured and potentially very real resistance by the traditionalists of the time. Though the existence of a a pull-down screen/displayboard in this period of history would be an entirely different level of anachronism.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a roll-down projector screen, pointing to it behind him as he looks forward giving a presentation. The screen depicts two arrowheads: On the left is an rough arrowhead hewn from stone and on the right is a smoother arrowhead with just one a small dent in its surface. The arrowheads have labels beneath them, and beneath each label there is an extra line of text in brackets:]
:'''<big>Stone</big>''' (traditional)
:'''<big>Copper</big>''' (my method)

:Cueball: In the process of analyzing Paleolithic stone toolmaking, I've stumbled on an improved technique for producing points and blades.
:Cueball: Instead of stone, my method is based on the heating and shaping of copper ore...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Too late, I realized that my entire archaeology dissertation had been based on a colossal misunderstanding.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3129: Archaeology Research

2025-11-17T13:29:23Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ Removed some stuff that didn't really explain the comic.

{{comic
| number = 3129
| date = August 15, 2025
| title = Archaeology Research
| image = archaeology_research_2x.png
| imagesize = 381x433px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The academic archaeology establishment is suppressing my breakthroughs because of the disruption it would bring to their prepared-core flake-based toolmaking industry.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|It could use a cleanup, some info isn't relevant to the comic. Or, put another way:

:''God damn this explanation is too freaking long! [[Special:Contributions/2603:800C:1200:596A:536F:4ACD:2A93:BEC8|2603:800C:1200:596A:536F:4ACD:2A93:BEC8]] 20:50, 19 August 2025 (UTC)''
:UXER02: Yeah that was a ridiculous read.

:TLDR: Cueball is supposed to study how Stone Age people made flint tools, but instead he “invents” copper arrowheads—jumping thousands of years ahead of history. The joke is that he confused archaeology (studying the past) with technology (improving it), so his dissertation is useless. {{unsigned ip|129.228.49.105|08:13, 29 August 2025}}
:-}}[[Cueball]], tasked to look at details of active {{w|Paleolithic}} culture (the "Old Stone Age"), has 'discovered' developments that render obsolete the practices that he was supposed to be studying. He presents {{w|Copper extraction#History|the use of metals}} as his improvement over the stone {{w|arrowhead}}s used by early humans.

The caption below the comic tells us that Cueball has based his entire {{w|dissertation}} on the false proposition that an archaeologist's job is to advance technology from some historic level, rather than revealing it. This would be considered disastrous for Cueball, as dissertations take a large amount of time and effort to complete, and he may have instead used the effort to effectively reengineer several thousand years of human development, leading away from the original subject, if not just have taken on entirely modern techniques and learnt nothing of any value at all. He even calls the process he uses "my method", perhaps implying/claiming that it is a personal innovation with ''no'' historical standing.

The title text claims that his 'discoveries' are unappreciated ''not'' because they are useless (in a completely different context, they might be an exciting academic pursuit), but because the academic 'establishment' has a stranglehold on the arrowhead industry and too many vested interests in flint-knapping to allow the {{w|disruptive innovation}} that this new change to copper weaponry might herald. This is a humorous mashup of two classes of conspiracy theories, those of academia suppressing "the TRUTH" (according to pseudo-historians) and of oil, pharmaceutical, or other industries suppressing "free energy" or other such "innovations". In addition, {{w|Industry (archaeology)|"industry"}} is a term used in archaeology to describe specific types of tools made with the same methods; Cueball's technique would, technically, be its own new industry.

It also opens up the alternate interpretation that the comic instead depicts a historic presentation, as a counterpart to how others depict [[2990: Late Cenozoic|future ones]], set in the actual later-Paleolithic age, where this depicts the ''actual'' innovation of previously unknown metalworking techniques, leading up to the actual disruption of society that occured and potentially very real resistance by the traditionalists of the time. Though the existence of a a pull-down screen/displayboard in this period of history would be an entirely different level of anachronism.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a roll-down projector screen, pointing to it behind him as he looks forward giving a presentation. The screen depicts two arrowheads: On the left is an rough arrowhead hewn from stone and on the right is a smoother arrowhead with just one a small dent in its surface. The arrowheads have labels beneath them, and beneath each label there is an extra line of text in brackets:]
:'''<big>Stone</big>''' (traditional)
:'''<big>Copper</big>''' (my method)

:Cueball: In the process of analyzing Paleolithic stone toolmaking, I've stumbled on an improved technique for producing points and blades.
:Cueball: Instead of stone, my method is based on the heating and shaping of copper ore...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Too late, I realized that my entire archaeology dissertation had been based on a colossal misunderstanding.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3156: Planetary Rings

2025-11-17T13:14:39Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3156
| date = October 17, 2025
| title = Planetary Rings
| image = planetary_rings_2x.png
| imagesize = 356x279px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you don't know where you are on Earth, the angle of satellite dishes can help constrain your latitude. If some of them are pointing straight up, you're probably near the Equator, right under the ring.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|ring system|planetary ring}} is a disc of small objects and other material orbiting a planet. The most well known are the rings of {{w|Saturn}}, which were discovered by {{w|Galileo Galilei}}, but all the {{w|gas giant}} and {{w|ice giant}} planets in the Solar System have rings, as may (possibly transiently, due to interactions with other bodies) some of the {{w|minor planet}}s and even {{w|asteroid}}s.

Earth does not have a natural ring system, nor currently any of the other {{w|terrestrial planet}}s, although it's theorized that it [https://web.archive.org/web/20250401024532/https://time.com/7022440/earth-ring-like-saturn-study/ may have had one] in the distant past. However, since the 1950s (slightly over 68 years before this comic's publication), we have launched many [https://satellitetracker3d.com/track?norad-id=26548/ artificial satellites into Earth orbit]. The ones specifically in {{w|geostationary orbit}} (the {{w|Syncom|first}} of these being launched in 1964) are in the equatorial plane (as are some with different {{w|orbital period}}s), so they can be considered to constitute an artificial ring system. (Other satellites operate within various other {{w|orbital plane}}s, including {{w|geosynchronous orbit}}s that are not strictly geostationary, creating {{w|File:Starlink_SpaceX_1584_satellites_72_Planes_22each.png|various other}} halo-like clouds.)

{{w|Satellite dishes}} are used to communicate with most of these devices. If they are stationary that means they are pointed at a {{w|geostationary satellite}} in middle and low latitudes, or a {{w|Molniya orbit}} satellite constellation in higher latitudes. Not all dishes are pointed at the geostationary orbit, but in that case, if they are used for communicating with satellites in other orbits or with space probes, they must move continuously to track the satellite/probe. There are motorized dishes that can move between some number of pre-programmed positions to select which geostationary satellite to use at a given moment, so if a dish moves, that doesn't prove that it ''isn't'' using geostationary satellites. Also, there are antennas which can "point" at different directions by {{w|Phased array|electronic means}}, without physically moving (e.g. {{w|Starlink}} user terminals, which have to make contact with one or more satellites passing rapidly overhead in a far lower orbit) that may therefore just be pointing 'generally up' without physically being dynamically angled at any particular satellite position.

In terms of mass, Earth's ring system is tiny compared to other planetary ring systems in the Solar System. In descending order of mass, these are: Saturn ([https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat2965 1019 kg]), Uranus ({{w|Rings of Uranus|1016 kg}}), Jupiter ([https://pages.astro.umd.edu/~dphamil/research/preprints/BurSimSho03.pdf between 1011 and 1016 kg]) and Neptune ({{w|Rings of Neptune|1015 kg}}). Assuming 580 satellites (active and inactive, 1/2° slots) {{w|List of satellites in geosynchronous orbit|in geostationary orbit}}, and a typical mass of 1,000 kg, Earth's ring system has a mass of 5.8x105 kg (580,000 kg).

==Transcript==

:[On the left side of the single panel, a table with words in one column and checkboxes in the second:]
:[Two Column headers, underlined:]
:Planet
:Rings?
:[Table entries, by line:]
:Mercury [Unticked checkbox]
:Venus [Unticked checkbox]
:Earth [Originally unticked checkbox, now with a red tick added]
:Mars [Unticked checkbox]
:Jupiter [Ticked checkbox]
:Saturn [Ticked checkbox]
:Uranus [Ticked checkbox]
:Neptune [Ticked checkbox]

:[On the right side of the single panel, an illustration of the Earth from space, with Africa most obvious and centrally in view. Many dots represent satellites, a lot of them close into the Earth but an even more significant number of them are in a very wide and tilted ellipse depicting a large circular orbit seen from a highly oblique angle. A labeled arrow points to the ellipse:]
:Geostationary satellite belt

:[Caption below the panel:]
: Astronomy fact: A century ago, Earth didn't have rings, but we have one now! It's where all the satellite dishes are pointed.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Facts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]]

3150: Ping

2025-11-17T13:11:30Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No reason for <incomplete> tag given. Explanation seems complete, removed tag.

{{comic
| number = 3150
| date = October 3, 2025
| title = Ping
| image = ping_2x.png
| imagesize = 603x208px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Progress on getting shipwrecked sailors to adopt ICMPv6 has been slow.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a {{w|message in a bottle}} on the beach, much like [[1675: Message in a Bottle]].

The {{w|Internet Control Message Protocol}} (ICMP) is a network communication protocol that's used (among other things) for "pings" that test whether one machine can successfully communicate with another. When you send a ping, your computer sends an "echo request" packet; the receiver sends an "echo response" message back to the sender (the term "echo" refers to the fact that the data in the request is copied to the response).
Someone over the sea has initiated this process with a message in a bottle, and [[Cueball]] receives the echo request and responds. However, one difference from ICMP is that bottles cast into the sea don't have a fixed destination, so there's no assurance (or even expectation) that the response will reach the original sender, nor even that the request had even found the originally intended destination. In addition, ping response times are typically measured in milliseconds or at most a few seconds, but here, even in the highly unlikely event that the sea does bring the bottle back to the original sender, this round-trip transmission has an ''extremely'' long ping response time.

Pinging another network node is something typically done when initiating extensive communication with it, or when testing whether network communication is working. The humor here is that a shipwrecked sailor trying to get rescued by casting messages in a bottle wouldn't want to do this: the chance that one message-containing bottle gets found and acted on are slim, and the chance of succeeding with multiple back-and-forth messages is exceedingly low (this is known as packet loss). Instead a stranded sailor would just say they're in need of rescue and describe how best to find them.

ICMP is a supporting protocol of the {{w|Internet Protocol version 4}} (IPv4). The newer {{w|Internet Protocol version 6}} (IPv6) uses {{w|ICMPv6}} instead, which the title text references. There is no (technically correct) name to describe both ICMP and ICMPv6, so the comic could not be generic and had to choose one of them. Some people are quite upset that switch from IPv4 to IPv6 has not happened despite the decades it has been available; they might complain that Randall uses the legacy protocol here. The title text makes a joke out of that possible complaint by pointing out how absurd it would be to expect an higher adoption of IPv6 by shipwrecked sailors compared to the general population.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking on a sandy beach near the shore. A bottle with a paper inside is stuck in the sand, presumably from being washed up by the tide.]

:[Cueball has picked up the bottle and is reading the message inside, which he has taken out. The messages contents are displayed on the top portion of the panel. There is illegible text written beneath the message title. He is holding the cork of the bottle in his other hand.]
:Message Title: ICMP Echo Request

:[Cueball has set the bottle down below him and is now scribbling out a new message. Once again, the contents are on the top portion of the panel, with illegible text written beneath the message title. He has put down the cork.]
:Message Title: ICMP Echo Reply

:[Cueball is walking away from the shore now, having set the bottle back into the sea, with the message inside.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2774: Taxiing

2025-11-14T11:55:19Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ No, we do NOT need more alternative explanations on how to steal a plane. This is explainxkcd, not explain plane hijacking.

{{comic
| number = 2774
| date = May 10, 2023
| title = Taxiing
| image = taxiing_2x.png
| imagesize = 399x431px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I don't understand why anyone would pay full price for a flatbed truck rental when you can buy 'DETOUR' signs online for like $10.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:A Polish airman marshals a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft March 13, 2014, at Lask Air Base, Poland 140313-F-BH566-088.jpg|thumb|300px| A marshaller marshalling, indicating the airplane should stop. Or possibly a {{w|Sith}}.]]
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is directing an airplane with marshalling wands onto a ramp that leads onto the trailer of a {{w|flatbed truck}}. The caption reveals he is not an actual aircraft marshal: instead he is tricking the pilot into driving the plane onto the trailer. Randall, as Cueball, says the "glowing wand things" (the marshalling wands) were bought cheaply on the internet, at a cost much lower than that of the plane he is now stealing. This, of course, is impractical for multiple reasons, such as the fact that the plane would not fit on the ramp and that the pilot taxiing would realize something was wrong and stop (and possibly contact authorities).

The word "ramp" can also refer to the apron of an airport, the area where marshallers most often work. A pilot may be quite used to having their plane directed onto that form of ramp, and not notice that Cueball is using the word in a different sense.

The title text suggests that Cueball did not even pay to rent the truck: instead, he placed "Detour" signs on the road to trick the driver into driving the truck into place for loading. This raises the question of what happened to the original driver, or if they were also somehow tricked into getting the plane. Also, if Cueball stole the truck in order to steal a plane, perhaps stealing the plane is not his final goal but instead an intermediate step to steal something else.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is waving two orange sticks in the air, one in each hand. They are glowing as indicated with small orange lines all around the orange part. The handle he holds them by is black. Cueball is pointing one stick to the left where, behind him, is a ramp that extends beyond the panel. The other stick is held up in front of his face and he looks up onto the front end of a large plane. Only a small part of the plane is visible, mainly the very tip with just a bit of the window into the cockpit shown. The underside of the tip is gray, the rest is white with the window in black.]
:Cueball: ...Keep going...
:Cueball: ...Slightly left...
:Cueball: ...Okay, good...you're lined up with the ramp...
:Cueball: ...Now pull forward slowly up onto the trailer...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I don't understand why anyone would pay full price for an airplane when you can buy those glowing wand things online for like $30.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Aviation]]

Talk:3147: Hiking

2025-09-29T14:43:55Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

But what if the drones run out of battery? --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|converse]] 18:54, 26 September 2025 (UTC)
: "''what if the drones run out of battery?''" What If the Amazon/UPS delivery truck with the [['''What If? 2''']] book you ordered runs out of gas/diesel/juice? Maybe they attempt repeat delivery. Maybe a refund is posted in 7 to 10 business days.

I was going to write a transcript, but I can't figure out how to describe how this is supposed to be a time series in a single panel. I'll let someone else do it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:22, 26 September 2025 (UTC)
: "''how to describe how this is supposed to be a time series in a single panel''" It is three moments in time, superimposed. "Slide is delivered", "Hikers slide", "Slide is removed". [[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 22:35, 26 September 2025 (UTC)
:: Four moments in time actually. You forgot "Hikers orders slide". [[Special:Contributions/2001:9B1:40D0:C300:102B:825:C539:3F33|2001:9B1:40D0:C300:102B:825:C539:3F33]] 01:06, 27 September 2025 (UTC)
::: Five - there is "Hikers walk off afterwards". [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:13, 29 September 2025 (UTC)
:::: Four - "Hikers walk off afterwards" and "Slide is removed" are happening at the same time ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 14:43, 29 September 2025 (UTC)

I'd also like an on-demand ski lift for upwards segments [[Special:Contributions/73.222.207.213|73.222.207.213]] 23:54, 26 September 2025 (UTC)

I feel like this comic deserves a parody of "Jack and Jill went up a hill". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:37, 26 September 2025 (UTC)

This is how I learnt there were waterslides. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.21|64.114.211.21]] 08:59, 27 September 2025 (UTC)
: #todayyearsold [[User:RadiantRainwing|RadiantRainwing]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 15:53, 27 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm not sure this would improve the hiking experience for me; not because I have anything against waterslides, but because the downhills are a valuable rest period in between unpleasant ascents. If it were over in a moment I'd still be exhausted at the bottom of the next rise. [[Special:Contributions/79.77.240.136|79.77.240.136]] 19:18, 27 September 2025 (UTC)
:And probably thoroughly wet, to boot. [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 00:05, 28 September 2025 (UTC)
::I prefer ascents, and having bad knees don't like descents. Last summer I did a 1400m ascent to a mountaintop, with only 250m of descent. Lovely! On-demnd slides (they may be dry ones) would make the experience even better for me! [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 07:38, 28 September 2025 (UTC)

This raises the possibility of drone-delivered escalators for ascending Mount Everest. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 03:38, 28 September 2025 (UTC)
: The location you have selected is outside of the geofenced area. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:29, 29 September 2025 (UTC)

2123: Meta Collecting

2025-08-15T12:27:05Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 2123
| date = March 13, 2019
| title = Meta Collecting
| image = meta_collecting.png
| titletext = I'm trying to get the page locked because some jerk keeps adding "Yachts".
}}

==Explanation==

This is another comic in the "[[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]" series.

Many people's hobbies involve {{w|collecting}} many items of the same category: Post stamps, collectible cards, painted dolls, wine, and so on. Just about anything can be collected, however, some things are collected much more often than others. Wikipedia has a page listing the most popular categories of such {{w|collectible}} items.

In Randall's usual style of going meta with everything, he decided to start a meta-collection—a collection of examples of different things that people can collect. He uses Wikipedia's {{w|list of collectibles}} for reference. In the comic, [[Cueball]] is showing to his friend his collection of various items that have nothing in common except that they're all popular collectibles. So while most people try to collect everything in one narrow category of collectibles, Cueball's collection will only be complete if he can get one item from each of the list of collectible items as cataloged by Wikipedia's list, so he has a collection of representative elements from all collections.

In the title text, Randall complains about a Wikipedia editor who keeps adding {{w|yacht}}s to the list of collectibles, probably because it would force him to buy a yacht if he ever wanted to complete his collection of collectibles. Yachts are traditionally considered immensely expensive and the vast majority of people own zero yachts, let alone a collection of them.{{Citation needed}} Note that Randall does not specify how he is trying to get the page locked, and the comic itself might be a rather meta way of doing so: xkcd fans have a history of making lots of edits to Wikipedia articles Randall mentions, resulting in them being protected or locked. The article has in fact been edited and reverted about 50 times by these fans over the course of a single day and was {{w|special:redirect/logid/97716186|temporarily protected}} on March 14th, 2019, which expired three days later. The first addition of Yachts to this page was by a user named {{w|Special:Contributions/Xkcd2123|Xkcd2123}}, but it is unlikely that this user is Randall.

===List of Items on the Shelf===
Items are numbered on each shelf from left.

{| class="wikitable"
!Item Location
!Description
|-
|Top Shelf, First Item
|Possibly an urn or cookie jar.
|-
|Top Shelf, Second Item
|Possibly a candle
|-
|Top Shelf, Third Item
|Model boat
|-
|Middle Shelf, First Item
|Possibly a book
|-
|Middle Shelf, Second Item
|Unidentifiable small item, maybe a rock or tooth
|-
|Middle Shelf, Third Item
|Compact disc in case
|-
|Middle Shelf, Fourth Item
|A record, probably vinyl but could possibly be shellac as shellac "78s" are popular collectors items.
|-
|Middle Shelf, Fifth Item
|Unidentifiable rectangular item, possibly a collectible card
|-
|Middle Shelf, Sixth Item
|Unidentifiable small item
|-
|Bottom Shelf, First Item
|Humanoid figurine or action figure
|-
|Bottom Shelf, Second Item
|Martini glass
|-
|Bottom Shelf, Third Item
|Teapot
|-
|Bottom Shelf, Fourth Item
|Possibly a coin on a stand
|-
|Bottom Shelf, Fifth Item
|Salt/pepper shaker, chess piece, or {{w|Pez dispenser}}
|-
|Bottom Shelf, Sixth Item
|Unidentifiable small item
|}

==Transcript==

:[The comic depicts Cueball reading from a list to White Hat, standing next to a case filled with collectables including an urn, a model ship, a compact disc, a vinyl record, a doll or figurine, a martini glass, and a teapot.]
:Today we're looking for a lunchbox, a snow globe, a Maytag dryer, a Harley Davidson, and a stamp.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:My hobby: Collecting one item from every category listed on Wikipedia's "List of collectables."

==Trivia==

As of 13 March 2019 at 6:44 PM ET, there ''was'' a debate on the Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_collectables#May_consider_a_temporary_editing_protection talk] tab about locking this page.
This has now been upheld, and the page was temporarily locked.

As of 25 May 2019 at 10:25 PM ET, the page was unlocked and yachts were back on the list.
:As of 04 July 2024 at 06:40 UTC there are no yachts to be found on the list.
:As of 15 August 2025 at 13:25 UTC yachts ARE on the list.

A previous comic, [[739: Malamanteau]], also caused a similar situation on Wikipedia, with many xkcd fans attempting to create the fictional page. The page has been turned into a redirect to the Wikipedia page for xkcd.

Another previous comic, [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]], also caused a similar situation on Wikipedia, with many xkcd readers attempting to redirect "Physics major" to "Engineer".

Total Collection Value
GRAND TOTAL: $63,617.00
Additional insights:

The classic/vintage car alone represents 62.88% of the total collection value
Without the car, the collection would cost $23,617.00

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

3127: Where Babies Come From

2025-08-12T06:48:07Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3127
| date = August 11, 2025
| title = Where Babies Come From
| image = where_babies_come_from_2x.png
| imagesize = 652x362px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Historians: Contemporaneous documentation of the initial events is often sparse, and in fact people often get testy and uncooperative when we urge better documentation for the historical record.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a low-impulse ejection. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

Children are often curious, and ask a lot of questions about the world around them. One such question that tends to come up at some point is "where do babies come from?" and it's notable as one that many adults are uncomfortable giving correct answers to, because of the common reluctance to discuss sex-related matters with youngsters for a variety of reasons. While children are sometimes told that there's a baby inside a pregnant woman's tummy, the issues of how the baby got in there, or how it's supposed to get out, are often dodged. There are a variety of common myths about where babies come from, as told to children, such as "brought by a stork", "found in a cabbage patch", or [https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/04/18 "built from a kit"]. This comic presents a variety of answers to that question, supposedly from the point of view of specialists in several different areas of science, some of which are incorrect, others of which are allusions to the process of conception or childbirth expressed in the vocabulary of the specialist's field.

They might be deliberately misleading the questioner by using very euphemistic terms to avoid personal embarrassment, deliberately over-'simplifying' the explanation as a {{w|Lie-to-children|stepping stone}} to the eventual more specific truth or else they are themselves ignorant/misled about the process.

In each case, however, their abstraction of the process is described in terms that are actually relatively technical ones from their own field, to the presumed audience, showing that they are not necessarily able to find the right level of explanation, as well as not having used the a less obtuse reframing of the topic much closer to that of actual reproductive biology.

;Geneticist: Terms normally used to describe gene flow among populations (for example, the acquisition through intermarriage of genes for blue eyes in a population that previously lacked them) are applied to the fertilization of a human egg, a very specific "admixture event" (zygote formation). Population-level admixtures are commonly dated to thousands or even millions of years ago; KYA = "one thousand years ago". 0.001 KYA = 1 year, approximately the duration of most human pregnancies. Fellow geneticists would likely commend their colleague's wit. Children, and most everyone else, would likely just go "Huh?"

;Astronomer: Ejections of matter from parent bodies are common events in the galaxy and the observable universe, at scales ranging from comets to black holes. The process of giving birth is compared to a "low-impulse" ejection, such as the casting off of rocks and dust from a rotating asteroid. Such a comparison, while it may make sense in cosmology, is unlikely to find favor with any woman who is, or has ever been, in labor.
:Alternately the "low-impulse ejection" could refer to ejaculation, not the act fo giving birth. The former would have a considerably higher impulse than the latter but it's still very low on a cosmic scale and would still qualify as "low-impulse".

;Software Engineer: An {{w|Off-by-one error}} is a common programming mistake in which a value is, well, off by one. A birth could be described as a "population" metric increasing by one, or alternately, a baby could cause a static population metric to become off-by-one.

;Geologist: The baby is said to have been created by the process of differential erosion, in which softer rocks are eroded more quickly, leaving harder rocks behind. Arguably, a geologist who was making a serious attempt to compare geological and biological processes would recognize that the growth of a fetus has much more in common with accretionary, rather than erosional, mechanisms. Granting that the geologist depicted is witty and not clueless, this explanation is the most intentionally farcical, the most {{w|List_of_Calvin_and_Hobbes_characters#Mom_and_Dad|Calvin's Dad}}, of the five.

;Meteorologist: Turbulent mixing of air masses ("turbulence") has been experienced by just about everyone who has ever been in an airborne aircraft. Turbulence can occur at all levels of the atmosphere from the ground up, and is frequently accompanied by clouds and precipitation. It is a pungent metaphor for coitus. Fasten your seat belts.

;Historians (title text): Instead of proffering an explanation for "where babies come from", the historians (plural) lodge a complaint about the difficulties they have encountered in obtaining the data needed for them to make one. The plaint is a common preamble and disclaimer in formal history publications. The historians express surprise and indignation that their efforts to obtain "better documentation" of the "initial events" (the mating behavior) leading to baby formation are seen as prurient and voyeuristic, and are met with resistance.

==Transcript==

:Various experts answer the question “Where do babies come from?”
:[Five characters are shown, left to right, each saying their answer. Below each character is their respective occupation.]
:Hairy [Geneticist]: Recent admixture event, roughly 0.001 Kya.
:Ponytail [Astronomer]: Low-impulse ejection from a parent body.
:Hairbun [Software engineer]: Off-by-one error in the population calculations.
:Cueball [Geologist]: The area was originally a uniform plane, but the non-baby parts eroded at higher rates.
:Megan [Meteorologist]: Moist ground-level turbulent mixing.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3127: Where Babies Come From

2025-08-12T06:44:54Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3127
| date = August 11, 2025
| title = Where Babies Come From
| image = where_babies_come_from_2x.png
| imagesize = 652x362px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Historians: Contemporaneous documentation of the initial events is often sparse, and in fact people often get testy and uncooperative when we urge better documentation for the historical record.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a low-impulse ejection. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

Children are often curious, and ask a lot of questions about the world around them. One such question that tends to come up at some point is "where do babies come from?" and it's notable as one that many adults are uncomfortable giving correct answers to, because of the common reluctance to discuss sex-related matters with youngsters for a variety of reasons. While children are sometimes told that there's a baby inside a pregnant woman's tummy, the issues of how the baby got in there, or how it's supposed to get out, are often dodged. There are a variety of common myths about where babies come from, as told to children, such as "brought by a stork", "found in a cabbage patch", or [https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/04/18 "built from a kit"]. This comic presents a variety of answers to that question, supposedly from the point of view of specialists in several different areas of science, some of which are incorrect, others of which are allusions to the process of conception or childbirth expressed in the vocabulary of the specialist's field.

They might be deliberately misleading the questioner by using very euphemistic terms to avoid personal embarrassment, deliberately over-'simplifying' the explanation as a {{w|Lie-to-children|stepping stone}} to the eventual more specific truth or else they are themselves ignorant/misled about the process.

In each case, however, their abstraction of the process is described in terms that are actually relatively technical ones from their own field, to the presumed audience, showing that they are not necessarily able to find the right level of explanation, as well as not having used the a less obtuse reframing of the topic much closer to that of actual reproductive biology.

;Geneticist: Terms normally used to describe gene flow among populations (for example, the acquisition through intermarriage of genes for blue eyes in a population that previously lacked them) are applied to the fertilization of a human egg, a very specific "admixture event" (zygote formation). Population-level admixtures are commonly dated to thousands or even millions of years ago; KYA = "one thousand years ago". 0.001 KYA = 1 year, approximately the duration of most human pregnancies. Fellow geneticists would likely commend their colleague's wit. Children, and most everyone else, would likely just go "Huh?"

;Astronomer: Ejections of matter from parent bodies are common events in the galaxy and the observable universe, at scales ranging from comets to black holes. The process of giving birth is compared to a "low-impulse" ejection, such as the casting off of rocks and dust from a rotating asteroid. Such a comparison, while it may make sense in cosmology, is unlikely to find favor with any woman who is, or has ever been, in labor.
:Alternately the "low-impulse ejection" could refer to ejaculation, not the act fo giving birth.

;Software Engineer: An {{w|Off-by-one error}} is a common programming mistake in which a value is, well, off by one. A birth could be described as a "population" metric increasing by one, or alternately, a baby could cause a static population metric to become off-by-one.

;Geologist: The baby is said to have been created by the process of differential erosion, in which softer rocks are eroded more quickly, leaving harder rocks behind. Arguably, a geologist who was making a serious attempt to compare geological and biological processes would recognize that the growth of a fetus has much more in common with accretionary, rather than erosional, mechanisms. Granting that the geologist depicted is witty and not clueless, this explanation is the most intentionally farcical, the most {{w|List_of_Calvin_and_Hobbes_characters#Mom_and_Dad|Calvin's Dad}}, of the five.

;Meteorologist: Turbulent mixing of air masses ("turbulence") has been experienced by just about everyone who has ever been in an airborne aircraft. Turbulence can occur at all levels of the atmosphere from the ground up, and is frequently accompanied by clouds and precipitation. It is a pungent metaphor for coitus. Fasten your seat belts.

;Historians (title text): Instead of proffering an explanation for "where babies come from", the historians (plural) lodge a complaint about the difficulties they have encountered in obtaining the data needed for them to make one. The plaint is a common preamble and disclaimer in formal history publications. The historians express surprise and indignation that their efforts to obtain "better documentation" of the "initial events" (the mating behavior) leading to baby formation are seen as prurient and voyeuristic, and are met with resistance.

==Transcript==

:Various experts answer the question “Where do babies come from?”
:[Five characters are shown, left to right, each saying their answer. Below each character is their respective occupation.]
:Hairy [Geneticist]: Recent admixture event, roughly 0.001 Kya.
:Ponytail [Astronomer]: Low-impulse ejection from a parent body.
:Hairbun [Software engineer]: Off-by-one error in the population calculations.
:Cueball [Geologist]: The area was originally a uniform plane, but the non-baby parts eroded at higher rates.
:Megan [Meteorologist]: Moist ground-level turbulent mixing.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

3127: Where Babies Come From

2025-08-12T06:44:30Z

Elektrizikekswerk: Alteranate interpretation of "low impulse ejection"

{{comic
| number = 3127
| date = August 11, 2025
| title = Where Babies Come From
| image = where_babies_come_from_2x.png
| imagesize = 652x362px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Historians: Contemporaneous documentation of the initial events is often sparse, and in fact people often get testy and uncooperative when we urge better documentation for the historical record.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a low-impulse ejection. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

Children are often curious, and ask a lot of questions about the world around them. One such question that tends to come up at some point is "where do babies come from?" and it's notable as one that many adults are uncomfortable giving correct answers to, because of the common reluctance to discuss sex-related matters with youngsters for a variety of reasons. While children are sometimes told that there's a baby inside a pregnant woman's tummy, the issues of how the baby got in there, or how it's supposed to get out, are often dodged. There are a variety of common myths about where babies come from, as told to children, such as "brought by a stork", "found in a cabbage patch", or [https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/04/18 "built from a kit"]. This comic presents a variety of answers to that question, supposedly from the point of view of specialists in several different areas of science, some of which are incorrect, others of which are allusions to the process of conception or childbirth expressed in the vocabulary of the specialist's field.

They might be deliberately misleading the questioner by using very euphemistic terms to avoid personal embarrassment, deliberately over-'simplifying' the explanation as a {{w|Lie-to-children|stepping stone}} to the eventual more specific truth or else they are themselves ignorant/misled about the process.

In each case, however, their abstraction of the process is described in terms that are actually relatively technical ones from their own field, to the presumed audience, showing that they are not necessarily able to find the right level of explanation, as well as not having used the a less obtuse reframing of the topic much closer to that of actual reproductive biology.

;Geneticist: Terms normally used to describe gene flow among populations (for example, the acquisition through intermarriage of genes for blue eyes in a population that previously lacked them) are applied to the fertilization of a human egg, a very specific "admixture event" (zygote formation). Population-level admixtures are commonly dated to thousands or even millions of years ago; KYA = "one thousand years ago". 0.001 KYA = 1 year, approximately the duration of most human pregnancies. Fellow geneticists would likely commend their colleague's wit. Children, and most everyone else, would likely just go "Huh?"

;Astronomer: Ejections of matter from parent bodies are common events in the galaxy and the observable universe, at scales ranging from comets to black holes. The process of giving birth is compared to a "low-impulse" ejection, such as the casting off of rocks and dust from a rotating asteroid. Such a comparison, while it may make sense in cosmology, is unlikely to find favor with any woman who is, or has ever been, in labor.
Alternately the "low-impulse ejection" could refer to ejaculation, not the act fo giving birth.

;Software Engineer: An {{w|Off-by-one error}} is a common programming mistake in which a value is, well, off by one. A birth could be described as a "population" metric increasing by one, or alternately, a baby could cause a static population metric to become off-by-one.

;Geologist: The baby is said to have been created by the process of differential erosion, in which softer rocks are eroded more quickly, leaving harder rocks behind. Arguably, a geologist who was making a serious attempt to compare geological and biological processes would recognize that the growth of a fetus has much more in common with accretionary, rather than erosional, mechanisms. Granting that the geologist depicted is witty and not clueless, this explanation is the most intentionally farcical, the most {{w|List_of_Calvin_and_Hobbes_characters#Mom_and_Dad|Calvin's Dad}}, of the five.

;Meteorologist: Turbulent mixing of air masses ("turbulence") has been experienced by just about everyone who has ever been in an airborne aircraft. Turbulence can occur at all levels of the atmosphere from the ground up, and is frequently accompanied by clouds and precipitation. It is a pungent metaphor for coitus. Fasten your seat belts.

;Historians (title text): Instead of proffering an explanation for "where babies come from", the historians (plural) lodge a complaint about the difficulties they have encountered in obtaining the data needed for them to make one. The plaint is a common preamble and disclaimer in formal history publications. The historians express surprise and indignation that their efforts to obtain "better documentation" of the "initial events" (the mating behavior) leading to baby formation are seen as prurient and voyeuristic, and are met with resistance.

==Transcript==

:Various experts answer the question “Where do babies come from?”
:[Five characters are shown, left to right, each saying their answer. Below each character is their respective occupation.]
:Hairy [Geneticist]: Recent admixture event, roughly 0.001 Kya.
:Ponytail [Astronomer]: Low-impulse ejection from a parent body.
:Hairbun [Software engineer]: Off-by-one error in the population calculations.
:Cueball [Geologist]: The area was originally a uniform plane, but the non-baby parts eroded at higher rates.
:Megan [Meteorologist]: Moist ground-level turbulent mixing.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Weather]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

User talk:Elektrizikekswerk

2025-02-06T11:53:39Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* You user page - is marked for deletion */

Hi,

I managed to remove your edit in Exoplanet Names 2 during an edit conflict. Sorry about that :( I went to paste your text back in, but somebody else has editted that entry since.
Your edit text is below, if you wish to integrate it into the explanation. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:17, 24 July 2015 (UTC)

*As the title text a reference to [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/what_if%3F What if?]'s [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/53/ 53], [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/54/ 54] and comic [[1551: Pluto]]. Due to a drain in the Earth's ocean the Netherlands have not to worry about getting flooded, anymore and take the opportunity to conquer the world (including Antarctica becoming South Netherlands) in What if 53, Mars (New Netherlands) in What if 54, and a section of Pluto (again: New Netherlands) in comic 1551. This may also be a possible reference to [[1519: Venus]], but there seems to be no relation to the other conquests of the Netherlands.

Before I throw away the workings out I did, I changed the little calculator I did (for various hours-and-days-in-a-week combinations, in case it gave me anything surprising to report that I'd missed) to do hours-and-days-in-a-year. And did it with Julian years (365.25×24) because it was more accurate than using non-leaping years, but more useful than the hour-fractional Gregorian type. Anyway, I thought you might be interested....
*Factoring the whole hours gives 2*3²*487 (unpromising numbers, I know!), which gives twelve possible 'X hours in Y days' to make up a 'regular' J-Year. 487 18-hour days is by far the closest 'normal' cycle (the next longest day is 487 hours, and of course just 18 of them!). Of course, the daylights drift from solar-time even just looking at year-end (barring the additional Gregorian drift, it does of course repeat 'nicely' every four years).
*Giving it seconds of resolution gives us 180 options to evenly split a Julian Year into integer-seconds per day. 400 'days' of 78894 seconds (487 must feature somewhere in any factorisation!) or 360 days of 87660 on the other side of the 365.25×86400 (and not purely integered) 'normal'.
*And 365.2524 days (of 86400 seconds) isn't even an integer, so you'd need centisecond resolution (2⁷*3⁵*71*1429, giving 192 options and 324 or 384 as 'nearest to 'normal' numbers of days, and a headache when deciding how to allocate centiseconds within each day). Not so useful!
Assuming I copied the right details across (if I fell down, I'm going to assume its on the prime factors, perhaps missing one, or a bad copypasta at some point), but I'm deleting it all now anyway. Just FYI. For critique, if nothing else... :p [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.186|172.70.162.186]] 16:38, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
: Thanks for sharing :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:51, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

== You user page - is marked for deletion ==

Hi Elektrizikekswerk

Someone has marked your userpage for deletion. And I can see it was not you who created it in the first place. Would you like me to delete it, or would you rather write something in it? Or just remove the marked for deletion tag?

Regards the active admin
--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:25, 5 February 2025 (UTC)
: Hi! Why should it be deleted? Just remove the tag. Thanks! [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:28, 5 February 2025 (UTC)
::Sorry, that would be my fault. I was marking up a lot of user pages that various users had created just for the sake of not having a red link and marked your user page for deletion. Seeing as you want to keep it like that, I have removed the tag. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 17:33, 5 February 2025 (UTC)
::(Started writing this before 42 replied, but after they'd reverted to don't delete. Hen got dragged away before I could post. Still, might be useful to see what I'd put.) You can check its history, but:
::*It was created in the first place not by you or, seemingly, ''for'' you. If I remember correctly, it was during one of the "I don't like seeing red links" phases that occasionally logged-in users go through (see a signature link in a Talk page, create it so it's valid).
::*Then it was later marked for deletion by someone in a "let's try and clean up unused pages" phase, as you'd clearly had no vested interest in it.
::*Then later unmarked by someone in "why are there so many Pages To Delete?" phase, then ''that'' reversed by someone probably in a "nothing's lost if it is" phase.
::Not that it was in rapid danger of being actually deleted. But, if it had been, you could always have created it again, I'm guessing... As of now (not at all imminently deleted, but still 'empty'), I might suggest you think of something to say there. It would at least prevent further deletion-ping-pong happening! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.100|172.71.26.100]] 21:12, 5 February 2025 (UTC)
:::if you don’t want to put anything about yourself on it, you could always just redirect it to this talk page! '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:50, 5 February 2025 (UTC)
::::Possible, but... confusing. I'd rather see a User page say "I don't have anything to say about myself, but you can try to chat to me on my <link>Talk: page></link>" than go to a User: page and find myself wondering why it all looks like (''very'' like!) a User Talk: one. Of course, each user can do what they like, and often do, but I don't consider that a good suggestion. I mean, it's not even got novelty value..! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.69|162.158.74.69]] 00:58, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
:::::many people do it and its even listed as an option on {{w|WP:USERPAGE}} '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 01:03, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
Thanks for all your input, I hope my solution is fine :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:56, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
:Not bad. I smiled. Can I of course now point out that it's now ''not'' blank? ;p [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.42|172.68.186.42]] 10:50, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
::thatsthejoke.jpg :P [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:53, 6 February 2025 (UTC)

User talk:Elektrizikekswerk

2025-02-06T07:56:02Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* You user page - is marked for deletion */

User:Elektrizikekswerk

2025-02-06T07:55:22Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

User talk:Elektrizikekswerk

2025-02-05T13:28:45Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* You user page - is marked for deletion */

1331: Frequency

2025-01-09T10:21:51Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Events */ Birds are hatched, not born

{{comic
| number = 1331
| date = February 17, 2014
| title = Frequency
| custom = <center><table title="This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops."><tr>
<td>[[File:heartbeat.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:birth.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:death.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:wikipedia.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:vibrator.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:car china.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:car japan.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:car germany.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:car us.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:car elsewhere.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:kiss.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:fire dept.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:holeinone.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:turnsignal1.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:turnsignal2.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:earthquake1.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:earthquake2.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:earthquake3.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:earthquake4.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:parliament toilet.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:flight.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:book mockingbird.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:cat mockingbird.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:phoenixshoes.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:phoenix.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:keys.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:amelia.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:dogbite.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:bike.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:eagle.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:bottles.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:recycled.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:meteor.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:oldfaithful.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:shark.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:us cancer.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:us cancer death.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:dog.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:cat.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:wedding.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:domain.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:house.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:tattoo.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:pulsar.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:facebook.gif]]</td>
</tr><tr>
<td>[[File:iphone.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:littleleague.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:ndsex.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:bieber.gif]]</td>
<td>[[File:denverpizza.gif]]</td>
</tr></table></center>
| titletext = This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a number of common events, arranged in a grid. Each of the events flashes with its average frequency.

For example, statistically a child is born somewhere on the world approximately every 0.24 seconds, or four times per second. Therefore, the tile "One birth" blinks about 4 times per second.

The title text refers to the {{w|Pitch drop experiment}} which measures the flow of a piece of pitch over many years. At room temperature, tar pitch flows at a very slow rate, taking several years to form a single drop. The title text jokes that Randall tried to include a tile that flashes about once every {{w|decade|ten years}}, but the tiles are all {{w|Animated GIF|animated GIFs}} and while the file format supports animations of any length, the resulting file would be too big (at least 10 megabytes).

A thorough analysis of the frequencies present in this comic and how they relate to the underlying technology (the GIF format) was published as [http://notebooks.jsvine.com/reverse-engineering-xkcd-frequency/ Reverse Engineering xkcd's 'Frequency'].

The table below lists all the events and their periods/frequencies (computed from the GIF loop times). Some events make reference to other comics.

===Events===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!class="unsortable"|Picture
!class="unsortable"|Text
!Period (seconds)
!Frequency (per minute)
!Frequency (per year)
!class="unsortable"|Explanation and/or references to other comics.
|-
|[[File:heartbeat.gif]]
|Heartbeat||style="text-align:right;"|0.86||style="text-align:right;"|70||style="text-align:right;"|33,000,000||The typical resting {{w|heart rate}} in adults is 60–80 beats per minute (bpm).
|-
|[[File:birth.gif]]
|One birth||style="text-align:right;"|0.24||style="text-align:right;"|250||style="text-align:right;"|131,490,000||The {{w|Birth rate|birth rate}} that occurs on Earth.
|-
|[[File:death.gif]]
|One death||style="text-align:right;"|0.56||style="text-align:right;"|107||style="text-align:right;"|56,360,000||The {{w|Mortality rate|Mortality rate}} is much lower than the birth rate shown above; thus, the world's population continues to increase. (Mass deaths not included.)
|-
|[[File:wikipedia.gif]]
|Someone edits Wikipedia||style="text-align:right;"|0.67||style="text-align:right;"|90||style="text-align:right;"|47,100,000||{{w|Wikipedia}} is an online, freely editable encyclopedia. A table recording the time between completion of each block of 10 million edits can be found [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Katalaveno/TBE here], which suggests that the value 0.67 Sec/Edit is a little high, with the average being closer to 0.63 Sec/Edit.
|-
|[[File:vibrator.gif]]
|Someone buys a vibrator||style="text-align:right;"|2.99||style="text-align:right;"|20||style="text-align:right;"|10,550,000 || This is just a joke; there are no reliable statistics on worldwide vibrator productions or sales.
|-
|[[File:car china.gif]]
|China builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|1.89||style="text-align:right;"|32||style="text-align:right;"|16,700,000|| According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, China is the world's most prolific car manufacturer, producing just over [http://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2013-statistics/ 18 million cars in 2013].
|-
|[[File:car japan.gif]]
|Japan builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|4.01||style="text-align:right;"|15||style="text-align:right;"|7,870,000|| According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Japan is the second most prolific car manufacturing country, producing just over [http://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2013-statistics/ 8 million cars in 2013].
|-
|[[File:car germany.gif]]
|Germany builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|5.8||style="text-align:right;"|10||style="text-align:right;"|5,440,000|| According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Germany is the third most prolific car manufacturing country, producing nearly [http://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2013-statistics/ 5.5 million cars in 2013].
|-
|[[File:car us.gif]]
|The US builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|6.95||style="text-align:right;"|8.6||style="text-align:right;"|4,540,000|| According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, the US is the fourth most prolific car manufacturing country, producing just under [http://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2013-statistics/ 4.4 million cars in 2013].
|-
|[[File:car elsewhere.gif]]
|Someone else builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|1.03||style="text-align:right;"|58||style="text-align:right;"|30,640,000|| This relates to car manufacture in countries other than those four listed above. According to the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, this total is just under [http://www.oica.net/category/production-statistics/2013-statistics/ 29.4 million cars in 2013].
|-
|[[File:kiss.gif]]
|A European Union resident has their first kiss||style="text-align:right;"|5.53||style="text-align:right;"|11||style="text-align:right;"|5,700,000|| Given that each person can only have their first kiss once, this statistic is tied to the EU birth rate. This [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/File:Number_of_live_births,_EU-28,_1961%E2%80%932012_(1)_(million)_YB14.png eurostat graph] shows the birth rate in the EU, and if we assume that the majority of people experience their first 'real' kiss at around age 12-16, then the years 1998-2002 are of interest, where the birth rate is fairly stable at just over 5.5 million.
|-
|[[File:fire dept.gif]]
|A US fire department puts out a fire||style="text-align:right;"|23||style="text-align:right;"|2.6||style="text-align:right;"|1,370,000|| The latest available statistics from the US Fire Administration show that in 2011 there were [http://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ roughly 1.39 million] reported fires.
|-
|[[File:holeinone.gif]]
|Someone hits a hole-in-one||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="180"|180 (3 minutes)||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="0.333"|⅓ (20 per hour)||style="text-align:right;"|175,320||A {{w|hole in one}} is a feat in {{w|golf}} in which the player hits the ball directly from the tee into the cup with one shot. This does not account for the possibility of [https://what-if.xkcd.com/85/ Rocket Golf].
|-
|[[File:turnsignal1.gif]]
|My turn signal blinks||style="text-align:right;"|0.94||style="text-align:right;"|64||style="text-align:right;"|33,638,400||This, together with "The turn signal of the car in front of me blinks", forms a reference to [[165: Turn Signals]].
|-
|[[File:turnsignal2.gif]]
|The turn signal of the car in front of me blinks||style="text-align:right;"|0.9||style="text-align:right;"|67||style="text-align:right;"|35,215,200||This, together with "My turn signal blinks", forms a reference to [[165: Turn Signals]].
|-
|[[File:earthquake1.gif]]
|Earthquake (magnitude 1)||style="text-align:right;"|2.43||style="text-align:right;"|25||style="text-align:right;"|13,000,000||These are continually happening, and not felt by humans. The [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/#%7B%22feed%22%3A%221419026358584%22%2C%22sort%22%3A%22newest%22%2C%22mapposition%22%3A%5B%5B-85%2C0%5D%2C%5B85%2C360%5D%5D%2C%22viewModes%22%3A%7B%22help%22%3Afalse%2C%22list%22%3Atrue%2C%22map%22%3Atrue%2C%22settings%22%3Afalse%7D%2C%22autoUpdate%22%3Afalse%2C%22search%22%3A%7B%22id%22%3A%221419026358584%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Search%20Results%22%2C%22isSearch%22%3Atrue%2C%22params%22%3A%7B%22starttime%22%3A%222014-12-12%2000%3A00%3A00%22%2C%22minmagnitude%22%3A-1%2C%22eventtype%22%3A%22earthquake%22%2C%22endtime%22%3A%222014-12-19%2023%3A59%3A59%22%2C%22maxmagnitude%22%3A1.9%2C%22orderby%22%3A%22time%22%7D%7D%7D USGS does report them], but the link provided was produced at the time this description was written. It can however be updated by the user.
|-
|[[File:earthquake2.gif]]
|Earthquake (magnitude 2)||style="text-align:right;"|24.26||style="text-align:right;"|2.5||style="text-align:right;"|1,300,000|| The US Geological Survey estimates that [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php 1.3 million] earthquakes of magnitude 2.0-2.9 occur worldwide each year.
|-
|[[File:earthquake3.gif]]
|Earthquake (magnitude 3)||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="242.6"|242.6 (~4 minutes)||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="0.25"|¼ (15 per hour)||style="text-align:right;"|130,000|| The US Geological Survey estimates that [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php 130 thousand] earthquakes of magnitude 3.0-3.9 occur worldwide each year.
Earthquakes below this magnitude pass by largely unnoticed by most people (or [[723|tweeters]]).
|-
|[[File:earthquake4.gif]]
|Earthquake (magnitude 4)||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="2426"|2426 (40.4 minutes)||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="0.025"|0.025 (1.5 per hour)||style="text-align:right;"|13,000|| The US Geological Survey estimates that [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php 13 thousand] earthquakes of magnitude 4.0-4.9 occur worldwide each year.
|-
|[[File:parliament toilet.gif]]
|A member of the UK parliament flushes a toilet||style="text-align:right;"|10.06||style="text-align:right;"|6||style="text-align:right;"|3,140,000||At the time of this comic, there were 1,430 persons assigned to one or other of the two houses of the UK parliament, meaning that Randall inferred an average of 6 flushes per individual per day. Supposing that they sleep for 6-8 hours and get up to go to the toilet once per night, that means that during the rest of the day they are averaging a trip to the toilet every 3.2 to 3.6 hours. This estimate is somewhat on the high side, but members of parliament, particularly members of the Lords, do skew older, and older people tend to use the toilet more.{{Actual citation needed}}
|-
|[[File:flight.gif]]
|An airline flight takes off||style="text-align:right;"|0.93||style="text-align:right;"|65||style="text-align:right;"|34,000,000|| Research conducted in 2008 by Thomas Ruosch and Dr Karl Rege at [http://www.init.zhaw.ch/index.php?id=9&L=1 Zurich University of Applied Science] plotted the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR00_uLfGVE 93,000 daily worldwide airline flights].
|-
|[[File:book mockingbird.gif]]
|Someone buys ''To Kill a Mockingbird''||style="text-align:right;"|42.05||style="text-align:right;"|1.4||style="text-align:right;"|750,000||"{{w|To Kill a Mockingbird}}" is a novel by {{w|Harper Lee}}, often an assigned reading in high school. Since 1960 it has sold in the region of [http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jul/09/harper-lee-to-kill-a-mockingbird 40 million copies], an average of 740,000 a year.
|-
|[[File:cat mockingbird.gif]]
|Someone's pet cat kills a mockingbird||style="text-align:right;"|1.82||style="text-align:right;"|33||style="text-align:right;"|17,340,000||Whereas the previous item references the well-known book "To Kill a Mockingbird", this one talks about {{w|Mockingbird|mockingbirds}} being literally killed (in this case, by cats). [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Mimus_polyglottos/ There are 45 million mockingbirds in the world;] this means that according to Randall, cats kill 39% of mockingbirds in one year, i.e. in 2.5 years they are able to kill all mockingbirds (excluding the ones that are hatched in the meantime).
|-
|[[File:phoenixshoes.gif]]
|Someone in Phoenix buys new shoes||style="text-align:right;"|1.08||style="text-align:right;"|56||style="text-align:right;"|29,200,000||Since {{w|Phoenix metropolitan area|metro Phoenix}} has 4,200,000 inhabitants, according to Randall people in Phoenix buy 7 pairs of shoes per capita per year.
|-
|[[File:phoenix.gif]]
|Someone in Phoenix puts on a condom||style="text-align:right;"|2.05||style="text-align:right;"|29||style="text-align:right;"|15,390,000||Randall probably found the number of Condoms sold in Phoenix and estimated that most of those would be used. Estimates directly from the frequency of intercourse and contraceptive uses would be wildly inaccurate, especially as those statistics count encounters that might need multiple condoms as one instance of intercourse. There are [https://www.birthcontrol.com/condom-use-statistics 450,000,000 Condoms sold in the US each Year.]
|-
|[[File:keys.gif]]
|Someone locks their keys in their car||style="text-align:right;"|2.43||style="text-align:right;"|25||style="text-align:right;"|13,000,000||There does not appear to be any data on this mishap, but a [https://twitter.com/search?q=locked%20keys%20in%20car&src=typd Twitter search] reveals this happens, or people discuss it happening at a high frequency.
|-
|[[File:amelia.gif]]
|A Sagittarius named Amelia drinks a soda||style="text-align:right;"|7.79||style="text-align:right;"|7.7||style="text-align:right;"|4,000,000||Randall Munroe is a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/01/31/the-baby-name-wizard/ fan of The Baby Name Wizard] blog and its [http://www.babynamewizard.com Name Voyager] tool which shows that "[http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/girl/amelia Amelia]" has recently exploded in popularity. 
This particular frequency is taken from:
* The number of persons called {{w|Amelia (given name)|Amelia}} ([http://howmanyofme.com/ est. 82,572 people in the U.S.])
* The number of persons born between November 22 and December 22 under the astrological sign of {{w|Sagittarius (astrology)|Sagittarius}} (~1/12th of the population, i.e. approximately 6881 Amelias in the U.S.)
* The frequency of soda (soft drinks) being drunk ([http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_sof_dri_con-food-soft-drink-consumption 216 liters per person per year in the U.S.]).
According to our figures, 6881 Amelias drink 1.44 million liters of soft drinks per year in the United States alone, which means that Randall's figures only account for American Amelias (drinking 355 mL or 12 fl. oz. of soda in each drink).
|-
|[[File:dogbite.gif]]
|A dog bites someone in the US||style="text-align:right;"|7.01||style="text-align:right;"|8.6||style="text-align:right;"|4,500,000|| A [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18836045 2008 report] by the Centers for Disease Control concluded that 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year.
|-
|[[File:bike.gif]]
|Someone steals a bicycle||style="text-align:right;"|24.93||style="text-align:right;"|2.4||style="text-align:right;"|1,265,000||About half of all people who cycle infrequently have their bikes stolen at some time, but people who cycle every day have a 90% higher chance of bike theft, all according to [http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/04/these-8-depressing-bike-theft-statistics-show-just-how-bad-problem/8890/ this report] of cyclists in Montreal.
|-
|[[File:eagle.gif]]
|A bald eagle catches a fish||style="text-align:right;"|2.69||style="text-align:right;"|22||style="text-align:right;"|11,700,000||It is estimated that there are 70,000 bald eagles in the world and they eat up to [http://www.hancockwildlife.org/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=949 a pound-and-a-half of fish] every day.
|-
|[[File:bottles.gif]]
|50,000 plastic bottles are produced||style="text-align:right;"|1.27||style="text-align:right;"|47||style="text-align:right;"|24,848,504||This fact speaks for itself, but here are some [http://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/ alarming facts] about plastic bottle production and usage.
|-
|[[File:recycled.gif]]
|50,000 plastic bottles are recycled||style="text-align:right;"|4.64||style="text-align:right;"|13||style="text-align:right;"|6,801,207||27% of the plastic bottles manufactured get [[885: Recycling|recycled]]
|-
|[[File:meteor.gif]]
|A bright meteor is visible somewhere||style="text-align:right;"|1.15||style="text-align:right;"|52||style="text-align:right;"|27,400,000||This varies based on location, time of day, time of year, weather, personal perception and a number of other factors, but according to [http://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-faq/#4 The American Meteor Society], between 2-16 can be seen during the hours before daylight where it would be too bright to see them.
|-
|[[File:oldfaithful.gif]]
|Old Faithful erupts||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="5640"|5640 (94 minutes)||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="0.011"|0.011 (15 per day)||style="text-align:right;"|5,595||{{w|Old Faithful}} is a geyser in {{w|Yellowstone National Park}} in the US, that tends to erupt every 65 or 91 minutes. XKCD's period of 1h 34m falls between the [https://geysertimes.org/geyser.php?id=Old%20Faithful mean and median of recent Old Faithful eruptions] and corresponds to a [http://geysertimes.org/getSingleEruption.php?id=645135 February 16, 2014 eruption].
|-
|[[File:shark.gif]]
|A fishing boat catches a shark||style="text-align:right;"|0.83||style="text-align:right;"|72||style="text-align:right;"|38,000,000|| [[1326: Sharks]]; Shark populations have experienced severe declines due to fishing impacts both of {{w|shark finning|finning}} and by-catch.
|-
|[[File:us cancer.gif]]
|Someone in the US is diagnosed with cancer||style="text-align:right;"|18.99||style="text-align:right;"|3.2||style="text-align:right;"|1,660,000|| According to the [http://www.cancer.org American Cancer Society], there will be an estimated 1,665,540 new cancer cases diagnosed in the US in 2014.
|-
|[[File:us cancer death.gif]]
|Someone in the US dies from cancer||style="text-align:right;"|54.34||style="text-align:right;"|1.1||style="text-align:right;"|580,000|| According to the [http://www.cancer.org American Cancer Society], in 2014 there will be an estimated 585,720 cancer deaths in the US.
|-
|[[File:dog.gif]]
|Someone adopts a dog from a shelter||style="text-align:right;"|15.6||style="text-align:right;"|3.8||style="text-align:right;"|2,000,000||[http://www.statisticbrain.com/pet-owner-industry-stats/ 10%] of owned dogs were adopted from shelters
|-
|[[File:cat.gif]]
|Someone adopts a cat from a shelter||style="text-align:right;"|21.3||style="text-align:right;"|2.8||style="text-align:right;"|1,500,000||[http://www.statisticbrain.com/pet-owner-industry-stats/ 18%] of owned cats were adopted from shelters
|-
|[[File:wedding.gif]]
|Someone gets married||style="text-align:right;"|0.75||style="text-align:right;"|80||style="text-align:right;"|42,000,000||According to [http://www.statisticbrain.com/marriage-statistics/ this study], there are 2,077,000 marriages in the US every year.
|-
|[[File:domain.gif]]
|Someone registers a domain||style="text-align:right;"|0.64||style="text-align:right;"|94||style="text-align:right;"|49,300,000 ||According to [http://www.dailychanges.com/ Dailychanges.com], about 135,000 domains are registered every day, but this figure fluctuates.
|-
|[[File:house.gif]]
|Someone in the US buys a house||style="text-align:right;"|6.22||style="text-align:right;"|9.6||style="text-align:right;"|5,000,000||According to [http://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf The Census Bureau], on average there are 400,000 home purchases in the US each month.
|-
|[[File:tattoo.gif]]
|Someone in the US gets a tattoo||style="text-align:right;"|2.06||style="text-align:right;"|29||style="text-align:right;"|15,300,000||This estimate is probably based on the percentage of people who are tattooed, and not how frequently they purchase one, but the figures [http://theweek.com/article/index/233633/the-tattoo-economy-by-the-numbers here], [http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo_facts.htm here], and [http://www.statisticbrain.com/tattoo-statistics/ here] add to the credibility of the claim.
|-
|[[File:pulsar.gif]]
|The star PSR J1748-2446AD rotates 1,000 times||style="text-align:right;"|1.4||style="text-align:right;"|42.9||style="text-align:right;" data-sort-value="22548240"|22,548,240 (×1000 for source rate)||{{w|PSR J1748-2446ad}} is the fastest spinning {{w|pulsar}} known.
|-
|[[File:facebook.gif]]
|Someone lies about their age to sign up for Facebook||style="text-align:right;"|4.32||style="text-align:right;"|14||style="text-align:right;"|7,300,000||To sign up for Facebook, [https://www.facebook.com/help/210644045634222 the user must claim to be at least 13 years old]. This is a reflection of the U.S. {{w|Children's Online Privacy Protection Act}}.
|-
|[[File:iphone.gif]]
|Someone breaks an iPhone screen||style="text-align:right;"|0.93||style="text-align:right;"|65||style="text-align:right;"|34,000,000||According to a [http://www.cnet.com/news/quarter-of-iphones-have-a-broken-screen-says-new-poll/ CNET report], up to a quarter of iPhones have a broken screen.
|-
|[[File:littleleague.gif]]
|A Little League player strikes out||style="text-align:right;"|1.23||style="text-align:right;"|49||style="text-align:right;"|25,754,400||{{w|Little League Baseball|Little League}} is a system of local youth baseball and softball competitions. A {{w|strikeout}} is a situation in baseball and softball. This figure will be inconsistent throughout the year as baseball is normally not played in the winter.
|-
|[[File:ndsex.gif]]
|Someone has sex in North Dakota||style="text-align:right;"|1.38||style="text-align:right;"|43||style="text-align:right;"|22,900,000||Since {{w|North Dakota}} has 723,000 inhabitants (ranked the 48th state), and if we estimate the sexually active population as 80% (and if ''someone'' means ''a couple)'' this means that people in North Dakota have sex 79.1 times a year. It is estimated that [http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/geographyofsex.htm 3.93% of the world population has sex on a given day;] Randall's rate for North Dakota is 17.3% which is not low.
|-
|[[File:bieber.gif]]
|Justin Bieber gains a follower on Twitter||style="text-align:right;"|4.73||style="text-align:right;"|13||style="text-align:right;"|6,670,000|| [[802: Online Communities 2#Twitter Region|802: Online Communities 2]]; {{w|Justin Bieber}} is a Canadian pop music singer whose [https://twitter.com/justinbieber Twitter account] is extremely popular.
|-
|[[File:denverpizza.gif]]
|Someone in Denver orders a pizza||style="text-align:right;"|1.27||style="text-align:right;"|47||style="text-align:right;"|24,800,000|| In 2013, an estimated [http://www.statisticbrain.com/pizza-statistics/ 3 billion] pizzas were sold in the US. With a population of approximately 320 million, this is an average of just over 9 pizzas per person per year. According to the [http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/08/08031.html 2010 Census], the population of Denver was, rounded, 650,000. The frequency shown equates to over 38 pizzas per person per year, four times the national average. But counting the larger {{w|Denver metropolitan area}}, with a population of 2,890,000, the frequency shown equates to a much more reasonable 8.5 pizzas per person per year
|}

==Transcript==
:[Repetitive events are written in grey and arranged in a grid. Each statement pulses to black and then returns to grey at an interval characteristic of the named event.]

{| style="text-align:center;"
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"
|Heartbeat (0.86 sec)
|One birth (0.24 sec)
|One death (0.56 sec)
|Someone edits Wikipedia (0.67 sec)
|Someone buys a vibrator (2.99 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|China builds a car (1.89 sec)
|Japan builds a car (4.01 sec)
|Germany builds a car (5.8 sec)
|The US builds a car (6.95 sec)
|Someone else builds a car (1.03 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"
|A European Union resident has their first kiss (5.53 sec)
|A US fire department puts out a fire (23 sec)
|Someone hits a hole-in-one (180 sec)
|My turn signal blinks (0.94 sec)
|The turn signal of the car in front of me blinks (0.9 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|Earthquake (magnitude 1) (2.43 sec)
|Earthquake (magnitude 2) (24.26 sec)
|Earthquake (magnitude 3) (242.6 sec)
|Earthquake (magnitude 4) (2426 sec, 42 min)
|Member of the UK Parliament flushes a toilet (10.06 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"
|An airline flight takes off (0.93 sec)
|Someone buys ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (42.05 sec)
|Someone's pet cat kills a mockingbird (1.82 sec)
|Someone in Phoenix buys new shoes (1.08 sec)
|Someone in Phoenix puts on a condom (2.05 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|Someone locks their keys in their car (2.43 sec)
|A Sagittarius named Amelia drinks a soda (7.79 sec)
|A dog bites someone in the US (7.01 sec)
|Someone steals a bicycle (24.93 sec)
|A bald eagle catches a fish (2.69 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"
|50,000 plastic bottles are produced (1.27 sec)
|50,000 plastic bottles are recycled (4.64 sec)
|A bright meteor is visible somewhere (1.15 sec)
|Old Faithful erupts (5640 sec, 94 min)
|A fishing boat catches a shark (0.83 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|Someone in the US is diagnosed with cancer (18.99 sec)
|Someone in the US dies from cancer (54.34 sec)
|Someone adopts a dog from a shelter (15.6 sec)
|Someone adopts a cat from a shelter (21.3 sec)
|Someone gets married (0.75 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"
|Someone registers a domain (0.64 sec)
|Someone in the US buys a house (6.22 sec)
|Someone in the US gets a tattoo (2.06 sec)
|The star ''PSR J1748-2446ad'' rotates 1,000 times (1.4 sec)
|Someone lies about their age to sign up for Facebook (4.32 sec)
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|Someone breaks an iPhone screen (0.93 sec)
|A little league player strikes out (1.23 sec)
|Someone has sex in North Dakota (1.38 sec)
|Justin Bieber gains a follower on Twitter (4.73 sec)
|Someone in Denver orders a pizza (1.27 sec)
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Cancer]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Baseball]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]

3008: Proterozoic Rocks

2024-11-08T10:50:33Z

Elektrizikekswerk: /* Explanation */ sorry, couldn't resist

{{comic
| number = 3008
| date = November 6, 2024
| title = Proterozoic Rocks
| image = proterozoic_rocks_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = These rocks are from a time before eyes, brains, and bones, pieces of a land warmed by an unseen sun.
}}

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

{{w|Proterozoic eon}} rocks such as the 1.1 billion-year-old rocks in the comic were formed 2500 to 538.8 million years ago, some of them surviving {{w|plate tectonics|tectonic movements}} until today. Proterozoic rocks which were formed from sediment at the bottom of an inland sea such as the former {{w|Western Interior Seaway}} would be in North America today.

The first animal eyes are believed to have [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1716824114 developed on trilobites] half a billion years ago, around the transition between the proterozoic and {{w|phanerozoic eon}}s at the start of the {{w|Cambrian}} period. This transition began a great proliferation of biological diversity known as the {{w|Cambrian Explosion}}.

In the next panel Cueball talks about feeling a connection to the rock, which spans "a vast abyss of time that stretches back as far as the eye can see." This could be interpreted as expressing the need to connect to something that exists vastly beyond the current turbulent era, to put it into perspective and to find strength in knowing that nature transcends human troubles. The title text extends this theme.

The distant past, before the emergence of complex eye-bearing life, is illustrated by the final panel in black. This is purely figurative, as light existed{{citation needed}} and would have made the Earth's surface visible, had there been eyes to see it. The dark far past may also be an analogy for the darkened far future, as there may be [https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/09/26/triple-whammy-of-extreme-heat-scientists-pinpoint-when-earth-could-become-uninhabitable no life on Earth with eyes in around 250 million years]. This timeline is far beyond the immediate cares of the current world, applying perspective to any and all present worldviews.

The sketch might also serve the purpose of comforting some after the 2024 election results.

[[2013: Rock]] also compares the age of rocks to milestones in the development of life.

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

:[Cueball is seen at a distance, walking amid a rocky landscape.]
:I love being near Proterozoic rocks.
:These ones are 1.1 billion years old.
:That's so, '''''so''''' old.

:[Cueball standing next to a rock.]
:Eyes evolved half a billion years ago. The first time a rock was ever looked at, these rocks were already 500 million years old.

:[Cueball sitting atop a large rock.]
:People say geologic time makes them feel small. But when I touch this rock, it's like I'm a part of it, spanning a vast abyss of time that stretches back as far as the eye can see.

:[A completely black panel except for text in white lettering.]
:And then 500 million years farther.

== Trivia ==

This comic was published on the day when {{w|Donald Trump}}'s re-election as president of the USA was announced. Randall was vocal in his support for the opposing candidate {{w|Kamala Harris}}; the xkcd homepage featured [https://web.archive.org/web/20241106175959im_/https://imgs.xkcd.com/news/harris_news@2x.png a drawing with a "Vote for Harris" sign] [https://web.archive.org/web/20241106215812/https://xkcd.com/ during the run-up to the election].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:All Comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

Talk:3007: Probabilistic Uncertainty

2024-11-05T07:45:36Z

Elektrizikekswerk:

Emotional spirals are useless. I've been coping by pretending we're in scenario 1, it keeps me sane. If I'm wrong, I'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:23, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:And I have a friend whose strategy is baking. It's both therapeutic and delicious. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:41, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

:I see I don't know US geography well: which bridge you can jump from to leave it? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:34, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

I can't help but think that at preparing for the negative outcome regardless of which outcome is more likely (unless that outcome is *very* unlikely) is a healthy thing to do. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.141|172.71.147.141]] 20:30, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst" is my usual approach to things. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:45, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

This comic appeared the day before the 2024 United States Presidential Election. At publication time, polls were strongly suggesting about a 50/50 odds that either major candidate would win. Recent news items included advice from mental-health professionals on how to deal with election-related anxiety. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.167.195|172.71.167.195]] 20:32, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:Definitely related. This should be in the text, not in the comments, frankly. The yanks are going nuts about the election right now. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.124.243|172.71.124.243]] 20:57, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:Did the advice suggested narcotics? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:34, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

My personal policy is to expect and prepare for the worst. That way I can be surprised when it doesn't happen, and not surprised when it does, rather than the other way around. I don't "do" emotions, so it's basically just planning and mumbling colloquialisms involving the digestive system... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.64|172.71.134.64]] 21:31, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

I can't help but feel that it's mostly Democrats that are anxious, where Trump winning is the bad case. Not being an American I don't have much perspective. Are many Republicans likely to also be anxious, and if so, why? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.60.170|172.69.60.170]] 21:55, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

From what I've seen the ones in public-facing forums seem pretty indifferent. They do talk a lot about election fraud though. {{unsigned ip|172.70.34.117|22:42, 4 November 2024 (UTC)}}

I like that the comic leaves "good" and "bad" open to interpretation.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.83|172.70.211.83]] 22:29, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:He doesn't want to start fights in the comments/discussion pages/replies! Good to see him appealing to no specific demographic in this one. -[[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 22:40, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
::Considering that the "Harris for President" banner is still active, I'm not sure I agree with that. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.4|172.68.22.4]] 22:53, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
:::yeah, for that reason i think it's more just so the comic can have further longevity, as this way it can be applied to any number of things with two outcomes, not just the current election [[Special:Contributions/141.101.109.193|141.101.109.193]] 00:02, 5 November 2024 (UTC)
::Well, so far so good ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:34, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Re [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3007:_Probabilistic_Uncertainty&oldid=355799 Further, with regards to N/A - the odds of "precisely" 50/50 are probabilistically zero]: Bear in mind that with the Electoral College system and the fact that only 7 US states are "likely in play," we are talking only hundreds or thousands of realistic possibilities. The odds of a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College are far more than 0. One possibility of a tie that is "on the radar" is if the Republicans take Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and the 2nd Congressional District of Nebraska (which is very likely to go Democratic) and the Democrats take Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. If you consider just the 7 "in play" states but Arizona "flips" from Republican to Democratic, there are 3 combinations that yield a 269-269 tie. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.249|172.70.210.249]] 01:29, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Re '''We contacted several researchers who are experts in emotional spirals to ask them, but none of them were in a state to speak with us''': Is it a stretch to think that the emotional-spiral experts were all "in Puerto Rico" (which is not a state), emotionally speaking? In the last week a supporter of one of the candidates insulted Puerto Rico and by extension, people of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican descent, causing an emotional uproar all over the inter-tubes. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.210|162.158.90.210]] 01:37, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Created an account just to say this; don't get mad at me but in my opinion, both candidates are equally bad, which has led to a weird sense of calmness in me due to my belief that we'll be equally screwed no matter what, just in different ways. Tbh in my opinion both candidates are in between what their supporters think of them and what their opponents think of them. Please be civil if you reply, no ad hominem please. [[User:BurnV06|BurnV06]] ([[User talk:BurnV06|talk]]) 05:24, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

I think it's funny that so many Democrats are genuinely terrified of the results and spend their days anxiously refreshing 538, whereas Republicans are filled with optimism and already know that the democrats have run the weakest candidate since Dukakis. Ah well, maybe in four years you'll actually get to vote for who leads your ticket instead of having them be appointed by the party elites directly without a vote. ;)