explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2613: Bad Map Projection: Madagascator

2022-05-01T15:24:30Z

Flumnble:

Anyone else want to play this (and the other bad map projections) as maps in a 4X/Grand Strategy game? [[User:Mazz0|Mazz0]] ([[User talk:Mazz0|talk]]) 18:02, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Clicking on the original comic brings up the actual projection used, it looks like.

I'm on an old machine here (because it usually doesn't matter), and clicked on the image on the xkcd site to get the image, to be told that ''Your browser does not support WebGL :'('' by the URL https://mrgris.com/projects/merc-extreme/#-4.64274,55.45253 - I will have to check from a less 'primitive' device, but it looks like it's got a special click-through, which might be worth mentioning in the Explanation. I can check myself in a few minutes, but noting here first in case I get delay. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 19:38, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

I have added the click. It opens an website app showing a Mercator with the North Pole set to wherever you want, with this one in particular set Mahé just as Randall said. [[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 19:40, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Added a table, based upon some rapid pixel-analysis I did. No, I didn't include Indonesia, etc, and the "Africa size probably includes Madagascar" sort of thing could need sorting, but I mentioned that below so nobody is under misapprehension. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.221|162.158.34.221]] 22:04, 29 April 2022 (UTC)
: I think having the official size also be a percent of the world (or at least another column like that) would make it easier to see how the distortion affects the size. And/or distortion from a normal Mercator projection {{unsigned ip|172.70.230.143}}
:: That was my initial intention, or at least a percentage-of-reality column alongside (plus adding sorting to the columns), and maybe a differential between the two percentages just for fun. But I wanted to take time to make sure I was correctly counting how much area was (say) Eurasia but without Japan, etc. Maybe I'll actually get around to that shortly. There are other (formatting) tweaks I wasn't overly happy with in my original. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 19:00, 30 April 2022 (UTC)
::Okey dokey. New table. Sortable, extra columns and 'real world' figures improved on. (e.g. "North America" is land-areas of Canada through to Panama minus all significant islands (though some of the Canadian archipelago might have been drawn in as contiguous, etc, etc, and I ''think'' I only included Alaska in my sums just the once). Which took a lot more effort than I'd have prefered, like including Peninsula Malaysia and not the offshore bits. I wish I could say I spent as much time on the initial image-analysis (at least include NZ N+S Islands as an entry, right?) and the raw data is now archived elsewhere.
::I also augmented with footnote references, but not sure if I've done it right. Readable (defined in first instance, where used multiple times) in the source if anyone thinks there's any better ways of doing it (had my heart set on dagger/double-dagger/etc, but never mind). But there you are.
::Enjoy! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 23:11, 30 April 2022 (UTC)

== holave ==

exclamacioneve holave inefe eguntapre omoce uedope ayudareve ave esteve itiose inefe [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.43|108.162.245.43]] 02:53, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
:Does anyone know what language this is written in? I have no idea what this person is saying (asking?) and Google Translate wasn't much help. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.178|108.162.246.178]] 03:09, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
::eclaracionde oye one hablove ingleseve erope oye ieroque ayudareve esteve ikiwe inefe [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.143|108.162.216.143]] 04:01, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
:::My first thought was esperanto (or ido or interlingua, given lack of accents), certainly a latinesque-based language or conlang, but given the edits put onto this effort, it's possibly even sabotaged, or was written by someone for whom it most definitely not was their first language. (I even thought it was "Pig-esperanto"... This is that idiot who changed entire Explanations to Pig-Latin, I'm sure.)
:::I've got no real affinity to languages but I can recognise the possible roots of a lot of that. Some use of "...speak(ing) English..." is obvious in the latter post, for example, at an educated guess.
:::But I would say this is a prelude to some "I want you to wear bunny-ears when you revert stuff" thing, which I for one won't try to solve this puzzle for. (I'll just revert and revert and revert, if I'm around, and ignore the "trying to be clever" stuff. Nearly deleted this, actually, but restrained myself.) Otherwise, I leave it to those who know their conlangs better than me. Once it strays too far beyond technical English and its classical roots, I'm not really a linguistics person as I said, so it's useless to me whether it's an international message of friendship or extortion instructions. "Holave", whoever you are, but no thanks. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 10:10, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

::::It seems to be some sort of pig-Spanish, with punctuation written out. Decoded, it's “exclamacion hola fine pregunta como puedo ayudar a este sitio fine” and “declaracion yo no hablo ingles pero yo quiero ayudar este wiki fine”, meaning “exclamation hi end question how can i help on this site end” and “statement i dont speak english but i want to help this wiki end”. [[User:Kapostamas|Kapostamas]] ([[User talk:Kapostamas|talk]]) 15:15, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
How will they shut down all their ports?

Hopefully the vandal won't bother this one. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.18|172.70.211.18]] 17:23, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

:Looks like they did, but they seem to be done because someone gave them the emoticon. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 22:36, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

::A mistake. We already know it's likely they'll be back at a later date with some other stunt to stroke their supremely fragile ego. (Whether or not things like this comment provokes them, I definitely consider my conscience clear in this regard.) But what happens, happens. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 22:43, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

:::Is it any surprise they're already back? The emoticon was a cheap excuse for the infantile, childish behaviour of someone without a life that gets their shits and giggles out of being nothing more than a pest.[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 23:01, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

this page is kinda sussy tbh [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 18:11, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

[spam]

I have looked at the Wikipedia pages, and there is _no_ reference to Among Us on any map-related pages (and vice versa). What is your problem? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.195|172.70.242.195]] 18:43, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

[spam]

I take it you're the vandal... [[User:Something|Something]] ([[User talk:Something|talk]]) 19:00, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

ID does imply they are the vandal, they were adding the lyricis earlier today...[[User:Mapron01|Mapron01]] ([[User talk:Mapron01|talk]]) 19:23, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

I fixed the redirect they made of Danish going to the main page. I think some other pages got redirected into a redirect loop that should now be fixed. [[User:Flumnble|Flumnble]] ([[User talk:Flumnble|talk]]) 15:24, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

== holave ==

exclamacioneve holave inefe eguntapre omoce uedope ayudareve ave esteve itiose inefe [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.43|108.162.245.43]] 02:53, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
:Does anyone know what language this is written in? I have no idea what this person is saying (asking?) and Google Translate wasn't much help. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.178|108.162.246.178]] 03:09, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
::eclaracionde oye one hablove ingleseve erope oye ieroque ayudareve esteve ikiwe inefe [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.143|108.162.216.143]] 04:01, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
:::My first thought was esperanto (or ido or interlingua, given lack of accents), certainly a latinesque-based language or conlang, but given the edits put onto this effort, it's possibly even sabotaged, or was written by someone for whom it most definitely not was their first language. (I even thought it was "Pig-esperanto"... This is that idiot who changed entire Explanations to Pig-Latin, I'm sure.)
:::I've got no real affinity to languages but I can recognise the possible roots of a lot of that. Some use of "...speak(ing) English..." is obvious in the latter post, for example, at an educated guess.
:::But I would say this is a prelude to some "I want you to wear bunny-ears when you revert stuff" thing, which I for one won't try to solve this puzzle for. (I'll just revert and revert and revert, if I'm around, and ignore the "trying to be clever" stuff. Nearly deleted this, actually, but restrained myself.) Otherwise, I leave it to those who know their conlangs better than me. Once it strays too far beyond technical English and its classical roots, I'm not really a linguistics person as I said, so it's useless to me whether it's an international message of friendship or extortion instructions. "Holave", whoever you are, but no thanks. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 10:10, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

How will they shut down all their ports?

::::Yeah, it definitely looks like a conlang based on a Latinesque language, probably Spanish. "exclamacioneve" is probably "exclamacion" = "exclamation" (not sure why a sentence would begin with "exclamation"), holave=hola=hello, ayudareve=ayudar=help, hablove=hablo="I speak" (could actually be a different conjugation, but this is the most likely), and ingleseve=ingles=English. They seem to be saying "I speak English" (or "I don't speak English" if "one" means "no"). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.5|172.70.130.5]] 14:11, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
:::::"I don't speak English" seems more likely, so it's probably a good guess that "one" does mean "no." [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.199|172.70.178.199]] 14:15, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

Danish

2022-05-01T15:18:44Z

Flumnble: Undo revision 231662 by 172.70.126.215 (talk)

{{Infobox character
| image = Danish.png‎
| imagesize = 150px
| caption = Danish
| first_appearance = [[377: Journal 2]]
}}

'''Danish''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]]. She frequently appears with [[Black Hat]], and like him, is one of the few xkcd characters to represent the same character in each appearance.

==Characteristics==
Danish is characterized by her cynicism and devilish tricks. She is very similar in appearance to [[Megan]], but has distinctly longer hair. Personality-wise, she is similar to [[Black Hat]], with whom she seems to have a permanent romantic relationship that began in the [[:Category:Journal|Journal]] series (which also marked her first appearance). Thus, she mainly appears in comics together with Black Hat, which is the most certain giveaway that a long-haired woman is Danish rather than Megan.

==Name==
Like most xkcd characters, her real name is unknown. The name "Danish" is picked from when [[Black Hat]] called her "my dearest darling danish", as a term of endearment, referring to a {{w|danish pastry}} in [[515: No One Must Know]]. Obviously, this is not her real name, but as it is the only name given to her by any character, it is the name used here.

==Appearances==
Danish first appeared in the [[:Category:Journal|Journal]] series as an adversary of Black Hat who could match his cunning and trickery. At the end of that series, it seems that she got under Black Hat's skin which resulting in them going on a date.

She thus later appears to be in a continued relationship with Black Hat, as seen in [[440: Road Rage]], [[515: No One Must Know]], [[524: Party]] and [[542: Cover-Up]]. She mainly appears together with him, although after her first seven appearances after ''Journal'' ended she began appearing without him, the first time being in [[914: Ice]]. In cases where Black Hat is not present, it can be difficult to determine with certainty that it is her. However, obvious examples of her personality, as in ''Ice'', are reason enough to confirm her identity.

A girl who resembles Danish appeared in [[139: I Have Owned Two Electric Skateboards]], long before she was introduced in the Journal series. In [[177: Alice and Bob]] a similar-looking character with a propensity to destruction is called Eve – a reference to cryptographic schemes involving communication between Alice and Bob with Eve playing the role of an attacker.

In [[1608: Hoverboard]] there is a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bc/1608_1012x1078y_Bridge_on_the_Rebel_Blockade_Runner.png long-haired woman on the bridge] of the Rebel Blockade Runner, whose behavior towards both ''Star Wars'' as well as ''Star Trek'' fans could suggest that it was Danish. However, there is not enough evidence that this is Danish to list her as such.

==See also==
*[[:Category:Comics featuring Danish|Comics featuring Danish]]
*[[User:Danish]]

{{navbox-characters}}

[[Category:Characters]]

Talk:Countdown in header text

2022-01-30T03:31:24Z

Flumnble: oopsie

The talk on from [[2565: Latency]] and [[2566: Decorative Constants]] has been moved here by me when I created this page --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:01, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

;From Latency:
What is happening around Feb 1st, there is a countdown that appeared a few hours ago in the upper right corner of the xkcd index. There is also the directory xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef which might be an acronym, if it isnt a countdown package? {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.57}}
:Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I belie you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

;From Decorative Constants
Any idea what's going on with the clock that's counting downwards in the banner? Currently counting down from 20 days 16 hours? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 22:08, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:(Simultaneous edit) What is the days-hours-minutes in the box above the comic referring to? The image itself is dated yesterday, as you can see by saving it. Worst-case-scenario, is this a countdown to the end of XKCD? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.223|108.162.245.223]] 22:11, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:: It's going to hit zero at around midnight on Jan 31st 2022 CST? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 22:16, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::'''Posted this on the previous comics discussion. But lets take it here where there will be more traffic:''' --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC) -- Copy paste from previous comics discussion:
::::Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I believe you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::::Yeah - you're right - I messed up. So as I type this, it's Jan 10th 2022 at 4pm - 1600 hrs Mountain time - which is 1800 hours EST. At this moment, the countdown reads 20d 16h 0m - so Jan 30th + (18+16) hours = which is Jan 30th + 34 hours - which is Jan 31st + 10am in Boston (EST). [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 23:05, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hey great, can see they agree in the link to reddit below. So happy I got it right both in UTC and Boston. It will be 15:59 here in DK. Not 16:00. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Counting down to Backwards Day? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.88|162.158.91.88]] 23:28, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's a reddit thread discussing it: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/s0oynl/xkcd_countdown_timer_20d_21h_49m_remaining_until/ I think the most likely guess is that Randall has a new book coming out. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:40, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::Would still seem strange if it came out that day with only promotion before being a count down. But then again, he will have the xkcd communities boiling if he gives no other hint. So every one will see if he promotes a book. Also as they wrote at the time I looked at reddit I do not think it is the end of xkcd, or Webb related. Although Webb was the first I thought about. But I mean even if it came to L2 at that day, it is not going to any specific point but just in orbit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:47, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

::The date fits the idea of it being Backwards Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/backward-day-january-31) but what about the choice of time? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 03:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Backwards day... Never head of it until now. Is it big in the US. I mean when looking after dates so obscure they are not mentioned on wikipedia then there are probably lots of things happening on that day? But maybe it is a think in the US? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:48, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::: I haven't heard of it until now either, so it is probably one of the bajillions of holidays no one actually cares about, and is unrelated to the countdown. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 13:22, 11 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Someone has noticed the image is changing with pixels added at the bottom left corner and is keeping track of it here: https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.107|198.41.238.107]] 05:49, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like an image is "moving" into the frame because at the moment you can see some white pixel in the lower left, i.e. the black part might end up as a line as part of some comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.8|162.158.89.8]] 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks used that to pinpoint the start of the countdown. Have added this info to the header text page, and the original trivia. Also just added a line of trivia to this explanation with the link. This was when this comic came out most people noticed the count down. But it did came out while [[Latency]] was up. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:43, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Speculating on what it could be, the only thing that makes sense at that angle is a character's arm. 04:47, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:As of 7 PM PST, the two lines appear to be disconnected from anything else, which rules out a lot of the theories put forth here. Hmmm… I can’t really think of anything it could be other than the wing of an airplane. Maybe it’ll zoom out after it moves into view?[[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 03:17, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

The header changes page says that it's forcing "Friday" to move down to the next line. Not for me. Did he fix it, or is it browser-specific? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:It must be browser specific. But i have tried bot the old Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome and Firefox, and it does it in all cases and zooming does nothing.. Which browser do you use? I have corrected to in some browsers though, in the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|explanation]] you refer to. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

This is much more likely a count down related to the James Webb Space Telescope. At approximately the day the count down indicates the telescope will be orbiting the L2 gravitational spot.Perhaps most of the mirrors will be approximate place to allow for months of fine tuning. An example of a slightly similar idea is https://www.space.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-next-steps
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 15:35, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:I really do not think so. There is nothing special about a specific moment for reaching L2. It will go in orbit around it, but when to day it is there or in orbit is hard to pinpoint. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::And after I looked at it, it seems it will reach L2 several days before the countdown. See [[Countdown in header text#Theories]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I think the Countdown should get its own entry. What do we think? [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 16:25, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: I think it should! What with the count itself, the speculation about what it could mean, and now the slowly arriving image (?) this seems like something beyond either of the two comics since it started! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.49|108.162.219.49]] 18:00, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: I'm surprised it doesn't have one already. This is one of the more unique situations in a long while, more speculation could happen. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 22:26, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::I have now created this page and talk page for us to continue the discussion and make dedicated changes about this countdown here. And have moved all discussion from the two pages that had some already (except a few on the first talk page that was also mentioned here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

If you take a look at this [[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state|link]] it displays this: '''{"img":"72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png","start":"2022-01-10T17:00:00Z","target":"2022-01-31T15:00:00Z","until":"2022-01-11T20:55:38.205303701Z"}''' [[User:Hoodiesandboba|Hoodiesandboba]] ([[User talk:Hoodiesandboba|talk]]) 20:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:To correct your link:
:"...If you take a look at this [https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state link] it displays..."
:As to where the "72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png" is rooted, I haven't dug into that (or what transforms might be being applied), but it looks like a manipulation of browser states might be able to prematurely reveal it. (I'm on mobile at the moment, and it's significantly more fiddly to poke into the page-scripting and markup than I can be bothered with this moment, but I know what I'd do with a good acreage of screen, mouse control and a proper keyboard to rattle away at. And the combined minds here surely can do even better than myself.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.116|172.70.91.116]] 22:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::The filename is a random number long enough to prevent brute force guessing to find future images. The state-file looks like some information for the javascript script where this URL comes from. I haven't looked into the script that much but from the values I'd say that it's telling when to start doing refreshs (2022-01-10T17:00:00Z) and when to stop doing that (2022-01-31T15:00:00Z). While these values are constant, the third value changes and is ten minutes after the time the page has been requested. I suppose this is telling the script, when to do a refresh of the image load. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
:::After some fiddeling, I've found the origin of the filename: It's the SHA-256 hash of the image [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
::::There's already a note that it would be impossible to brute-force the filenames. But as the images are very similar to each other, would it be feasible to programmatically generate images similar to the last one (extending up and to the right, different variations of the line shape), hash those files, and test to see if they match images on the server? I'd expect it to reduce the number of possibilities by orders of magnitude, but not sure if that's enough to make brute-force attempts feasible and non-destructive. (Also don't know the PNG format well enough to know if an image with the same pixels in it is guaranteed to produce the same bytes in the file across different implementations) -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:16, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hmm… if it was pure black and white, the total number of possible images would be within the realms of sanity to brute force. But add antialiasing and the numbers rapidly become silly. Even if you only allow pixels to change within a certain distance of the previous image, and restrict greys to places between a black and a white, the numbers quickly become absurd. Although that makes me think about making 1-bit versions of all the images so far, predicting a set of "next frame" possibilities at each step, and training a CNN to pick the correct next one; and if it gets accurate enough by the time we get to the present… hmm. How predictable is antialiasing? Do we know the software he's using to create the images; and if so is there a relatively predictable algorithm applied along the edges? [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:41, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

I think it counts down to Lunar New Year (the Year of the Tiger), as measured in Korea (the earliest timezone where that is celebrated). Actually, it reaches 0 one minute before the New Year, so maybe it will switch to seconds for the last minute. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.98.75|172.70.98.75]] 05:10, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:Could be, but why. Randall has never to rarely? mentioned this new year... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I think we are seeing a zoom out of some image. Perhaps it is the arm of Cueball? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:It looks like there's a little curve at the top left of the line entering the frame! This makes the Cueball arm hypothesis more likely. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 14:18, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::I also noticed that (and moved your comment up here, as it is kind of a reply to that). Seems like the picture updates every four hours, and that it happened last time at noon UTC today. And thus it will also be at midnight. So 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24. But it is not certain yet and not sure it happened like that the first day or two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I have added the first 12 images on this page: [[Countdown in header text/images]] - anyone may help uploading the new ones there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:43, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
: Thank you! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.194|173.245.52.194]] 12:44, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone mind if I make a few spelling/grammar corrections to the article? It feels like the kind of thing that could be interpreted as rude, so I wanted to ask first. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.167|172.70.114.167]] 13:00, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:No no please help me with my poor spelling. I'm Danish and not very good at spelling in English. Also anything I write is up for debate and can be changed. Just because I started this page do not give me ownership over it. As long as relevant info is not deleted the entire layout maybe changed. But better to get the page going sooner rather than later.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::Alright!! Thank you so much for all your great work on this page! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 18:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I originally put this (without realising it wasn't the Talk page) in the Images sub-page, in response to the revelation it was (very probably) the SHA256 of the image data that was used to name the file:
*When I first looked at it and decided it was an obvious hash (yes SHA256 sounds about right, but nice to know someone's tried it) I personally had hoped it would be a hash of the datetime (plus a salt, maybe, to give it that extra little frisson of difficulty in reverse engineering... ;) ). But if it's as you say I think I'll refrain from getting any rainbow-tables set up and bashing through the possibilities in the rather huge phase-space it could represent. Of course, there must be a look-up table used by the server. It'd be too much to hope for that it's publically exposed though, and totally a rookie-error if it is. (That Randall, and maybe anyone he actually drafted in to implement it to save himself the worry, is surely not going to commit.)
...anyway, bringing it here, as being more conversational than informative. Still thought I should say it, but stupidly long as a comment so maybe I needn't have repasted it again! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 03:39, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

(Put this in here as it was before in the explanation --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC):)
Was going to say it's Hangman, but it looks like it's zooming in on the diagonal instead of continuing to make a gibbet. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 06:37, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I read the javascript of the countdown and noticed one thing that i didn't see mentioned anywhere on this page: the countdown text is moving upwards. When the countdown started the text was exactly in the middle of the image and at the end of the countdown the text will be at the top (you can see how it will look by changing the time in your system). The code will also make the text disappear and leave only the image after the countdown goes to zero. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.41|162.158.90.41]] 23:52, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
:Uuuh thanks that was interesting. Maybe to make more room for the image? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

The Greensboro sit-ins started on Feb 1, though the time is different.. But black history month? {{unsigned ip|172.70.135.48}}

Thanks to [[User:Theusaf|Theusaf]] for helping with putting the images up on the image page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Anyone here that can make an animation out of the images and put it in the explanation? If it is "easy" could it be updated some times on the way towards the final image on January 31st... Like the one on [[Time]]. That would be really nice. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:02, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:I made an animation: [https://imgur.com/a/INh77nL] (Now i realize it wasn't needed because there already is automatically updating animation linked from the page...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.105|162.158.159.105]] 18:18, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
::Not if you would let us use it here on xkcd. I have no contact to munvoseli. But if you made one we could upload here on xkcd on this page and then update it a few times, until we have a final version, then that would be much better than having one on a private persons page. Which may be deleted at any time. So cool you made one. If it is possible I would like to have one like the one at [[Time]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:41, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

There's something else moving into the frame... We'll have to see what it is. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 19:12, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

To even find this page, I had to page backward through the comic to get to Decorative Constants, go to the discussion, and come across the link to this page from there. I suggest that there be a direct link to this page from the explanation of every comic that existed while the countdown was in progress. A second question: has anyone determined for sure whether the ‘camera’ is zooming out from a blank spot in the final image, in which case we can expect other stuff to come into view from above and right, OR is it panning onto an image that is not changing size, in which case nothing will appear except from the direction it’s moving toward? And if it’s panning, has anyone tried estimating where the current stuff will end up?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.76|108.162.246.76]] 07:42, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:I agree with you and have now changed the four comics that was active while the count down was active so far, so the link to this page is above their explanations. If people keep updating like this for new comics, there will be a link to the countdown page from the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page front page]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:40, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Does Randall already have kids? If not, maybe his wife is expecting? That's something you'd announce and the last two comics are about kids. Another idea: he's going to space 🚀. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.115|162.158.233.115]] 20:47, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:I’m sure he would have a birth announcement afterward, but I doubt he would try to predict it to the exact second, 21 days in advance.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.105|162.158.106.105]] 22:36, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
::Maybe it's a C section? Those are usually scheduled. lol but yeah that's unlikely.Wouldn't rule it out though.[[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:58, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

I noticed that it almost appears to be the tail fin of an airplane. I don’t know if it is, or if an airplane even makes sense? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.57|172.70.230.57]] 22:11, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's not enough time for it to make the several passes necessary, before the big 'reveal', but I'd have suspected Randall capable of parodying the {{w|Airplane!}} in-title parody of {{w|Jaws}}. Would have somewhat been a {{w|Shaggy dog story|shaggy}}-{{tvtropes|Brick_Joke|brick}} joke, but wouldn't put it past him... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 00:18, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:: I actually think, after watching the animation so far on musoveli’s page, it looks more like a main wing of a swept wing commercial aircraft. If it is, and the pattern continues, we should be able to see the main body or an engine nacelle at least. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.108|162.158.62.108]] 13:39, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::I agree now. First I was sure it was the tail of an airplane, but the way it moves into the image now, makes me think of the wing, with the plane body soon coming into view. That was at image 59... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:48, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
::::I think at the time of posting the body has just come into view! I may be wrong, as it is only a tiny sliver, but I am hopeful!--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 01:59, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::I'm still more mentally-prepared for it being a tailfin (seen from the side, the 'new' line being the mid-dorsal surface of the main aircraft hull) than the port wing (the new bit being of the lateral airframe surface forward of the wings and perhaps just behind the cockpit point). But this POV will doubtless be overturned by the revelation of the next frame(s), which will make many of us look just as misdirectedly creduluous as each other. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 02:50, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::I can see the tailfin too, but because I am a human, and we dont shift our opinons easily, i still think its a plane. We might all be wrong though! This makes me think of a game from elementary school where on kid would draw a line, we would guess what it was, then the would draw another, and so on, until we guessed it. (I just realized that I wasnt logged in for my previous few posts here). --[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 13:34, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::(Me again, 172.70.86.22, whatever this signs as.) In case you read me wrong, I was meaning a tailfin ''of a plane'' (rudder surface, vertical stabiliser, whatever), so I think we have agreement. Or had. Not seen the latest picture update(s), so my views may imminently change in a few moments when I actually do, and/or yours also will by the time you read this. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.173|172.70.90.173]] 16:18, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::::I understood what you meant by tail fin. I also now think you are right, becuase I think I can see a tiny little line poking out from the bottom corner that could be the vertical tail fin. (Is there a better word for it?)--[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 00:46, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::::Once again, my opinion has changed. I now once more believe that it is a wing, now that we can see the windows of the plane. It almost looks like spaceshiptwo, which in my opinion is the coolest rocket in the industry right now. But it isn’t, because it doesn’t have the right wings. That was unrelated.--[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 02:54, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::::::On a second look, it could be SpaceShipTwo in “shuttlecock” formation for reentry. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Randall in space? --[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 15:23, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::::::{{w|SpaceShipTwo}} is not really looking at all like this commercial plane I believe it is. A passenger plane is my idea of how it looks now. I cannot tell if it is the wing or tail we see, but is inclined to sat that the thin line is the top of the passenger hull, and thus it is a wing, as the tailfin would not need this extra line as it is fused with the planes body. I also now begins to think the plane will land somewhere we can recognize (sky line) when the counter ends, and Randall is going there. But if he can actually land somewhere that precise seems farfetched. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

I believe it looks like he would draw the arm and upper "body" of a person running to the left. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.107|172.68.50.107]] 01:11, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking it'll be another extra long comic like 1190? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.91|108.162.241.91]] 02:52, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Randall is secretly in space, having launched a few days after JWST, and the countdown is to when NASA will see the fruits of his elaborate plan to create the most epic photo bomb of all time. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.220|162.158.187.220]] 20:59, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Surprised no one has linked to the xkcd comic called Countdown. It centers on the problem of having a countdown to something and people not knowing what it is (and also not being able to see all relevant information). Seems relevant in a couple ways. https://xkcd.com/1159/ {{unsigned ip|172.70.230.157}}
:Yes but there we don't know when the count ends, but we know what it is about. So kind of the reverse of this countdown. But I think I will add a line about it in the explanation. Also a search for [[Countdown]] goes there so maybe I also add a link here from that comic. (Remember to sign you comment) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:32, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Did anyone calculate the speed/acceleration of the object moving in the frame? We can predict future positions if nothing changes {{unsigned ip|172.70.162.155}}
:It just changed direction so nothing will come from that now. (Remember to sign you comment) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:32, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Randall's new comic is about [[Hypothesis Generation|hyposthesis genration]] (Sound familiar?), and the title text makes a lot of sense if you think about it from his perspective. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:06, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:I really do not think this comic is a comment on the countdown. But I can see why it could be funny for us here at explain. But I'm quite sure that Randall stays away from all these fora discussing his comics. We put way to much importance to this site if we think he actually comes here... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

What do the comments in the explanation above that say "the timer may be using EST" mean? The timer is just counting down days, hours, and minutes. We should all see the timer reach zero at the same time even though that may be morning for some readers, afternoon for others, and night for other readers. Randall's living on Eastern Standard Time isn't going to make the countdown run any faster or slower than it would if he lived in a different time zone. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 16:00, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:Agreed have removed all ref to EST. It is UTZ that is interesting and of course Randall's local time zone in Boston. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:29, 18 January 2022 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.20|172.70.115.20]] 03:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
::Guys put that back! It's referring to comic 1061! Not that I think it's likely, butlet's not dismiss that out of hand. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.20|172.70.115.20]] 03:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
:::That is ridiculous! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:42, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

I think the image entering the frame is a boomerang! [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 12:53, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:Well Randall has sure been fond enough of those that we have the [[:Category:Boomerangs]]. However, in none of those have he drawn that extra line that have appeared before you suggested this. So I would say, it is not!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:24, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Yay, started by the new development with the counter in the [[xkcd Header text]], I was inspired to continue the work I started back in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=xkcd_Header_text&oldid=175813 June 2019] when I created the page regarding changes in the header. When I began adding the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|countdown]] at the top I became aware that I had left a period of more than a year with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=xkcd_Header_text&oldid=224089#Changes_not_documented_yet_2 Changes not documented yet 2] from September 2015 to November 2016 ([[xkcd_Header_text#Changes_not_documented_yet_1|Changes not documented yet 1]] is anything earlier than March 2014). And today I finished documenting the gap so now [[xkcd_Header_text#2016-04-04_-_Protip_on_Garden|Protip on Garden]] is suddenly also here, just below where the undocumented section was, which I deleted today. And thus the protip is now not just mentioned in the trivia on the [[1663: Garden]] page. Of course it would be great to continue backwards, but it is a hughe project. But there where some important changes in the now closed gap, among other the longest running book promotion for [[Thing Explainer]]. Of course I cannot say it is complete back to march 2014, but anything staying longer than two weeks in the front page header I believe I would have found. But I have not walked through every archived version ;-) They load terribly slow. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:39, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

I guess when more windows come into view, we’ll finally know whether the windows continue far to the left of the wing, or stop well short of the tail fin (which the two currently showing already seem to me to be too close to). {{unsigned ip|162.158.107.188}}
:That is true. Wonder if the plane will land in a city that can be recognized when the counter runs out? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

<s>That new bottom-left line worries me. [...]</s> [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 15:50, 22 January 2022 (UTC)
:Retracted. I was still thinking a viewpoint mildly downward, or exactly level with the aircraft, but a very slight upward view (and from slightly forward?) onto the underside of the HS surface would conceivably produce that profile.
:Note that I'm commenting on xkcd.com directly, as the frames in the /images page have been left fallow for a while now. I presume someone is going to catch us up again when they have the wherewithall (unfortunately, I don't right now, hard to edit complex things on this device, and I wouldn't be able to upload the frames to the wiki anyway). ...no rush, we have... 8d 0h 23m left, at least, to be thorough about this. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 14:37, 23 January 2022 (UTC)
::I have now uploaded up to the current on xkcd nr. 85. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:09, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

I wondered if there was anything else interesting in the js file that updates the countdown. [https://gist.github.com/Toby222/bff2734e98efadd9e9c3b2dc64902c43 So I de-minified it.] (There is nothing noteworthy.) [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 17:20, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

The new parachute theory could be a possibility. I have added this and two others to the top of the image theories and moved all else into an Early theory section. For sure it is a plane. And also added the parachute idea to the countdown theory section. Not my theory, but moved it to two other places than where it was first stated. (Left it there though!). Not special certain it will be, but could be. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:09, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

Maybe Randall found D.B. Cooper? ;D [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 13:49, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
:Maybe he's going to announce he ''is'' D.B. Cooper..! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 14:01, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
:: :o [[User:256.256.256.256|surprised pikachu]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 11:50, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

I've been checking the possible aircraft used for Zero-G (parabolic) flights, and currently - in the US at least - none of the models used have 'standard' hull-mounted horizontal stabilisers, as in the picture. They're either T-tails or cruciform (midway up the vertical stabiliser), possibly for very good reasons. (i.e., at the most crucial part of the flight envelope, it keeps the control surfaces out of the immediate wake of the wings. Handy feature, more than overcoming the engineering compromises needed to mount things that way.) Assuming any attempt at accuracy{{fact}} this might rule that option out. (And skydiving is usually high-winged non-jets, and this seems to be a low-winged jet.) Though A300-ranged planes have been used in Europe and conceivably loosely fit the given profile. But it looks like a smaller plane than many of the Vomit Comets (and larger than most parachute-party planes). Unfortunately, it still rules far too many other options in, never mind artistic <s>innacuracy</s> drift. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 15:14, 24 January 2022 (UTC)

suggestion: make a bot that uploads the newest image with https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/current .[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.92|162.158.187.92]] 18:20, 25 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:With just five days left it is not worth the bother... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

Actually, this started to get a little boring a few days ago. https://xkcd.com/1951/ Just sayin’ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.98|108.162.246.98]] 12:52, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

First the airplane image...now two alien-themed comics in a row...Of course!!! It seems so obvious! Randall is an alien! The countdown is to the big reveal! /j [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]]
:Unless he keeps up alien themed jokes through the week I do not think they will be related to the count down. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

The new development makes me think it is a plane like {{w|Boeing E-3 Sentry}}. With a radar on top. If not another plane is above, holding this one, which could make it something with a going into space plane? Not sure if those that exist would look like this though. But the radar would probably look like this. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

(based on 110 frames available): The upper black "arc" can be some hair and the ellipse on the right look like the right glass of a pair of glasses. The latter I think because the upper line of the plane's main body gets refracted a bit. So this might become a picture with a glasses-wearing person in front and a plane in the background. If somebody more web-comic-savy than me recognizes a character we might see the start of Randall's vacation and his vacation replacement.[[User:Kimmerin|Kimmerin]] ([[User talk:Kimmerin|talk]]) 15:43, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

The line below the windows is a fairly common place to switch from a dark to light color with a commercial airline livery, or a line of color, etc. The floor of the passenger compartment is generally a little below the middle of the fuselage, the windows are above. The fuselage looks much more typical if that line is just paint than if it's demarking the fuselage from something else. The curved object in the upper right would be the right place for a winglet if the plane were banking slightly, particularly a winglet like the A350's.

;Countdown not appearing on certain comics (most notably [[980: Money]])
I have not checked every comic, and this may be a bug or nerd sniping, but this could mean... something? Idk [[User:Eebop|Eebop]] ([[User talk:Eebop|talk]]) 02:41, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
: Money has custom text in the header specific to the comic. I assume when he does this it just overrides the default, where the countdown is. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:09, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
::Yes that is the same for all comics that have [[xkcd_Header_text#Unique_header_text|Unique header text]], so this doesn't mean anything. So far I have found 14 of those. Mainly me who edits the [[xkcd Header text]] page where all changes to the header text can be logged. And the unique headers are listed there as well. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

I have a feeling the black thing in the top right corner is a bird wing, and the thing beneath it on the plane is its talon, meaning a giant bird is carrying a plane. Maybe the image has absolutely nothing to do with what will happen at the end of the countdown? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.23|172.69.90.23]] 13:47, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
:Don't think so, also now it is clear it is the wing. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:10, 29 January 2022 (UTC)
::Yeah, I see that now. When I posted that it certainly looked like a talon. My new guess is that I have no idea what the black thing is. However, it appears to be attached to the countdown itself now, maybe a graph?

;Raptors on a Plane?
Excuse me, but that should be Raptors on ''every'' plane.[[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 20:08, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like a raptor tail to me. [[User:Silverfunk|Silverfunk]] ([[User talk:Silverfunk|talk]]) 14:50, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

;What if? 2 on amazon
There's a listing for What if? 2 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525537112) on amazon that may be linked to the countdown? Considering I can't find anything about it before recently I feel like the countdown could've been to announce it. [[User:Flumnble|Flumnble]] ([[User talk:Flumnble|talk]]) 03:29, 30 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:Countdown in header text

2022-01-30T03:29:31Z

Flumnble: /* What if? 2 on amazon */ new section

The talk on from [[2565: Latency]] and [[2566: Decorative Constants]] has been moved here by me when I created this page --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:01, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

;From Latency:
What is happening around Feb 1st, there is a countdown that appeared a few hours ago in the upper right corner of the xkcd index. There is also the directory xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef which might be an acronym, if it isnt a countdown package? {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.57}}
:Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I belie you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

;From Decorative Constants
Any idea what's going on with the clock that's counting downwards in the banner? Currently counting down from 20 days 16 hours? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 22:08, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:(Simultaneous edit) What is the days-hours-minutes in the box above the comic referring to? The image itself is dated yesterday, as you can see by saving it. Worst-case-scenario, is this a countdown to the end of XKCD? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.223|108.162.245.223]] 22:11, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:: It's going to hit zero at around midnight on Jan 31st 2022 CST? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 22:16, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::'''Posted this on the previous comics discussion. But lets take it here where there will be more traffic:''' --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC) -- Copy paste from previous comics discussion:
::::Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I believe you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::::Yeah - you're right - I messed up. So as I type this, it's Jan 10th 2022 at 4pm - 1600 hrs Mountain time - which is 1800 hours EST. At this moment, the countdown reads 20d 16h 0m - so Jan 30th + (18+16) hours = which is Jan 30th + 34 hours - which is Jan 31st + 10am in Boston (EST). [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 23:05, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hey great, can see they agree in the link to reddit below. So happy I got it right both in UTC and Boston. It will be 15:59 here in DK. Not 16:00. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Counting down to Backwards Day? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.88|162.158.91.88]] 23:28, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's a reddit thread discussing it: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/s0oynl/xkcd_countdown_timer_20d_21h_49m_remaining_until/ I think the most likely guess is that Randall has a new book coming out. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:40, 10 January 2022 (UTC)
::Would still seem strange if it came out that day with only promotion before being a count down. But then again, he will have the xkcd communities boiling if he gives no other hint. So every one will see if he promotes a book. Also as they wrote at the time I looked at reddit I do not think it is the end of xkcd, or Webb related. Although Webb was the first I thought about. But I mean even if it came to L2 at that day, it is not going to any specific point but just in orbit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:47, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

::The date fits the idea of it being Backwards Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/backward-day-january-31) but what about the choice of time? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 03:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Backwards day... Never head of it until now. Is it big in the US. I mean when looking after dates so obscure they are not mentioned on wikipedia then there are probably lots of things happening on that day? But maybe it is a think in the US? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:48, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::: I haven't heard of it until now either, so it is probably one of the bajillions of holidays no one actually cares about, and is unrelated to the countdown. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 13:22, 11 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Someone has noticed the image is changing with pixels added at the bottom left corner and is keeping track of it here: https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.107|198.41.238.107]] 05:49, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like an image is "moving" into the frame because at the moment you can see some white pixel in the lower left, i.e. the black part might end up as a line as part of some comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.8|162.158.89.8]] 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks used that to pinpoint the start of the countdown. Have added this info to the header text page, and the original trivia. Also just added a line of trivia to this explanation with the link. This was when this comic came out most people noticed the count down. But it did came out while [[Latency]] was up. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:43, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:::Speculating on what it could be, the only thing that makes sense at that angle is a character's arm. 04:47, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:As of 7 PM PST, the two lines appear to be disconnected from anything else, which rules out a lot of the theories put forth here. Hmmm… I can’t really think of anything it could be other than the wing of an airplane. Maybe it’ll zoom out after it moves into view?[[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 03:17, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

The header changes page says that it's forcing "Friday" to move down to the next line. Not for me. Did he fix it, or is it browser-specific? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:It must be browser specific. But i have tried bot the old Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome and Firefox, and it does it in all cases and zooming does nothing.. Which browser do you use? I have corrected to in some browsers though, in the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|explanation]] you refer to. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

This is much more likely a count down related to the James Webb Space Telescope. At approximately the day the count down indicates the telescope will be orbiting the L2 gravitational spot.Perhaps most of the mirrors will be approximate place to allow for months of fine tuning. An example of a slightly similar idea is https://www.space.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-next-steps
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 15:35, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:I really do not think so. There is nothing special about a specific moment for reaching L2. It will go in orbit around it, but when to day it is there or in orbit is hard to pinpoint. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::And after I looked at it, it seems it will reach L2 several days before the countdown. See [[Countdown in header text#Theories]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I think the Countdown should get its own entry. What do we think? [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 16:25, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: I think it should! What with the count itself, the speculation about what it could mean, and now the slowly arriving image (?) this seems like something beyond either of the two comics since it started! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.49|108.162.219.49]] 18:00, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
: I'm surprised it doesn't have one already. This is one of the more unique situations in a long while, more speculation could happen. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 22:26, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::I have now created this page and talk page for us to continue the discussion and make dedicated changes about this countdown here. And have moved all discussion from the two pages that had some already (except a few on the first talk page that was also mentioned here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

If you take a look at this [[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state|link]] it displays this: '''{"img":"72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png","start":"2022-01-10T17:00:00Z","target":"2022-01-31T15:00:00Z","until":"2022-01-11T20:55:38.205303701Z"}''' [[User:Hoodiesandboba|Hoodiesandboba]] ([[User talk:Hoodiesandboba|talk]]) 20:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
:To correct your link:
:"...If you take a look at this [https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state link] it displays..."
:As to where the "72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png" is rooted, I haven't dug into that (or what transforms might be being applied), but it looks like a manipulation of browser states might be able to prematurely reveal it. (I'm on mobile at the moment, and it's significantly more fiddly to poke into the page-scripting and markup than I can be bothered with this moment, but I know what I'd do with a good acreage of screen, mouse control and a proper keyboard to rattle away at. And the combined minds here surely can do even better than myself.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.116|172.70.91.116]] 22:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
::The filename is a random number long enough to prevent brute force guessing to find future images. The state-file looks like some information for the javascript script where this URL comes from. I haven't looked into the script that much but from the values I'd say that it's telling when to start doing refreshs (2022-01-10T17:00:00Z) and when to stop doing that (2022-01-31T15:00:00Z). While these values are constant, the third value changes and is ten minutes after the time the page has been requested. I suppose this is telling the script, when to do a refresh of the image load. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
:::After some fiddeling, I've found the origin of the filename: It's the SHA-256 hash of the image [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
::::There's already a note that it would be impossible to brute-force the filenames. But as the images are very similar to each other, would it be feasible to programmatically generate images similar to the last one (extending up and to the right, different variations of the line shape), hash those files, and test to see if they match images on the server? I'd expect it to reduce the number of possibilities by orders of magnitude, but not sure if that's enough to make brute-force attempts feasible and non-destructive. (Also don't know the PNG format well enough to know if an image with the same pixels in it is guaranteed to produce the same bytes in the file across different implementations) -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:16, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::Hmm… if it was pure black and white, the total number of possible images would be within the realms of sanity to brute force. But add antialiasing and the numbers rapidly become silly. Even if you only allow pixels to change within a certain distance of the previous image, and restrict greys to places between a black and a white, the numbers quickly become absurd. Although that makes me think about making 1-bit versions of all the images so far, predicting a set of "next frame" possibilities at each step, and training a CNN to pick the correct next one; and if it gets accurate enough by the time we get to the present… hmm. How predictable is antialiasing? Do we know the software he's using to create the images; and if so is there a relatively predictable algorithm applied along the edges? [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:41, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

I think it counts down to Lunar New Year (the Year of the Tiger), as measured in Korea (the earliest timezone where that is celebrated). Actually, it reaches 0 one minute before the New Year, so maybe it will switch to seconds for the last minute. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.98.75|172.70.98.75]] 05:10, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:Could be, but why. Randall has never to rarely? mentioned this new year... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I think we are seeing a zoom out of some image. Perhaps it is the arm of Cueball? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:It looks like there's a little curve at the top left of the line entering the frame! This makes the Cueball arm hypothesis more likely. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 14:18, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::I also noticed that (and moved your comment up here, as it is kind of a reply to that). Seems like the picture updates every four hours, and that it happened last time at noon UTC today. And thus it will also be at midnight. So 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24. But it is not certain yet and not sure it happened like that the first day or two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

I have added the first 12 images on this page: [[Countdown in header text/images]] - anyone may help uploading the new ones there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:43, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
: Thank you! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.194|173.245.52.194]] 12:44, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone mind if I make a few spelling/grammar corrections to the article? It feels like the kind of thing that could be interpreted as rude, so I wanted to ask first. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.167|172.70.114.167]] 13:00, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
:No no please help me with my poor spelling. I'm Danish and not very good at spelling in English. Also anything I write is up for debate and can be changed. Just because I started this page do not give me ownership over it. As long as relevant info is not deleted the entire layout maybe changed. But better to get the page going sooner rather than later.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)
::Alright!! Thank you so much for all your great work on this page! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 18:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I originally put this (without realising it wasn't the Talk page) in the Images sub-page, in response to the revelation it was (very probably) the SHA256 of the image data that was used to name the file:
*When I first looked at it and decided it was an obvious hash (yes SHA256 sounds about right, but nice to know someone's tried it) I personally had hoped it would be a hash of the datetime (plus a salt, maybe, to give it that extra little frisson of difficulty in reverse engineering... ;) ). But if it's as you say I think I'll refrain from getting any rainbow-tables set up and bashing through the possibilities in the rather huge phase-space it could represent. Of course, there must be a look-up table used by the server. It'd be too much to hope for that it's publically exposed though, and totally a rookie-error if it is. (That Randall, and maybe anyone he actually drafted in to implement it to save himself the worry, is surely not going to commit.)
...anyway, bringing it here, as being more conversational than informative. Still thought I should say it, but stupidly long as a comment so maybe I needn't have repasted it again! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 03:39, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

(Put this in here as it was before in the explanation --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC):)
Was going to say it's Hangman, but it looks like it's zooming in on the diagonal instead of continuing to make a gibbet. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 06:37, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

I read the javascript of the countdown and noticed one thing that i didn't see mentioned anywhere on this page: the countdown text is moving upwards. When the countdown started the text was exactly in the middle of the image and at the end of the countdown the text will be at the top (you can see how it will look by changing the time in your system). The code will also make the text disappear and leave only the image after the countdown goes to zero. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.41|162.158.90.41]] 23:52, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
:Uuuh thanks that was interesting. Maybe to make more room for the image? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

The Greensboro sit-ins started on Feb 1, though the time is different.. But black history month? {{unsigned ip|172.70.135.48}}

Thanks to [[User:Theusaf|Theusaf]] for helping with putting the images up on the image page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Anyone here that can make an animation out of the images and put it in the explanation? If it is "easy" could it be updated some times on the way towards the final image on January 31st... Like the one on [[Time]]. That would be really nice. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:02, 14 January 2022 (UTC)
:I made an animation: [https://imgur.com/a/INh77nL] (Now i realize it wasn't needed because there already is automatically updating animation linked from the page...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.105|162.158.159.105]] 18:18, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
::Not if you would let us use it here on xkcd. I have no contact to munvoseli. But if you made one we could upload here on xkcd on this page and then update it a few times, until we have a final version, then that would be much better than having one on a private persons page. Which may be deleted at any time. So cool you made one. If it is possible I would like to have one like the one at [[Time]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:41, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

There's something else moving into the frame... We'll have to see what it is. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 19:12, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

To even find this page, I had to page backward through the comic to get to Decorative Constants, go to the discussion, and come across the link to this page from there. I suggest that there be a direct link to this page from the explanation of every comic that existed while the countdown was in progress. A second question: has anyone determined for sure whether the ‘camera’ is zooming out from a blank spot in the final image, in which case we can expect other stuff to come into view from above and right, OR is it panning onto an image that is not changing size, in which case nothing will appear except from the direction it’s moving toward? And if it’s panning, has anyone tried estimating where the current stuff will end up?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.76|108.162.246.76]] 07:42, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:I agree with you and have now changed the four comics that was active while the count down was active so far, so the link to this page is above their explanations. If people keep updating like this for new comics, there will be a link to the countdown page from the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page front page]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:40, 15 January 2022 (UTC)

Does Randall already have kids? If not, maybe his wife is expecting? That's something you'd announce and the last two comics are about kids. Another idea: he's going to space 🚀. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.115|162.158.233.115]] 20:47, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:I’m sure he would have a birth announcement afterward, but I doubt he would try to predict it to the exact second, 21 days in advance.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.105|162.158.106.105]] 22:36, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
::Maybe it's a C section? Those are usually scheduled. lol but yeah that's unlikely.Wouldn't rule it out though.[[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:58, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

I noticed that it almost appears to be the tail fin of an airplane. I don’t know if it is, or if an airplane even makes sense? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.57|172.70.230.57]] 22:11, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
:There's not enough time for it to make the several passes necessary, before the big 'reveal', but I'd have suspected Randall capable of parodying the {{w|Airplane!}} in-title parody of {{w|Jaws}}. Would have somewhat been a {{w|Shaggy dog story|shaggy}}-{{tvtropes|Brick_Joke|brick}} joke, but wouldn't put it past him... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 00:18, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:: I actually think, after watching the animation so far on musoveli’s page, it looks more like a main wing of a swept wing commercial aircraft. If it is, and the pattern continues, we should be able to see the main body or an engine nacelle at least. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.108|162.158.62.108]] 13:39, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:::I agree now. First I was sure it was the tail of an airplane, but the way it moves into the image now, makes me think of the wing, with the plane body soon coming into view. That was at image 59... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:48, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
::::I think at the time of posting the body has just come into view! I may be wrong, as it is only a tiny sliver, but I am hopeful!--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 01:59, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::I'm still more mentally-prepared for it being a tailfin (seen from the side, the 'new' line being the mid-dorsal surface of the main aircraft hull) than the port wing (the new bit being of the lateral airframe surface forward of the wings and perhaps just behind the cockpit point). But this POV will doubtless be overturned by the revelation of the next frame(s), which will make many of us look just as misdirectedly creduluous as each other. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 02:50, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::I can see the tailfin too, but because I am a human, and we dont shift our opinons easily, i still think its a plane. We might all be wrong though! This makes me think of a game from elementary school where on kid would draw a line, we would guess what it was, then the would draw another, and so on, until we guessed it. (I just realized that I wasnt logged in for my previous few posts here). --[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 13:34, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::(Me again, 172.70.86.22, whatever this signs as.) In case you read me wrong, I was meaning a tailfin ''of a plane'' (rudder surface, vertical stabiliser, whatever), so I think we have agreement. Or had. Not seen the latest picture update(s), so my views may imminently change in a few moments when I actually do, and/or yours also will by the time you read this. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.173|172.70.90.173]] 16:18, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::::I understood what you meant by tail fin. I also now think you are right, becuase I think I can see a tiny little line poking out from the bottom corner that could be the vertical tail fin. (Is there a better word for it?)--[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 00:46, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::::Once again, my opinion has changed. I now once more believe that it is a wing, now that we can see the windows of the plane. It almost looks like spaceshiptwo, which in my opinion is the coolest rocket in the industry right now. But it isn’t, because it doesn’t have the right wings. That was unrelated.--[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 02:54, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
:::::::::On a second look, it could be SpaceShipTwo in “shuttlecock” formation for reentry. Wouldn’t it be cool to see Randall in space? --[[User:BlackBeret|BlackBeret]] ([[User talk:BlackBeret|talk]]) 15:23, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
::::::::::{{w|SpaceShipTwo}} is not really looking at all like this commercial plane I believe it is. A passenger plane is my idea of how it looks now. I cannot tell if it is the wing or tail we see, but is inclined to sat that the thin line is the top of the passenger hull, and thus it is a wing, as the tailfin would not need this extra line as it is fused with the planes body. I also now begins to think the plane will land somewhere we can recognize (sky line) when the counter ends, and Randall is going there. But if he can actually land somewhere that precise seems farfetched. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

I believe it looks like he would draw the arm and upper "body" of a person running to the left. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.107|172.68.50.107]] 01:11, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Am I the only one thinking it'll be another extra long comic like 1190? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.91|108.162.241.91]] 02:52, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Randall is secretly in space, having launched a few days after JWST, and the countdown is to when NASA will see the fruits of his elaborate plan to create the most epic photo bomb of all time. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.220|162.158.187.220]] 20:59, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Surprised no one has linked to the xkcd comic called Countdown. It centers on the problem of having a countdown to something and people not knowing what it is (and also not being able to see all relevant information). Seems relevant in a couple ways. https://xkcd.com/1159/ {{unsigned ip|172.70.230.157}}
:Yes but there we don't know when the count ends, but we know what it is about. So kind of the reverse of this countdown. But I think I will add a line about it in the explanation. Also a search for [[Countdown]] goes there so maybe I also add a link here from that comic. (Remember to sign you comment) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:32, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Did anyone calculate the speed/acceleration of the object moving in the frame? We can predict future positions if nothing changes {{unsigned ip|172.70.162.155}}
:It just changed direction so nothing will come from that now. (Remember to sign you comment) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:32, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Randall's new comic is about [[Hypothesis Generation|hyposthesis genration]] (Sound familiar?), and the title text makes a lot of sense if you think about it from his perspective. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:06, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:I really do not think this comic is a comment on the countdown. But I can see why it could be funny for us here at explain. But I'm quite sure that Randall stays away from all these fora discussing his comics. We put way to much importance to this site if we think he actually comes here... ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:14, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

What do the comments in the explanation above that say "the timer may be using EST" mean? The timer is just counting down days, hours, and minutes. We should all see the timer reach zero at the same time even though that may be morning for some readers, afternoon for others, and night for other readers. Randall's living on Eastern Standard Time isn't going to make the countdown run any faster or slower than it would if he lived in a different time zone. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 16:00, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
:Agreed have removed all ref to EST. It is UTZ that is interesting and of course Randall's local time zone in Boston. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:29, 18 January 2022 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.20|172.70.115.20]] 03:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
::Guys put that back! It's referring to comic 1061! Not that I think it's likely, butlet's not dismiss that out of hand. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.20|172.70.115.20]] 03:54, 19 January 2022 (UTC)
:::That is ridiculous! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:42, 19 January 2022 (UTC)

I think the image entering the frame is a boomerang! [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 12:53, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
:Well Randall has sure been fond enough of those that we have the [[:Category:Boomerangs]]. However, in none of those have he drawn that extra line that have appeared before you suggested this. So I would say, it is not!--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:24, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Yay, started by the new development with the counter in the [[xkcd Header text]], I was inspired to continue the work I started back in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=xkcd_Header_text&oldid=175813 June 2019] when I created the page regarding changes in the header. When I began adding the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|countdown]] at the top I became aware that I had left a period of more than a year with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=xkcd_Header_text&oldid=224089#Changes_not_documented_yet_2 Changes not documented yet 2] from September 2015 to November 2016 ([[xkcd_Header_text#Changes_not_documented_yet_1|Changes not documented yet 1]] is anything earlier than March 2014). And today I finished documenting the gap so now [[xkcd_Header_text#2016-04-04_-_Protip_on_Garden|Protip on Garden]] is suddenly also here, just below where the undocumented section was, which I deleted today. And thus the protip is now not just mentioned in the trivia on the [[1663: Garden]] page. Of course it would be great to continue backwards, but it is a hughe project. But there where some important changes in the now closed gap, among other the longest running book promotion for [[Thing Explainer]]. Of course I cannot say it is complete back to march 2014, but anything staying longer than two weeks in the front page header I believe I would have found. But I have not walked through every archived version ;-) They load terribly slow. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:39, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

I guess when more windows come into view, we’ll finally know whether the windows continue far to the left of the wing, or stop well short of the tail fin (which the two currently showing already seem to me to be too close to). {{unsigned ip|162.158.107.188}}
:That is true. Wonder if the plane will land in a city that can be recognized when the counter runs out? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 21 January 2022 (UTC)

<s>That new bottom-left line worries me. [...]</s> [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 15:50, 22 January 2022 (UTC)
:Retracted. I was still thinking a viewpoint mildly downward, or exactly level with the aircraft, but a very slight upward view (and from slightly forward?) onto the underside of the HS surface would conceivably produce that profile.
:Note that I'm commenting on xkcd.com directly, as the frames in the /images page have been left fallow for a while now. I presume someone is going to catch us up again when they have the wherewithall (unfortunately, I don't right now, hard to edit complex things on this device, and I wouldn't be able to upload the frames to the wiki anyway). ...no rush, we have... 8d 0h 23m left, at least, to be thorough about this. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 14:37, 23 January 2022 (UTC)
::I have now uploaded up to the current on xkcd nr. 85. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:09, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

I wondered if there was anything else interesting in the js file that updates the countdown. [https://gist.github.com/Toby222/bff2734e98efadd9e9c3b2dc64902c43 So I de-minified it.] (There is nothing noteworthy.) [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 17:20, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

The new parachute theory could be a possibility. I have added this and two others to the top of the image theories and moved all else into an Early theory section. For sure it is a plane. And also added the parachute idea to the countdown theory section. Not my theory, but moved it to two other places than where it was first stated. (Left it there though!). Not special certain it will be, but could be. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:09, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

Maybe Randall found D.B. Cooper? ;D [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 13:49, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
:Maybe he's going to announce he ''is'' D.B. Cooper..! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 14:01, 24 January 2022 (UTC)
:: :o [[User:256.256.256.256|surprised pikachu]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk about me behind my]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ/ back]) 11:50, 25 January 2022 (UTC)

I've been checking the possible aircraft used for Zero-G (parabolic) flights, and currently - in the US at least - none of the models used have 'standard' hull-mounted horizontal stabilisers, as in the picture. They're either T-tails or cruciform (midway up the vertical stabiliser), possibly for very good reasons. (i.e., at the most crucial part of the flight envelope, it keeps the control surfaces out of the immediate wake of the wings. Handy feature, more than overcoming the engineering compromises needed to mount things that way.) Assuming any attempt at accuracy{{fact}} this might rule that option out. (And skydiving is usually high-winged non-jets, and this seems to be a low-winged jet.) Though A300-ranged planes have been used in Europe and conceivably loosely fit the given profile. But it looks like a smaller plane than many of the Vomit Comets (and larger than most parachute-party planes). Unfortunately, it still rules far too many other options in, never mind artistic <s>innacuracy</s> drift. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 15:14, 24 January 2022 (UTC)

suggestion: make a bot that uploads the newest image with https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/current .[[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.92|162.158.187.92]] 18:20, 25 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:With just five days left it is not worth the bother... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

Actually, this started to get a little boring a few days ago. https://xkcd.com/1951/ Just sayin’ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.98|108.162.246.98]] 12:52, 26 January 2022 (UTC)

First the airplane image...now two alien-themed comics in a row...Of course!!! It seems so obvious! Randall is an alien! The countdown is to the big reveal! /j [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]]
:Unless he keeps up alien themed jokes through the week I do not think they will be related to the count down. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

The new development makes me think it is a plane like {{w|Boeing E-3 Sentry}}. With a radar on top. If not another plane is above, holding this one, which could make it something with a going into space plane? Not sure if those that exist would look like this though. But the radar would probably look like this. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:50, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

(based on 110 frames available): The upper black "arc" can be some hair and the ellipse on the right look like the right glass of a pair of glasses. The latter I think because the upper line of the plane's main body gets refracted a bit. So this might become a picture with a glasses-wearing person in front and a plane in the background. If somebody more web-comic-savy than me recognizes a character we might see the start of Randall's vacation and his vacation replacement.[[User:Kimmerin|Kimmerin]] ([[User talk:Kimmerin|talk]]) 15:43, 27 January 2022 (UTC)

The line below the windows is a fairly common place to switch from a dark to light color with a commercial airline livery, or a line of color, etc. The floor of the passenger compartment is generally a little below the middle of the fuselage, the windows are above. The fuselage looks much more typical if that line is just paint than if it's demarking the fuselage from something else. The curved object in the upper right would be the right place for a winglet if the plane were banking slightly, particularly a winglet like the A350's.

;Countdown not appearing on certain comics (most notably [[980: Money]])
I have not checked every comic, and this may be a bug or nerd sniping, but this could mean... something? Idk [[User:Eebop|Eebop]] ([[User talk:Eebop|talk]]) 02:41, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
: Money has custom text in the header specific to the comic. I assume when he does this it just overrides the default, where the countdown is. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.117|198.41.238.117]] 04:09, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
::Yes that is the same for all comics that have [[xkcd_Header_text#Unique_header_text|Unique header text]], so this doesn't mean anything. So far I have found 14 of those. Mainly me who edits the [[xkcd Header text]] page where all changes to the header text can be logged. And the unique headers are listed there as well. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

I have a feeling the black thing in the top right corner is a bird wing, and the thing beneath it on the plane is its talon, meaning a giant bird is carrying a plane. Maybe the image has absolutely nothing to do with what will happen at the end of the countdown? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.23|172.69.90.23]] 13:47, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
:Don't think so, also now it is clear it is the wing. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:10, 29 January 2022 (UTC)
::Yeah, I see that now. When I posted that it certainly looked like a talon. My new guess is that I have no idea what the black thing is. However, it appears to be attached to the countdown itself now, maybe a graph?

;Raptors on a Plane?
Excuse me, but that should be Raptors on ''every'' plane.[[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 20:08, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
:Looks like a raptor tail to me. [[User:Silverfunk|Silverfunk]] ([[User talk:Silverfunk|talk]]) 14:50, 28 January 2022 (UTC)

== What if? 2 on amazon ==

There's a listing for What if? 2 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525537112) on amazon that may be linked to the countdown? Considering I can't find anything about it before recently I feel like the countdown could've been to announce it. [[User:Flumnble|Flumnble]] ([[User talk:Flumnble|talk]]) 03:29, 30 January 2022 (UTC)