explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2689: Fermat's First Theorem

2022-10-24T18:27:53Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2689
| date = October 24, 2022
| title = Fermat's First Theorem
| image = fermats_first_theorem_2x.png
| imagesize = 280x248px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Mathematicians quickly determined that it spells ANT BNECN, an unusual theoretical dish which was not successfully cooked until Andrew Wiles made it for breakfast in the 1990s.
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

2567: Language Development

2022-01-12T19:21:33Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2567
| date = January 12, 2022
| title = Language Development
| image = language_development.png
| titletext = The worst is the Terrible Twos, when they're always throwing things and shrieking, "forsooth, to bed thou shalt not take me, cur!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a AUTOMATON - What the baby hast sayeth? Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Rather than learning to speak normally, this baby is going through all of the stages of the evolution of the English language, from proto-Indo-European to Germanic to Old English.
{{w|Proto-Indo-European_language|Proto-Indo-European}} is a theorized common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. {{w|Proto-Germanic_language|Proto-Germanic}} is a reconstructed language formerly spoken in Iron Age Scandinaia. It developed out of proto-Indo-European and is the common ancestor for all {{w|Germanic languages}}. Old English and later English developed out of Germanic.

In writing, reconstructed words from the Proto-Indo-European language are commonly marked with an asterisk (*). Somehow, the baby seems to actually pronounce these asterisks. The baby says the Proto-Indo-European roots that the words "milk" and "please" are derived from.

Some sounds babies make are hard to interpret.{{citation needed}} However, humans have a tendency to recognize known things and patterns. They see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. Thus, a parent familiar with proto-Indo-European may falsely hear their baby speak proto-Indo-European by misinterpreting unintelligible sounds.

The conventional meaning of {{w|Language development}} is the process by which infants begin to talk, that is to understand and produce intelligible speech. The field of {{w|Language acquisition}} seeks to understand how baby humans are able to rapidly comprehend, internalize, and begin producing a new language so rapidly.

A field that is normally only seen as tangentially related is {{w|Historical linguistics}}, which studies how languages evolved from each other throughout tens of thousands of years. The {{w|Proto-Indo-European language}} is the theorized common ancestor of all Indo-European languages. When linguists in the field of {{w|Comparative linguistics}} notice similarities in different languages (say English and Germanic), they create theoretical ancestral proto-languages to theorize what common ancestor that the two languages English and German (for example) had in common. Thus the proto-language of Proto-Indo-European has been proposed to explain the similarities between most of the languages in Europe as well as several languages spoken in the Middle East, India, and regions between.

When Megan describes her baby's speech as progressing from Proto-indo-european to Germanic to Old English, she is describing the languages that in the theoretical chain from Proto-indo-european leading up to Modern English today, as if the baby is progressing through the history of language evolution. In doing so, Megan seems to be applying {{w|Recapitulation Theory}} from biology to language development. In reality, babies develop their language faculties by mimicking what they hear around them, starting with {{w|Babbling}}.

Perhaps this is an alternate universe where every baby has to gradually develop their language skills until they reach the ultimately developed language of Modern English, belying an ethnocentric implication that Modern English is somehow an intrinsically a natural end-point of linguistic evolution.

In the title text, Randall describes a 2 year old child as speaking Elizabethan English, a dialect of modern English used by Shakespeare more than 400 years ago.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball stand to the right of the frame, discussing her baby, Hairy. Hairy sits on the left side of a table in an elevated baby chair.]
:Megan: He's only 1, so he still mostly speaks proto-Indo-European.
:Megan: But we've heard a few Germanic words already, so Old English can't be far off.
:Cueball: They progress so fast!
:Baby Hairy: *melg-
:Baby Hairy: *pl(e)hk-

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

1520: Degree-Off

2021-11-16T21:40:06Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), a grown-up [[Science Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was earlier lampooned by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]] (and is also stated in the title text of [[1158: Rubber Sheet]]).

The biologist goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) have even "{{w|Eradication_of_infectious_diseases|slain}}" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Different traditions designate the Four Horsemen differently, but it is common for their number to include Plague or Pestilence. Science Girl claims that the field of biology has eliminated widespread {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}} - at the time of writing it was not readily apparent that {{w|COVID-19_pandemic|the old dog still has some teeth}} (although the rate of death from infectious disease in 2020–21 is still less than 200 per 100 thousand, far lower than the early 20th century). The imagery of Pestilence being thwarted by modern medicine was also used in the book {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a fan, see [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.

The graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in the USA with the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. It has been published in the paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].

Science Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologists. She refers to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Science Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Science Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more serious.

In the title text the biologist goes on to declare in {{w|All caps}} that she is surprised a physicist isn't "harder", after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences. The use of 'hard' and 'squishy' is a play on the colloquial division between the so-called 'hard' sciences (such as physics and chemistry) and 'soft' sciences (such as biology and geology). 'Hard' sciences usually refer to the perception that in fields like physics, precisely repeatable experiments and measurements are possible, as opposed to 'soft' sciences seen as placing less emphasis on precisely quantifiable predictability - however Science Girl is extending 'hard' to its meaning of 'stoic', mocking Cueball for not being able to weather a personal moral attack. Again she is indicating that she's upset by directly referencing a mocking portrayal of other fields allegedly made by Cueball.

To be fair to Cueball, the outbreak of disease is more a topic for epidemiology, and biology has spawned multiple diseases, atrocities, and bad movies. However, the Manhattan Project marked the first time in history that humanity possessed the ability to destroy itself - and shortly thereafter humanity got {{w|Cold War|perilously close to doing so}}.

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he personally respects biologists - or at least fears them.

Within a year Randall has made several other comics about nuclear weapons, this one was the first of these the second, [[1539: Planning]], came out just 1½ month after this one and after that these two were released early in 2016: [[1626: Judgment Day]] and [[1655: Doomsday Clock]]. Nuclear weapons are also mentioned twice in ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', specifically they are explained in the explanation for ''Machine for burning cities'' about {{w|Thermonuclear weapon|thermonuclear bombs}}, but they are also mentioned in ''Boat that goes under the sea'' about a submarine that carries nukes. All three comics and both explanations in the book, does like this comic, comment on how insane it is that we have created enough firepower to obliterate Earth several times (or at least scourge it for any human life).

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off'' holding a microphone up. Cueball, a character who looks like a grown-up Science Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of physics, biology and chemistry respectively. They each stand behind their own lectern with the respective subject label.]
:Hairy: Welcome to the '''''Degree-Off''''', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball (Phys): Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...
:Labels: Phys Bio Chem

:[Zoom in so Megan is no longer visible. Cueball lifts his hand]
:Cueball (Phys): ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball (Phys): Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Grown-Up Science Girl (Bio): Okay.
:Labels: Phys Bio

:[Zoom in on Grown-Up Science Girl so only she and her lectern are shown. A graph is shown above her. There us a label for the y-axis to the left of the axis which has four ticks with numbers. The x-axis is a timeline without ticks but three years indicating the start center and end of the axis. The graph shows a curve falling off, with one great spike up around 1920.]
:Y-axis label: Per 100,000
:Y-axis:
::800
::600
::400
::200
:X-axis: 1900 1950 2000
:GUSG (Bio): This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.
:Labels: Bio

:[Zoom back to original scene with Hairy holding the microphone down and Grown-Up Science Girl raising her left hand, while Cueball looks at her.]
:GUSG (Bio): The heroes of my field have '''''slain''''' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
:Labels: Phys Bio Chem

:[Zoom in on only Cueball and Grown-Up Science Girl who is pointing aggressively at Cueball who leans away from her one hand on his lectern for support.]
:GUSG (Bio): While the heroes of '''''your''''' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.
:Labels: Phys Bio

:[Zoom back to previous scene all are holding their hands down.]
:Cueball (Phys): ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:GUSG (Bio): '''''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.'''''
:Labels: Phys Bio Chem

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

2528: Flag Map Sabotage

2021-10-14T02:06:46Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2528
| date = October 13, 2021
| title = Flag Map Sabotage
| image = flag_map_sabotage.png
| titletext = Delaware hopes to explore the western edge of areas marked with the Belgian flag, once the tornadoes die down.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GOD-EMPEROR OF GREATER DELAWARE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

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

2505: News Story Reaction

2021-08-20T22:43:19Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2505
| date = August 20, 2021
| title = News Story Reaction
| image = news_story_reaction.png
| titletext = Unless the next line is, "After we broke up, she blamed the painting and spent years planning her revenge, so my sorrow is mixed with relief that the dogs at least denied her that triumph."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by MONA LISA(THE PAINTING)'S FIRST KISS. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk, typing something on a laptop.]
:Cueball: Devastated to hear that a pack of wild dogs got into the Louvre and shredded the Mona Lisa.
:Cueball: What a loss for humanity.
:Cueball: My First kiss was in the aisle of a J.C. Penny that had a poster of the Mona Lisa on the wall, so this is hitting me especially hard.

:[Underneath the panel]
:Cueball: Sometimes I have to remind myself not to make every news story about me.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2393: Presidential Middle Names

2021-07-17T21:54:21Z

Emperor-Nathan: Undo revision 215187 by 162.158.63.116 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2393
| date = December 2, 2020
| title = Presidential Middle Names
| image = presidential_middle_names.png
| titletext = The bottom of the list remains unchanged. Poor Rutherford Birchard Hayes.
}}

==Explanation==
A list of what Randall perceives will be the prettiest presidential {{w|middle names}} after the inauguration on January 20, 2021. {{w|Joe Biden|Joe Robinette Biden}} (46th president-elect) will take the second slot bumping previous second-place holder {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt}}, the 32nd president, back to third. {{w|Warren G. Harding|Warren Gamaliel Harding}}, the 29th president, remains in first. Robinette is Biden's [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2008/08/joe_bidens_middle_name_is_robi.html grandmother's maiden name].

The title text announces that {{w|Rutherford B. Hayes|Rutherford Birchard Hayes}}, the 19th president, remains at or near the bottom.

Overall, the ranking would not include every president, as many early presidents, such as {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|John Adams}}, lacked middle names. Some presidents were also more commonly known by their middle names as opposed to their first names, particularly John {{w|Calvin Coolidge}}, Stephen {{w|Grover Cleveland}}, Hiram {{w|Ulysses Grant}}, and Thomas {{w|Woodrow Wilson}}. In the case of Grant, his nominator messed up his full name as Ulysses Simpson Grant, hence he is widely known as ''Ulysses S. Grant'' with the spurious middle "S". There is no evidence in the comic for how Randall’s list would deal with these cases.

The humor is based on the sheer oddity of ranking people by the perceived prettiness of their obscure middle names.

== Trivia ==

{{w|Raphael Warnock|Raphael Gamaliel Warnock}} became a U.S. senator in January 2021, a hundred years and a week after former president Warren Gamaliel Harding left the Senate. Randall’s favourite presidential middle name is thus once again represented in government.

==List of Presidents with middle names==
(updated for 2021, as the comic)
{| class="wikitable"
|+ (Ordered by middle name)
! President
! Presidential order
|-
|James ABRAM Garfield
|20
|-
|Chester ALAN Arthur
|21
|-
|Lyndon BAINES Johnson
|36
|-
|Rutherford BIRCHARD Hayes
|19
|-
|John CALVIN Coolidge
|30
|-
|Herbert CLARK Hoover
|31
|-
|Dwight DAVID Eisenhower
|34
|-
|Franklin DELANO Roosevelt
|32
|-
|James EARL Carter
|39
|-
|John FITZGERALD Kennedy
|35
|-
|Warren GAMALIEL Harding
|29
|-
|Stephen GROVER Cleveland
|22, 24
|-
|William HENRY Harrison
|9
|-
|George HERBERT WALKER Bush
|41
|-
|William HOWARD Taft
|27
|-
|Barack HUSSEIN Obama
|44
|-
|William JEFFERSON Clinton
|42
|-
|Donald JOHN Trump
|45
|-
|James KNOX Polk
|11
|-
|Richard MILHOUS Nixon
|37
|-
|John QUINCY Adams
|6
|-
|Joe ROBINETTE Biden
|46
|-
|Gerald RUDOLPH Ford
|38
|-
|Harry S. Truman
|33
|-
|Hiram ULYSSES Grant (Ulysses SIMPSON Grant during his presidency)
|18
|-
|George WALKER Bush
|43
|-
|Ronald WILSON Reagan
|40
|-
|Thomas WOODROW Wilson
|28
|}

The Presidents without middle names — almost all of those before Grant, and a few a bit later — were George Washington, John Adams, {{w|Thomas Jefferson}}, {{w|James Madison}}, {{w|James Monroe}}, {{w|Andrew Jackson}}, {{w|Martin Van Buren}}, {{w|John Tyler}}, {{w|Zachary Taylor}}, {{w|Millard Fillmore}}, {{w|Franklin Pierce}}, {{w|James Buchanan}}, {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}, {{w|Andrew Johnson}}, {{w|Benjamin Harrison}}, {{w|William McKinley}}, and {{w|Theodore Roosevelt}}.

==Transcript==
:<big>Prettiest</big>
:Presidential Middle Names Official Rankings
:(Updated for 2021)

# Gamaliel (Warren Harding)
#Robinette (Joe Biden) '''(NEW!)'''
#Delano (Franklin Roosevelt) 

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Rankings]]

557: Students

2021-07-02T18:43:07Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 557
| date = March 18, 2009
| title = Students
| image = students.png
| titletext = The same goes for the one where you're wrestling the Green Ranger in the swimming pool full of Crisco. You guys all have that dream, right? It's not just me. Right?
}}

==Explanation==
Students often dream they have assignments they have forgotten about that are due in a very short time period, leaving no time to complete the assignment, and thus filling them with the feeling of impending failure. The panic and helplessness of being unable to complete the work in time only subsides when the dreamer wakes from the {{w|nightmare}}, although sometimes they wake to a reality where there actually is a looming deadline.

This comic suggests these dreams continue well after graduation, although there may be a nagging feeling that "I thought I completed everything and graduated".

The title text refers to the {{w|Tommy_Oliver|Green Ranger}} from the ''{{w|Mighty Morphin Power Rangers}}'', or, indeed, any of the many Power Rangers/Super Sentai seasons with a green ranger. {{w|Crisco}} is a brand of vegetable shortening, a fat that is solid at room temperature and frequently used in baking. The joke is that [[Randall]] has a very odd recurring dream, and wants reassurance that he is not the only one... but he likely is!

Eleven years later, Megan tells Cueball that just the thought of being in a crowded classroom (even without concerns about an assignment) is scary enough in comic [[2285]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan as a teacher speaks to a crowded classroom, where all students are grayed out except one of the Cueball students who is drawn in the normal black line.]
:Megan: Your projects are due today by 5:00 PM.
:Cueball (thinking): ...I didn't even know we had one.

:[Zoom in in Cueball at his small desk still thinking. No other students are visible, but the desk next to his is shown although also fading out.]
:Cueball (thinking): Wait. I don't think I've been attending. I must have forgotten I had this class. Shitshitshit.

:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, but now seen from the side, looking from the edge of his desk. The very right part of the drawing, with Cueball's back and chair, now begins to fade.]
:Cueball (thinking): Okay, I'm gonna fail. Will it hold me back? I just want to get out of here. I thought I had ''finished'' my requirements already.

:[Cueball takes his hand to his face. This panel fades so much it is only about half a panel. Even the frame around the panel disappears.]
:Cueball (thinking): In fact, I think I remember graduating. What the hell is—

:[As the previous scene completely fades we find Cueball waking up in his bed with small blobs above his head to indicate the dream disappearing.]

:[Caption below the last three panels of the comic:]
:Fun Fact: Decades from now, with school a distant
:memory, you'll still be having this dream.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Dreams]]
[[Category:Fun fact]]

2474: First Time Since Early 2020

2021-06-10T03:52:33Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2474
| date = June 10, 2021
| title = First Time Since Early 2020
| image = first_time_since_early_2020.png
| titletext = Gotten the Ferris wheel operator's attention
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]

2463: Astrophotography

2021-05-14T23:24:09Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2463
| date = May 15, 2021
| title = Astrophotography
| image = astrophotography.png
| titletext = [One hill over, a competing astrophotographer does a backflip over a commercial airliner while throwing a tray of plastic space stations into the air, through which a falcon swoops to 'grab' the real one.]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BACKFLIPPING ASTROPHOTOGRAPHER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic shows an image of a partial solar eclipse (the view of the sun being partially obscured by the moon on the upper left). The sun is much larger than the moon, but the moon is able to block a significant fraction of the sun's light from reaching Earth because it is much closer to the Earth. The same optical arrangement is popular in photography, where it is possible to show the silhouette of a person or a cityscape in front of a full moon, making the moon look larger or smaller by adjusting the lenses used and the photographer's distance to the closer subject.

Here, astrophotographers (who are skilled in taking pictures of distant objects like stars) have combined the two techniques, arranging other nearby subjects to create silhouettes in front of the solar eclipse. The image includes:
* a person at the top of a mountain peak firing arrows from a bow;
* a person slightly below the archer, juggling;
* two airplanes flying above them pulling signs with the words "nice" and "shot" (which could refer to either the archer or the photograph); and
* the tiny shape of a distant satellite with solar panels, possibly the international space station.

Astrophotographers like to take photos of things transiting the Sun. Typical things include the planes, the International Space Station, and the Moon. In this comic there seems to be an abundance of things.

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

:[Cueball and Megan stand on a hill with the sun behind them. Cueball is at the top-left of the hill, holding a bow in his left arm, which has been recently shot, with the arrow to right. Megan is at the bottom-right of the hill, juggling some balls. There are two planes going in opposite directions with banners on them. Above the planes is the ISS. All these items are silhouetted against the sun partially eclipsed by the moon in the upper right.]

:[Banners]: Nice Shot

:[Caption beneath the panel]:
:Our astrophotography community's one-upmanship is getting out of hand.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]

2461: 90's Kid Space Program

2021-05-10T20:04:34Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2461
| date = May 10, 2021
| title = 90's Kid Space Program
| image = 90s_kid_space_program.png
| titletext = NASA may not want to admit it, but at this point they ARE the 90's Kid Space Program.
}}

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

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

[A command and service module are attached by four long trusses to a giant popper. The popper is in its inverted configuration, ready to pop.]

Caption: The 90's Kid Space Program prepares for their first orbital launch

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space]]

2449: ISS Vaccine

2021-04-12T22:50:24Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2449
| date = April 13, 2021
| title = ISS Vaccine
| image = iss_vaccine.png
| titletext = Because they orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, some astronauts should try to argue that, due to CDC regulations and time zone technicalities, they should be able to get their second dose just 30 or 40 hours after their first.
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space]]

2441: IMDb Vaccines

2021-03-24T23:53:19Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2441
| date = March 24, 2021
| title = IMDb Vaccines
| image = imdb_vaccines.png
| titletext = I'm actually not sure if Vader and the Emperor count as a household or if Vader lives in that weird black egg thing or what.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SOCIALLY DISTANCED WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2420: Appliances

2021-02-04T02:03:49Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2420
| date = February 4, 2021
| title = Appliances
| image = appliances.png
| titletext = If you had an oven bag and a dryer that runs unusually hot, I guess you could in theory make tumbled eggs.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an OVERCOOKED T-SHIRT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows what would happen if various household appliances were used to do different household tasks. Green indicates an excellent performance, yellow, satisfactory, and red, dismal. The diagonal is green as it shows the tasks done by the machines they are supposed to be performed by.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

2408: Egg Strategies

2021-01-07T18:44:47Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2408
| date = January 6, 2021
| title = Egg Strategies
| image = egg_strategies.png
| titletext = Neutral Evil is for people who like keeping the weight nicely centered in the carton, but also hate everyone else who wants that.
}}

==Eggsplanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an EGG LISTENING ANXIOUSLY TO THE RADIO. Please mention here why this eggsplanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows nine egg cartons, each of which contains between five and eight eggs. The cartons are presented in the format of a ''{{W|Dungeons & Dragons}}'' {{w|Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)|alignment chart}}. Originally created as a way of categorizing game characters' motivations, the chart has three possibilities on each axis: lawful/neutral/chaotic on the X axis and good/neutral/evil on the Y axis. Used outside its original purpose, the chart has become a meme used for categorizing things it has no real applicability to. This comic is such a meme. The rationale for deciding how good or evil is based on the TitleText which links how they are balanced in the carton.

A standard egg carton has 12 cups for 12 eggs, but the egg owner is unlikely to consume all 12 eggs at once (unless feeding a great many people, or perhaps making a traditional {{w|pound cake}}). Because of that, the carton will be emptied gradually according to the owners' preference. This comic depicts various possible storage schemes for the unused eggs and assigns them D&D alignments. The final carton, "chaotic evil," shows what appears to be six eggs (counting the yolks) smashed inside the carton.

The center of gravity of the different arrangements shifts as well, contributing to the "goodness" and "lawfulness" of the solutions.

{| class="wikitable"
!Alignment
!Description
!Explanation
|-
|Lawful Good
|Eggs are picked from the edges, with the eggs in the center remaining
|Taking eggs away from the edges of the carton first keeps the center of gravity of the carton in the middle. It also minimizes the moment of inertia, making it easy to rotate the carton to change its orientation. The patterns of eggs and spaces have twofold rotational symmetry around the vertical axis through the center of the carton. According to Randall, this is considered good.
|-
|Neutral Good
|Eggs are picked from the center of the carton, leaving the eggs on the edges.
|This leaves the center of gravity slightly towards the left. While the center of gravity is at the center of the carton when the number of eggs is even, the carton has a relatively high moment of inertia. Randall interprets this as “Neutral Good”
|-
|Chaotic Good
|Eggs are picked randomly, while preserving reflective symmetry between eggs and non-eggs.
|Randomly choosing eggs keeps them roughly equally distributed across the carton, while also being chaotic. If an egg is removed from one side, its reflection (about the vertical plane through the center of the carton, normal to its longest dimension) must remain in place for the sake of symmetry.
|-
|Lawful Neutral
|Eggs are picked from the top row first, then the bottom, starting on one side.
|This is a very organised method of picking eggs from a carton, but the center of mass shifts to one side.
|-
|True Neutral
|Eggs are picked from one side, with both rows being roughly equal.
|The geometry of egg carton allows for easy inserting in the refrigerator shelf. If the carton is inserted with the remaining eggs facing outwards, then the center of the mass is where you would typically grab the carton which allows for very good handling and small chance of accident. Some people consider this method to be optimal [source missing]. However if the carton is inserted with empty space facing outwards – then this is a disaster waiting to happen.
|-
|Chaotic Neutral
|Eggs are picked in a chessboard pattern.
|The center of mass is kept central, but this is a very unusual way of picking eggs from a carton.
|-
|Lawful Evil
|Eggs are kept in the middle of the carton, stacked atop each other in a pyramid shape.
|This keeps the weight nicely centered, but makes it impossible to close the lid of the carton.
|-
|Neutral Evil
|Eggs are stacked in the exact middle of the open carton, in the top row and on the open lid.
|This keeps the weight centered in the carton only when the lid is open. Since the lid is not rigid, someone picking up the carton would have to hold the lid and carton separately so that the eggs don't fall off.
|-
|Chaotic Evil
|Eggs are smashed in the center of the carton.
|The weight is centered but the eggs are broken. They cannot be easily transferred from the carton, and will likely spoil quickly.
|}

An alignment chart was also featured in [[2251: Alignment Chart Alignment Chart]], which was published exactly one year earlier.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[3x3 grid of egg cartons, each containing between 5-8 eggs in an arrangement matching a description of lawful/neutral/chaotic paired with good/neutral/evil]

[each egg carton is depicted from a top-down view, with the lid open and the eggs and their places visible]

'''Top Left - Lawful Good'''

[6 eggs centered

3 in the top row, shifted to the right

3 in the bottom row, shifted to the left]

'''Top Center - Neutral Good'''

[7 eggs

4 in the left side

3 in the right side, with one in the top row and two in the bottom row]

'''Top Right - Chaotic Good'''

[6 eggs spread randomly, while preserving reflective symmetry between eggs and non-eggs]

'''Middle Left - Lawful Neutral'''

[5 eggs all on the bottom row, starting on the left side]

'''Middle Center - True Neutral'''

[7 eggs all to the left side

4 in the top row

3 in the bottom row]

'''Middle Right - Chaotic Neutral'''

[6 eggs staggered in every other space so that each egg is diagonal from the two nearest

no two eggs are directly next to each other side-to-side or up-and-down

3 in the top row, starting in the left most position

3 in the bottom row; starting position second from the left side]

'''Bottom Left - Lawful Evil'''

[8 eggs

6 in the egg carton, centered but offset one place to the left; 3 eggs each on the top and bottom

2 eggs are on top of the 6 that are placed in the carton]

'''Bottom Center - Neutral Evil'''

[8 eggs

3 on the bottom edge of the lid

2 in the top center positions in the egg carton

3 centered on the edge and on top of/between the eggs on the lid and the eggs in the proper positions]

'''Bottom Right - Chaotic Evil'''

[broken eggs in the center of the carton and spilling/splattering over the rest of the carton and onto the lid

6 or 7 yellow-orange yolks are visible

the spilled egg whites are colored light yellow-greenish

several pieces of egg shells, varying in size from approximately one-half to very small chips are mixed in with the yolks and whites]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

2392: Cyber Cafe

2020-11-30T18:35:50Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2392
| date = November 30, 2020
| title = Cyber Cafe
| image = cyber_cafe.png
| titletext = Since we haven't really settled on a name for those online hangout/work spaces that try to recreate the experience of cafes, and I love confusion, I'm going to start calling them 'cyber cafes' or 'internet cafes.'
}}

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

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

Which word in the name "cyber cafe" sounds more dated?
----
2015 - Cyber

2016 - Cyber

2017 - Cyber

2018 - Cyber

2019 - Cyber

2020 - Cafe

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]

1023: Late-Night PBS

2020-11-25T03:45:21Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Locations visited */

{{comic
| number = 1023
| date = February 29, 2012
| title = Late-Night PBS
| image = late night pbs.png
| titletext = Then it switched to these old black-and-white tapes of Bob Ross slumped against the wall of an empty room, painting the least happy trees you've ever seen. Either PBS needs to beef up studio security or I need to stop using Ambien to sleep.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic examines the way the world seems different for adults today compared with how we remember it as a child, due to complex subtext or naïvety, to a humorous extreme, and with a specific reference to {{television}} programs for children.

{{w|PBS}} is a US television station known for high brow and educational programming, and shows a high proportion of {{w|BBC}} programming. The show "''{{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego}}''" was a light-hearted educational game show that ran from 1991 to 1995. In the show players followed geography-based clues to find out where a master criminal, Carmen Sandiego, was going, and catch her. After catching (or failing to catch) Carmen Sandiego, a character called The Chief would congratulate or encourage the players. Rockapella was an {{w|a cappella}} band featured on the show that gave clues, punctuated the show with humor, and closed the show.

[[Megan]] recounts her surprise as to the nature of programming on late night PBS to [[Cueball]]. She claims to have fallen asleep after watching ''{{w|Downton Abbey}}'' and woken up to see that ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego'' is still making new episodes, but is significantly darker than she remembers it. The host has aged poorly (the show would have been off the air for 20 years) and developed a drinking problem; the locations the child contestants visit are traumatizing; and the children are clearly freaked out. In the end they find Carmen Sandiego hiding behind a Dutch bookcase, an allusion to "{{w|The Diary of a Young Girl|The Diary of Anne Frank}}", thus implying that instead of aiding legitimate law enforcement in finding thieves they have been aiding the Nazis in their search for Jews (and others) to murder. The Chief admonishes the children for their actions and Rockapella glares at the children disapprovingly until the children break down in tears.

After Megan concludes her story, Cueball remarks that he did not remember the show being that dark. In response Megan replies that as kids, they may not have been able to understand the darker subtext of the show. It is true that some programs intended for children often have subtle themes for adults who may be watching the show with their children that the children do not usually remember or pick up on. The joke is that although young viewers may not be able to pick up on everything, they would certainly have noticed if the show was as dark as Megan described.

The title text describes the next program, an episode of {{w|The Joy of Painting}}, in which a depressingly weary painter paints unhappy trees. This contrasts with the usual mood of the show where {{w|Bob Ross}} was upbeat and the components of his paintings were described as "happy little" objects. Megan then postulates that either people are breaking into the television station to produce horrible programming, or she is experiencing hallucinations due to her sleep aid {{w|Ambien}}. This gives hallucination as an alternate explanation for the main comic.

===Locations visited===
{{w|Mogadishu}} is the battle-torn capital city of {{w|Somalia}}, where the "{{w|Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu}}" took place in 1993, which would coincide with the air dates of "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego".

The {{w|Killing Fields}} are a number of sites in {{w|Cambodia}} where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the {{w|Khmer Rouge}} regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, following the end of the {{w|Cambodian Civil War}} (1970-1975).

The reference to "A Bookshelf in a Dutch Apartment" is a reference to {{w|Anne Frank}}, a Jewish girl who hid from the {{w|Nazi}}s with her family in a secret annex hidden behind a bookshelf in an apartment in {{w|Amsterdam}}. Her diary recounting her experiences was later published as the {{w|The Diary of a Young Girl|Diary of Anne Frank}}.

===Carmen Sandiego===
"{{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego}}" was originally an educational {{w|Video game}} released in 1985. {{w|Carmen Sandiego}} was a mysterious character that the player tracked around the globe, attempting to find clues as to where she was heading to next. The game helped players learn geography and facts about the world while having fun. The video game inspired the TV show {{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?}}.

The show was split into three rounds. In the first round, there were three child contestants, called “gumshoes” on the show, who scored points for every question they answered correctly. The top two scoring gumshoes moved onto the next round, where they had to play a game based on the card game {{w|Concentration (game)|Concentration}}, in which they had to find the thief, warrant, and loot in the correct order. Whichever gumshoe did so captured the thief, saved the loot, and moved onto the next round, where they had a chance to catch Carmen Sandiego herself. Success was not always guaranteed in this round, as contestants had to plant flags correct on seven different countries in a continent within a very short time. If successful, they captured Carmen and won the grand prize (a trip to a place of their choosing in the continental US). If not, Carmen would escape and the contestant would win a lesser prize (such as a computer).

The role of The Chief was played by {{w|Lynne Thigpen}}. She explained the mission to the contestants, and gave some clues to the thief's last whereabouts. When the mission was over The Chief would appear and congratulate them if successful or console them if Carmen got away.

The host of the TV show was an actor named {{w|Greg Lee (actor)|Greg Lee}}. His role was to ask the contestants questions, provide clues, and tell them which flags to plant on the map in the final round, as well as engage with The Chief and Rockapella to keep the show moving.

{{w|Rockapella}} was an {{w|A cappella|a cappella}} group (a group that sings without any instruments), which sang the theme song to "Where in The World Is Carmen Sandiego." Rockapella also acted as a "house band", singing songs while the contestants transitioned between events, providing clues, and playing pranks on the host along with other gags. At the end of each show, the host and the episode's winning contestant would shout "Do it, Rockapella!" at which point the band would sing the show's theme song.

===Continuity Issues===
The locations the contestants visit in the episode depicted in this comic seem to require traveling backwards in time (1993 for the Battle of Mogadishu, 1975-1979 for the Cambodian killing fields, and 1944 for the arrest of Anne Frank). Episodes of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego did not deal with this, but its successor, {{w|Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)|Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?}}, did.

==Transcript==
:[Megan with disheveled hair is rubbing sleep out of her eyes and talking to Cueball.]
:Megan: Have you ever watched PBS late at night?
:Megan: I fell asleep after ''Downton'' and woke up at like 3 AM.

:[The next panel is split in two. The upper portion, which is not in a frame, continues Megan's dialogue, while the lower part, in a frame, shows a drunk game-show host (indicated with two small bobbles and a third exploding next to his head). He has stubble and only little hair on his head. He is holding a bottle in one hand and the other hand is up over a TV monitor showing a black field filled with crosses, presumably graves, going out to the far off horizon. In front of him are three kids, who are contestants in the game. They stand behind three lecterns to the left. The first kid is a boy with thin black hair, who has turned away from the monitor. The middle kid is a girl with blonde hair in a ponytail who looks at the host, and the last kid looks like Cueball and he looks down at his lectern.]
:Megan (off-panel): ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego'' was back on, except the host hadn't aged well and he'd clearly been drinking.
:Megan (off-panel): Every question took them to some horrible place like Mogadishu or the Cambodian killing fields.

:[In a room with tiles on the floor, a bookshelf full of books has been moved away from the wall revealing that is was a door to be opened with a hidden room behind it. Megan continues to speak, her text is above the shelf but inside the frame this time.]
:Megan (off-panel): The kids were freaked out, but they kept playing. Eventually they were told they'd found Carmen Sandiego hiding behind a bookshelf in a Dutch apartment.

:[Megan has stopped rubbing her eyes but still talks to Cueball.]
:Megan: The Chief appeared and asked "Are you ''proud'' of what you've become?"
:Megan: Then Rockapella walked out and just glared at the kids until they started crying.
:Cueball: I, uh, don't remember the old show being that dark.
:Megan: Maybe we were too young to pick up on it.

==Trivia==
*This is the second comic posted on a Leap Day ({{w|February 29}}), it was a Wednesday in 2012.
**The previous leap day was the first after xkcd began, and that day fell on a Friday in 2008, and the first leap day comic [[390: Nightmares]] was released then.
**The leap day after this comic also fell on a Friday in 2016 and [[1649: Pipelines]] was released then.
**If the current M-W-F schedule continues, the next such comic will not happen before 2036 when the leap day again falls on a Friday.
**Interesting to note that the first three leap years after xkcd began (in just over 10 years) all fell on a release day, then followed by a break of 20 years. And three of these first four leap days all fell on a Friday.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Dreams]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2372: Dialect Quiz

2020-10-14T20:29:18Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2372
| date = October 14, 2020
| title = Dialect Quiz
| image = dialect_quiz.png
| titletext = Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

2370: Prediction

2020-10-09T21:42:10Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2370
| date = October 9, 2020
| title = Prediction
| image = prediction.png
| titletext = You'd think it'd be easy to just bet money against these people, but you have to consider the probability of them paying up.
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

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

2370: Prediction

2020-10-09T21:41:50Z

Emperor-Nathan:

2369: All-in-One

2020-10-07T17:15:32Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2369
| date = October 7, 2020
| title = All-in-One
| image = all_in_one.png
| titletext = Changes with this update: If you use the combined scan-shred function, it now performs them in that order instead of the reverse, saving a HUGE amount of CPU time.
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

2363: Message Boards

2020-09-23T22:49:30Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2363
| date = September 24, 2020
| title = Message Boards
| image = message_boards.png
| titletext = (c) You can have a scooter when you pay for it yourself, and (d) if you can't learn to start a new thread rather than responding to an old one, you'll be banned. [thread locked by moderator]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by your daughter who was here pointing out your hypocrisy. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The joke of this comic lies in the dates of the forum posts and the relation between the posters.

The initial post was made in 2000 by an, at the time, teenaged girl, complaining that her mother did not want her to get a vehicle - the reply was written in 2020, twenty years later, by the now-adult woman's son, Julian, who is complaining that, 20 years previously, his mother complained to her mother about something that he is now complaining to his mother about.

In the title text, the parent is apparently a mod on that board now and threatens banning if the kid doesn't learn to post a new thread for stuff like this instead of dredging up dead threads from years ago, a common complaint on message boards, except in this case it seems to be more about hiding her hypocrisy from other users on the board than for the usual reason of letting dead threads stay dead.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Social networking]]

1092: Michael Phelps

2020-09-15T22:43:11Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1092
| date = August 8, 2012
| title = Michael Phelps
| image = michael phelps.png
| titletext = [shortly] ...he ate ALL of it!?
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Michael Phelps}} is an American {{w|Olympics|Olympic}} swimmer, who could easily be considered the best swimmer worldwide: he is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, with 28 medals, 23 of them gold (won in the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 summer Olympics, so it would have been 18 Olympic gold medals at the time the comic was published). He was most dominant in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he won gold in all of the eight events in which he competed, the record for a single games.

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] find that the Olympic medalist is in Megan's pool. He refuses to leave, and is too fast to be caught. Cueball brings in boxes of Jello Mix to fill the pool with, thereby gelifying the pool and trapping Phelps or forcing him to leave.

However, according to the title text, after having waited the time necessary for the water to gelify, Cueball realizes that Phelps has eaten all of the resulting Jello. This may be a reference to Phelps being used to eating impressive food quantities (about 12,000 calories daily), to keep up with his strenuous exercise regimen;[http://www.michaelphelps.net/michael-phelps-diet/] or it may be a reference to pictures of Phelps smoking from a bong that arose after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, as Marijuana use is often associated with an increased appetite. Otherwise, the text may simply be a reference to Phelps being capable of achieving super-human feats, such as devouring an entire pool full of Jello.

Interestingly enough, just pouring Jello powder into a pool would not solidify the water into Jello. The water would have to be boiled, then quickly chilled, for the Jello to set correctly. As Randall is a scientist, he should have known this; therefore, it's possible that he purposefully ignored this fact in favor of the humor. Michael Phelps' top speed is also only around 2.3 m/s, which can easily be outrun by anyone on land.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball standing outside their en-Phelps-ified swimming pool.]
:Cueball: Why is Michael Phelps in your backyard pool?
:Megan: I don't know. He's been there all day. ''Go home, Michael!''
:Michael Phelps: Woo! 18 gold medals!

:[Megan and Cueball break out a pair of pool nets and unsuccessfully try to snag Phelps.]
:Cueball: Can you get him?
:Megan: He's so '''''fast'''''!
:Phelps: Ha hah! Can't catch me!
:''Splash splash''

:[Cueball heads off to fetch something.]

:[Cueball returns with a hand truck full of Jello mix.]
:Phelps: Oh crap.

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Category:Internet

2020-09-14T23:06:30Z

Emperor-Nathan:

The {{w|internet}} and {{w|internet culture}} is a recurring xkcd theme.
[[Category:Comics by topic]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Category:Wikipedia

2020-09-14T23:06:09Z

Emperor-Nathan:

[[Category:Comics by topic]]
[[Category:Internet]]

2359: Evidence of Alien Life

2020-09-14T20:08:45Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2359
| date = September 14, 2020
| title = Evidence of Alien Life
| image = evidence_of_alien_life.png
| titletext = Both too cautious AND not cautious enough: "I'm skeptical that those are aliens, so I'm going to try pulling off their masks."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPROPRIATELY CAUTIOUS ALIEN BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic depicts a table of possible responses to new information on the possibility of alien life. It is presented in table form, with the columns representing three categories of reaction to new evidence, and the rows representing the strength of new evidence. Each intersection then shows a small scenario of what the response would be. The left and right hand column's scenarios are hyperbolic in either their acceptance or denial. The center column represents the reasonable course of action.

This comic was likely a reaction to [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/science/venus-life-clouds.html the discovery of phosphine gas on Venus]. Phosphine is a molecule with no known abiotic way of being produced, meaning that its discovery could be a potential sign of life on Venus.

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

{{comic discussion}}

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

2357: Polls vs the Street

2020-09-10T04:12:41Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2357
| date = September 9, 2020
| title = Polls vs the Street
| image = polls_vs_the_street.png
| titletext = Other pollsters complain about declining response rates, but our poll showed that 96% of respondents would be 'somewhat likely' or 'very likely' to agree to answer a series of questions for a survey.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by AN APPRECIATIVE CAR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic discusses getting data or opinions through a study (polls) or by getting them anecdotally (on the street). The phrase "voice on the street" is commonly used by news reporters who get opinions on issues by literally asking people walking by what they think, and has been previously mentioned (and derided) in [[756: Public Opinion]].

Many news organizations conduct polls (or pay polling firms to conduct polls) to assess the opinions of "the public". Many news shows also conduct "man-on-the-street" interviews (more formally known as ''{{w|vox populi}}'', "voice of the people"), to provide a human face of "the public" and engage viewers more. Many pollsters, pundits, and politicians worry about gaps between polls and ground-truth, as in the infamous "{{w|Dewey Defeats Truman}}" newspaper headline, and so White Hat is here extolling the virtues of interviewing [https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Appeal-to-Common-Folk "real people"] to get at that ground truth.

His first objection, that polls suggest "candidate X" is more favored, while the people on the street that White Hat interviews are more supportive of "candidate Y", sounds reasonable enough. (Based on when this comic was released, it may refer to the upcoming {{w|2020 United States elections}}.) In fact, it is already a topic of concern by pollsters, known variously as the "{{w|Bradley effect}}", "{{w|shy Tory factor}}", or "{{w|silent majority}}," where some people will publicly profess one preference to a pollster but then vote some other way on the ballot. However, it quickly becomes clear that White Hat's methodology is driven by his own biases. It seems that he is literally just talking to people on the streets of his own town (where it's logistically impossible for the majority of people to live or visit; see [https://what-if.xkcd.com/8/ What If? #8]), and furthermore is conducting his conversations literally within the street itself, flouting traffic laws, rather than on sidewalks (perhaps a reference to the COVID-19 pandemic). It is true that he's getting "ground truth", but it's also true that he's only sampling a very small (and highly idiosyncratic) part of the whole population.

In the final panel, White Hat claims that, contrary to polls stating that playing in traffic is unpopular, everybody he meets on the street enjoys it. This is a joke about the phrase "on the street". Usually this phrase means people walking on the sidewalk beside a road, but White Hat is presumably taking the phrase literally and interviewing people he finds on the roadway. Most people have enough sense not to walk on the road for an extended period of time, but the ones who are found on the roadway must be those who have no qualms about darting around traffic on foot, despite the dangers. Hence the people he interviews enjoy playing in traffic.

The title text is a joke about {{w|selection bias}} and {{w|tautology}}. People who don't feel like taking surveys wouldn't get as far as answering a survey question about survey questions.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:White Hat: Polls are just numbers.
:White Hat: You have to talk to people on the ''street''.

:White Hat: Polls ''say'' most people support <Candidate X>.
:White Hat: But the people I talk to on the ''street'' support <Candidate Y>.

:White Hat: Polls ''claim'' most people don't live in my town and have never been here.
:White Hat: But the people I meet on the ''street'' tell a very different story.

:White Hat: According to ''polls'', most people don't like playing in traffic.
:White Hat: So why do I never seem to meet these people on the ''street''?

{{comic discussion}}

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

2357: Polls vs the Street

2020-09-09T23:31:54Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2357
| date = September 10, 2020
| title = Polls vs the Street
| image = polls_vs_the_street.png
| titletext = Other pollsters complain about declining response rates, but our poll showed that 96% of respondents would be 'somewhat likely' or 'very likely' to agree to answer a series of questions for a survey.
}}

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

1571: Car Model Names

2020-09-09T13:39:03Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 1571
| date = August 31, 2015
| title = Car Model Names
| image = car_model_names.png
| titletext = CLIMAX is good, but SEXCLIMAX is even better.
}}

==Explanation==
In English, letters like X and Z are rarely used in the common vernacular. Marketers have found that names with these infrequently-appearing letters sell more products.

;Scores

There are two explanations for scores. Both of them share the fact that [[Randall]] must have used a car-name database to calculate letter frequency in car models.

There are 19 positive scores and 17 negative scores, which is interpreted differently in each explanation.

;Score(x) = Frequency_in_cars(x) - Frequency_in_English(x)
This formula generates a positive number if a letter is more common in car models than in typical English (as X) which Randall then calls carlike. The formula generates a negative number if a letter's relative frequency in car models is lower than in typical English (as O) and Randall calls it English-like (more suitable for readable text). The letters F and B, with scores of 5 and -5, respectively, are about as common in English as in car models. With this nomenclature, the most English-like letter is Y because, while not the most common English letter, it is apparently extremely rare in car models. The most common letter in ordinary English is E, which is (presumably) fairly common in car models.

;Score(x) = Frequency_in_cars(x)
It seems that Randall arbitrarily used positive and negative numbers: if a letter is very common in car models (as X) he calls it carlike. If a letter is very uncommon in car models (as O) he calls it English-like. With this nomenclature the most English-like letter is Y, but actually Y is the least carlike letter. The most common letter in ordinary English is E. Y on the other hand is just in the middle (place 13), which can't be called English-like.

;Algorithm for the index
Randall devised an index for car models which is the score average divided by 10.

;Example
We take 2Chainz and add the scores of its different numbers and letters: 6 +27 -44 -14 -21 -46 +83 = -9

Average is -9/7 = -1.29 and divided by 10 it's -0.129 or -0.13.

;Names to avoid
*Honda '''2Chainz''' - {{w|2 Chainz}} is an American rapper
*Mitsubishi '''Fhqwhgads''' - A reference to a running joke on {{w|Homestar Runner}}. See http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Fhqwhgads
*Kia '''49andGothy''' - Gothy or gothic is a member of the {{w|goth subculture}}; most of its members are much younger than 49
*Chevrolet '''Niceguy''' - A reference to the idiom "nice guys finish last".
*Oldsmobile '''Goodwood''' - May be a reference to the {{w|Goodwood Festival of Speed}}
*Infiniti '''Toothy69''' - "69" is slang for a sex position where two participants pleasure each other orally; for obvious reasons, many would not want teeth involved.
*BMW '''Outhouse''' - Loose standing toilet, or {{w|Outhouse}}.
*Volkswagen '''Woodpony 7oh7''' - Wood ponies are wooden constructions to give kids (and sometimes adults) the feeling of riding a horse, but don't actually move. 7oh7 is a way to pronounce 707, which could be a reference to the Boeing 707 passenger jet series.
*Chrysler '''Uh Iono''' - When pronounced, sounds roughly like someone slurring "Uh, I don't know" [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=iono]
*Nissan '''Doody''' - An incredibly juvenile term meaning feces. May reference the unfortunately named {{w|Nissan Moco}}, which is Spanish for snot

;Potential Hits
*Honda '''3Chainz''' - A play on 2Chainz in the previous section; according to the table the number 2 has a score of 6 and the number 3 has a higher score of 55; the index will go up by (55-6)/7/10=0.7.
*Subaru '''Andre3000''' - {{w|André 3000}} is an American rapper
*Suzuki '''Sexism''' - Akihiro Suzuki is a Tokyo city assemblyman who made sexist remarks in June 2014.
*Lincoln '''Marxism''' - {{w|Marxism}} is a political method of societal analysis which has been used to critique {{w|Capitalism}}. There are various essays noting {{w|Karl Marx|its founder}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} exchanged letters during the American civil war. Lincoln is also the marque for the {{w|Ford Motor Company}}'s luxury vehicles, capitalist status symbols throughout the late 20th century. Its juxtaposition with Marxism is thus particularly ironic.
*Hyundai '''Climax''' - In this context, an {{w|orgasm}}. The title text finds an excuse to add another "x" with the model '''SexClimax'''.
*Porsche '''Zizek9000''' - A portmanteau referencing academic {{w|Slavoj Žižek}} and the {{w|Saab 9000}}
*Lexus '''3×3Cutrix''' - 3×3 is a play on 4×4; this car presumably has 3 wheels. "Executrix" (in {{w|leet}} "3×3Cutrix") is the female counterpart of "executor", one who administers a will.
*Acura '''PizzaJazz''' - The letter Z has a very high score, so using 4 of them in a fairly short name makes this a potential hit.
*Ford '''SixAxle 4×4''' - A contradictory name, as the 4×4 refers to a vehicle that has all four wheels connected to the drivetrain, which would only use two axles. May also be a reference to the Sony PlayStation's {{w|Sixaxis controller}}.
*Toyota '''Cervixxx''' - A portmanteau of {{w|cervix}} and XXX rating used by pornographic industry to make titles seem more extreme (see {{w|X rating}}). It being the highest scoring item on the list may be an attempt to show that {{w|sex sells}}.

Note that Randall gives the symbol × the value of 126, which means he equates it with the letter x.
:index(3×3Cutrix) = (+55 + score(×) +55 +27 -68 -18 +8 -21 +126)/9/10 = 3.22. This means that the score of the symbol × is 90×3.22 - 164 = 125.8

;Title text
As mentioned in the comic, the index for the word "climax" is 2.48. However, applying the index to the phrase "sexclimax" yields a value of 2.72, higher than that for "climax".

==Transcript==
:{| style="text-align:center; border:0px; width:63%;"
| '''Certain letters and numbers are used disproportionately often in car models compared to regular text.'''
|-
| (see:"Rev-4 cr-x x3 G6 Maxx")
|}

:{| style="text-align:center; border:1pt black solid;"
| colspan="37" | '''Letter and number scores based on relative frequency in car model names'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Carlike
|| 60
||
|| 6
|| 55
|| 35
|| 74
|| 6
||
||
||
||
||
|| 27
||
||
|| 5
|| 27
||
||
|| 64
|| 32
|| 12
|| 19
||
||
||
|| 40
|| 8
|| 15
||
||
|| 41
||
|| 126
||
|| 83
|-
||
|| '''0'''
|| '''1'''
|| '''2'''
|| '''3'''
|| '''4'''
|| '''5'''
|| '''6'''
|| '''7'''
|| '''8'''
|| '''9'''
|| '''A'''
|| '''B'''
|| '''C'''
|| '''D'''
|| '''E'''
|| '''F'''
|| '''G'''
|| '''H'''
|| '''I'''
|| '''J'''
|| '''K'''
|| '''L'''
|| '''M'''
|| '''N'''
|| '''O'''
|| '''P'''
|| '''Q'''
|| '''R'''
|| '''S'''
|| '''T'''
|| '''U'''
|| '''V'''
|| '''W'''
|| '''X'''
|| '''Y'''
|| '''Z'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | English-like
||
|| -74
||
||
||
||
||
|| -58
|| -67
|| -37
|| -14
|| -5
||
|| -21
|| -45
||
||
|| -44
|| -21
||
||
||
||
|| -46
|| -80
|| -27
||
||
||
|| -18
|| -68
||
|| -20
||
|| -90
||
|}

:{| style="text-align:center; border:0px; width:63%;"
| '''Based on these scores, here are a few suggestions for car companies:'''
|-
| (with average letter scores)
|}

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; border:1pt black solid; width:63%;"
| colspan="2" | '''Names to avoid'''
| colspan="2" | '''Potential hits'''
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:25%; color:#808080;" | Honda
| style="text-align:left;" | '''2Chainz''' (-0.13)
| style="text-align:right; width:25%; color:#808080;" | Honda
| style="text-align:left;" | '''3Chainz''' (0.57)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Mitsubishi
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Fhqwhgads''' (-0.62)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Subaru
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Andre3000''' (1.30)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Kia
| style="text-align:left;" | '''49AndGothy''' (-2.96)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Suzuki
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Sexism''' (1.82)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Chevrolet
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Niceguy''' (-3.09)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Lincoln
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Marxism''' (2.17)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Oldsmobile
| style="text-align:left;" | '''GoodWood''' (-4.44)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Hyundai
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Climax''' (2.48)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Infinity
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Toothy69''' (-4.51)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Porsche
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Zizek9000''' (3.06)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | BMW
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Outhouse''' (-4.85)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Lexus
| style="text-align:left;" | '''3x3Cutrix''' (3.22)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Volkswagen
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Woodpony 7OH7''' (-5.70)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Acura
| style="text-align:left;" | '''PizzaJazz''' (3.56)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Chrysler
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Uh Iono''' (-5.65)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Ford
| style="text-align:left;" | '''SixAxle 4x4''' (3.95)
|-
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Nissan
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Doody''' (-5.84)
| style="text-align:right; color:#808080;" | Toyota
| style="text-align:left;" | '''Cervixxx''' (4.85)
|}

==Trivia==
*Later after the initial release of this comic Randall added a link to this page. It's viewable in the HTML-source or here: [https://xkcd.com/1571/info.0.json https://xkcd.com/1571/info.0.json]. The text is: ''"A full explanation of THE CUNNING REFERENCES in this are at http:\n\nwww.explainxkcd.com\nwiki\nindex.php\n1571"''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Sex]]

1445: Efficiency

2020-09-09T13:38:54Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 1445
| date = November 10, 2014
| title = Efficiency
| image = efficiency.png
| titletext = I need an extension for my research project because I spent all month trying to figure out whether learning Dvorak would help me type it faster.
}}

==Explanation==
There are often multiple ways in which to deal with a problem or task. There may be a ''most efficient'' method, though sometimes the differences in efficiency between methods is only slight. People often try to save unnecessary work by first determining which is the "best" method - either the easiest or the most efficient. This can be a good approach, particularly where the savings prove to be significant. But it can also prove to be more time-consuming than just doing the task using one of the most obvious methods. The comic humorously exaggerates this.

One method of trying to determine the best way of performing a task is to perform {{w|A/B testing}} where a trial is performed where the two strategies, A and B, are implemented and compared. Often the two strategies are simple to implement (for instance, two versions of a web page with different text and colours to determine which provides the better rate of click through) and therefore the amount of time required to implement the strategies (the "time cost") could easily be considerably less than the time to determine if the results are statistically significant.

The title text references a supposed incident in which [[Randall]] did not commence writing a research paper because he spent the entire assignment period deciding whether to learn an entirely different keyboard layout just to potentially be slightly more efficient in his typing speed. It refers to the {{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} keyboard layout, an alternative to the most commonly accepted {{w|QWERTY}} layout. Some believe the Dvorak keyboard offers greater typing efficiency. Efficiency of the Dvorak keyboard layout was mentioned in the title text of [[561: Well]], where it was stated that it was not more effective, and by now it has become a [[:Category:Dvorak|recurrent theme]] on xkcd.

Other comics about spending too many resources on decisions that ultimately might not matter include [[309: Shopping Teams]] and [[1801: Decision Paralysis]]. Several other comics address similarly wasted time due to bad time management; see for instance [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] or the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Time_management Time management category].

==Transcript==
:[A bar chart is shown below its title:]
:<big>'''Time Cost'''</big>

:[The chart consist of a dividing line, with three labels to the left, and the three black bars to the right. The first two bars are short, the second slightly longer than the first. The last bar is much longer, about 13 time as long as the first shortest bar.]
:Strategy A
:Strategy B
:Analyzing whether strategy A or B is more efficient

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The reason I am so inefficient

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Time management]]
[[Category:Dvorak]]

1301: File Extensions

2020-09-09T13:38:46Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 1301
| date = December 9, 2013
| title = File Extensions
| image = file_extensions.png
| titletext = I have never been lied to by data in a .txt file which has been hand-aligned.
}}

==Explanation==
Computer file names often end in {{w|file extension}}s like ".ppt" or ".exe". These extensions are a holdover from early operating systems like {{W|DOS}} in which filenames had a maximum eight characters followed by a period and the three-character extension. The extension was used by the operating system to determine filetype so that the system would know how to handle the file (e.g. which program could open the file). Newer operating systems and file systems now accept longer-than eight-character filenames, and extensions of greater than three characters; although most extensions remain three characters.

Most extensions are created as proprietary to certain pieces of software, although software by other developers may later be designed to be able to read the format. For example, .doc is a Microsoft Word document, although because of that software's popularity, many word processors include the ability to open .doc files. Some common file extensions are not proprietary to a piece of software and may be handled by various programs; .jpg or .gif images are examples. In either case, a file's extension is generally a good indicator of what type of data the file contains.

Certain file types are more prevalent for certain uses, with some being almost exclusive to one use, while other are in general use and might contain almost anything. Here, [[Randall]] presents a series of file extensions which often contain information, and he is rating the reliability of the information they generally contain from most reliable to least.

*{{w|.tex}} files are source files for the programs {{w|TeX}} and {{w|LaTeX}}, which are used often and almost exclusively by academics, especially in mathematics and the hard sciences. .tex pretty much means serious business, and Randall does not anticipate that anyone would use such a format other than for reliable information.
*{{w|.pdf}} files are a '''p'''ortable (as in over the web) '''d'''ocument '''f'''ormat by Adobe, frequently used for publication. Companies use them for official documentation. Thus, a .pdf file is likely to be some type of final product or polished work. Further, .tex files are generally compiled into .pdf files in order to make them readable. It would be strange to trust a .tex file without trusting the .pdf to which it compiles. For example, when submitting to academic journals in math and the hard sciences, the journal accepts the .tex file, but then compiles it and publishes the resulting .pdf. On the other hand, software which can produce a .doc/.xls(x), as described below, these days tends to have an inbuilt or addable ability to "Export to PDF", with the promise of slightly more read-onlyness and localisation-immunity than the .doc, so it might arise - in good faith or otherwise - from a less professional editor ''trying'' to look a little more serious about the copy they distribute in this document format.
*{{w|.csv}} are '''c'''omma-'''s'''eparated '''v'''alues: tables of information delimited by commas, and often consist of computer-generated raw data (from, say, a scientific experiment or a database).
*{{w|.txt}} files contain only plain text, no "rich text" or anything fancy. Programmers often use them for README files. The txt format indicates that the creator prioritizes recording the information over making the information visually appealing, although {{w|ASCII art}} images or multiline 'bannering' of text might be included by some authors.
*{{w|.svg}} files are a ('''s'''calable) '''v'''ector '''g'''raphics format used a lot for diagrams, such as on Wikipedia.
*{{w|.xls}} and {{w|.xlsx}} files are spreadsheets used and created by the program Microsoft Excel, part of a bundle of applications known as Microsoft Office (also supported by compatible free software such as LibreOffice). These applications are very commonly used, especially for business, finance and data analysis tasks. {{w|.xls}} is a binary format used for Excel versions up to 2003, while {{w|.xlsx}} is a ZIPped XML-based format used for Excel versions 2007 and later.
*{{w|.doc}} files are a rich-text document format used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft Word}}, another application in the Microsoft Office bundle. As with .xls, almost anyone with access to Microsoft Office could easily make one of these. While Excel is generally used for creating tables and presenting data, Word could be used for any text-based document. Thus, Word documents tend to be far more prevalent and casually created than Excel documents, which is presumably why Randall doesn't trust them as much.
*{{w|.png}} files are a bitmap image format designed for the Internet. They enjoy wide popularity for providing crisp, full-color images with lossless (reversible) compression. Almost all xkcd comics, this diagram included, use PNG. But since he rates the format so low, is Randall saying we shouldn't trust this chart?
*{{w|.ppt}} files are used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft PowerPoint}}; as with the other two Office applications, almost anyone could easily make one of these. As they are usually used for presentations rather than documents, the information in them may be arranged differently, possibly to "dumb down" the content, or in marketing materials or talks in which the author may not be very objective. Further, several years ago, PowerPoint presentations were sometimes included instead of plain images as attachments in e-mail forwards containing inaccurate information. These emails still occasionally circulate, and may be the source of Randall's distrust.
*{{w|.jpg}} files are another image format with high compression capabilities, good for storing photos and not so good for many other things. Photographs in general are prone to image manipulation, hence Randall's low score for this file format.
*{{w|.jpeg}} files are the same thing as .jpg files, but these are more likely to have been created manually rather than automatically, making them even less reliable.
*{{w|.gif}} files are yet another bitmap image format, notable for supporting short animations. GIF was once ''the'' Internet image file format until PNG gradually replaced it. Since GIF is the only common image format capable of animation, it is often used to contain things like silly clips of cats falling into boxes, or annoying, blinking advertisements claiming that you're the '''[[570|100,000,000]]th VISITOR!'''. GIFs are also created by Internet trolls, such as on 4chan.org, to feed misinformation to gullible gamers and computer users. For example, a recent [http://mashable.com/2013/12/09/xbox-one-hoax-4chan-backward-compatible/ Xbox One Hoax GIF] contained instructions that were said to make the Xbox One backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games, but would actually make the console inoperable.

Note that while the extensions .xls/.xlsx, .doc, and .ppt were originally exclusive only to Microsoft Office and users of Windows, there now exist a number of open source programs such as Open Office, Libre Office, and some Android apps that are capable of editing such files. These programs can run on systems other than just Windows, such as Linux, perhaps contributing to making them even more widespread and easy to make than before.

The title text refers to how .txt files contain only plain text and nothing else, meaning that any alignment (such as for indentation, tables, or {{w|Justification (typesetting)|justification}}) would have to be performed manually by adding in spaces or tabs. Anyone who would go through such an effort to improve their text's readability is likely to be trustworthy, and almost by definition, the opinion presented would be justified.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the bar chart:]
:Trustworthiness of Information by File Extension

:[A line is going down and from that gray bars charting the trustworthiness in a bar graph that goes both left and right of the line. No units or figures are given. For ease of comprehension this transcript will arbitrarily designate the highest score as [+100]; subsequent scores are estimates based on the size of their bars.]
:[+100]: .tex
:[+89]: .pdf
:[+85]: .csv
:[+67]: .txt
:[+65]: .svg
:[+49]: .xls/.xlsx
:[+21]: .doc
:[+15]: .png
:[+14]: .ppt
:[+3]: .jpg
:[-8]: .jpeg
:[-36]: .gif

==Trivia==
The various extensions are, for the most part, abbreviations of the file type.
*.tex isn't short for anything, {{w|TeX}} (that lowercase e is very important) is in fact the full name of the program
*.pdf is an acronym for Portable Document Format
*.csv is an acronym for Comma-Separated Values
*.txt is short for "text" - the 8.3 format meant the vowel was dropped
*.svg is an acronym for Scalable Vector Graphics
*.xls is short for eXceL Sheet (it's also why Microsoft Excel has an "X" on its icon rather than an "E")
*The extra x in .xlsx (.docx and .pptx) refers to the upgrade from binary to ZIPped '''X'''ML for those formats
*.doc is short for DOCument
*.ppt is short of PowerPoinT presentation
*.png is an acronym for Portable Network Graphics
*.jpg is short for .jpeg - the 8.3 format again removed the vowel
*.jpeg is an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the organization that created the standard
*.gif is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1273: Tall Infographics

2020-09-09T13:38:39Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 1273
| date = October 4, 2013
| title = Tall Infographics
| image = tall_infographics.png
| titletext = 'Big Data' doesn't just mean increasing the font size.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a satirical {{w|infographic}}, which is usually used to simplify and help visualize information that would be dreadfully boring otherwise. [[Randall]] takes this "simplification" to the extreme by making an unhelpful infographic, complete with unnecessary data and ironic and blatant misuse of common graphs and charts. At this point, he is not even simplifying his sentence "By the year 2019, all information will be communicated in this clear and concise format." He makes a sarcastic claim, pointing out how needlessly complicated some infographics make things they are supposed to condense.

In the chart:
*The number 2019 is huge and placed between the numbers 2018 and 2020, which is bordering on extraneous considering that the fact that 2019 precedes 2020 and succeeds 2018 is blindingly obvious.
*The graph of information represented by this format is extrapolated off of and intersects with 100% at 2019. This is a running joke on xkcd and is ridiculous for multiple reasons, as shown in [[605: Extrapolating]] and [[1007: Sustainable]].
*The word "information" has the letters "info" highlighted differently for the typical abbreviation despite the text splitting after the "r", a rather silly graphical styling.
*A pie chart, with one part labeled "will" and one part labeled "be", which is completely nonsensical as pie charts compare the sizes of two populations, and "will" and "be" are merely words and are not being used as populations.
*"6 years from now" is more blindingly obvious fact at the time (2013).
*"72 months" is an unneeded and obvious conversion from six years; it is also {{w|false precision}} as 2019 (January 1) arrives 63 months from the comic date. The word "months" is also split across two lines, mid-syllable.
*A corny illustration of [[Megan]] telling [[Hairy]] the word "communicated" and Hairy enthusiastically responding "Yes!", despite the absurdity of the situation.
*The word "this" in huge font, and the word "in" with a bracket, taking up an inordinate amount of space.
*A {{w|Venn diagram}}. As anyone who has seen a Venn diagram knows, the two circles are two concepts or qualities, and objects or concepts that fit inside the circles go within. The words "clear and concise" plastered across the Venn diagram have absolutely nothing to do with Venn diagrams, and are ludicrously inappropriate for this jumbled and overblown presentation, but the word "AND" is in the intersection of the two circles, which is meta-humorous.
*In the lowermost bar graph, the bar height shows the alphabetic position of each letter of the word ''FORMAT'' (the bar labeled "F" has a height of 6, the "O" bar has a height of 15, etc.), with T highlighted because it is the highest.

It is also likely that this comic is a send up of the recent trend towards presenting information in tall graphics that are easily viewed on smartphone screens. A tall graphic with the same pixel width as an iPhone, for example, can viewed without zooming and using only vertical scrolling. Another discussion venue for the topic and this comic is [http://gizmodo.com/tall-infographics-suck-1441047853 Gizmodo: Tall Infographics Suck].

The prediction communicated in the comic did not actually happen by the year 2019.{{Citation needed}}

The title text mentions the often-hyped term "{{w|big data}}." "Big data" normally refers to the challenges of working with and visualizing a quantity of data which is hard to process using traditional tools and methods. Randall, now speaking unsarcastically, tells us that just because the font size is huge doesn't mean you have handled the big data well.

==Transcript==
:BY THE ''YEAR''
:2018 <big>'''2019'''</big> 2020
:'''ALL''' ''INFO''Rmation
:[Graph representing all information.]
:[X axis of graph: '''6''' YEARS from now ('''72''' months)]
:'''WILL''' BE [in two segments of a pie chart]
:Megan: COMMUNICATED
:Hairy: Yes!
:'''in THIS'''
:''CLEAR'' '''''and''''' '''CONCISE''' [in a Venn diagram]
:'''F O R M A ''T''''' [on the x axis of a bar graph of where these letters fall in the alphabet (the bar labeled T is shaded with a different color)]
:[Arrow pointing to the bar labeled "T": '''T''']

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Extrapolation]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Pie charts]]

1162: Log Scale

2020-09-09T13:38:23Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 1162
| date = January 18, 2013
| title = Log Scale
| image = log scale.png
| titletext = Knuth Paper-Stack Notation: Write down the number on pages. Stack them. If the stack is too tall to fit in the room, write down the number of pages it would take to write down the number. THAT number won't fit in the room? Repeat. When a stack fits, write the number of iterations on a card. Pin it to the stack.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic strip is a [[:Category:Tips|tip]], specifically the first [[:Category:Science tip|''science'' tip]]. As with most of Randall's tips, it is technically interesting for some applications but not very practical.

Uranium is stated to have 76 million MJ/kg, while the next highest material shown on the graph (gasoline) has 46 MJ/kg. Thus the uranium graph should be taller by a factor of 76,000,000/46 = 1.652 million. So, if the gasoline graph were 9mm in height, the uranium graph should be a bit more than 14.868 million mm tall, or nearly 15 km (9.2 miles) tall. Thus the need to fold the paper.

It should be noted that the method of extracting energy from the first 4 materials ({{w|combustion}}) is completely different from the method used with uranium ({{w|nuclear fission}}). If the technology existed to use {{w|nuclear fusion}}, then the first 4 materials would yield a higher energy density than uranium.

A {{w|Logarithmic scale|log scale}} is a way of showing largely unequal data sizes in a comprehensible way, using an exponential function between each notch on the y axis of a graph. So for example the first on a Y axis of a graph using a log-10-scale would be 1, then 10, then 100 and 1000 for the fourth. A {{w|logarithm|log/logarithmic function}} is the {{w|inverse function|inverse}} of a corresponding {{w|Exponential growth|exponential function}}. A log-scale version of the chart in the comic would look like this:

[[File:Log_Chart_1162.png]]

The log scale can also be abused to make data look more uniform than it really is. On a log scale the energy density of uranium looks larger than that of the other materials, but not dramatically so. The joke is that if one wanted to make their point "properly," they would go ahead and use ridiculous amounts of paper to show the difference between bars using a linear scale; this method would focus more on the shock factor of the differences in question, and less on actual communication/representation of data. Cueball seems to be passionate about the MJ/kg of uranium, so he would rather demonstrate the grandeur of the data than use a more efficient scale.

See {{w|Logarithmic scale#Common usages|these examples}} for well known day-to-day measurements which are measured on a log-scale.

The title text mentions computer scientist {{w|Donald Knuth}}; the fictional notation is a parody of {{w|Knuth's up-arrow notation}}. Using paper thickness as the basis for a log scale would probably give the exponential function a very large base. However, it can be noted that Knuth's up-arrow notation can handle numbers far, far larger than this paper stack notation; for example the number 3↑↑↑3, very compact in up-arrow notation, would require a number of iterations pinned to the stack on the order of several trillion. 3↑↑↑↑3 would require a number of iterations that is not only too large to write down, but attempting to write that number using the same paper stack notation would require printing off a ''second'' stack of several trillion iterations just to hold the ''number'' pinned to the first stack.

It should be noted that Randall has used log scales in past comics.

==Transcript==
:[A bar chart on a piece of paper, with a second piece of paper attached to it.]
:[Title of the bar chart] fuel energy density of different materials in megajoules/kg
:[Values of the first 4 bars on the paper] 19 24 39 46
:[The different bars for Sugar, Coal Fat and Gasoline and Uranium on a linear scale with the bar for Uranium exceeding on the attached stack of paper]
:[Labels of the 5 bars on the paper] Sugar Coal Fat Gasoline Uranium
:[The uranium bar on the chart goes off the page onto a huge strip of paper folded up into a stack slightly taller than Cueball.]
:[Value on the top end of the paper strip] 76 000 000
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Science Tip: Log scales are for quitters who can't find enough paper to make their point ''properly''.

==Trivia==
This comic was seen in the [[What If?]] book, taken from "a certain webcomic".

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Science tip]]

1019: First Post

2020-09-09T13:37:38Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 1019
| date = February 20, 2012
| title = First Post
| image = first_post.png
| titletext = 'Nuh-uh! We let users vote on comments and display them by number of votes. Everyone knows that makes it impossible for a few persistent voices to dominate the discussion.'
}}

==Explanation==
Many news websites allow users to post comments on an article. The intention is that users can debate the stance(s) or implication(s) made by the article. On most sites, comments are displayed in chronological order. This puts the oldest comments at the top and newest at the bottom.

There are many pitfalls to allowing comments, but this comic refers to one in particular: most users are too busy to read more than just the top few comments. Therefore, if you were able to control the content of those comments, your opinions would be the ones that the majority of users read. If you pay people to do nothing but read the site, you ensure that they will be the first ones to see the article and that their comments (that you pay them to write) will be at the top of the page. In this scenario, the comments being posted appear to convey a particular political belief. The advantage of this is, according to [[Randall]], that it would be much cheaper to employ a college student to perform that task than pay a website for an advertisement. Also, the fact that it is a comment posted by another reader would make it seem as though the opinion was coming from the general population and not a politician or company, as an advertisement would imply. And $20/hour was (and as of this writing still is) significantly higher than the {{w|minimum wage}}, so you'd have no trouble finding willing participants among college students (who are often broke).

This comic is a continuation of [[937: TornadoGuard]] which stated "the problem with star ratings". Apparently, every possible comment ordering policy has its own problems.

The title text refers to systems like {{w|Reddit|Reddit's}} {{w|conversation threading}} which allow users to vote comments up or down and to sort them by the resulting "karma score" (total up-votes minus total down-votes). The same problem persists to some extent: after a few comments are posted and some votes are cast, the handful of comments having received the highest scores among the first dozen of so will receive far better chances at being seen and voted on than comments posted later, and will solidify their places in a positive {{w|Feedback|feedback}} loop. In this way, a few persistent voices can still dominate the discussion, contrary to the claim in the title text, thus creating irony.

The comic's title refers to a once-common form of online posturing where the first user to see the article will comment "First post" or even just "First". The intent is that everyone else see that they were there first and, therefore, must be somehow better than you. This is referred to in both [[269: TCMP]] and [[1258: First]].

Since this comics publication several news sites have elected to remove all comments, in part to prevent a few voices dominating the conversation[https://www.niemanlab.org/2015/09/what-happened-after-7-news-sites-got-rid-of-reader-comments/][https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2016/08/17/489516952/npr-website-to-get-rid-of-comments?t=1568619071215].

==Transcript==
:[Single panel showing a bar graph with two gray vertical bars, a dollar amount above each bar, the vertical axis on the left side with tick marks every $250,000, and the horizontal axis at the bottom with a descriptive label below each bar under the axis. The first bar is much taller than the second.]

:[First bar:]
:Amount: $1,500,000
:Label: Cost to buy an ad on every story on a major news site every day until the election

:[Second bar:]
:Amount: $200,000
:Label: Cost to pay five college students $20/hour to camp the site 24/7 and post the first few comments the moment a story goes up, giving you the last word in every article and creating an impression of peer consensus

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The problem with posting comments in the order they're submitted

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Politics]]

988: Tradition

2020-09-09T13:35:26Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 988
| date = December 9, 2011
| title = Tradition
| image = tradition.png
| titletext = An 'American tradition' is anything that happened to a baby boomer twice.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic uses the source of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers to say that the 20 most played Christmas songs in the US between 2000 and 2009 were all released between the 1930s and 1970s. It conspicuously excludes a number of more modern songs that seem ubiquitous, but this is because those songs do not appear on the ASCAP list.

"Popular release" in this context means release to the general public, not the version of the song which is most popular.

The {{w|Post–World War II baby boom|Baby Boomers}} were born in a period of time after {{w|World War II|the second World War}} after the troops came home and, thankful for their lives, went on to produce lots of children.

The data appears to come from [http://www.ascap.com/press/2009/1123_holidays_songs.aspx an ASCAP survey conducted in 2009].

The title text points out that many "traditions" actually have no historical precedent, they're just routines that have been spread by lots of people. The Baby Boomers, since they made up a ''huge'' fraction of the US population, were able to accidentally ground many "traditions" that their parents made up in American society just by consensus among themselves.

==Transcript==
:The 20 most-played Christmas songs (2000-2009 radio airplay) by decade of popular release
:[A bar chart labeled on the X-axis with the decades "1900s" through "2000s" labeled. Each bar has, as one unit, a labeled song.
:"1900s", "1910s", "1920s", "1980s", "1990s", and "2000s" are empty.
:"1930s" has "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
:"1940s" has "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Winter Wonderland", "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", "Let it Snow", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "I'll be Home for Christmas", and "White Christmas".
:"1950s" has "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Blue Christmas", "Little Drummer Boy", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Silver Bells", "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", "Sleigh Ride", and "Frosty the Snowman"
:"1960s" has "Holly Jolly Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
:"1970s" has "Feliz Navidad"]
:Every year, American culture embarks on a massive project to carefully recreate the Christmases of Baby Boomers' childhoods.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Christmas]]

688: Self-Description

2020-09-09T13:34:45Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 688
| date = January 13, 2010
| title = Self-Description
| image = self_description.png
| titletext = The contents of any one panel are dependent on the contents of every panel including itself. The graph of panel dependencies is complete and bidirectional, and each node has a loop. The mouseover text has two hundred and forty-two characters.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is {{w|Self-reference|self-referential}}, because every graph is dependent on the whole comic. If you were to change anything in the comic, you would change the ink distribution, and would therefore have to update all three graphs. This would result in further changes that would have to be considered.

In the first panel's {{w|pie chart}}, "this image" refers to the entire comic image, the one that can be downloaded from xkcd (and the entire comic as displayed here above). This is a little confusing as it would be easy to misunderstand this meaning, and believe that the first panel only refers to itself. The title text though makes it clear that it is the entire comic that is called image here. The image size is 740x180 or 133200 pixels. Out of those, 14228 pixels are black (gray pixels are accounted based on their brightness). Ratio of black pixels to the size of the image is 0.1068, so the pie chart segment describing black part should be about 38.5 degrees wide, which is indeed true for the pie chart in the image.

In the second panel the amount of black used in each panel is displayed in a {{w|bar chart}}. This actually makes this panel the one that uses most black. The first panel (including the border) has 4944 black pixels, the second 6180 and the third 3103. The first bar is about 70 pixels high, the second about 87 and the third about 43, which roughly checks out. It is hard to measure the exact height of the bars as the axis and bars themselves are not straight.

The third panel features a {{w|scatter plot}} labeled "Location of black ink in this image." It is the first {{w|Quadrant (plane geometry)|quadrant}} of a {{w|Cartesian coordinate system|cartesian plane}} with the zeroes marked. The graph is the whole comic scaled proportionally to fit the axes, so the last panel also has to contain an image of itself having an image of itself ad infinitum thus displaying the {{w|Droste effect}}, a type of visual {{w|recursion}}.

The title text refers to the comic's own self-reference, but it is also self-referencing because of the character count in it. It would be difficult to write this sentence, as just one more character would not be solved by writing 243, as three has two more than two, and four has only one more...

"The graph of panel dependencies is complete and bidirectional, and every node has a loop." This means that if we draw a dot corresponding to each panel, and then we draw arrows connecting the dots to indicate dependencies, the resulting {{w|graph}} is {{w|complete graph|complete}} (meaning that all the points are connected to one another) and bidirectional (meaning that if point A has an arrow to point B, then point B also has an arrow to point A). "Every node has a loop" means that each point also has an arrow connecting to itself.

This is an observation of the interdependent relationship between description and creation that pertains to all things perceived by humans, including the concept of "Self".

Self-reference was used very early for instance in [[33: Self-reference]], but never so famously as here. See [[:Category:Self-reference|other self-references here]].

==Transcript==
:[A pie chart which is mainly white with a black slice of about 30 degree towards the bottom left. The two sections are labeled with a line going from the label to the sections. The line going into the black section turns white in in this last part.]
:Fraction of this image which is white
:Fraction of this image which is black

:[A bar graph labeled with a label over the Y-axis. There are three black bars with a label below each bar. Bar 1 is of medium height, bar 2 highest and bar 3 the lowest.]
:Amount of black ink by panel:
:1 2 3

:[A scatter-plot with a label over the Y-axis. In the bottom left corner of the graph, the two axis has a tick just away from the origo, and these are labeled with zeros. The graph shows the whole comic scaled proportionally to fit the axes. The scale is too small to actually read any of the text in this representation, which would of course be the same as that noted here for the two previous panel and for this panel here below:]
:Location of black ink in this image:
:0
:0

==Trivia==
*This is one of the [[:Category:Footer comics|six footer comics]] linked at the bottom part of the {{xkcd}} website.
*This is one of the comics available as signed prints at the xkcd store
*A T-shirt based on this comic is available in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/self-reference xkcd store].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Pie charts]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Logic]]
[[Category:Footer comics]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]
[[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]

519: 11th Grade

2020-09-09T13:34:29Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 519
| date = December 19, 2008
| title = 11th Grade
| image = 11th_grade.png
| titletext = And the ten minutes striking up a conversation with that strange kid in homeroom sometimes matters more than every other part of high school combined.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip is a comparison about the time spent in 11th grade doing various things, and how important those things are to one's future. The first two bars on the chart are 900 hours of class, which is about 180 hours short of how many hours kids spend in school each year (most likely to show the lunch hour), and 400 hours of homework, or an average of about 2.2 hours per school day. Conversely, idly messing around in {{w|Perl}} (a programming language) for only one weekend is shown to have a much larger impact on one's future — specifically Randall's, as learning how to code would have been key to his job as a robotics engineer at NASA. This is likely due to the skills one can pick up in even just a single weekend in contrast to the often redundant, trivial or generalist information that schools tend to convey.

This is mainly a critique to how school subjects can be rather useless for one's future or that the school is so boring that students are discouraged to pay attention in the class.

The title text continues this sentiment; the fact that the subject of the conversation is left shrouded in mystery deepens the romance (in all senses of the word.). It could also be a school shooter reference; however, this is unlikely and not in xkcd's typical style of humor.

==Transcript==
:[Above a bar graph:]
:11th-grade activities:
:[The y axis is labeled:]
:Usefulness to career success
:[Above the x-axis are two small and one huge bar. Below the axis each bar is labeled:]
:900 hours of classes
:400 hours of homework
:One weekend messing with Perl

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Programming]]

458: Regrets

2020-09-09T13:33:28Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 458
| date = August 4, 2008
| title = Regrets
| image = regrets.png
| titletext = And nothing for 'I'm glad I saw Epic Movie.'
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a bar graph that shows more people regret having ''not'' pursued/kissed a love interest than regret ''having'' pursued/kissed one.

It should be noted that as of June 28, 2020, the position has reversed: there are about 52.5 million results for "I should have kissed her" and 62.7 million for "I shouldn't have kissed her".

The title text refers to the {{w|Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer|Friedberg and Seltzer}} movie ''{{w|Epic Movie}}'', a "comedy" movie that received overwhelmingly negative reception, and is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. In referencing that movie, Randall agrees with that opinion and expresses the theme of regret in a completely different context by suggesting that people who watched the movie overwhelmingly regretted doing so.

After this comic was released the search results for ''"I'm glad I saw Epic Movie"'' at Google did grow up to more than 8,000 results.

==Transcript==
:[Bar Graph]
:Number of Google results for: "I _____ have kissed her" (or him)
:Shouldn't: 1,213
:Should: 10,230

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

458: Regrets

2020-09-09T13:33:17Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 458
| date = August 4, 2008
| title = Regrets
| image = regrets.png
| titletext = And nothing for 'I'm glad I saw Epic Movie.'
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a bar graph that shows more people regret having ''not'' pursued/kissed a love interest than regret ''having'' pursued/kissed one.

It should be noted that as of June 28, 2020, the position has reversed: there are about 52.5 million results for "I should have kissed her" and 62.7 million for "I shouldn't have kissed her".

The title text refers to the {{w|Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer|Friedberg and Seltzer}} movie ''{{w|Epic_Movie|Epic Movie}}'', a "comedy" movie that received overwhelmingly negative reception, and is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. In referencing that movie, Randall agrees with that opinion and expresses the theme of regret in a completely different context by suggesting that people who watched the movie overwhelmingly regretted doing so.

After this comic was released the search results for ''"I'm glad I saw Epic Movie"'' at Google did grow up to more than 8,000 results.

==Transcript==
:[Bar Graph]
:Number of Google results for: "I _____ have kissed her" (or him)
:Shouldn't: 1,213
:Should: 10,230

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

458: Regrets

2020-09-09T13:33:03Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 458
| date = August 4, 2008
| title = Regrets
| image = regrets.png
| titletext = And nothing for 'I'm glad I saw Epic Movie.'
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a bar graph that shows more people regret having ''not'' pursued/kissed a love interest than regret ''having'' pursued/kissed one.

It should be noted that as of June 28th, 2020, the position has reversed: there are about 52.5 million results for "I should have kissed her" and 62.7 million for "I shouldn't have kissed her".

The title text refers to the {{w|Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer|Friedberg and Seltzer}} movie ''{{w|Epic_Movie|Epic Movie}}'', a "comedy" movie that received overwhelmingly negative reception, and is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. In referencing that movie, Randall agrees with that opinion and expresses the theme of regret in a completely different context by suggesting that people who watched the movie overwhelmingly regretted doing so.

After this comic was released the search results for ''"I'm glad I saw Epic Movie"'' at Google did grow up to more than 8,000 results.

==Transcript==
:[Bar Graph]
:Number of Google results for: "I _____ have kissed her" (or him)
:Shouldn't: 1,213
:Should: 10,230

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

373: The Data So Far

2020-09-09T13:32:53Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 373
| date = January 21, 2008
| title = The Data So Far
| image = the data so far.png
| titletext = But THIS guy, he might be for real!
}}

==Explanation==
There are often people who claim to have supernatural powers, but then when their powers are tested by some sort of experiment, the experiment refutes their claims. This comic summarizes all the data from such experiments, observing that given the data, it's very unlikely that supernatural powers actually exist.

The title text refers to a person who has claimed to have supernatural powers, and suggests that he might really have such powers. This invokes the fact that absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence, although there has never previously been a confirmed example of a person with superpowers. This does not prove that this is certainly impossible. However, the graph above suggests that, although not impossible, such an event would be highly unlikely. No matter how much evidence we collect, there is always some positive (but vanishingly small) chance that some person may hold supernatural powers.

Alternatively, the title text explains that even though there is no reason to believe that anyone has any super powers, some people are always ready to believe the next one to claim so - very naive - and the exact opposite meaning of the one described above. Knowing [[Randall]]'s comic, this seems more likely. In this case, the two other comics mentioned have no relation to this comic.

The title itself may be a reference to the TV show {{w|Supernatural (U.S. TV series)|Supernatural's}} recap segment, "The Road So Far."

==Transcript==
:[Bar graph titled "Claims of Supernatural Powers" and has two sets of data. The first data set is labeled "Confirmed By Experiment" and is empty. The second data set is "Refuted By Experiment" and goes to the top of the graph.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Paranormal]]

370: Redwall

2020-09-09T13:32:41Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 370
| date = January 14, 2008
| title = Redwall
| image = redwall.png
| titletext = My Redwall/Jurassic Park crossover fanfic is almost complete!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references {{w|Brian Jacques|Brian Jacques'}} series of books, ''{{w|Redwall}}'', which star sapient woodland animals in various high fantasy adventures.

The first panel shows the similarity between the story of Martin the Warrior (from the book ''{{w|Mossflower}}'') and {{w|Aragorn}} from ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}. The joke is that while Martin and Aragorn introduce themselves separately, they then go on to describe their particular story, which turns out to be exactly the same for both of them. Subsequently Martin jinxes Aragorn. {{w|Jinx (children's game)|Jinx}} is a common children's game, which is initiated by shouting "Jinx" after somebody speaks the same word or sentence at the same time as you. That person is then jinxed, with one form of the rules dictating that they are then not permitted to speak until unjinxed by some specific action (usually somebody saying their name), or more commonly someone would say “Jinx! You owe me a soda,” and then the other person would owe them a soda. For a similar children’s game, see [[392: Making Rules]].

In LOTR, orcs are unequivocally and without exception the bad guys, capable only of hate and violence (although to be fair, orcs are corrupted elves, so it is clear that they are not intrinsically bad). Similarly, Redwall's rats, foxes, ferrets, ermine, and weasels are mostly evil manipulators while mice, rabbits, squirrels, hedgehogs, and badgers are always the good guys. On several occasions, characters explicitly state that "vermin stays vermin." This is the overarching rule, notwithstanding the rare exception (e.g. Grubbage from {{w|Triss}}. Conversely, one of the so-called "good species" has never become evil in this book series. It is somewhat extreme to call the simplistic distinctions in these books "racist undertones," being more an expression of the {{w|Nature versus nurture|nature versus nurture}} debate, but at the very least they vaguely resemble the racist attitudes of Tolkien's 1950s America (kindly bear in mind that Tolkien was British.)

The second panel deals with the fact that ''Redwall'' mentions the name of {{w|Satan}} or {{w|The Devil}} 4 times, while it never mentions {{w|God}} or {{w|Jesus}}--somewhat surprisingly, given that the book is set in an abbey, and many of the inhabitants are religious brothers and sisters. [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] then points out that people who {{w|Religious debates over the Harry Potter series|protest against Harry Potter because of the series' witchcraft}}, should take note that Redwall explicitly mentions Satan, although it has had little to no negative feedback from more conservative readers.

In the third panel, Randall comments on ''Redwall'''s often-used theme of critical messages being left in riddles throughout the Abbey for the occupants to find when they are in need. Randall suggests that he would use {{w|Public-key cryptography|public-key cryptography}} to encode the messages, instead of the elaborate riddles used in the books (some of which are ridiculously easy, which doesn't exactly make for good security when dealing with sensitive information).

In the title text, Randall jokes that he is making a crossover {{w|Fan fiction|fan-fiction}} with ''Redwall'' and ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}''.

Redwall was also referenced in [[1688: Map Age Guide]] and [[1722: Debugging]].

==Transcript==
:Notes from reading Redwall books for the first time since childhood.

:Some of this feels familiar.
:Aragorn: Hi, I'm Aragorn.
:Martin: I'm Martin.
:Aragorn and Martin: I'm here to reforge my broken sword so I can lead an army against the tyrant threatening my people. I live in a world of moral absolutes and racist undertones.
:Martin: Jinx!

:It startled me when characters mentioned Satan.
:Redwall: "By Satan's whiskers..."
:Redwall mentions God/Jesus 0 times.
:Redwall mentions Satan/The Devil 4 times.
:(Harry Potter protesters, take note.)

:Even as a kid this bothered me: Why does everyone leave critical secret messages as simple riddles? It's silly to assume the intended recipient will be the only one to find and solve them. I would do things differently.
:Matthias: The inscription is a message from Martin!
:Brother Methuselah: What does it say?
:Matthias: Hang on, it's encrypted with my public key.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]

369: Dangers

2020-09-09T13:32:13Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 369
| date = Jan 11, 2008
| title = Dangers
| image = dangers.png
| titletext = Zero results: 'snake charming' and 'haberdashery'. (Things like 'car' and 'boating' and such are of course the highest, by a huge margin.)
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a chart of the frequency of certain phrases in Google search results, based on the format "died in a ______ accident." If you enclose search terms in quotation marks, Google will look up the exact phrase rather than the individual words in any order.

"Died in a blogging accident" was very rare in Google {{w|Observer effect|until this comic appeared}}. It could be found on over 10,000 webpages approximately 12 hours after the comic was posted. Similarly, both snake charming and haberdashery accidents also return hundreds of Google results.

==Transcript==
:Dangers
:Indexed by the number of Google results for
:"Died in a _____ Accident"
:[A bar chart showing "Type of Accident" vs "Google Results" each with a bar representing a number]
:Skydiving: 710
:Elevator: 575
:Surfing: 496
:Skateboarding: 473
:Camping: 166
:Gardening: 100
:Ice Skating: 94
:Knitting: 7
:Blogging: 2

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bar charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

Category:Bar charts

2020-09-09T13:31:56Z

Emperor-Nathan: Emperor-Nathan moved page Category:Bar chart to Category:Bar charts

Comics with {{w|bar chart}}s.

[[Category:Charts]]

2308: Mount St. Helens

2020-05-18T21:57:37Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2308
| date = May 18, 2020
| title = Mount St. Helens
| image = mount_st_helens.png
| titletext = It's a good mountain but it really peaked in the 80s.
}}

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

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

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

2303: Error Types

2020-05-06T22:59:22Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2303
| date = May 6, 2020
| title = Error Types
| image = error_types.png
| titletext = Type IIII error: Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TYPE IX BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{|class = "wikitable"
|+Explanation of error types
|-
!Type
!Description
!Explanation
|-
|Type I
|False positive
|A false positive is a result that indicates a correlation, when there is no correlation in reality.
|-
|Type II
|False negative
|A false negative is a result that indicates no correlation, when there is a correlation in reality.
|-
|Type III
|True positive for incorrect reasons
|
|-
|Type IV
|True negative for incorrect reasons
|
|-
|Type V
|Incorrect result which leads you to a correct conclusion due to unrelated errors
|
|-
|Type VI
|Correct result which you interpret wrong
|
|-
|Type VII
|Incorrect result which produces a cool graph
|
|-
|Type VIII
|Incorrect result which sparks further research and the development of new tools which reveal the flaw in the original results while producing novel correct results
|
|-
|Type IX
|The Rise of Skywalker
|''{{w|Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker}}'' is the ninth and final film in the ''Star Wars'' Skywalker saga. It received far less critical acclaim than the previous two films in the sequel trilogy.
|-
|Type IIII
|Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals ''[sic]''
|Title text.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
* Type I Error: False positive
* Type II Error: False negative
* Type III Error: True positive for incorrect reasons
* Type IV Error: True negative for incorrect reasons
* Type V Error: Incorrect result which leads you to a correct conclusion due to unrelated errors
* Type VI Error: Correct result which you interpret wrong
* Type VII Error: Incorrect result which produces a cool graph
* Type VIII Error: Incorrect result which sparks further research and the development of new tools which reveal the flaw in the original results while producing novel correct results
* Type IX Error: The Rise of Skywalker

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]

2303: Error Types

2020-05-06T22:58:38Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2303
| date = May 6, 2020
| title = Error Types
| image = error_types.png
| titletext = Type IIII error: Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TYPE IX BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{|class = "wikitable"
|+Explanation of error types
|-
!Type
!Description
!Explanation
|-
|Type I
|False positive
|A false positive is a result that indicates a correlation, when there is no correlation in reality.
|-
|Type II
|False negative
|A false negative is a result that indicates no correlation, when there is a correlation in reality.
|-
|Type III
|True positive for incorrect reasons
|
|-
|Type IV
|True negative for incorrect reasons
|
|-
|Type V
|Incorrect result which leads you to a correct conclusion due to unrelated errors
|
|-
|Type VI
|Correct result which you interpret wrong
|
|-
|Type VII
|Incorrect result which produces a cool graph
|
|-
|Type VIII
|Incorrect result which sparks further research and the development of new tools which reveal the flaw in the original results while producing novel correct results
|
|-
|Type IX
|The Rise of Skywalker
|''[[w:Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker|Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker]]'' is the ninth and final film in the ''Star Wars'' Skywalker saga. It received far less critical acclaim than the previous two films in the sequel trilogy.
|-
|Type IIII
|Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals ''[sic]''
|Title text.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
* Type I Error: False positive
* Type II Error: False negative
* Type III Error: True positive for incorrect reasons
* Type IV Error: True negative for incorrect reasons
* Type V Error: Incorrect result which leads you to a correct conclusion due to unrelated errors
* Type VI Error: Correct result which you interpret wrong
* Type VII Error: Incorrect result which produces a cool graph
* Type VIII Error: Incorrect result which sparks further research and the development of new tools which reveal the flaw in the original results while producing novel correct results
* Type IX Error: The Rise of Skywalker

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]

2303: Error Types

2020-05-06T22:58:17Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2303
| date = May 6, 2020
| title = Error Types
| image = error_types.png
| titletext = Type IIII error: Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TYPE IX BOT. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{|class = "wikitable"
|+Explanation of error types
|-
!Type
!Description
!Explanation
|-
|Type I
|False positive
|A false positive is a result that indicates a correlation, when there is no correlation in reality.
|-
|Type II
|False negative
|A false negative is a result that indicates no correlation, when there is a correlation in reality.
|-
|Type III
|True positive for incorrect reasons
|
|-
|Type IV
|True negative for incorrect reasons
|
|-
|Type V
|Incorrect result which leads you to a correct conclusion due to unrelated errors
|
|-
|Type VI
|Correct result which you interpret wrong
|
|-
|Type VII
|Incorrect result which produces a cool graph
|
|-
|Type VIII
|Incorrect result which sparks further research and the development of new tools which reveal the flaw in the original results while producing novel correct results
|
|-
|Type IX
|The Rise of Skywalker
|''[[Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker]]'' is the ninth and final film in the ''Star Wars'' Skywalker saga. It received far less critical acclaim than the previous two films in the sequel trilogy.
|-
|Type IIII
|Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals ''[sic]''
|Title text.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
* Type I Error: False positive
* Type II Error: False negative
* Type III Error: True positive for incorrect reasons
* Type IV Error: True negative for incorrect reasons
* Type V Error: Incorrect result which leads you to a correct conclusion due to unrelated errors
* Type VI Error: Correct result which you interpret wrong
* Type VII Error: Incorrect result which produces a cool graph
* Type VIII Error: Incorrect result which sparks further research and the development of new tools which reveal the flaw in the original results while producing novel correct results
* Type IX Error: The Rise of Skywalker

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]

2303: Error Types

2020-05-06T22:53:37Z

Emperor-Nathan: /* Transcript */

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-04T22:36:00Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2302
| date = May 5, 2020
| title = 2020 Google Trends
| image = 2020_google_trends.png
| titletext = As the 'exotic animals in homemade aprons hosting baking shows' YouTube craze reached its peak in March 2020, Andrew Cuomo announced he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a bronze pangolin in a chef's hat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BRONZE PANGOLIN STATUE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
All of these trends are attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* "Sewing machine" refers to people making their own face masks.
* "Webcam" refers to the massive increase in virtual meeting and conferencing.
* "Andrew Cuomo" is the Governor of New York, the state hit hardest by the pandemic.
* "Flour" refers to panic-buying.
* "Pangolin" refers to the theory that the virus originated in a pangolin.

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

[A line chart plotting the popularity of various search terms from May 2019 through April 2020: sewing machine (blue line), webcam (red), Andrew Cuomo (yellow), flour (green), and pangolin (purple). The yellow line starts at the bottom of the chart, and rises about halfway up at the end of March 2020 before decaying to about 20 percent by the end of April. The purple line starts at the bottom of the chart, and has a small lump in February 2020 and a slightly bigger lump in March 2020 before trending back down. The blue line starts at about 10 percent up the chart, and then spikes up to 50 percent at the beginning of April before decaying to 40 percent at the end of April. The red line starts at about 20 percent up the chart, has a small lump in September 2019, and then jumps up to 40 percent in March 2020 before trending back down. The green line starts at about 30 percent up the chart, has a small lump in December 2019, and then spikes up to the top of the chart at the end of March 2020.]

:Caption: I want to show someone from 2019 this Google Trends graph and watch them try to guess what happened in 2020.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]

2302: 2020 Google Trends

2020-05-04T22:32:23Z

Emperor-Nathan:

{{comic
| number = 2302
| date = May 5, 2020
| title = 2020 Google Trends
| image = 2020_google_trends.png
| titletext = As the 'exotic animals in homemade aprons hosting baking shows' YouTube craze reached its peak in March 2020, Andrew Cuomo announced he was replacing the Statue of Liberty with a bronze pangolin in a chef's hat.
}}

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

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

[A line chart plotting the popularity of various search terms from May 2019 through April 2020: sewing machine (blue line), webcam (red), Andrew Cuomo (yellow), flour (green), and pangolin (purple). The yellow line starts at the bottom of the chart, and rises about halfway up at the end of March 2020 before decaying to about 20 percent by the end of April. The purple line starts at the bottom of the chart, and has a small lump in February 2020 and a slightly bigger lump in March 2020 before trending back down. The blue line starts at about 10 percent up the chart, and then spikes up to 50 percent at the beginning of April before decaying to 40 percent at the end of April. The red line starts at about 20 percent up the chart, has a small lump in September 2019, and then jumps up to 40 percent in March 2020 before trending back down. The green line starts at about 30 percent up the chart, has a small lump in December 2019, and then spikes up to the top of the chart at the end of March 2020.]

:Caption: I want to show someone from 2019 this Google Trends graph and watch them try to guess what happened in 2020.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]