explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3016: Cold Air

2024-11-26T15:04:52Z

FrankHightower:

Back In The Day, one of the idiot youngsters in a first-year chemistry lab, before leaving at the end of the afternoon, connected a water faucet to a natural-gas line (used for Bunsen burners) with a rubber hose, and opened both taps. By the next morning, much of the natural-gas network in the heart of the city was flooded. It took a while to get everything working again, and the cleanup wasn't cheap. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 22:50, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:You have the right username to mention this! ;)
:Also, the 'big trick', back in my day, was to be at the (correct end of) the science-lab bench and briefly blow into a pipe (temporarily unplugged from the burner) just as you turn your tap on. Then watch as the rest of the row (downstream of your connection to the supply) have their active flames go out. ...but I leave it to your imagination the ''three'' main problems (and various other less major ones) with trying that, with the benefit of hindsight. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 00:02, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Anyone understand the physics here? It seems clear that adding tanks of cool, dry air will make storms (and particularly tornados) far worse, not better, as the incoming hot, wet air will react with any released air to make even worse/dramatic weather patterns. But is there more to it? If the tanks are sealed, then effect could be muted by simply not releasing the stored air once the problem is realized, but this would be countered by at least two factors: First, the title text indicates that an additonal error was made resulting in it beingg impossible to seal the stored air completely (it escapes through the water system). But also, any time weather got bad enough to open leaks in the system, I think this would produce a catastrophic result as the storm mixed with all the cold dry air at once? [[User:Mneme|Mneme]] ([[User talk:Mneme|talk]]) 23:01, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:My understanding is generally that explosive failure of a container with sufficient "anti-tornado" air inside is going to be non-trivial (and you face this threat constantly, in the settlement that has an "air tower", whereas tornados are relatively infrequent and mostly cross countryside). ''post-edit: And the editor who set up the current explanation seems to have had much the same idea... gratifying to know I'm on the same wavelength as at least one person!''
:And the water-connection would be bad due to (first) extremely pressurised water and (immediately afterwards) almost as pressurised air pushing through the areas plumbing systems, with unknown secondary effects such as effectively blowing empty any water-heaters that ''really'' shouldn't be left to be 'boiled dry' (after enough air bubbles in, the remaining water will soak up the burner heat and evaporate beyond design limitations, adding to the gas pressure ''and'' no longer moderating the effects on the boiler body itself; not sure exactly what will go wrong, but it may not be pretty). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.201|172.69.195.201]] 00:02, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Without knowing which 'city' the diagram might be of (or, indeed, how figurative Cueball's illustrative figure might be), I checked the first "tornado alley" city I could think of and came up with {{w|One Kansas City Place}} as how tall the taller buildings might be. In that case, just shy of 200m (with spire on top) and 40-odd floors. The dimensions of the 3000psi tank (external, but ignoring support infrastructure) is somewhere around 400m in height, perhaps 600m side to side, presumably oblate spheroidal, so approaching (less thickness of container walls) 75 ''million'' m³ of compressed air. Which is compressed, and would otherwise be around 15,000 million m³ (15 km³!) of atmosphere if ever released. As a very vague upper limit. Notwithstanding the apparent use of an existing (ex-)water-tower in the titletext. But obviously there's possibly abstract and definitely reinterpretable alternative interpretations of the quantities that might be involved. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.225|172.69.195.225]] 00:48, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

It seems that the wiki math package <pre><math> </math></pre> Does not work properly, and returns an error Failed to parse <pre>(Missing <code>texvc</code> executable. Please see math/README to configure.):</pre> when I attempted to add the math describing the speed of the air using LaTeX [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.92|172.68.22.92]] 01:06, 26 November 2024 (UTC)
:This is a long-standing error (at some point, one bit of update invalidated the rendering process, and nobody is currently able to update the other component/configuration).
:There are plenty of alternate ways to format a newly needed formula, without TeX, and anything that's the same as when it was pre-rendered will continue to show as the inline "formula image" (which I think is potentially worse, anyway, when it comes to accessibility issues). It's really not too hard to do it without the math-tag extension working properly, though. e.g. <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; font-size:10pt; font-style: italic; text-size-adjust: none;"><tr><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">p1•v1</td><td rowspan="2">=</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">p2•v2</td></tr><tr><td>t1</td><td>t2</td></tr></table> ...as quick example with just a little bit of fine tuning applied. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.134|172.70.160.134]] 01:44, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

The statement that 3000PSI is 6x higher than known high pressure systems is false. Scuba tanks contain air at this pressure (240bar/3000psi) and the systems used to fill scuba tanks are twice that. {{unsigned ip|172.71.26.101|09:28, 26 November 2024}}
:Perform the wiki magic and add that source!--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 15:04, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

[https://www.google.com/search?q=40+Bar+to+psi My calculator (Google)] says 400MPH is 644 KPH (not 500). Also 40 Bar seems to be well on the high side of 500psi (580psi).

''"winds of about 40-400 mph [1] (about 50-500 kph)" "about 40 bar [2] (about 500 psi)."''

--[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 01:11, 26 November 2024 (UTC)
:The source says tornadoes go up to 318 mph (512 kph) but the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Bridge_Creek%E2%80%93Moore_tornado strongest tornado on record] exceeded that. I couldn't confirm when I wrote whether that was ''actually'' the strongest, and since the only purpose of the number is to say "Cueball's windspeeds are way, way worse", I decided an upper bound of 400 covered it.--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 15:04, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

3016: Cold Air

2024-11-25T23:42:52Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3016
| date = November 25, 2024
| title = Cold Air
| image = cold_air_2x.png
| imagesize = 713x283px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We also should really have checked that the old water tower was disconnected from the water system before we started filling it with compressed air.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a 204 atm COMPRESSED BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Tornadoes generally create winds of about 40-400 mph [https://www.weather.gov/ffc/fujita] (about 50-500 kph) which causes damage to buildings. Cueball proposes a method to essentially blow tornadoes away from cities by keeping enough "tornado repelling" air in a tank. Whether this would work is questionable since it's precisely the mixing of warm and cold air that produces the swirling motion that creates tornadoes.

In a compressed air system, peak pressure is considered about 40 bar [https://www.directindustry.com/prod/kaeser-kompressoren/product-4742-24559.html] (about 500 psi). Cueball proposes keeping the tank at 6 times that pressure to properly counteract the tornado. The title text confirms the tower's resemblance to a water tower is intentional which, if using 16 inch pipes as is common [https://www.waterworld.com/home/article/14071043/the-perfect-pipe] would produce much stronger winds than those of the tornado, because flow speed is inversely proportional to the diameter of the pipes and even a "wide" 16 inch pipe is very narrow for this purpose indeed.

(equation needed)

Further, highly compressed tanks are prone to bursting{{citation needed}}, which is why they are only used for small volumes of air in highly controlled settings. Cueball's proposal would put it in the center of a dense city, creating the possibility for further damage.

Finally, Tornadoes tend to form in ''sparsely'' populated areas, where structures are few and wind can flow uninterrupted, making his invention's necessity questionable at best. Even if Cueball's air tanks produce winds no faster than a normal tornado, they are now being produced in the center of a heavily constructed area, heavily increasing the potential buildings that can get damaged.

The result is a quadrupling in damage caused by wind, since now, not only are the tornadoes causing heavy winds, the tanks when functioning properly, and the tanks when malfunctioning, are causing heavy winds too

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is seen in front of a diagram of a tornado with a pointer in his hand. The diagram has arrows flowing from the bottom toward the tornado at the top and from the tornado toward the rain below it]
:Cueball: Tornado supercells are powered by the inflow of warm, moist surface air.

:[Cueball is now seen in front of a representation of his compressed air tank with a PSI of 3000 next to smaller buildings on either side of the tank]
:Cueball: Compressed air tanks could produce artificial pools of cold, dry air on demand, disrupting tornado inflow to protect cities.

:[Cueball, again with a pointer, is seen in front of a line graph labeled "Wind Damage over Time" (wind damage has increased after a point on the graph labeled "Giant experimental compressed air tanks installed in the middle of every major city"). In a frame in the top left corner, there is a label:]
:Several years later:
:Cueball: In retrospect, I can see how my plan went wrong.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Tornadoes]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

3016: Cold Air

2024-11-25T23:40:29Z

FrankHightower:

{{comic
| number = 3016
| date = November 25, 2024
| title = Cold Air
| image = cold_air_2x.png
| imagesize = 713x283px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We also should really have checked that the old water tower was disconnected from the water system before we started filling it with compressed air.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a 204 atm COMPRESSED BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Tornadoes generally create winds of about 40-400 mph [https://www.weather.gov/ffc/fujita] (about 50-500 kph) which causes damage to buildings. Cueball proposes a method to essentially blow tornadoes away from cities by keeping enough "tornado repelling" air in a tank. Whether this would work is questionable since it's precisely the mixing of warm and cold air that produces the swirling motion that creates tornadoes.

In a compressed air system, peak pressure is considered about 40 bar [https://www.directindustry.com/prod/kaeser-kompressoren/product-4742-24559.html] (about 500 psi). Cueball proposes keeping the tank at 6 times that pressure to properly counteract the tornado. The title text confirms the tower's resemblance to a water tower is intentional which, if using 16 inch pipes as is common [https://www.waterworld.com/home/article/14071043/the-perfect-pipe] would produce much stronger winds than those of the tornado, because flow speed is inversely proportional to the diameter of the pipes and even a "wide" 16 inch pipe is very narrow for this purpose indeed.

(equation needed)

Further, highly compressed tanks are prone to bursting{{citation needed}}, which is why they are only used for small volumes of air in highly controlled settings. Cueball's proposal would put it in the center of a dense city, creating the possibility for further damage.

Finally, Tornadoes tend to form in ''sparsely'' populated areas, where structures are few and wind can flow uninterrupted, making his invention's necessity questionable at best. Even if cueball's air tanks produce winds no faster than a normal tornado, they are now being produced in the center of a heavily constructed area, heavily increasing the potential buildings that can get damaged.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is seen in front of a diagram of a tornado with a pointer in his hand. The diagram has arrows flowing from the bottom toward the tornado at the top and from the tornado toward the rain below it]
:Cueball: Tornado supercells are powered by the inflow of warm, moist surface air.

:[Cueball is now seen in front of a representation of his compressed air tank with a PSI of 3000 next to smaller buildings on either side of the tank]
:Cueball: Compressed air tanks could produce artificial pools of cold, dry air on demand, disrupting tornado inflow to protect cities.

:[Cueball, again with a pointer, is seen in front of a line graph labeled "Wind Damage over Time" (wind damage has increased after a point on the graph labeled "Giant experimental compressed air tanks installed in the middle of every major city"). In a frame in the top left corner, there is a label:]
:Several years later:
:Cueball: In retrospect, I can see how my plan went wrong.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Tornadoes]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

Talk:3000: Experimental Astrophysics

2024-10-21T17:10:25Z

FrankHightower:

== Moaning about this being the 3000th comic ==
I really thought he would do something special for the 3000th comic :( i was so hyped [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.207|172.68.64.207]] 03:48, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:Saaame:( but maybe he will do something at 3072[[User:SomeRandomNerd|SomeRandomNerd]] ([[User talk:SomeRandomNerd|talk]]) 03:57, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:It's about blowing up the Sun and likely destroying the Solar System. That's not special enough for you? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
::It doesn't reference its three-thousandness, unlike comics [[1000]] and [[2000]]; it could've been released any other day. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.25|162.158.90.25]] 04:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:I was expecting xkcd 3000 for long but very busy today. I found this comic seemingly not too long after its publication, but not rather upset now [[User:物灵|物灵]] ([[User talk:物灵|talk]]) 06:40, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:SAME! :( [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 09:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:ugh me too! why didn't he do it it's so special! {{unsigned ip|172.71.151.4|01:51, 20 October 2024}}
:I was so hyped but couldn't check because I went camping-now I'm just disappointed. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 22:06, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
Randall really did fall off 😭 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 10:23, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

xkcd 4000 is coming out on 10 march 2031 unless randall uploads inconsistently during those 1000 comics (very likely) unrelatedly i pronounce TŻO as /tiː ʐɛd oʊ/. is that normal? [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 04:10, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

:You (as I) seem to be rightpondian (or have a smattering of ¿polish? culture still within your leftpondian upbringing). I suspect it would be more /ʐi/ for Randall and most of his countrypeople (or straight /zi/, if not a different attempt at the dot-diacritic). It might more correctly be pronounced as /ˈʐɛt/, however, if I have the correct origin. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.2|172.70.162.2]] 06:12, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
::actually i am brazillian, my english is a mix of primarily american and british english. my understanding of polish came from when i was really into linguistics a few years ago. [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 12:34, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

That’s it? That’s 3000? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.245|162.158.154.245]] 04:20, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

3000th comic! Yay? [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 10:29, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
sad[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.32|172.68.54.32]] 11:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

4096 is the next big release by standard XKCD counting? {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.190|13:54, 19 October 2024}}

wow, that's it? c'mon Randall, you made all those neat April fools comics, and you cant make something special for this [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.130|172.69.71.130]] 16:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:Even worse. He did something special for comic #[[1000]] & #[[2000]]. I was '''''SO''''' hyped! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 18:37, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Damn. Ever since February of this year I've been waiting with bated breath for today to see what awesome and neat thing Randall will have cooked up for 3000. Talk about a disappointment. Hopefully this is just a mistake or a misdirection, and he'll either replace this comic with the real 3000 comic or maybe release the cool comic tomorrow for 3001. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 17:25, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:{{w|3001: The Final Odyssey|3001}} is a much more geeky number than 3000, anyway... (or maybe 3072). I ''shall'' definitely be anticipating something good for 4096, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.178|172.68.205.178]] 19:13, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

And the disappointment of the year award goes to… [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.93|172.70.110.93]] 02:35, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps Comic 3141 could have some reference to being the first 4 decimal digits of pi? Disappointed nonetheless. {{unsigned ip|172.70.127.139|17:36, 20 October 2024}}

Perhaps we're not looking hard enough. Is there a numbering system where TZO means 3000? Or maybe the "Ż" symbol? The little dot is U+0307, which is just off by 7...
Or perhaps the "little circle pointing into a mirrored C shape" means 3000 in some kind of diagram...
--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 17:09, 21 October 2024 (UTC)

==Actual comments about this comic==

Randall's "Comic 3000" joke is... that he's actually ''found'' the funding, as we're soon to discover. (Any guesses where the neutron star came from?) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.30|172.70.58.30]] 10:03, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
:Luckily for us, the nearest neutron star is at least 200 light years away. Getting there to capture it and bring it back is going to be at least another 400 years (maybe more like a few thousand) in the making.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.22|172.70.134.22]] 15:25, 21 October 2024 (UTC)

Talk:3000: Experimental Astrophysics

2024-10-21T17:09:18Z

FrankHightower: /* Moaning about this being the 3000th comic */

== Moaning about this being the 3000th comic ==
I really thought he would do something special for the 3000th comic :( i was so hyped [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.207|172.68.64.207]] 03:48, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:Saaame:( but maybe he will do something at 3072[[User:SomeRandomNerd|SomeRandomNerd]] ([[User talk:SomeRandomNerd|talk]]) 03:57, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:It's about blowing up the Sun and likely destroying the Solar System. That's not special enough for you? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
::It doesn't reference its three-thousandness, unlike comics [[1000]] and [[2000]]; it could've been released any other day. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.25|162.158.90.25]] 04:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:I was expecting xkcd 3000 for long but very busy today. I found this comic seemingly not too long after its publication, but not rather upset now [[User:物灵|物灵]] ([[User talk:物灵|talk]]) 06:40, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:SAME! :( [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 09:22, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:ugh me too! why didn't he do it it's so special! {{unsigned ip|172.71.151.4|01:51, 20 October 2024}}
:I was so hyped but couldn't check because I went camping-now I'm just disappointed. [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 22:06, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
Randall really did fall off 😭 [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 10:23, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

xkcd 4000 is coming out on 10 march 2031 unless randall uploads inconsistently during those 1000 comics (very likely) unrelatedly i pronounce TŻO as /tiː ʐɛd oʊ/. is that normal? [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 04:10, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

:You (as I) seem to be rightpondian (or have a smattering of ¿polish? culture still within your leftpondian upbringing). I suspect it would be more /ʐi/ for Randall and most of his countrypeople (or straight /zi/, if not a different attempt at the dot-diacritic). It might more correctly be pronounced as /ˈʐɛt/, however, if I have the correct origin. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.2|172.70.162.2]] 06:12, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
::actually i am brazillian, my english is a mix of primarily american and british english. my understanding of polish came from when i was really into linguistics a few years ago. [[User:MinersHavenM43|MinersHavenM43]] ([[User talk:MinersHavenM43|talk]]) 12:34, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

That’s it? That’s 3000? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.245|162.158.154.245]] 04:20, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

3000th comic! Yay? [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 10:29, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
sad[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.32|172.68.54.32]] 11:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

4096 is the next big release by standard XKCD counting? {{unsigned ip|172.69.71.190|13:54, 19 October 2024}}

wow, that's it? c'mon Randall, you made all those neat April fools comics, and you cant make something special for this [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.130|172.69.71.130]] 16:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:Even worse. He did something special for comic #[[1000]] & #[[2000]]. I was '''''SO''''' hyped! [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4bo-hj-mDyOOUp_Yp0pug youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 18:37, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

Damn. Ever since February of this year I've been waiting with bated breath for today to see what awesome and neat thing Randall will have cooked up for 3000. Talk about a disappointment. Hopefully this is just a mistake or a misdirection, and he'll either replace this comic with the real 3000 comic or maybe release the cool comic tomorrow for 3001. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 17:25, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:{{w|3001: The Final Odyssey|3001}} is a much more geeky number than 3000, anyway... (or maybe 3072). I ''shall'' definitely be anticipating something good for 4096, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.178|172.68.205.178]] 19:13, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

And the disappointment of the year award goes to… [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.93|172.70.110.93]] 02:35, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

Perhaps Comic 3141 could have some reference to being the first 4 decimal digits of pi? Disappointed nonetheless. {{unsigned ip|172.70.127.139|17:36, 20 October 2024}}

Perhaps we're not looking hard enough. Is there a numbering system where TZO means 3000? Or maybe the "Ż" symbol? The little dot is U+0307, which is just off by 7...--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 17:09, 21 October 2024 (UTC)

==Actual comments about this comic==

Randall's "Comic 3000" joke is... that he's actually ''found'' the funding, as we're soon to discover. (Any guesses where the neutron star came from?) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.30|172.70.58.30]] 10:03, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
:Luckily for us, the nearest neutron star is at least 200 light years away. Getting there to capture it and bring it back is going to be at least another 400 years (maybe more like a few thousand) in the making.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.22|172.70.134.22]] 15:25, 21 October 2024 (UTC)

2969: Vice President First Names

2024-08-08T16:52:53Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2969
| date = August 7, 2024
| title = Vice President First Names
| image = vice_president_first_names_2x.png
| imagesize = 364x556px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [Political pundit on the ScrabbleTV News channel] "After four years of defying orthographic pressure, Joe ceded the top of the ticket to Kamala, who--after considering Josh, Mark, Andy, Roy, and Pete--picked Tim."
}}

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

Randall observes that American {{w|Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidents}} since the 80s have almost all went by short first names. It should be noted that all of the "short" first names in this strip, with the exception of John (F. Kennedy) are diminutives (or initials) of longer names, but all represent the names which the candidates preferred and publicly used. This comic was published one day after {{w|Kamala Harris}} (who replaced Biden as presidential candidate) chose {{w|Tim Walz}} as her running mate for the {{w|2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election}}. Both the Republican and Democratic tickets are present for 2024, since the 2024 election had not yet concluded when this comic was made. Either party winning would match the observation.

In the comic's caption, Randall amusingly describes this as an emerging "political consensus."

While not a "political" consensus per se, the observed phenomenon is a type of consensus — reflecting a multi-decade change in US societal norms — and is not simply a random coincidence.
* There has been a national US trend toward shorter names since the 1980s and 1990s, with a rise in the popularity of baby names like Ryan, Kyle, Amy, and Lisa. (The trend has continued, with even shorter names like Ava, Mia, and Max becoming more common in the 2000s and 2010s.)
* This has paralleled a trend in shorter business names, with companies like Dell, Cisco, and eBay before the turn of the millennium and Google, Uber, and Lyft after (cf. pre-1980 businesses like AT&T, BNSF or 3M which had to convert their very long names into acronyms to adapt). Product naming also began to simplify in the late 20th century, driven by marketing strategies that favored brevity and memorability, exemplified by Apple's iconic "iMac" and "iPhone" products (again, cf. names like "Tandy 1000", "Ford F 500" or "Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies").
* All of these naming trends reflect a ''general'' societal trend toward minimalism and less formality, also seen with corporate logos, product design (Apple), clothing design (Gap), furniture design (IKEA), and web/app design.

This societal shift may explain why many politicians with given names like Danforth, Albert, and Richard might have preferred to go by shorter, less formal sounding, more approachable names like Dan, Al, and Dick, to match the zeitgeist.

Given that trend, it is noteworthy that Vice Presidents have generally adopted shorter names, but presidents have been less likely to do so. It's possible to create theories around this (eg, the office of President is expected to have more gravitas and formality, while the Vice President has less of an official role, and wants to be more approachable), but the size of the group is small enough that it could easily be coincidence, particularly since many of those names (such as George, Barack, and Kamala) can't be easily shortened. The exception, Donald Trump (which can be shortened to Don), did not become a politician until late in life, when he was already nationally famous using his full name.

The '''title text''' amusingly suggests (1) the existence of a ScrabbleTV News channel (named after {{w|Scrabble|the word game}}) staffed with (2) political pundits who (3) report Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign as being driven by orthographic (related to the writing of words) pressure to conform to the aforementioned political consensus. Having Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as VP violated this pattern, but elevating Harris to the presidency and selecting a short-named running mate would restore it. In addition to Tim Walz, all of the candidates considered most likely as running mate had short first names: Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, Andy Beshear, Roy Cooper, and Pete Buttigieg. This could also be a subtle joke about political pundits tending to give confident, inaccurate hot-takes. (Biden's decision was driven, among other things, by worsening polling, rising concerns about his age, a poor debate performance against Trump, and subsequent pressure from other leading Democrats.)

This is Randall's second recent comic engaging in observational comedy about US politics and Kamala Harris, the first being [[2962: President Venn Diagram]] which was published right after she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket.

===Trivia: Other ways to shorten names===
Politicians can also use a more casual name by employing their middle name (as with {{w|Mitt Romney|Willard Mitt Romney}}). Even when they're not shortened to four or fewer letters, names can be made more casual in other ways (as with {{w|Bernie Sanders|Bernard 'Bernie' Sanders}}). As well, some politicians were commonly called by short nicknames even if they did not run under those names (Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower).

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Presidential Ticket Names
! Year !! President !! Vice-President
|-
| 2024 || Donald (John {{w|Donald Trump|Trump}}‎) Kamala (Devi {{w|Kamala Harris|Harris}}) || '''JD''' (''James David'' {{w|JD Vance|Vance}}, né James Donald Bowman)‎ '''Tim''' (''Timothy'' {{w|Tim Walz|Walz}})
|-
| 2020 || '''Joe''' (''Joseph'' Robinette {{w|Joe Biden|Biden}} Jr.) || Kamala (Devi Harris)
|-
| 2016 || Donald (John Trump)‎ || '''Mike''' (''Michael'' Richard {{w|Mike Pence|Pence}})
|-
| 2012 2008 || Barack (Hussein {{w|Barack Obama|Obama}} II)‎ || '''Joe''' (''Joseph'' Robinette Biden, Jr.)
|-
| 2004 2000 || George (Walker {{w|George W. Bush|Bush}}) || '''Dick''' (''Richard'' Bruce {{w|Dick Cheney|Cheney}})
|-
| 1996 1992 || '''Bill''' (''William'' Jefferson {{w|Bill Clinton|Clinton}}, né W. J. Blythe III) || '''Al''' (''Albert'' Arnold {{w|Al Gore|Gore}} Jr.)
|-
| 1988 || George (Herbert Walker {{w|George H. W. Bush|Bush}})‎ || '''Dan''' (James ''Danforth'' {{w|Dan Quayle|Quayle}} )
|-
| 1984 1980 || Ronald (Wilson {{w|Ronald Reagan|Reagan}})‎ || George (Herbert Walker Bush)
|-
| 1976 || ‎Jimmy (''James'' Earl {{w|Jimmy Carter|Carter}} Jr.) || Walter (Frederick {{w|Walter Mondale|Mondale}})
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1974 || ‎Gerald (Rudolph {{w|Gerald Ford|Ford}} Jr, né Leslie Lynch King Jr.) || Nelson (Aldrich {{w|Nelson Rockefeller|Rockefeller}})*
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1973 || ‎Richard (Milhous {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}}) || Gerald (Rudolph Ford Jr.)*
|-
| 1972 1968 || ‎Richard (Milhous Nixon) || Spiro (Theodore {{w|Spiro Agnew|Agnew}})
|-
| 1964 || Lyndon (Baines {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}) || Hubert (Horatio {{w|Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey}} Jr.)
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1963 || Lyndon (Baines Johnson)† || ''vacant''
|-
| 1960 || '''John''' (Fitzgerald {{w|John F. Kennedy|Kennedy}}) || Lyndon (Baines Johnson)
|-
| 1956 1952 || Dwight (David {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower}}, né David Dwight Eisenhower) || Richard (Milhous Nixon)
|}

:Darkened rows show transitions not made via an {{w|List of United States major party presidential tickets|electoral 'ticket'}}.
::''* Replacements made in response to political scandal''
::''† Accession to Presidency due to assassination, VP position left unfilled until next election (not shown in comic)''

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Tables are bad? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A table is shown in a panel. Names of "Four letters or fewer" are shown in the comic on a yellow background (bolded in the table below).]
:{| class="wikitable"
! !! President !! VP
|-
| 2024 ||? Kamala ? Donald || '''Tim ? JD ?'''
|-
| 2020 || '''Joe''' || Kamala
|-
| 2016 || Donald‎ || '''Mike'''
|-
| 2008 || Barack‎ || '''Joe'''
|-
| 2000 || George || '''Dick'''
|-
| 1992 || '''Bill''' || '''Al'''
|-
| 1988 || George || '''Dan'''
|-
| 1980 || Ronald‎ || George
|-
| 1976 || ‎Jimmy || Walter
|-
| 1974 || ‎Gerald || Nelson
|-
| 1973 || ‎Richard || Gerald
|-
| 1968 || ‎Richard || Spiro
|-
| 1964 || Lyndon || Hubert
|-
| 1960 || '''John''' || Lyndon
|-
| 1952 || Dwight || Richard
|}

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Since the 1980s, a political consensus has emerged: vice presidents should have short first names.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]

2949: Network Configuration

2024-06-23T16:41:50Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2949
| date = June 21, 2024
| title = Network Configuration
| image = network_configuration_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you repeatedly rerun the development of technological civilization, it turns out that for some reason the only constant is that there is always a networking utility called 'netcat', though it does a different thing in each one.
}}

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

In this comic, [[Cueball]] claims he messed up his network configuration and needs to '''rebuild''' it from scratch. However, he uses a double meaning of the word "rebuild" to take the idea to an extreme. Instead of just rebuilding his network settings - starting fresh with a clean setup - he is reconstructing the entire history of human civilization each time.

As this originally took multiple millenia, doing it for every {{w|network packet}} would make communication ''extremely'' slow; in modern networking, we send and receive thousands of packets every second.

In the final frame, Cueball looks shaggy and dirty, with a hoe behind him, as though he had been performing these tasks in real life just to get his network working again. He says the network packet was stuck in the {{w|Neolithic}} era, the final period of the Stone Age that marked the transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement. Apparently Cueball had to go through the effort of inventing farming, one of the developments of the {{w|Neolithic Revolution}}, to keep communicating with Ponytail.

Randall Munroe is familiar with the popular creative nonfiction topic of what it takes to rebuild civilization, the subject of a book he blurbed on its cover, [https://www.howtoinventeverything.com/ How to Invent Everything], by Ryan North, fellow cartoonist.

The title text discusses netcat, a simple utility to make a tcp connection which comes in annoyingly incompatible [https://manpages.debian.org/stretch/netcat-traditional/nc.1.en.html nc.traditional] and [https://manpages.debian.org/stretch/netcat-openbsd/nc.1.en.html nc.openbsd] varieties. This is likely a reference to the Hitchhiker's Guide series which states that 85% of civilizations developed a drink that sounds like "Jynnan Tonnyx" ({{w|Gin and tonic}}) before inventing interstellar flight. The drinks are only related by their name and have nothing else in common.

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

:[Ponytail is sitting on an office chair at her computer with a headset on. A zigzag line indicates what is shown on the computer screen]
:Ponytail (typing): Ugh, your connection is so laggy.
:Computer: Yeah, sorry.

:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at his laptop]
:Cueball (typing): It's because I messed up my network configuration and now I have to rebuild a separate civilization from scratch for each packet.

:[Ponytail at her computer]
:Ponytail (typing): Huh?
:Ponytail (typing): What are you talking about?
:Ponytail (typing): ...Hello?

:[Beat panel]

:[Cueball, with dirt on his head and around him, is at an old computer setup with an agricultural tool resting on his now non-office chair]
:Cueball (typing): Sorry, got stuck in the Neolithic that time.
:Cueball (typing): Inventing farming takes '''''forever'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

2938: Local Group

2024-05-28T20:14:21Z

FrankHightower: information lost in previous edits

{{comic
| number = 2938
| date = May 27, 2024
| title = Local Group
| image = local_group_2x.png
| imagesize = 547x266px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Cosmologists estimate the spaghetti strand to be about 200 septillion calories, though it could be higher depending on the nutritional value of dark matter.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COSMIC SPAGHETTI BOWL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In {{w|Timeline_of_the_far_future|less than 5 billion years}} into the future, the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} is expected to {{w|Andromeda–Milky Way collision|collide}} with the {{w|Milky Way}}. This comic suggests this will happen when both galaxies get into a kissing distance after having slurped the same cosmic spaghetti strand. This is a spoof of a famous scene in the movie ''{{w|Lady and the Tramp}}'', where the titular dogs are eating spaghetti at an Italian restaurant. They happen to be eating the same strand from opposite ends, so they end up meeting in the middle and kissing. This scene was mentioned before in [[2612: Lightsabers]].

It's possible that this is also a reference to {{w|Flying_Spaghetti_Monster|Pastafarianism}}, the spoof religion which claims that the universe was created by a "flying spaghetti monster". If both galaxies are eating one of the deity's "noodly appendages," they may be doing what the monster wishes, since one of the religion's holidays is about eating lots of pasta.

The title text figure of 200 septillions (2×1026) calories for the Milky Way-Andromeda noodle equates to approximately 2500 calories per foot of noodle. This value makes sense only if Randall is referring to the physics/chemistry {{w|Calorie|"small" calorie}} (= 4.184 joules) rather than the dietary {{w|Calorie|"large" Calorie}} (= 4184 joules). Dietary Calories, also called kilocalories (kcal), would be the usual meaning in a food-related context like this one, but Randall was trained as a physicist and apparently used the small calorie here. Having 2.5 dietary Calories per foot is roughly correct for a noodle size between thin spaghetti and angel hair.

The nutritional value of dark matter refers to the fact that evidence of 'dark matter' is particularly found in [https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11224 cosmic filaments] and the [https://www.space.com/dark-matter-detected-cosmic-web-filaments-universe-evolution-subaru-telescope cosmic web], implying that such "cosmic spaghetti" would have an appreciable amount of dark matter "sauce" on it. But, because the exact nature of dark matter is unknown, it is likely even more difficult to identify the calorific content that it might provide. It is of note that these {{w|galactic filament|filaments}} are much larger structures than the {{w|Local Group}}.

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

:[Two galaxies, positioned on the left and right sides of the panel, are each eating a single noodle of spaghetti, originating from a bowl of spaghetti in between them.]
:[Left galaxy:] ''Sluuurp''
:[Right galaxy:] ''Sluuurp''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astronomers have determined that the Milky Way and Andromeda are currently slurping up the same strand of cosmic spaghetti, suggesting that in 5 billion years they will likely kiss.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

2938: Local Group

2024-05-28T15:23:53Z

FrankHightower: matching wording to title text

{{comic
| number = 2938
| date = May 27, 2024
| title = Local Group
| image = local_group_2x.png
| imagesize = 547x266px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Cosmologists estimate the spaghetti strand to be about 200 septillion calories, though it could be higher depending on the nutritional value of dark matter.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COSMIC SPAGHETTI BOWL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In {{w|Timeline_of_the_far_future|less than 5 billion years}} into the future, the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} is expected to {{w|Andromeda–Milky Way collision|collide}} with the {{w|Milky Way}}. This comic suggests this will happen when both galaxies get into a kissing distance after having slurped the same cosmic spaghetti strand.

This is a spoof of a famous scene in the movie ''{{w|Lady and the Tramp}}'', where the titular dogs are eating spaghetti in an Italian restaurant. They happen to be eating the same strand from opposite ends, so they end up meeting in the middle and kissing. This scene has been mentioned before in [[2612: Lightsabers]].

The spaghetti strand may be a reference to a {{w|galaxy filament}}, although those are much larger structures than the {{w|Local Group}}.

It's possible that this is also a reference to {{w|Flying_Spaghetti_Monster|Pastafarianism}}, the spoof religion which claims that the universe might have been created by a "flying spaghetti monster". If both galaxies are eating one of the deity's "noodly appendages" they may be doing what the monster wishes, since one of the religion's holidays is about eating lots of pasta.

The title text figure of 200 septillion (2×1026) calories for the Milky Way-Andromeda noodle equates to approximately 2500 calories per foot of noodle. This value makes sense only if Randall is referring to the physics/chemistry "small" {{w|calorie}} (= 4.184 joules) rather than the dietary "large" calorie (= 4184 joules). Dietary calories, also labelled as kilocalories (kcal) in parts of the world, would be the usual usage in a food-related context like this one, but Randall was trained as a physicist and apparently used the small calorie here. Having 2.5 dietary calories per foot is roughly correct for a noodle size between thin spaghetti and angel hair pasta. It could also be implying an unusually thick noodle.

The nutritional value of dark matter refers to the fact that dark matter is repeatedly found in cosmic filaments[https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11224] and the cosmic web[https://www.space.com/dark-matter-detected-cosmic-web-filaments-universe-evolution-subaru-telescope], implying that such "cosmic spaghetti" would have an appreciable amount of dark matter "sauce" on it.

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

:[Two galaxies, positioned on the left and right sides of the panel, are each eating a single noodle of spaghetti, originating from a bowl of spaghetti in between them.]
:[Left galaxy:] ''Sluuurp''
:[Right galaxy:] ''Sluuurp''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astronomers have determined that the Milky Way and Andromeda are currently slurping up the same strand of cosmic spaghetti, suggesting that in 5 billion years they will likely kiss.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

2938: Local Group

2024-05-28T15:23:10Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2938
| date = May 27, 2024
| title = Local Group
| image = local_group_2x.png
| imagesize = 547x266px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Cosmologists estimate the spaghetti strand to be about 200 septillion calories, though it could be higher depending on the nutritional value of dark matter.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COSMIC SPAGHETTI BOWL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In {{w|Timeline_of_the_far_future|less than 5 billion years}} into the future, the {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}} is expected to {{w|Andromeda–Milky Way collision|collide}} with the {{w|Milky Way}}. This comic suggests this will happen when both galaxies get into a kissing distance after having slurped the same cosmic spaghetti strand.

This is a spoof of a famous scene in the movie ''{{w|Lady and the Tramp}}'', where the titular dogs are eating spaghetti in an Italian restaurant. They happen to be eating the same strand from opposite ends, so they end up meeting in the middle and kissing. This scene has been mentioned before in [[2612: Lightsabers]].

The spaghetti strand may be a reference to a {{w|galaxy filament}}, although those are much larger structures than the {{w|Local Group}}.

It's possible that this is also a reference to {{w|Flying_Spaghetti_Monster|Pastafarianism}}, the spoof religion which claims that the universe might have been created by a "flying spaghetti monster". If both galaxies are eating one of the deity's "noodly appendages" they may be doing what the monster wishes, since one of the religion's holidays is about eating lots of pasta.

The title text figure of 200 septillion (2×1026) calories for the Milky Way-Andromeda noodle equates to approximately 2500 calories per foot of noodle. This value makes sense only if Randall is referring to the physics/chemistry "small" {{w|calorie}} (= 4.184 joules) rather than the dietary "large" calorie (= 4184 joules). Dietary calories, also labelled as kilocalories (kcal) in parts of the world, would be the usual usage in a food-related context like this one, but Randall was trained as a physicist and apparently used the small calorie here. Having 2.5 dietary calories per foot is roughly correct for a noodle size between thin spaghetti and angel hair pasta. It could also be implying an unusually thick noodle.

The dietary value of dark matter refers to the fact that dark matter is repeatedly found in cosmic filaments[https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11224] and the cosmic web[https://www.space.com/dark-matter-detected-cosmic-web-filaments-universe-evolution-subaru-telescope], implying that such "cosmic spaghetti" would have an appreciable amount of dark matter "sauce" on it.

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

:[Two galaxies, positioned on the left and right sides of the panel, are each eating a single noodle of spaghetti, originating from a bowl of spaghetti in between them.]
:[Left galaxy:] ''Sluuurp''
:[Right galaxy:] ''Sluuurp''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astronomers have determined that the Milky Way and Andromeda are currently slurping up the same strand of cosmic spaghetti, suggesting that in 5 billion years they will likely kiss.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-22T02:49:05Z

FrankHightower:

{{comic
| number = 2922
| date = April 19, 2024
| title = Pub Trivia
| image = pub_trivia_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x666px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London
}}

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

Many pubs have {{w|pub trivia|trivia nights}}, where patrons form teams and compete to answer questions about a range of topics. The typical goal for trivia games is that they be challenging, yet possible, and so the questions whose answers are too difficult or too easy generally make for a poor game. In addition, it's usually preferable that questions are clearly worded with a single, objective answer, so as to avoid disputes about which answers are correct.

Cueball has apparently been hired by one bar to infiltrate ''other'' bars' quiz nights and ask particularly bad questions. The implication is that this will make the games unpleasant, in the hopes that people will leave, and possibly go to the bar that hired Cueball.

Cueball uses a variety of strategies to write bad questions, including questions that are trivial (where the answer is painfully obvious), unanswerable (either because there is no answer or because the answer is unknown), ambiguously worded or arguable.

Many of his questions could be altered slightly to make them more reasonable for such a game, but that would defeat Cueball's purpose.

It is possible the intention of this pub quiz is to identify the issues with each question as is done here, accepting these as the answers. As Cueball was hired by a rival pub, they could then take these corrections back to that rival place.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Question !! Problem with the Question !! Explanation !! More Reasonable Alternative(s)
|-
|1. Which member of {{w|BTS}} has a birthday this year?||Multiple correct answers||All people have birthdays every year{{Citation needed}} (other than pedantic exceptions due to calendar issues or timezone alterations, or someone dying before their birthday, or being born on a leap day, none of which apply in this case). Therefore, all seven members of BTS have birthdays this year.||Which member of BTS has a birthday today/this week/this month? Which member of BTS turns [a specific age] this year?
|-
|2. How many sides does a {{w|platonic solid}} have?||Multiple answers, ambiguous language||There are five {{w|Platonic solids}}, with 4, 6, 8, 12 or 20 faces (colloquially called sides) in {{w|Euclid|Euclidean}} {{w|Euclidean geometry|3-space}}. Using the {{w|Euler Characteristic}} Polyhedron Formula the solids have, respectively, 6, 12, 12, 30 and 30 edges (also occasionally called sides colloquially). A more devious quizmaster might actually include this as a trick question with the correct answer being 'zero', since strictly speaking solids do not have 'sides'.||How many Platonic solids are there? What is the highest number of faces on a Platonic solid? How many faces does a [specific platonic solid] have? How many faces (or edges, or vertices) do ''all'' the platonic solids have (i.e., added together)? What is the number of vertices, subtract the number of edges, plus the number of faces equal to for a platonic solid (i.e. The Euler Characteristic)?
|-
|3. What is the smallest lake in the world?||Arguable, Potentially Unknowable||While the largest lakes are relatively straightforward to categorize, smaller bodies of water range in size down to individual puddles. There is no clear, definitional line at which a body goes from being a lake to a pond, for example. In addition, the size of small lakes will fluctuate due to variability in precipitation, and other weather effects, and some lakes only exist for brief periods (intermittent lakes). Hence, which small bodies of water are "lakes" and which is the smallest can't be clearly answered, without specifying a whole list of parameters and standards.

This question may be a reference to the Tom Scott video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEGzvZ85dgs What counts as the world's shortest river?]
||What lake has the largest surface area in the world? What is the world's deepest lake? What lake is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's smallest? (Benxi Lake in China).
|-
|4. Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks, {{w|Jaws (movie)|Jaws (1975)}} or {{w|Lincoln (movie)|Lincoln (2012)}}?||Trivial||''Jaws'' is a famous movie about a killer shark, and features at least five fatal shark attacks. Lincoln is a movie about the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, containing zero shark attacks.{{Citation needed}} Anyone with even a passing familiarity with American popular culture should be able to get this one right, and someone with no knowledge could likely guess the answer from the titles alone. This might be mistaken for a silly trick question, as ''Lincoln'' is a much less famous movie.||How many times is a shark seen on screen in "Jaws"? Which film won more {{w|Academy Awards}}? How many fatal shark attacks occur in "Jaws"? Which movie in the "Jaws" franchise has the most shark attacks?
|-
|5. How many planets were there originally?||Ambiguous||The question doesn't specify a time frame or culture, which is necessary to understand both the word 'Planet' and the word 'originally'. It could be referring to the {{w|classical planets|original meaning of the word planet}}, which in antiquity referred to the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (total of 7 planets). It could be referring to the planets originally known to the quiz master, which (assuming Cueball is between 18 and 96 years old) would be after the reclassification of Ceres, Pallas, Vesta and Juno to asteroids, and after the discovery of Pluto, but prior to the reclassification of Pluto to dwarf planet (total of 9 planets). It could conceivably be referring to the first official definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, which would be Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (total of 8 planets). It could be referring to the process of planetary formation, in which case another layer of ambiguity is added, as it could be referring to the number of protoplanetary bodies in the {{w|protoplanetary disk}} (which is unknown since some of them were destroyed like {{w|Theia (planet)|Theia}}), or the number of planets that accreted from the disk before some were likely ejected (which is also unknown), or how many planets existed when the sun or the universe was formed (which is 0). It also doesn't specify that it's referring to planets in our solar system alone (in the galaxy there are almost certainly trillions of planets). Additionally, it asks how many "were there", as opposed to how many planets "were known" (the number which we know of being far smaller than the true number of planets in the universe). ||How many planets were known to Ancient Greece? How many planets were known to science prior to the invention of the telescope? How many planets were recognized in our Solar System at the end of the 20th century?
|-
|6. What {{w|NFL}} player has scored the most points outside of a game?||Ambiguous, Unknowable||The term "scored the most points" generally only applies within the context of a game, making it very unclear what kind of "points" the question is referring to. Does it mean points in non-NFL games? Points in games other than football? Points outside the context of any game at all (such as 'making a point' in conversation)? Even if this were clarified, points scored in official games in professional sports leagues are meticulously recorded and published, points scored in any other context are not, so the question is likely impossible to answer. Arguably, Brian Jordan would be an answer, with 121 Minor League and 755 MLB runs scored (points).||Which NFL player scored the most points in a game/season/career?
|-
|7. The {{w|Wright brothers}} built the first airplane. Who built the last one?||Unknowable||Orville and Wilbur Wright are widely credited with designing and building the first airplane (in the sense that they invented wingflaps, and discounting everybody flying before them without wingflaps). In modern times, design and construction of airplanes has become a huge, international industry, with many airplanes of widely varying sizings being built each year. Since airplanes are built continuously, which one was made most recently depends on when the question is asked (and would be very difficult for the average person to know -- and not trivial for even a member of the aerospace industry to know). If it's asking about the last airplane ''ever'', that's impossible to know, since that plane hasn't been built yet (and hopefully won't for a very long time).||Who built the first airplane '''after''' the Wright brothers? When was the final Wright Model B aircraft built?
|-
|8. Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?||Unknown, Possibly unknowable||This is a famous, centuries-old {{w|open question}} in math known as {{w|Goldbach's conjecture}}. Mathematicians widely believe that it is true, and it has held true for every number checked up to 4 ⋅ 1018, but since it's impossible to check every number, we can't assume it's universally true. No mathematical proof of its veracity exists at this point. Since it is {{w|Gödel's incompleteness theorems|known}} that something can be true but impossible to prove (and, being true, impossible to disprove), this may be the situation forever.||According to which mathematical conjecture is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?
|-
|9. Not counting {{w|Canberra}}, what city is the capital of {{w|Australia}}?||No answer exists||Australia has only one capital (unlike some countries, which divide the legislative and administrative capitals, for example), and that capital is Canberra. Hence, by definition, there is no national capital "not counting Canberra". Though each constituent state also has its state capital (inclusive of Canberra, which is, by population, almost the entirety of its {{w|Australian Capital Territory|own state territory}}), this would still leave us with an ambiguous choice. Before 1927, the answer could be Melbourne, as that was where the Parliament sat at that time. This may be a joke about how other cities, such as Melbourne and Sydney, are often mistaken for the capital of Australia due to Canberra's comparatively small population (roughly 500,000 in the greater metropolitan area, compared to Melbourne and Sydney's roughly 5,000,000 each). It also alludes to the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne as each claims to be the true capital. ||What city is the capital of Australia? What is currently the largest city in Australia? What is the smallest state capital in Australia? Not counting Canberra, what city was the most recently founded state capital of Australia? What city was the capital city before Canberra?
|-
|10. Who played the drums?||Trivial, yet unknowable without context||As worded, the question could be answered with anyone who's ever played the drums, in any context, whether professional or not, in all of history. This would include a huge number of people, most of whom would not be well-known. Most people would be able to offer a technically correct answer, and almost none of them would be interesting. Or maybe the host is wondering who it was that played drums that night, as part of the bar's live music.||Who played the drums for some specific band/album/track/concert/time/place?
|-
|(Title text) Where is {{w|London}} located? (a) the {{w|British Isles}} (b) {{w|Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (c) the {{w|United Kingdom|UK}} (d) {{w|Europe}} (or 'the {{w|European Union|EU}}') (e) {{w|Greater London}}||Multiple answers||All choices are technically correct as they are various geographical areas that include the city of London, England. Also note that the City of London is different from the city ''named'' London, as the latter includes a large region around the former, hence (e) as an answer. Answer (d) is both correct and incorrect, as it conflates a geographic region, Europe, and a political body, the European Union. The United Kingdom (and therefore London) {{w|Brexit|left the EU}} in 2020, but is still geographically included in Europe. In addition, 'the UK' is short for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so answers (b) and (c) refer to the same thing. This also does not get into cities named London outside of the UK, so for example "Ontario" or "Canada" could also be possible answers if the test designer were truly evil, thus making none of the answers correct. ||What is the capital of the United Kingdom? (answer: London) Where is London, England '''not''' located? (a) the British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) the UK (d) Europe (e) the EU (answer: (e))
|}

==Transcript==
:[The top half of Cueball is shown beneath the list of questions he is reading aloud. He is holding a wireless microphone in his right hand and a pencil and notebook in his left, reading from the notebook and speaking into the microphone. The list is shown on the notebook as well, but just as unreadable lines.]:
:Cueball: Welcome to pub trivia! Round one is 10 questions:
:# Which member of BTS has a birthday this year?
:# How many sides does a platonic solid have?
:# What is the smallest lake in the world?
:# Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks - ''Jaws'' (1975) or ''Lincoln'' (2012)?
:# How many planets were there originally?
:# What NFL player has scored the most points outside of a game?
:# The Wright brothers built the first airplane. Who built the last one?
:# Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?
:# Not counting Canberra, what city is the capital of Australia?
:# Who played the drums?

:[Caption below the panel]:
:A local pub trivia place hired me to run bad quizzes at competing bars.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:American football]]

2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-22T02:48:05Z

FrankHightower:

{{comic
| number = 2922
| date = April 19, 2024
| title = Pub Trivia
| image = pub_trivia_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x666px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London
}}

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

Many pubs have {{w|pub trivia|trivia nights}}, where patrons form teams and compete to answer questions about a range of topics. The typical goal for trivia games is that they be challenging, yet possible, and so the questions whose answers are too difficult or too easy generally make for a poor game. In addition, it's usually preferable that questions are clearly worded with a single, objective answer, so as to avoid disputes about which answers are correct.

Cueball has apparently been hired by one bar to infiltrate ''other'' bars' quiz nights and ask particularly bad questions. The implication is that this will make the games unpleasant, in the hopes that people will leave, and possibly go to the bar that hired Cueball.

Cueball uses a variety of strategies to write bad questions, including questions that are trivial (where the answer is painfully obvious), unanswerable (either because there is no answer or because the answer is unknown), ambiguously worded or arguable.

Many of his questions could be altered slightly to make them more reasonable for such a game, but that would defeat Cueball's purpose.

It is possible the intention of this pub quiz is to identify the issues with each question as is done here, accepting these as the answers. As Cueball was hired by a rival pub, they could then take these corrections back to that rival place.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Question !! Problem with the Question !! Explanation !! More Reasonable Alternative(s)
|-
|1. Which member of {{w|BTS}} has a birthday this year?||Multiple correct answers||All people have birthdays every year{{Citation needed}} (other than pedantic exceptions due to calendar issues or timezone alterations, or someone dying before their birthday, or being born on a leap day, none of which apply in this case). Therefore, all seven members of BTS have birthdays this year.||Which member of BTS has a birthday today/this week/this month? Which member of BTS turns [a specific age] this year?
|-
|2. How many sides does a {{w|platonic solid}} have?||Multiple answers, ambiguous language||There are five {{w|Platonic solids}}, with 4, 6, 8, 12 or 20 faces (colloquially called sides) in {{w|Euclid|Euclidean}} {{w|Euclidean geometry|3-space}}. Using the {{w|Euler Characteristic}} Polyhedron Formula the solids have, respectively, 6, 12, 12, 30 and 30 edges (also occasionally called sides colloquially). A more devious quizmaster might actually include this as a trick question with the correct answer being 'zero', since strictly speaking solids do not have 'sides'.||How many Platonic solids are there? What is the highest number of faces on a Platonic solid? How many faces does a [specific platonic solid] have? How many faces (or edges, or vertices) do ''all'' the platonic solids have (i.e., added together)? What is the number of vertices, subtract the number of edges, plus the number of faces equal to for a platonic solid (i.e. The Euler Characteristic)?
|-
|3. What is the smallest lake in the world?||Arguable, Potentially Unknowable||While the largest lakes are relatively straightforward to categorize, smaller bodies of water range in size down to individual puddles. There is no clear, definitional line at which a body goes from being a lake to a pond, for example. In addition, the size of small lakes will fluctuate due to variability in precipitation, and other weather effects, and some lakes only exist for brief periods (intermittent lakes). Hence, which small bodies of water are "lakes" and which is the smallest can't be clearly answered, without specifying a whole list of parameters and standards.||What lake has the largest surface area in the world? What is the world's deepest lake? What lake is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's smallest? (Benxi Lake in China).
This question may be a reference to the Tom Scott video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEGzvZ85dgs What counts as the world's shortest river?]
|-
|4. Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks, {{w|Jaws (movie)|Jaws (1975)}} or {{w|Lincoln (movie)|Lincoln (2012)}}?||Trivial||''Jaws'' is a famous movie about a killer shark, and features at least five fatal shark attacks. Lincoln is a movie about the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, containing zero shark attacks.{{Citation needed}} Anyone with even a passing familiarity with American popular culture should be able to get this one right, and someone with no knowledge could likely guess the answer from the titles alone. This might be mistaken for a silly trick question, as ''Lincoln'' is a much less famous movie.||How many times is a shark seen on screen in "Jaws"? Which film won more {{w|Academy Awards}}? How many fatal shark attacks occur in "Jaws"? Which movie in the "Jaws" franchise has the most shark attacks?
|-
|5. How many planets were there originally?||Ambiguous||The question doesn't specify a time frame or culture, which is necessary to understand both the word 'Planet' and the word 'originally'. It could be referring to the {{w|classical planets|original meaning of the word planet}}, which in antiquity referred to the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (total of 7 planets). It could be referring to the planets originally known to the quiz master, which (assuming Cueball is between 18 and 96 years old) would be after the reclassification of Ceres, Pallas, Vesta and Juno to asteroids, and after the discovery of Pluto, but prior to the reclassification of Pluto to dwarf planet (total of 9 planets). It could conceivably be referring to the first official definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, which would be Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (total of 8 planets). It could be referring to the process of planetary formation, in which case another layer of ambiguity is added, as it could be referring to the number of protoplanetary bodies in the {{w|protoplanetary disk}} (which is unknown since some of them were destroyed like {{w|Theia (planet)|Theia}}), or the number of planets that accreted from the disk before some were likely ejected (which is also unknown), or how many planets existed when the sun or the universe was formed (which is 0). It also doesn't specify that it's referring to planets in our solar system alone (in the galaxy there are almost certainly trillions of planets). Additionally, it asks how many "were there", as opposed to how many planets "were known" (the number which we know of being far smaller than the true number of planets in the universe). ||How many planets were known to Ancient Greece? How many planets were known to science prior to the invention of the telescope? How many planets were recognized in our Solar System at the end of the 20th century?
|-
|6. What {{w|NFL}} player has scored the most points outside of a game?||Ambiguous, Unknowable||The term "scored the most points" generally only applies within the context of a game, making it very unclear what kind of "points" the question is referring to. Does it mean points in non-NFL games? Points in games other than football? Points outside the context of any game at all (such as 'making a point' in conversation)? Even if this were clarified, points scored in official games in professional sports leagues are meticulously recorded and published, points scored in any other context are not, so the question is likely impossible to answer. Arguably, Brian Jordan would be an answer, with 121 Minor League and 755 MLB runs scored (points).||Which NFL player scored the most points in a game/season/career?
|-
|7. The {{w|Wright brothers}} built the first airplane. Who built the last one?||Unknowable||Orville and Wilbur Wright are widely credited with designing and building the first airplane (in the sense that they invented wingflaps, and discounting everybody flying before them without wingflaps). In modern times, design and construction of airplanes has become a huge, international industry, with many airplanes of widely varying sizings being built each year. Since airplanes are built continuously, which one was made most recently depends on when the question is asked (and would be very difficult for the average person to know -- and not trivial for even a member of the aerospace industry to know). If it's asking about the last airplane ''ever'', that's impossible to know, since that plane hasn't been built yet (and hopefully won't for a very long time).||Who built the first airplane '''after''' the Wright brothers? When was the final Wright Model B aircraft built?
|-
|8. Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?||Unknown, Possibly unknowable||This is a famous, centuries-old {{w|open question}} in math known as {{w|Goldbach's conjecture}}. Mathematicians widely believe that it is true, and it has held true for every number checked up to 4 ⋅ 1018, but since it's impossible to check every number, we can't assume it's universally true. No mathematical proof of its veracity exists at this point. Since it is {{w|Gödel's incompleteness theorems|known}} that something can be true but impossible to prove (and, being true, impossible to disprove), this may be the situation forever.||According to which mathematical conjecture is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?
|-
|9. Not counting {{w|Canberra}}, what city is the capital of {{w|Australia}}?||No answer exists||Australia has only one capital (unlike some countries, which divide the legislative and administrative capitals, for example), and that capital is Canberra. Hence, by definition, there is no national capital "not counting Canberra". Though each constituent state also has its state capital (inclusive of Canberra, which is, by population, almost the entirety of its {{w|Australian Capital Territory|own state territory}}), this would still leave us with an ambiguous choice. Before 1927, the answer could be Melbourne, as that was where the Parliament sat at that time. This may be a joke about how other cities, such as Melbourne and Sydney, are often mistaken for the capital of Australia due to Canberra's comparatively small population (roughly 500,000 in the greater metropolitan area, compared to Melbourne and Sydney's roughly 5,000,000 each). It also alludes to the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne as each claims to be the true capital. ||What city is the capital of Australia? What is currently the largest city in Australia? What is the smallest state capital in Australia? Not counting Canberra, what city was the most recently founded state capital of Australia? What city was the capital city before Canberra?
|-
|10. Who played the drums?||Trivial, yet unknowable without context||As worded, the question could be answered with anyone who's ever played the drums, in any context, whether professional or not, in all of history. This would include a huge number of people, most of whom would not be well-known. Most people would be able to offer a technically correct answer, and almost none of them would be interesting. Or maybe the host is wondering who it was that played drums that night, as part of the bar's live music.||Who played the drums for some specific band/album/track/concert/time/place?
|-
|(Title text) Where is {{w|London}} located? (a) the {{w|British Isles}} (b) {{w|Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (c) the {{w|United Kingdom|UK}} (d) {{w|Europe}} (or 'the {{w|European Union|EU}}') (e) {{w|Greater London}}||Multiple answers||All choices are technically correct as they are various geographical areas that include the city of London, England. Also note that the City of London is different from the city ''named'' London, as the latter includes a large region around the former, hence (e) as an answer. Answer (d) is both correct and incorrect, as it conflates a geographic region, Europe, and a political body, the European Union. The United Kingdom (and therefore London) {{w|Brexit|left the EU}} in 2020, but is still geographically included in Europe. In addition, 'the UK' is short for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so answers (b) and (c) refer to the same thing. This also does not get into cities named London outside of the UK, so for example "Ontario" or "Canada" could also be possible answers if the test designer were truly evil, thus making none of the answers correct. ||What is the capital of the United Kingdom? (answer: London) Where is London, England '''not''' located? (a) the British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) the UK (d) Europe (e) the EU (answer: (e))
|}

==Transcript==
:[The top half of Cueball is shown beneath the list of questions he is reading aloud. He is holding a wireless microphone in his right hand and a pencil and notebook in his left, reading from the notebook and speaking into the microphone. The list is shown on the notebook as well, but just as unreadable lines.]:
:Cueball: Welcome to pub trivia! Round one is 10 questions:
:# Which member of BTS has a birthday this year?
:# How many sides does a platonic solid have?
:# What is the smallest lake in the world?
:# Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks - ''Jaws'' (1975) or ''Lincoln'' (2012)?
:# How many planets were there originally?
:# What NFL player has scored the most points outside of a game?
:# The Wright brothers built the first airplane. Who built the last one?
:# Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?
:# Not counting Canberra, what city is the capital of Australia?
:# Who played the drums?

:[Caption below the panel]:
:A local pub trivia place hired me to run bad quizzes at competing bars.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:American football]]

2919: Sitting in a Tree

2024-04-14T18:16:10Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2919
| date = April 12, 2024
| title = Sitting in a Tree
| image = sitting_in_a_tree_2x.png
| imagesize = 591x320px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = First comes blood / Then we perish / Then comes Death in his Eternity Carriage.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PAIR OF BOTS SITTING IN A TREE E-D-I-T-I-N-G - ♫First come comments, ♫Then these made neat, ♫But ONLY when it's accurate, then should you the tag delete!♫}}

“[Name] and [name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” (or some other seven-letter verb spelled aloud, almost always ending in “ing”) is a common taunt among young children in the US, perhaps in the context of a {{w|counting-out game}}, in which they make fun of others' (alleged/suggested) playground romances (which are often seen as “gross” at that age). The children taunted are expected to respond that they don't like each other that way, which, of course, means the taunt bothers them and encourages the taunters to continue just to see their reaction every time.

This comic takes the variety of things which could be chanted to an unrealistic extreme, starting with relatively mundane ones such as “hugging” and “reading” and progressing through to increasingly atypical or disturbing concepts. For example, in the last frame, Cueball and Megan would be molting, also known as shedding, which, according to [[Randall]], would be "very alarming". Each frame has the last of its noted possibilities pictured – kissing, ironing and smiting, respectively.

Normal:
:'''Reading'''
:'''Singing'''
:'''Playing'''
:'''Sharing'''
:'''Hugging'''
:'''Kissing'''

Slightly worrying:
:'''Sobbing''' is an act of crying or weeping, e.g. due to a setback in one's relationship.
:'''Itching''' is feeling a sensation on one's skin that makes one want to scratch or rub it, and may happen due to mosquito bites or other bugs.
:'''Pruning''' is cutting off the branches of a tree, which is very dangerous if one is sitting on said branch.{{citation needed}}
:'''Banking''' is conducting financial business with a bank.
:'''Posting''' is to publish posts on social media, which is probably what most teens do when they're together nowadays.{{citation needed}}
:''' Ironing''' is smoothing their clothes with an iron and ironing board. This is the one depicted in the panel.

Very alarming:
:'''Molting''' is shedding one's skin.
:'''Whaling''' is hunting whales, which has been outlawed since the 1980s. Whales aren't usually found in trees.[''[[wikipedia:List_of_cetaceans|cetacean needed]]'']
:'''E-filing''', not to be confused with defiling, is doing one's tax returns online. This comic was published a few days before the US tax deadline.
:'''Melting''' is turning from a solid state to a liquid state, which is usually fatal.{{citation needed}}
:'''X-raying''' is emitting or receiving {{w|X-ray}} radiation. With enough radiation, the X-rays could be fatal.
:'''Smiting''' is striking down their enemies with the divine power called from a god. This is the one depicted in the panel.

The title text parodies a traditional {{w|Children's song#Game songs|continuation of the chant}}, which is normally something like
"...first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage" (which reflects the common social expectations that any kissers might follow the path of), but instead appears to be a more dark prophecy about death that therefore probably befits the last frame's focus. The last line may be an allusion to the Emily Dickinson poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death".

==Transcript==
:[Three children are singing. A kid with a bowl cut and a young Hairy are pointing with their fingers, while Jill stands in the middle. A pair of connected eighth notes and a detached eighth note are shown.]
:Kid with a bowl cut, Jill and Hairy: [Name] and [Name], sitting in a tree...

:[Label above the panel:]
:Normal
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a tree branch holding hands and kissing, with a heart above them.]
:R-E-A-D-I-N-G
:S-I-N-G-I-N-G
:P-L-A-Y-I-N-G
:S-H-A-R-I-N-G
:H-U-G-G-I-N-G
:K-I-S-S-I-N-G

:[Label above the panel:]
:Slightly worrying
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on a tree branch each ironing a cloth on an ironing board, with steam arising from the irons.]
:S-O-B-B-I-N-G
:I-T-C-H-I-N-G
:P-R-U-N-I-N-G
:B-A-N-K-I-N-G
:P-O-S-T-I-N-G
:I-R-O-N-I-N-G

:[Label above the panel:]
:Very alarming
:[Cueball and Megan, her hair being {{tvtropes|MadnessMakeover|uncharacteristically wild}}, sitting on a tree branch smiting with glowing hands, with two falling fireballs and fire below them. Cueball's hands are raised up, while Megan has her left hand up and her right hand pointing to her right.]
:M-O-L-T-I-N-G
:W-H-A-L-I-N-G
:E-F-I-L-I-N-G
:M-E-L-T-I-N-G
:X-R-A-Y-I-N-G
:S-M-I-T-I-N-G

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Kids]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Songs]]

2909: Moon Landing Mission Profiles

2024-03-21T00:38:51Z

FrankHightower: I assume this is a typo

{{comic
| number = 2909
| date = March 20, 2024
| title = Moon Landing Mission Profiles
| image = moon_landing_mission_profiles_2x.png
| imagesize = 709x504px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you pick a low enough orbit, it gives you a lot of freedom to use a lightweight launch vehicle such as a stepladder.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A MOON THAT LOOKS ESPECIALLY LARGE TONIGHT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Getting astronauts to the moon is hard.{{citation needed}} There are different strategies to do it. This comic reviews three mission profiles considered for the Apollo moon landings, and one which is absurd. In all cases, it only depicts the means to reach the Moon, more suitable for robotic missions that are not required to return,[[[695|''racist comment implying that robots have no right to be repatriated'']]] with manned/sample-return missions really requiring followup diagrams/notation to explain how to safely complete their journeys back to Earth.

'''{{w|Lunar Orbit Rendezvous}} (LOR)'''

Description: Using a single large rocket to get the required lunar orbiter and lander systems into trans-lunar orbit, which can then fulfil their eponymous roles.

Status: Chosen by the {{w|Apollo Program}} in the 1960s and 1970s.

Explanation: This was the actual method used in the Apollo missions. It was efficient in terms of fuel and cost. The main spacecraft ('command module') orbits the Moon, as the lander separates and uses its descent-stage to safely reach the surface.

After the Moon mission, the lander (ascent-stage only) ascends to dock once more with the command module in lunar orbit, the crew then return to Earth in the command module (leaving the abandoned ascent stage behind, in most cases purposefully directed to impact the Moon).

'''{{w|Earth Orbit Rendezvous}} (EOR)'''

Description: A large lunar-landing system is assembled in Earth orbit through several launches. Once complete, it travels to the Moon as a whole. It is depicted here as not required to orbit the Moon in full, in any way, but is shown needing to orbit Earth, as an unavoidable part of its profile.

Status: Rejected for requiring multiple {{w|Saturn V}} rockets per landing and potentially taking longer.

Explanation: This concept involved launching different parts of the spacecraft into Earth orbit using multiple rockets and then assembling them before heading to the Moon. It would have allowed almost arbitrarily large sizes of equipment to have reached the surface, perhaps to simplify the return journey, but with the complication of adding multiple orbital docking procedures to the project rather than most assembling and spacecraft mating being carried out prior to launch. It should be noted that Randall made a mistake on this point of the comic; the Earth Orbit Rendezvous would have required multiple launches of the {{w|Saturn IB}}, not multiple launches of the Saturn V.

'''{{w|Direct Ascent}}'''

Description: The lander is launched from Earth directly to the Moon without entering orbit.

Status: Rejected for requiring an unreasonably large rocket.

Explanation: This was a simpler but less feasible approach, where a single huge rocket (or a particularly large rocket stack) would send the lander straight to the Moon. The inefficiency comes in taking a comparatively huge rocket down to the Moon and back up, requiring a lot more fuel than a separate lander. It avoids having to 'park' items in orbit that it must later dock once more with, but then increases the mass that must land on/take off from the lunar surface, without being useful during this phase of the mission.

In reality, this was the approach imagined for the Nova C-8 rocket as an Apollo alternative. This was also the approach used in {{w|Destination Moon (comics)|Destination Moon}} from {{w|The Adventures of Tintin}}, with the fuel problem addressed by using a nuclear reactor for much of the trip—which would be a really bad idea in reality since "rockets have a tendency to explode"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHvR1fRTW8g]. Science fiction movies have frequently depicted this method of landing, either before the dawn of the actual Apollo program or (to save plot-time ''or'' by using a fictional increase in rocket capability) in more futuristic settings.

'''Lunar Earth Rendezvous (LER)'''

Description: The Moon transits to rendezvous with a spacecraft in low Earth orbit.

Status: Rejected because, humorously, "I guess no one thought of it?!"

Explanation: This is a fictional and impractical scenario. The Moon cannot propulse itself and cannot alter its orbit to rendezvous with a spacecraft. The Moon would also break up because {{w|low Earth orbit}} is within the {{w|Roche limit}}. Astronauts would theoretically land on the Moon, but the hypothetical fragments of the Moon would make the landing impractical. This would be also bad for the Earth's climate, tides, stock markets and ecosystems.

The title text imagines the moon coming to ''very'' low earth orbit, low enough to reach with a step ladder. There are many reasons this is wholly impractical, as well as civilization-ending. Dropping a moon on the Earth from 6 feet would likely cover the earth in about 45 km of moon matter (see [[2908: Moon Armor Index]]). If the moon somehow were put in orbit around the Earth at a height of 6 feet, the only difference is that debris would crash into you from the side at a faster velocity.

===Factual Mission Profiles===
The Apollo Program considered a number of possible mission profiles. Of the {{w|Apollo program#Choosing a mission mode|four shortlist plans}}, the Lunar Surface Rendevous plan was not shown or mentioned in this comic, but clearly inspired the title of the method created in its place.

With the ongoing work to achieve the {{w|Artemis program}}, the successor to Apollo, this comic is probably also making sideways references to the plans and equipment being developed to achieve it, which currently features several aspects of the above examples. A single crewed-launch is intending to rendezvous with, and make use of, additional equipment separately launched (including one that is very nearly one big rocket in its own right). Instead of assembling in Earth orbit, it will probably make use of a [https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/lunar-near-rectilinear-halo-orbit-gateway lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit], or NRHO, to and from which the landing system will operate. There is also planning, still in an early stage, to establish lunar-surface infrastructure that would simplify the refuelling of the transfer craft and support surface operations.

The only depicted plan that should not play a part in upcoming missions is the one which may be more connected with some other quite different scenario which [[2561: Moonfall|has previously been referenced]] in xkcd.

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

:[Top left panel]
:'''Lunar orbit rendezvous'''
:Spacecraft orbits Moon, drops lander

:Chosen by the Apollo program

:[Top right panel]
:'''Earth orbit rendezvous'''
:Large lander assembled in Earth orbit via several launches, travels to Moon

:Rejected for requiring multiple Saturn Vs per landing and potentially taking longer

:[Lower left panel]
:'''Direct ascent'''
:Lander launched from Earth directly to Moon

:Rejected for requiring an unreasonably large rocket

:[Lower right panel]
:'''Lunar Earth rendezvous'''
:Moon transits to rendezvous with spacecraft in low Earth orbit

:Rejected because I guess no one thought of it?!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space]]

2909: Moon Landing Mission Profiles

2024-03-20T19:00:08Z

FrankHightower:

2909: Moon Landing Mission Profiles

2024-03-20T18:59:24Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

2901: Geographic Qualifiers

2024-03-02T04:51:43Z

FrankHightower: grammar

{{comic
| number = 2901
| date = March 1, 2024
| title = Geographic Qualifiers
| image = geographic_qualifiers_2x.png
| imagesize = 435x386px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]
}}

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

In this comic, two [[Cueball]]s are admiring a giant statue of a squirrel standing on a skateboard. The first is bragging about how it is the largest statue of that theme in “the Northern Hemisphere”. The second one is visibly confused, as he realizes that this seems to imply the existence of a taller one in the Southern Hemisphere. He considers several countries, with his last thought being Australia, where many overly large statues have been built. However, squirrels are not native to Australia, so it's unlikely there would be ''any'' statues of them, let alone larger than this one.

Adding an unnecessary qualifier like this doesn't change the truth of the statement. But it suggests that there's a need to restrict the scope of the statement, i.e. it wouldn't be true with a less restrictive qualifier (or none at all). This will cause the listener to wonder about these other cases.

Sometimes qualifiers are added simply due to incomplete information. They've surveyed squirrel statues in the Northern Hemisphere and determined that this one is the largest. But since they haven't searched the Southern Hemisphere, they don't want to commit to it being the largest in the world.

In the title text, someone is expressing gratitude at the end of a date, saying that it's the loveliest evening they've ever had (in actuality, "loveliest" is usually hyperbole).{{Citation needed}} This seems normal until they add a location qualifier. This leaves the companion wondering what kind of great evening they had in some other location. In this case, it's unlikely that the speaker would have incomplete information about their own dating history.

The statue may be a reference to Ms. Pearl, the giant squirrel statue in Cedar Creek, Texas which, at 14 ft (4 m) [https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/06/worlds-largest-squirrel-sculpture-cedar-creek-texas-sets-world-record-422206] was indeed the largest squirrel statue in the western hemisphere in 2018. The qualifiers, in this case, ''are'' necessary since a temporary 40 ft (12 m) statue was erected in Kazakhstan in 2018 [https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/10477/a-giant-squirrel-has-taken-over-almaty] but information for tourists in Cedar Creek, Texas, doesn't tend to include this information{{Citation needed}} creating the mystique. The artist behind the Kazakhstan statue appears to have been unaware of the Cedar Creek statue so the Kazakh statue is ''not'' intentionally [https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/dbc0b2e4-a209-4bc3-807a-514b65389da6 at least three times bigger].

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

:[A huge statue of a squirrel on a skateboard, which is on a pedestal. Next to it on the right, are two people, presumably two Cueballs. The Cueball on the left is pointing at the statue. The Cueball on the right has a thought bubble above him. The scene is shown from afar in black silhouette on a white background.]
:Left Cueball: At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the Northern Hemisphere.
:Right Cueball (thinking): ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren't even native there...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the Northern Hemisphere."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

2901: Geographic Qualifiers

2024-03-02T04:50:49Z

FrankHightower: hang on, more qualifiers are needed

{{comic
| number = 2901
| date = March 1, 2024
| title = Geographic Qualifiers
| image = geographic_qualifiers_2x.png
| imagesize = 435x386px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]
}}

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

In this comic, two [[Cueball]]s are admiring a giant statue of a squirrel standing on a skateboard. The first is bragging about how it is the largest statue of that theme in “the Northern Hemisphere”. The second one is visibly confused, as he realizes that this seems to imply the existence of a taller one in the Southern Hemisphere. He considers several countries, with his last thought being Australia, where many overly large statues have been built. However, squirrels are not native to Australia, so it's unlikely there would be ''any'' statues of them, let alone larger than this one.

Adding an unnecessary qualifier like this doesn't change the truth of the statement. But it suggests that there's a need to restrict the scope of the statement, i.e. it wouldn't be true with a less restrictive qualifier (or none at all). This will cause the listener to wonder about these other cases.

Sometimes qualifiers are added simply due to incomplete information. They've surveyed squirrel statues in the Northern Hemisphere and determined that this one is the largest. But since they haven't searched the Southern Hemisphere, they don't want to commit to it being the largest in the world.

In the title text, someone is expressing gratitude at the end of a date, saying that it's the loveliest evening they've ever had (in actuality, "loveliest" is usually hyperbole).{{Citation needed}} This seems normal until they add a location qualifier. This leaves the companion wondering what kind of great evening they had in some other location. In this case, it's unlikely that the speaker would have incomplete information about their own dating history.

The statue may be a reference to Ms. Pearl, the giant squirrel statue in Cedar Creek, Texas which, at 14 ft (4 m) [https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/06/worlds-largest-squirrel-sculpture-cedar-creek-texas-sets-world-record-422206] was is indeed the largest squirrel statue in the western hemisphere in 2018. The qualifiers, in this case, ''are'' necessary since a temporary 40 ft (12 m) statue was erected in Kazakhstan in 2018 [https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/10477/a-giant-squirrel-has-taken-over-almaty] but information for tourists in Cedar Creek, Texas, doesn't tend to include this information{{Citation needed}} creating the mystique. The artist behind the Kazakhstan statue appears to have been unaware of the Cedar Creek statue so the Kazakh statue is ''not'' intentionally [https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/dbc0b2e4-a209-4bc3-807a-514b65389da6 at least three times bigger].

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

:[A huge statue of a squirrel on a skateboard, which is on a pedestal. Next to it on the right, are two people, presumably two Cueballs. The Cueball on the left is pointing at the statue. The Cueball on the right has a thought bubble above him. The scene is shown from afar in black silhouette on a white background.]
:Left Cueball: At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the Northern Hemisphere.
:Right Cueball (thinking): ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren't even native there...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the Northern Hemisphere."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

2901: Geographic Qualifiers

2024-03-02T04:47:11Z

FrankHightower: typo

{{comic
| number = 2901
| date = March 1, 2024
| title = Geographic Qualifiers
| image = geographic_qualifiers_2x.png
| imagesize = 435x386px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]
}}

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

In this comic, two [[Cueball]]s are admiring a giant statue of a squirrel standing on a skateboard. The first is bragging about how it is the largest statue of that theme in “the Northern Hemisphere”. The second one is visibly confused, as he realizes that this seems to imply the existence of a taller one in the Southern Hemisphere. He considers several countries, with his last thought being Australia, where many overly large statues have been built. However, squirrels are not native to Australia, so it's unlikely there would be ''any'' statues of them, let alone larger than this one.

Adding an unnecessary qualifier like this doesn't change the truth of the statement. But it suggests that there's a need to restrict the scope of the statement, i.e. it wouldn't be true with a less restrictive qualifier (or none at all). This will cause the listener to wonder about these other cases.

Sometimes qualifiers are added simply due to incomplete information. They've surveyed squirrel statues in the Northern Hemisphere and determined that this one is the largest. But since they haven't searched the Southern Hemisphere, they don't want to commit to it being the largest in the world.

In the title text, someone is expressing gratitude at the end of a date, saying that it's the loveliest evening they've ever had (in actuality, "loveliest" is usually hyperbole).{{Citation needed}} This seems normal until they add a location qualifier. This leaves the companion wondering what kind of great evening they had in some other location. In this case, it's unlikely that the speaker would have incomplete information about their own dating history.

The statue may be a reference to Ms. Pearl, the giant squirrel statue in Cedar Creek, Texas which, at 14 ft (4 m) [https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/06/worlds-largest-squirrel-sculpture-cedar-creek-texas-sets-world-record-422206] is indeed the largest squirrel statue in the western hemisphere. The qualifier, in this case, ''is'' necessary since a 40 ft (12 m) statue does exist in Kazakhstan [https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/10477/a-giant-squirrel-has-taken-over-almaty] but information for tourists in Cedar Creek, Texas, doesn't tend to include this information{{Citation needed}} creating the mystique. The artist behind the Kazakhstan statue appears to have been unaware of the Cedar Creek statue so the Kazakh statue is ''not'' intentionally [https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/dbc0b2e4-a209-4bc3-807a-514b65389da6 at least three times bigger].

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

:[A huge statue of a squirrel on a skateboard, which is on a pedestal. Next to it on the right, are two people, presumably two Cueballs. The Cueball on the left is pointing at the statue. The Cueball on the right has a thought bubble above him. The scene is shown from afar in black silhouette on a white background.]
:Left Cueball: At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the Northern Hemisphere.
:Right Cueball (thinking): ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren't even native there...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the Northern Hemisphere."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

2901: Geographic Qualifiers

2024-03-02T04:44:49Z

FrankHightower: actual citation provided

{{comic
| number = 2901
| date = March 1, 2024
| title = Geographic Qualifiers
| image = geographic_qualifiers_2x.png
| imagesize = 435x386px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]
}}

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

In this comic, two [[Cueball]]s are admiring a giant statue of a squirrel standing on a skateboard. The first is bragging about how it is the largest statue of that theme in “the Northern Hemisphere”. The second one is visibly confused, as he realizes that this seems to imply the existence of a taller one in the Southern Hemisphere. He considers several countries, with his last thought being Australia, where many overly large statues have been built. However, squirrels are not native to Australia, so it's unlikely there would be ''any'' statues of them, let alone larger than this one.

Adding an unnecessary qualifier like this doesn't change the truth of the statement. But it suggests that there's a need to restrict the scope of the statement, i.e. it wouldn't be true with a less restrictive qualifier (or none at all). This will cause the listener to wonder about these other cases.

Sometimes qualifiers are added simply due to incomplete information. They've surveyed squirrel statues in the Northern Hemisphere and determined that this one is the largest. But since they haven't searched the Southern Hemisphere, they don't want to commit to it being the largest in the world.

In the title text, someone is expressing gratitude at the end of a date, saying that it's the loveliest evening they've ever had (in actuality, "loveliest" is usually hyperbole).{{Citation needed}} This seems normal until they add a location qualifier. This leaves the companion wondering what kind of great evening they had in some other location. In this case, it's unlikely that the speaker would have incomplete information about their own dating history.

The statue may be a reference to Ms. Pearl, the giant squirrel statue in Cedar Creek, Texas which, at 14 ft (4 m) [https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/06/worlds-largest-squirrel-sculpture-cedar-creek-texas-sets-world-record-422206] is indeed the largest squirrel statue in the western hemisphere. The qualifier, in this case, ''is'' necessary since a 40 ft (12 m) statue does exist in Kazakhstan [https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/10477/a-giant-squirrel-has-taken-over-almaty] but information for tourists in Cedar Creek, Texas, doesn't tent to include this information{{Citation needed}} creating the mystique. The artist behind the Kazakhstan statue appears to have been unaware of the Cedar Creek statue so the Kazakh statue is ''not'' intentionally [https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/dbc0b2e4-a209-4bc3-807a-514b65389da6 at least three times bigger].

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

:[A huge statue of a squirrel on a skateboard, which is on a pedestal. Next to it on the right, are two people, presumably two Cueballs. The Cueball on the left is pointing at the statue. The Cueball on the right has a thought bubble above him. The scene is shown from afar in black silhouette on a white background.]
:Left Cueball: At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the Northern Hemisphere.
:Right Cueball (thinking): ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren't even native there...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the Northern Hemisphere."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

2890: Relationship Advice

2024-02-05T21:27:08Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2890
| date = February 5, 2024
| title = Relationship Advice
| image = relationship_advice_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x241px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Good to be a little wary of advice that sounds too much like a self pep talk.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a RELATIONSHIP WITH A JOB IN FINE ARTS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[White Hat]], [[Cueball]], and [[Ponytail]] can be seen having a conversation about relationships. In the second frame, White Hat is saying that relationships are a job in of itself and need constant work. An off-frame voice expresses wary and unsure news. In the third frame, White Hat is saying that relationships are “a challenge that feels overwhelming” and create a crushing burden. Again, Cueball voices confusion and disagreement. Finally, in the last frame, he says that relationships are “a grueling ordeal”. Hearing all of this “relationship advice”, Cueball and Ponytail ask who he’s trying to convince and if he’s ok. White Hat manically yells out that he’s ok, making his point moot, as his behaviour is clearly NOT ok. The joke is that even though White Hat is giving relationship advice, his advice is actually negative and isn’t helping others. Perhaps White Hat is even having trouble in his own relationship, which would explain why he seems to be describing relationships in general so pessimistically. There’s also a possibility that White Hat is {{w|aromantic}}, meaning that he doesn’t experience love and may have a negative outlook on romance. Seeing Randall’s negative thoughts on Valentine’s Day, it may not be a coincidence that this comic was released only 9 days before the holiday. In any case, it seems White Hat is only making relationships harder for himself by rambling about the hardship of relationships without acknowledging that his own attitude might be at fault.

When someone is in an abusive relationship, they may struggle to see that the relationship is abusive. There are various reasons this may occur (e.g. {{w| Traumatic bonding}}) but does not change the fact that the relationship is abusive. If someone is in a situation like this, they may need help from friends or professional counselors to see the situation they are in.

The title text explains that when a person's advice sounds overtly negative, or otherwise seemingly too specific to their own personal difficulties in life, then that person may not be the most qualified to give that advice. Perhaps the person in this position is more so giving advice as a way to project their own feelings about their circumstances rather than actually providing helpful information. In this comic, this sentiment is seemingly applied to White Hat, whose "relationship advice" may be much more personal than such advice should reasonably be, and the reader is thus warned to take advice like this with a grain of salt. This is similar to [[449: Things Fall Apart]] where Cueball tells Megan "I love you" and Megan points out he's only saying it to reassure ''himself'' rather than express it to her.

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

:[White Hat, Cueball and Ponytail are walking. White Hat has his palm out.]
:White Hat: What you have to remember is, relationships aren't easy.
:Ponytail: Yeah, fair.

:[Close-up of White Hat with his finger raised.]
:White Hat: They're hard. They require constant work.
:White Hat: A relationship is a job.
:Off-panel voice: I guess...

:[White Hat has stopped walking and is facing Cueball and Ponytail standing a bit further away.]
:White Hat: It's a challenge that feels overwhelming. It's a crushing burden.
:Cueball: Umm.

:[White Hat has his arms raised while still facing Cueball and Ponytail.]
:White Hat: A relationship is a grueling ordeal.
:Cueball: ...Who are you trying to convince, exactly?
:Ponytail: Yeah, are '''''you''''' okay?
:White Hat: I'm '''''fine!''''' This is '''''normal!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

2848: Breaker Box

2023-10-31T22:33:12Z

FrankHightower:

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH-PITCHED HUM GENERATOR THAT WAS LAST MENTIONED EXACTLY 1258 COMICS AGO - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall inside a building, usually in some maintenance area, containing several {{w|circuit breakers}} that let power through to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever that can be used to manually isolate the electrical connections beyond it from the incoming power supply, but that will also physically trigger open if too much power is flowing through (often due to some grounding fault), to mitigate against dangerous short-circuits that can injure/damage people and appliances, in the most serious cases hopefully preventing fires and even risk of death.

In most breaker boxes, each individual breaker is labeled to let the operator know what that specific breaker controls. A breaker will usually control something like the outlets or lights (perhaps all those in a certain room), or some large appliance which normally draws a large current all on its own.

However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or are poorly wired), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of XKCD – may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of disabling certain laws of physics.

===Table of the breakers labels===
{|class = "wikitable"
! Label next to breaker !! Explanation !! Note
|-
! colspan="3"|Left column of switches
|-
| Kitchen Lights || The lights in the kitchen. || rowspan="3"| Standard items that could be separate
|-
| Living room lights || The lights in the living room.
|-
| Porch lights || The lights on the porch.
|-
| Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere || The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet.
It is not uncommon for the power supply to a 'wet room' (usually just lighting, but perhaps also relevent appliances like a double-fused 'shaver supply' and/or electric shower unit) to be wired up independently to restrict the impact of short-circuits due to unexpected water seepage or allow specific isolation during later maintence work.

Having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, it is possible that another electrician – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit because it seems more convient/sensible to do so than to tap onto any other, or because all other circuits are close to overloading. This can mystify homeowners (and future installers) who aren't fully informed about this aspect of the wiring history.
| Standard, but 'kludged'
|-
| North-facing appliances || colspan="2"|Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function
# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets
# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all north-facing appliances
# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets when triggered.
# Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

Alternative explanations:
* The switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s).
* It switch could control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house.

Note: "North-facing" has broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}.

|-
| Bathtub drain light || colspan="2"|Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room).
Indeed, it is possible the reason the "bathroom light" breaker was able to take that additional random outlet connection was because this light had been miswired.
|-
| Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" || colspan="2"|Another odd and amusing specification.

To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup, but using a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name.

Some common household appliances that this switch might control:
* coffee maker
* refrigerator
* freezer
* fan
* air fryer
* food processor
* waffle iron
* fabric steamer
* fireplace (electric)
Note that only ''most'' of these are kitchen appliances, following the theme of "bathroom and one mystery outlet somewhere"
|-
| Hot water heater || Usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot.
This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[technically]] redundant or misleading:
* Redundant because the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water
* Misleading because it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot.
|rowspan="2"|Two "heaters"
|-
| Regular water heater || The heater for regular water. Together with the switch above, this presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke).
|-
| Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in || colspan="2"|This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above) but presumably not closets and single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room.
|-
| High-pitched hum generator || colspan="2"|Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]].
|-
| The solution to the cryptogram below: || colspan="2"|Likely a pun on "breaking" or solving a cryptogram, which is a puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one.
Another explanation is that this switch enables or disables the solution somehow, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability.
|-
| Bugs || colspan="2"|Several interpretations are possible:
* Disable all software bugs in the house*
* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) – or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.
* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.
* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease likes malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}. Food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.
|-
! colspan="3"|Right column of switches
|-
| A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now || colspan="2"|The AC in a building usually creates quiet white noise from fans, which people usually do not hear until they become aware that there is a sound. Other appliances, such as refrigerators or home servers, can have similar effects.
|-
| Dishwasher || colspan="2"|Although dishwashers aren't typically high-load appliances that require a breaker to themselves (unlike, for example, the water heater), if the house wasn't originally built with a dishwasher in mind, it is likely new wiring had to be added during its installation, resulting in a breaker that exclusively controls the dishwasher.

Though what "dishwasher" actually means may depend on what the "dishes" of the next switch might be, and thus what additional device may be required to ensure they remain clean. Even at the more trivial end of the interpretation (though not then explaining the following "dishes"), a busy restaurant might have an employee section equipped exclusively for the dishwashing role and separately supplied with power in a similar manner to that suggested for the bathroom.
|-
| Dishes || colspan="2"|Traditionally, dishes cannot be turned off, as they do not normally require electricity. "Dishes" could be the label for a dishwasher on another house's breaker box, but this one already used that label. Another explanation, perhaps unusual in most contexts, is that this switch powers/controls two or more satellite dishes.
|-
| Hallway lights || The lights in the hallway or hallways. || rowspan="3"|"Hallway" regions
|-
| Hallway outlets || The outlets in the hallway or hallways. A common confusion when turning off breakers is separate wiring for outlets and lights in the same room. Though having the room go dark is a good mnemonic that it is unpowered, it is not a guarantee, and indeed, wiring them separately allows working on the outlets without having to do it in the dark.
|-
| Hallway floors || This breaker has several potential interpretations:
#A master switch for all floors (storeys) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
#Outlets in the floor
#Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
#Electrification of the floors -- not common outside of horror and heist movies.
#Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through.
|-
| Social media || colspan="2"|This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "turning off social media":
#'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to turn off my social media" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
#A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
#A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider([[1439|optional]]).
#The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
|-
| State law || Likely a pun on "State Law Breaker."
Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of martial law similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept.
| rowspan="2"|"Legal" items
|-
| Federal law || Likely a pun on "Federal Law Breaker," though it could also be taken literally, as above. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.
|-
| Second law of thermodynamics || The Second Law of Thermodynamics, in simple terms, states that the total entropy (or disorder) of an isolated system can only increase over time. It's a fundamental principle that dictates the direction of energy flow and the feasibility of many processes, and provides an arrow of time.
Turning off the second law of thermodynamics would have some pros and cons.
;GOOD STUFF
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines''': Machines that can do work indefinitely without an energy source would become possible, defying our current understanding of energy conservation.
*'''Reversibility of Processes''': Many natural processes that are irreversible under current laws could be reversed. For instance, melted ice could spontaneously turn back into a solid without energy removal.
*'''Recycling Energy''': We could theoretically use the same quantum of energy over and over again, leading to ultra-efficient systems and potentially solving many of the world's energy problems.
*'''Reversing Entropy-Driven Processes''': Things like mixing cream and coffee or ink in water could spontaneously unmix.
;BAD STUFF
*'''End Life as We Know It:''' All living organisms rely on the second law for crucial processes, including metabolism and reproduction. If the second law were negated, life, at least as we understand it, might not be possible.
*'''No Heat Engines:''' Engines rely on the flow of heat from hotter to colder bodies. Without the Second Law, our cars, power plants, refrigerators, and many other devices would not function.
*'''Breakdown of Molecular Processes:''' Molecules spontaneously move from areas of higher to lower concentration due to entropy. Without this, diffusion, osmosis, and many biochemical reactions wouldn't occur as they currently do.
*'''Loss of Directionality:''' One interpretation of the Second Law provides a directionality to time (the so-called "arrow of time"). Without it, causality and our understanding of past, present, and future could be fundamentally altered.
*'''Unpredictable Outcomes:''' Turning off the Second Law could result in a universe where outcomes are not probabilistically predictable. You couldn't rely on anything happening as it "should," leading to chaos in every sense.
 This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].
| rowspan="3"|"Physics" items
|-
| Friction || Friction is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Turning it off has some upsides and downsides.
;UPSIDES
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines:''' Without friction, once an object starts moving, it would continue indefinitely unless acted upon by another force. This could lead to perpetual motion machines that could generate energy.
*'''Super-Efficient Transport:''' Cars, trains, and other vehicles would glide effortlessly once set into motion, leading to immense energy savings.
*'''Unique Sports:''' New sports and activities would emerge, where players glide or slide over surfaces without friction.
;DOWNSIDES
*'''Walking Would Be Impossible:''' We rely on friction between our feet and the ground to move. Without it, we would be unable to walk, run, or even stand.
*'''No Manual Dexterity:''' Holding, grabbing, or manipulating objects would be impossible. Even simple tasks like holding a glass or writing with a pen would be out of reach.
*'''Catastrophic Mechanical Failures:''' Many machines rely on friction to function. Brakes in cars, for instance, use friction to slow down and stop the vehicle. Without it, uncontrollable accidents would occur.
*'''No Sound:''' Friction between air molecules creates sound waves. Without friction, the world would be silent.
*'''Breathing Difficulties:''' Our respiratory system relies on frictional forces when the alveoli in our lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the bloodstream.
*'''No Fire:''' Fire relies on friction for its creation, such as when striking a match. The absence of friction would mean no traditional methods of starting a fire.
*'''Collisions:''' Objects, once set in motion, would continue to move until they hit something, leading to a myriad of unpredictable and uncontrollable collisions.
 Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].
|-
| Gravity || Gravity is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Turning off gravity would have some advantages and disadvantages.
;ADVANTAGES
* '''Flight''': Without gravity, every leap could turn into a flight. We could push off surfaces and float effortlessly through the air.
* '''No Weight Restrictions''': Large structures could be built without concern for weight-bearing loads. This would drastically change engineering and architectural designs.
* '''New Sports''': Zero-gravity sports and activities could become a reality on Earth. Imagine playing basketball or soccer without gravity!
;DISADVANTAGES
* '''Loss of Atmosphere and Oceans''': Without gravity, Earth's atmosphere would dissipate into space, and water from oceans, rivers, and lakes would float away, making life as we know it impossible.
* '''Unanchored Chaos''': Everything not fixed to the ground, including people, animals, vehicles, and foundationless structures, could become airborne, causing massive destruction and chaos.
* '''Disruption of Celestial Order''': Earth would no longer orbit the Sun, the Moon would drift away rather quickly, and the structural integrity of the universe, including galaxies and solar systems, would be jeopardized.
* '''Everything Exploding''': Most celestial bodies, ranging from the moon to supermassive black holes, would explode from internal pressure and centripetal forces no longer fighting against gravity throwing everything into space.
* '''Aggregation Absence''': Stars, galaxies, and basically anything in space requires gravity to form. Without gravity, no stars, planets, or meteors would form ever again.

Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it much, much easier to move around the house, get to higher areas, and move objects, but could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for the floor.
|-
| Circuit breakers || colspan="2"|Possibly the "master" breaker, controlling the main circuit that supplies power to all other circuit breakers. However, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off may possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off (i.e.: If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself).

Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos.

Note that it might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.
|-
! colspan="3"|Title text
|-
| colspan="3"|The title text is about {{w|causality}}, and how to use this (unseen, located elsewhere) breaker along with the last shown switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.

Causality, in its simplest form, is the process of cause and effect, meaning that everything that happens only happens because something caused it to happen - in other words, every event is an effect caused by another event. For example, a bag of chips can't just fall onto the floor for ''literally'' no reason - it has to be caused by some other event, such as someone smacking it or a gust of wind blowing it down.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKERS switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.

Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

The 'warning', from an electrician, could even be to locate the nominally ''off'' CAUSALITY switch in order to turn it ''on'', or else all other intended effects will possibly not end up being actually actioned. Either way, whether or not turning on/off causality would change the state of causality (at one stage or other being rendered ineffectual) is an exercise left for the reader.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}

2848: Breaker Box

2023-10-31T21:45:21Z

FrankHightower:

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH-PITCHED HUM GENERATOR THAT WAS LAST MENTIONED EXACTLY 1258 COMICS AGO - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall inside a building, usually in some maintenance area, containing several {{w|circuit breakers}} that let power through to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever that can be used to manually isolate the electrical connections beyond it from the incoming power supply, but that will also physically trigger open if too much power is flowing through (often due to some grounding fault), to mitigate against dangerous short-circuits that can injure/damage people and appliances, in the most serious cases hopefully preventing fires and even risk of death.

In most breaker boxes, each individual breaker is labeled to let the operator know what that specific breaker controls. A breaker will usually control something like the outlets or lights (perhaps all those in a certain room), or some large appliance which normally draws a large current all on its own.

However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or are poorly wired), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of XKCD – may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of disabling certain laws of physics.

===Table of the breakers labels===
{|class = "wikitable"
! Label next to breaker !! Explanation !! Note
|-
! colspan="3"|Left column of switches
|-
| Kitchen Lights || The lights in the kitchen. || rowspan="3"| Standard items that could be separate
|-
| Living room lights || The lights in the living room.
|-
| Porch lights || The lights on the porch.
|-
| Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere || The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet.
It is not uncommon for the power supply to a 'wet room' (usually just lighting, but perhaps also relevent appliances like a double-fused 'shaver supply' and/or electric shower unit) to be wired up independently to restrict the impact of short-circuits due to unexpected water seepage or allow specific isolation during later maintence work.

Having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, it is possible that another electrician – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit because it seems more convient/sensible to do so than to tap onto any other, or because all other circuits are close to overloading. This can mystify homeowners (and future installers) who aren't fully informed about this aspect of the wiring history.
| Standard, but 'kludged'
|-
| North-facing appliances || colspan="2"|Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function
# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets
# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all north-facing appliances
# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets when triggered.
# Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

Alternative explanations:
* The switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s).
* It switch could control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house.

Note: "North-facing" has broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}.

|-
| Bathtub drain light || colspan="2"|Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room).
Indeed, it is possible the reason the "bathroom light" breaker was able to take that additional random outlet connection was because this light had been miswired.
|-
| Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" || colspan="2"|Another odd and amusing specification.

To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup, but using a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name.

Some common household appliances that this switch might control:
* coffee maker
* refrigerator
* freezer
* fan
* air fryer
* food processor
* waffle iron
* fabric steamer
* fireplace (electric)
Note that only ''most'' of these are kitchen appliances, following the theme of "bathroom and one mystery outlet somewhere"
|-
| Hot water heater || Usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot.
This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[technically]] redundant or misleading:
* Redundant because the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water
* Misleading because it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot.
|rowspan="2"|Two "heaters"
|-
| Regular water heater || The heater for regular water. Together with the switch above, this presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke).
|-
| Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in || colspan="2"|This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above) but presumably not closets and single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room.
|-
| High-pitched hum generator || colspan="2"|Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]].
|-
| The solution to the cryptogram below: || colspan="2"|Likely a pun on "breaking" or solving a cryptogram, which is a puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one.
Another explanation is that this switch enables or disables the solution somehow, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability.
|-
| Bugs || colspan="2"|Several interpretations are possible:
* Disable all software bugs in the house*
* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) – or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.
* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.
* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease likes malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}. Food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.
|-
! colspan="3"|Right column of switches
|-
| A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now || colspan="2"|The AC in a building usually creates quiet white noise from fans, which people usually do not hear until they become aware that there is a sound. Other appliances, such as refrigerators or home servers, can have similar effects.
|-
| Dishwasher || colspan="2"|Although dishwashers aren't typically high-load appliances that require a breaker to themselves (unlike, for example, the water heater), if the house wasn't originally built with a dishwasher in mind, it is likely new wiring had to be added during its installation, resulting in a breaker that exclusively controls the dishwasher.
|-
| Dishes || colspan="2"|Traditionally, dishes cannot be turned off, as they do not normally require electricity. "Dishes" could be the label for a dishwasher on another house's breaker box, but this one already used that label. Another, unlikely explanation is that this switch controls two or more satellite dishes.
|-
| Hallway lights || The lights in the hallway or hallways. || rowspan="3"|"Hallway" regions
|-
| Hallway outlets || The outlets in the hallway or hallways. A common confusion when turning off breakers is separate wiring for outlets and lights in the same room. Though having the room go dark is a good mnemonic that it is unpowered, it is not a guarantee, and indeed, wiring them separately allows working on the outlets without having to do it in the dark.
|-
| Hallway floors || This breaker has several potential interpretations:
#A master switch for all floors (storeys) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
#Outlets in the floor
#Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
#Electrification of the floors -- not common outside of horror and heist movies.
#Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through.
|-
| Social media || colspan="2"|This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "turning off social media":
#'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to turn off my social media" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
#A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
#A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider([[1439|optional]]).
#The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
|-
| State law || Likely a pun on "State Law Breaker."
Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of martial law similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept.
| rowspan="2"|"Legal" items
|-
| Federal law || Likely a pun on "Federal Law Breaker," though it could also be taken literally, as above. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.
|-
| Second law of thermodynamics || The Second Law of Thermodynamics, in simple terms, states that the total entropy (or disorder) of an isolated system can only increase over time. It's a fundamental principle that dictates the direction of energy flow and the feasibility of many processes, and provides an arrow of time.
Turning off the second law of thermodynamics would have some pros and cons.
;GOOD STUFF
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines''': Machines that can do work indefinitely without an energy source would become possible, defying our current understanding of energy conservation.
*'''Reversibility of Processes''': Many natural processes that are irreversible under current laws could be reversed. For instance, melted ice could spontaneously turn back into a solid without energy removal.
*'''Recycling Energy''': We could theoretically use the same quantum of energy over and over again, leading to ultra-efficient systems and potentially solving many of the world's energy problems.
*'''Reversing Entropy-Driven Processes''': Things like mixing cream and coffee or ink in water could spontaneously unmix.
;BAD STUFF
*'''End Life as We Know It:''' All living organisms rely on the second law for crucial processes, including metabolism and reproduction. If the second law were negated, life, at least as we understand it, might not be possible.
*'''No Heat Engines:''' Engines rely on the flow of heat from hotter to colder bodies. Without the Second Law, our cars, power plants, refrigerators, and many other devices would not function.
*'''Breakdown of Molecular Processes:''' Molecules spontaneously move from areas of higher to lower concentration due to entropy. Without this, diffusion, osmosis, and many biochemical reactions wouldn't occur as they currently do.
*'''Loss of Directionality:''' One interpretation of the Second Law provides a directionality to time (the so-called "arrow of time"). Without it, causality and our understanding of past, present, and future could be fundamentally altered.
*'''Unpredictable Outcomes:''' Turning off the Second Law could result in a universe where outcomes are not probabilistically predictable. You couldn't rely on anything happening as it "should," leading to chaos in every sense.
 This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].
| rowspan="3"|"Physics" items
|-
| Friction || Friction is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Turning it off has some upsides and downsides.
;UPSIDES
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines:''' Without friction, once an object starts moving, it would continue indefinitely unless acted upon by another force. This could lead to perpetual motion machines that could generate energy.
*'''Super-Efficient Transport:''' Cars, trains, and other vehicles would glide effortlessly once set into motion, leading to immense energy savings.
*'''Unique Sports:''' New sports and activities would emerge, where players glide or slide over surfaces without friction.
;DOWNSIDES
*'''Walking Would Be Impossible:''' We rely on friction between our feet and the ground to move. Without it, we would be unable to walk, run, or even stand.
*'''No Manual Dexterity:''' Holding, grabbing, or manipulating objects would be impossible. Even simple tasks like holding a glass or writing with a pen would be out of reach.
*'''Catastrophic Mechanical Failures:''' Many machines rely on friction to function. Brakes in cars, for instance, use friction to slow down and stop the vehicle. Without it, uncontrollable accidents would occur.
*'''No Sound:''' Friction between air molecules creates sound waves. Without friction, the world would be silent.
*'''Breathing Difficulties:''' Our respiratory system relies on frictional forces when the alveoli in our lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the bloodstream.
*'''No Fire:''' Fire relies on friction for its creation, such as when striking a match. The absence of friction would mean no traditional methods of starting a fire.
*'''Collisions:''' Objects, once set in motion, would continue to move until they hit something, leading to a myriad of unpredictable and uncontrollable collisions.
 Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].
|-
| Gravity || Gravity is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Turning off gravity would have some advantages and disadvantages.
;ADVANTAGES
* '''Flight''': Without gravity, every leap could turn into a flight. We could push off surfaces and float effortlessly through the air.
* '''No Weight Restrictions''': Large structures could be built without concern for weight-bearing loads. This would drastically change engineering and architectural designs.
* '''New Sports''': Zero-gravity sports and activities could become a reality on Earth. Imagine playing basketball or soccer without gravity!
;DISADVANTAGES
* '''Loss of Atmosphere and Oceans''': Without gravity, Earth's atmosphere would dissipate into space, and water from oceans, rivers, and lakes would float away, making life as we know it impossible.
* '''Unanchored Chaos''': Everything not fixed to the ground, including people, animals, vehicles, and foundationless structures, could become airborne, causing massive destruction and chaos.
* '''Disruption of Celestial Order''': Earth would no longer orbit the Sun, the Moon would drift away rather quickly, and the structural integrity of the universe, including galaxies and solar systems, would be jeopardized.
* '''Everything Exploding''': Most celestial bodies, ranging from the moon to supermassive black holes, would explode from internal pressure and centripetal forces no longer fighting against gravity throwing everything into space.
* '''Aggregation Absence''': Stars, galaxies, and basically anything in space requires gravity to form. Without gravity, no stars, planets, or meteors would form ever again.

Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it much, much easier to move around the house, get to higher areas, and move objects, but could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for the floor.
|-
| Circuit breakers || colspan="2"|Possibly the "master" breaker, controlling the main circuit that supplies power to all other circuit breakers. However, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off will possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off (i.e.: If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself).

Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos.

Note that it might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.
|-
! colspan="3"|Title text
|-
| colspan="3"|The title text is about causality, arguably another level above the "Physics" switches, and how to use this (unseen) breaker along with the either the last shown switch or another unseen 'meta level' switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.

Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

Whether or not turning off causality would actually turn off causality if causality is turned off is an exercise for the reader.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}

2848: Breaker Box

2023-10-31T21:44:24Z

FrankHightower: /* Table of the breakers labels */

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH-PITCHED HUM GENERATOR THAT WAS LAST MENTIONED EXACTLY 1258 COMICS AGO - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall inside a building, usually in some maintenance area, containing several {{w|circuit breakers}} that let power through to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever that can be used to manually isolate the electrical connections beyond it from the incoming power supply, but that will also physically trigger open if too much power is flowing through (often due to some grounding fault), to mitigate against dangerous short-circuits that can injure/damage people and appliances, in the most serious cases hopefully preventing fires and even risk of death.

In most breaker boxes, each individual breaker is labeled to let the operator know what that specific breaker controls. A breaker will usually control something like the outlets or lights (perhaps all those in a certain room), or some large appliance which normally draws a large current all on its own.

However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or are poorly wired), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of XKCD – may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of disabling certain laws of physics.

===Table of the breakers labels===
{|class = "wikitable"
! Label next to breaker !! Explanation !! Note
|-
! colspan="3"|Left column of switches
|-
| Kitchen Lights || The lights in the kitchen. || rowspan="3"| Standard items that could be separate
|-
| Living room lights || The lights in the living room.
|-
| Porch lights || The lights on the porch.
|-
| Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere || The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet.
It is not uncommon for the power supply to a 'wet room' (usually just lighting, but perhaps also relevent appliances like a double-fused 'shaver supply' and/or electric shower unit) to be wired up independently to restrict the impact of short-circuits due to unexpected water seepage or allow specific isolation during later maintence work.

Having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, it is possible that another electrician – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit because it seems more convient/sensible to do so than to tap onto any other, or because all other circuits are close to overloading. This can mystify homeowners (and future installers) who aren't fully informed about this aspect of the wiring history.
| Standard, but 'kludged'
|-
| North-facing appliances || colspan="2"|Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function
# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets
# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all north-facing appliances
# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets when triggered.
# Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

Alternative explanations:
* The switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s).
* It switch could control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house.

Note: "North-facing" has broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}.

|-
| Bathtub drain light || colspan="2"|Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room).
Indeed, it is possible the reason the "bathroom light" breaker was able to take that additional random outlet connection was because this light had been miswired.
|-
| Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" || colspan="2"|Another odd and amusing specification.

To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup, but using a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name.

Some common household appliances that this switch might control:
* coffee maker
* refrigerator
* freezer
* fan
* air fryer
* food processor
* waffle iron
* fabric steamer
* fireplace (electric)
Note that only ''most'' of these are kitchen appliances, following the theme of "bathroom and one mystery outlet somewhere"
|-
| Hot water heater || Usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot.
This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[technically]] redundant or misleading:
* Redundant because the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water
* Misleading because it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot.
|rowspan="2"|Two "heaters"
|-
| Regular water heater || The heater for regular water. Together with the switch above, this presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke).
|-
| Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in || colspan="2"|This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above) but presumably not closets and single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room.
|-
| High-pitched hum generator || colspan="2"|Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]].
|-
| The solution to the cryptogram below: || colspan="2"|Likely a pun on "breaking" or solving a cryptogram, which is a puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one.
Another explanation is that this switch enables or disables the solution somehow, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability.
|-
| Bugs || colspan="2"|Several interpretations are possible:
* Disable all software bugs in the house*
* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) - or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.
* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.
* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease likes malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}. Food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.
|-
! colspan="3"|Right column of switches
|-
| A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now || colspan="2"|The AC in a building usually creates quiet white noise from fans, which people usually do not hear until they become aware that there is a sound. Other appliances, such as refrigerators or home servers, can have similar effects.
|-
| Dishwasher || colspan="2"|Although dishwashers aren't typically high-load appliances that require a breaker to themselves (unlike, for example, the water heater), if the house wasn't originally built with a dishwasher in mind, it is likely new wiring had to be added during its installation, resulting in a breaker that exclusively controls the dishwasher.
|-
| Dishes || colspan="2"|Traditionally, dishes cannot be turned off, as they do not normally require electricity. "Dishes" could be the label for a dishwasher on another house's breaker box, but this one already used that label. Another, unlikely explanation is that this switch controls two or more satellite dishes.
|-
| Hallway lights || The lights in the hallway or hallways. || rowspan="3"|"Hallway" regions
|-
| Hallway outlets || The outlets in the hallway or hallways. A common confusion when turning off breakers is separate wiring for outlets and lights in the same room. Though having the room go dark is a good mnemonic that it is unpowered, it is not a guarantee, and indeed, wiring them separately allows working on the outlets without having to do it in the dark.
|-
| Hallway floors || This breaker has several potential interpretations:
#A master switch for all floors (storeys) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
#Outlets in the floor
#Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
#Electrification of the floors -- not common outside of horror and heist movies.
#Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through.
|-
| Social media || colspan="2"|This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "turning off social media":
#'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to turn off my social media" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
#A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
#A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider([[1439|optional]]).
#The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
|-
| State law || Likely a pun on "State Law Breaker."
Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of martial law similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept.
| rowspan="2"|"Legal" items
|-
| Federal law || Likely a pun on "Federal Law Breaker," though it could also be taken literally, as above. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.
|-
| Second law of thermodynamics || The Second Law of Thermodynamics, in simple terms, states that the total entropy (or disorder) of an isolated system can only increase over time. It's a fundamental principle that dictates the direction of energy flow and the feasibility of many processes, and provides an arrow of time.
Turning off the second law of thermodynamics would have some pros and cons.
;GOOD STUFF
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines''': Machines that can do work indefinitely without an energy source would become possible, defying our current understanding of energy conservation.
*'''Reversibility of Processes''': Many natural processes that are irreversible under current laws could be reversed. For instance, melted ice could spontaneously turn back into a solid without energy removal.
*'''Recycling Energy''': We could theoretically use the same quantum of energy over and over again, leading to ultra-efficient systems and potentially solving many of the world's energy problems.
*'''Reversing Entropy-Driven Processes''': Things like mixing cream and coffee or ink in water could spontaneously unmix.
;BAD STUFF
*'''End Life as We Know It:''' All living organisms rely on the second law for crucial processes, including metabolism and reproduction. If the second law were negated, life, at least as we understand it, might not be possible.
*'''No Heat Engines:''' Engines rely on the flow of heat from hotter to colder bodies. Without the Second Law, our cars, power plants, refrigerators, and many other devices would not function.
*'''Breakdown of Molecular Processes:''' Molecules spontaneously move from areas of higher to lower concentration due to entropy. Without this, diffusion, osmosis, and many biochemical reactions wouldn't occur as they currently do.
*'''Loss of Directionality:''' One interpretation of the Second Law provides a directionality to time (the so-called "arrow of time"). Without it, causality and our understanding of past, present, and future could be fundamentally altered.
*'''Unpredictable Outcomes:''' Turning off the Second Law could result in a universe where outcomes are not probabilistically predictable. You couldn't rely on anything happening as it "should," leading to chaos in every sense.
 This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].
| rowspan="3"|"Physics" items
|-
| Friction || Friction is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Turning it off has some upsides and downsides.
;UPSIDES
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines:''' Without friction, once an object starts moving, it would continue indefinitely unless acted upon by another force. This could lead to perpetual motion machines that could generate energy.
*'''Super-Efficient Transport:''' Cars, trains, and other vehicles would glide effortlessly once set into motion, leading to immense energy savings.
*'''Unique Sports:''' New sports and activities would emerge, where players glide or slide over surfaces without friction.
;DOWNSIDES
*'''Walking Would Be Impossible:''' We rely on friction between our feet and the ground to move. Without it, we would be unable to walk, run, or even stand.
*'''No Manual Dexterity:''' Holding, grabbing, or manipulating objects would be impossible. Even simple tasks like holding a glass or writing with a pen would be out of reach.
*'''Catastrophic Mechanical Failures:''' Many machines rely on friction to function. Brakes in cars, for instance, use friction to slow down and stop the vehicle. Without it, uncontrollable accidents would occur.
*'''No Sound:''' Friction between air molecules creates sound waves. Without friction, the world would be silent.
*'''Breathing Difficulties:''' Our respiratory system relies on frictional forces when the alveoli in our lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the bloodstream.
*'''No Fire:''' Fire relies on friction for its creation, such as when striking a match. The absence of friction would mean no traditional methods of starting a fire.
*'''Collisions:''' Objects, once set in motion, would continue to move until they hit something, leading to a myriad of unpredictable and uncontrollable collisions.
 Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].
|-
| Gravity || Gravity is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Turning off gravity would have some advantages and disadvantages.
;ADVANTAGES
* '''Flight''': Without gravity, every leap could turn into a flight. We could push off surfaces and float effortlessly through the air.
* '''No Weight Restrictions''': Large structures could be built without concern for weight-bearing loads. This would drastically change engineering and architectural designs.
* '''New Sports''': Zero-gravity sports and activities could become a reality on Earth. Imagine playing basketball or soccer without gravity!
;DISADVANTAGES
* '''Loss of Atmosphere and Oceans''': Without gravity, Earth's atmosphere would dissipate into space, and water from oceans, rivers, and lakes would float away, making life as we know it impossible.
* '''Unanchored Chaos''': Everything not fixed to the ground, including people, animals, vehicles, and foundationless structures, could become airborne, causing massive destruction and chaos.
* '''Disruption of Celestial Order''': Earth would no longer orbit the Sun, the Moon would drift away rather quickly, and the structural integrity of the universe, including galaxies and solar systems, would be jeopardized.
* '''Everything Exploding''': Most celestial bodies, ranging from the moon to supermassive black holes, would explode from internal pressure and centripetal forces no longer fighting against gravity throwing everything into space.
* '''Aggregation Absence''': Stars, galaxies, and basically anything in space requires gravity to form. Without gravity, no stars, planets, or meteors would form ever again.

Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it much, much easier to move around the house, get to higher areas, and move objects, but could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for the floor.
|-
| Circuit breakers || colspan="2"|Possibly the "master" breaker, controlling the main circuit that supplies power to all other circuit breakers. However, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off will possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off (i.e.: If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself).

Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos.

Note that it might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.
|-
! colspan="3"|Title text
|-
| colspan="3"|The title text is about causality, arguably another level above the "Physics" switches, and how to use this (unseen) breaker along with the either the last shown switch or another unseen 'meta level' switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.

Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

Whether or not turning off causality would actually turn off causality if causality is turned off is an exercise for the reader.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}

2848: Breaker Box

2023-10-31T21:43:05Z

FrankHightower: /* Table of the breakers labels */ typo

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH-PITCHED HUM GENERATOR THAT WAS LAST MENTIONED EXACTLY 1258 COMICS AGO - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall inside a building, usually in some maintenance area, containing several {{w|circuit breakers}} that let power through to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever that can be used to manually isolate the electrical connections beyond it from the incoming power supply, but that will also physically trigger open if too much power is flowing through (often due to some grounding fault), to mitigate against dangerous short-circuits that can injure/damage people and appliances, in the most serious cases hopefully preventing fires and even risk of death.

In most breaker boxes, each individual breaker is labeled to let the operator know what that specific breaker controls. A breaker will usually control something like the outlets or lights (perhaps all those in a certain room), or some large appliance which normally draws a large current all on its own.

However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or are poorly wired), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of XKCD – may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of disabling certain laws of physics.

===Table of the breakers labels===
{|class = "wikitable"
! Label next to breaker !! Explanation !! Note
|-
! colspan="3"|Left column of switches
|-
| Kitchen Lights || The lights in the kitchen. || rowspan="3"| Standard items that could be separate
|-
| Living room lights || The lights in the living room.
|-
| Porch lights || The lights on the porch.
|-
| Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere || The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet.
It is not uncommon for the power supply to a 'wet room' (usually just lighting, but perhaps also relevent appliances like a double-fused 'shaver supply' and/or electric shower unit) to be wired up independently to restrict the impact of short-circuits due to unexpected water seepage or allow specific isolation during later maintence work.

Having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, it is possible that another electrician – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit because it seems more convient/sensible to do so than to tap onto any other, or because all other circuits are close to overloading. This can mystify homeowners (and future installers) who aren't fully informed about this aspect of the wiring history.
| Standard, but 'kludged'
|-
| North-facing appliances || colspan="2"|Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function
# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets
# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all north-facing appliances
# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets when triggered.
# Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

Alternative explanations:
* The switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s).
* It switch could control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house.

Note: "North-facing" has broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}.

|-
| Bathtub drain light || colspan="2"|Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room).
Indeed, it is possible the reason the "bathroom light" breaker was able to take that additional random outlet connection was because this light had been miswired.
|-
| Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" || colspan="2"|Another odd and amusing specification.

To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup, but using a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name.

Some common household appliances that this switch might control:
* coffee maker
* refrigerator
* freezer
* fan
* air fryer
* food processor
* waffle iron
* fabric steamer
* fireplace (electric)
Note that only ''most'' of these are kitchen appliances, following the theme of "bathroom and one mystery outlet somewhere"
|-
| Hot water heater || Usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot.
This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[technically]] redundant or misleading:
* Redundant because the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water
* Misleading because it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot.
|rowspan="2"|Two "heaters"
|-
| Regular water heater || The heater for regular water. Together with the switch above, this presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke).
|-
| Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in || colspan="2"|This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above) but presumably not closets single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room.
|-
| High-pitched hum generator || colspan="2"|Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]].
|-
| The solution to the cryptogram below: || colspan="2"|Likely a pun on "breaking" or solving a cryptogram, which is a puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one.
Another explanation is that this switch enables or disables the solution somehow, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability.
|-
| Bugs || colspan="2"|Several interpretations are possible:
* Disable all software bugs in the house*
* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) - or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.
* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.
* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease likes malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}. Food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.
|-
! colspan="3"|Right column of switches
|-
| A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now || colspan="2"|The AC in a building usually creates quiet white noise from fans, which people usually do not hear until they become aware that there is a sound. Other appliances, such as refrigerators or home servers, can have similar effects.
|-
| Dishwasher || colspan="2"|Although dishwashers aren't typically high-load appliances that require a breaker to themselves (unlike, for example, the water heater), if the house wasn't originally built with a dishwasher in mind, it is likely new wiring had to be added during its installation, resulting in a breaker that exclusively controls the dishwasher.
|-
| Dishes || colspan="2"|Traditionally, dishes cannot be turned off, as they do not normally require electricity. "Dishes" could be the label for a dishwasher on another house's breaker box, but this one already used that label. Another, unlikely explanation is that this switch controls two or more satellite dishes.
|-
| Hallway lights || The lights in the hallway or hallways. || rowspan="3"|"Hallway" regions
|-
| Hallway outlets || The outlets in the hallway or hallways. A common confusion when turning off breakers is separate wiring for outlets and lights in the same room. Though having the room go dark is a good mnemonic that it is unpowered, it is not a guarantee, and indeed, wiring them separately allows working on the outlets without having to do it in the dark.
|-
| Hallway floors || This breaker has several potential interpretations:
#A master switch for all floors (storeys) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
#Outlets in the floor
#Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
#Electrification of the floors -- not common outside of horror and heist movies.
#Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through.
|-
| Social media || colspan="2"|This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "turning off social media":
#'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to turn off my social media" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
#A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
#A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider([[1439|optional]]).
#The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
|-
| State law || Likely a pun on "State Law Breaker."
Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of martial law similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept.
| rowspan="2"|"Legal" items
|-
| Federal law || Likely a pun on "Federal Law Breaker," though it could also be taken literally, as above. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.
|-
| Second law of thermodynamics || The Second Law of Thermodynamics, in simple terms, states that the total entropy (or disorder) of an isolated system can only increase over time. It's a fundamental principle that dictates the direction of energy flow and the feasibility of many processes, and provides an arrow of time.
Turning off the second law of thermodynamics would have some pros and cons.
;GOOD STUFF
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines''': Machines that can do work indefinitely without an energy source would become possible, defying our current understanding of energy conservation.
*'''Reversibility of Processes''': Many natural processes that are irreversible under current laws could be reversed. For instance, melted ice could spontaneously turn back into a solid without energy removal.
*'''Recycling Energy''': We could theoretically use the same quantum of energy over and over again, leading to ultra-efficient systems and potentially solving many of the world's energy problems.
*'''Reversing Entropy-Driven Processes''': Things like mixing cream and coffee or ink in water could spontaneously unmix.
;BAD STUFF
*'''End Life as We Know It:''' All living organisms rely on the second law for crucial processes, including metabolism and reproduction. If the second law were negated, life, at least as we understand it, might not be possible.
*'''No Heat Engines:''' Engines rely on the flow of heat from hotter to colder bodies. Without the Second Law, our cars, power plants, refrigerators, and many other devices would not function.
*'''Breakdown of Molecular Processes:''' Molecules spontaneously move from areas of higher to lower concentration due to entropy. Without this, diffusion, osmosis, and many biochemical reactions wouldn't occur as they currently do.
*'''Loss of Directionality:''' One interpretation of the Second Law provides a directionality to time (the so-called "arrow of time"). Without it, causality and our understanding of past, present, and future could be fundamentally altered.
*'''Unpredictable Outcomes:''' Turning off the Second Law could result in a universe where outcomes are not probabilistically predictable. You couldn't rely on anything happening as it "should," leading to chaos in every sense.
 This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].
| rowspan="3"|"Physics" items
|-
| Friction || Friction is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Turning it off has some upsides and downsides.
;UPSIDES
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines:''' Without friction, once an object starts moving, it would continue indefinitely unless acted upon by another force. This could lead to perpetual motion machines that could generate energy.
*'''Super-Efficient Transport:''' Cars, trains, and other vehicles would glide effortlessly once set into motion, leading to immense energy savings.
*'''Unique Sports:''' New sports and activities would emerge, where players glide or slide over surfaces without friction.
;DOWNSIDES
*'''Walking Would Be Impossible:''' We rely on friction between our feet and the ground to move. Without it, we would be unable to walk, run, or even stand.
*'''No Manual Dexterity:''' Holding, grabbing, or manipulating objects would be impossible. Even simple tasks like holding a glass or writing with a pen would be out of reach.
*'''Catastrophic Mechanical Failures:''' Many machines rely on friction to function. Brakes in cars, for instance, use friction to slow down and stop the vehicle. Without it, uncontrollable accidents would occur.
*'''No Sound:''' Friction between air molecules creates sound waves. Without friction, the world would be silent.
*'''Breathing Difficulties:''' Our respiratory system relies on frictional forces when the alveoli in our lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the bloodstream.
*'''No Fire:''' Fire relies on friction for its creation, such as when striking a match. The absence of friction would mean no traditional methods of starting a fire.
*'''Collisions:''' Objects, once set in motion, would continue to move until they hit something, leading to a myriad of unpredictable and uncontrollable collisions.
 Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].
|-
| Gravity || Gravity is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Turning off gravity would have some advantages and disadvantages.
;ADVANTAGES
* '''Flight''': Without gravity, every leap could turn into a flight. We could push off surfaces and float effortlessly through the air.
* '''No Weight Restrictions''': Large structures could be built without concern for weight-bearing loads. This would drastically change engineering and architectural designs.
* '''New Sports''': Zero-gravity sports and activities could become a reality on Earth. Imagine playing basketball or soccer without gravity!
;DISADVANTAGES
* '''Loss of Atmosphere and Oceans''': Without gravity, Earth's atmosphere would dissipate into space, and water from oceans, rivers, and lakes would float away, making life as we know it impossible.
* '''Unanchored Chaos''': Everything not fixed to the ground, including people, animals, vehicles, and foundationless structures, could become airborne, causing massive destruction and chaos.
* '''Disruption of Celestial Order''': Earth would no longer orbit the Sun, the Moon would drift away rather quickly, and the structural integrity of the universe, including galaxies and solar systems, would be jeopardized.
* '''Everything Exploding''': Most celestial bodies, ranging from the moon to supermassive black holes, would explode from internal pressure and centripetal forces no longer fighting against gravity throwing everything into space.
* '''Aggregation Absence''': Stars, galaxies, and basically anything in space requires gravity to form. Without gravity, no stars, planets, or meteors would form ever again.

Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it much, much easier to move around the house, get to higher areas, and move objects, but could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for the floor.
|-
| Circuit breakers || colspan="2"|Possibly the "master" breaker, controlling the main circuit that supplies power to all other circuit breakers. However, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off will possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off (i.e.: If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself).

Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos.

Note that it might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.
|-
! colspan="3"|Title text
|-
| colspan="3"|The title text is about causality, arguably another level above the "Physics" switches, and how to use this (unseen) breaker along with the either the last shown switch or another unseen 'meta level' switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.

Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

Whether or not turning off causality would actually turn off causality if causality is turned off is an exercise for the reader.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}

2848: Breaker Box

2023-10-31T21:39:24Z

FrankHightower:

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH-PITCHED HUM GENERATOR THAT WAS LAST MENTIONED EXACTLY 1258 COMICS AGO - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall inside a building, usually in some maintenance area, containing several {{w|circuit breakers}} that let power through to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever that can be used to manually isolate the electrical connections beyond it from the incoming power supply, but that will also physically trigger open if too much power is flowing through (often due to some grounding fault), to mitigate against dangerous short-circuits that can injure/damage people and appliances, in the most serious cases hopefully preventing fires and even risk of death.

In most breaker boxes, each individual breaker is labeled to let the operator know what that specific breaker controls. A breaker will usually control something like the outlets or lights (perhaps all those in a certain room), or some large appliance which normally draws a large current all on its own.

However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or are poorly wired), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of XKCD – may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of disabling certain laws of physics.

===Table of the breakers labels===
{|class = "wikitable"
! Label next to breaker !! Explanation !! Note
|-
! colspan="3"|Left column of switches
|-
| Kitchen Lights || The lights in the kitchen. || rowspan="3"| Standard items that could be separate
|-
| Living room lights || The lights in the living room.
|-
| Porch lights || The lights on the porch.
|-
| Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere || The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet.
It is not uncommon for the power supply to a 'wet room' (usually just lighting, but perhaps also relevent appliances like a double-fused 'shaver supply' and/or electric shower unit) to be wired up independently to restrict the impact of short-circuits due to unexpected water seepage or allow specific isolation during later maintence work.

Having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, it is possible that another electrician – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit because it seems more convient/sensible to do so than to tap onto any other, or because all other circuits are close to overloading. This can mystify homeowners (and future installers) who aren't fully informed about this aspect of the wiring history.
| Standard, but 'kludged'
|-
| North-facing appliances || colspan="2"|Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function
# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets
# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all north-facing appliances
# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets when triggered.
# Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

Alternative explanations:
* The switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s).
* It switch could control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house.

Note: "North-facing" has broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}.

|-
| Bathtub drain light || colspan="2"|Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room).
Indeed, it is possible the reason the "bathroom light" breaker was able to take that additional random outlet connetion was because this light had been miswired.
|-
| Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" || colspan="2"|Another odd and amusing specification.

To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup, but using a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name.

Some common household appliances that this switch might control:
* coffee maker
* refrigerator
* freezer
* fan
* air fryer
* food processor
* waffle iron
* fabric steamer
* fireplace (electric)
Note that only ''most'' of these are kitchen appliances, following the theme of "bathroom and one mystery outlet somewhere"
|-
| Hot water heater || Usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot.
This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[technically]] redundant or misleading:
* Redundant because the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water
* Misleading because it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot.
|rowspan="2"|Two "heaters"
|-
| Regular water heater || The heater for regular water. Together with the switch above, this presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke).
|-
| Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in || colspan="2"|This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above) but presumably not closets single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room.
|-
| High-pitched hum generator || colspan="2"|Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]].
|-
| The solution to the cryptogram below: || colspan="2"|Likely a pun on "breaking" or solving a cryptogram, which is a puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one.
Another explanation is that this switch enables or disables the solution somehow, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability.
|-
| Bugs || colspan="2"|Several interpretations are possible:
* Disable all software bugs in the house*
* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) - or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.
* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.
* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease likes malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}. Food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.
|-
! colspan="3"|Right column of switches
|-
| A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now || colspan="2"|The AC in a building usually creates quiet white noise from fans, which people usually do not hear until they become aware that there is a sound. Other appliances, such as refrigerators or home servers, can have similar effects.
|-
| Dishwasher || colspan="2"|Although dishwashers aren't typically high-load appliances that require a breaker to themselves (unlike, for example, the water heater), if the house wasn't originally built with a dishwasher in mind, it is likely new wiring had to be added during its installation, resulting in a breaker that exclusively controls the dishwasher.
|-
| Dishes || colspan="2"|Traditionally, dishes cannot be turned off, as they do not normally require electricity. "Dishes" could be the label for a dishwasher on another house's breaker box, but this one already used that label. Another, unlikely explanation is that this switch controls two or more satellite dishes.
|-
| Hallway lights || The lights in the hallway or hallways. || rowspan="3"|"Hallway" regions
|-
| Hallway outlets || The outlets in the hallway or hallways. A common confusion when turning off breakers is separate wiring for outlets and lights in the same room. Though having the room go dark is a good mnemonic that it is unpowered, it is not a guarantee, and indeed, wiring them separately allows working on the outlets without having to do it in the dark.
|-
| Hallway floors || This breaker has several potential interpretations:
#A master switch for all floors (storeys) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
#Outlets in the floor
#Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
#Electrification of the floors -- not common outside of horror and heist movies.
#Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through.
|-
| Social media || colspan="2"|This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "turning off social media":
#'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to turn off my social media" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
#A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
#A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider([[1439|optional]]).
#The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
|-
| State law || Likely a pun on "State Law Breaker."
Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of martial law similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept.
| rowspan="2"|"Legal" items
|-
| Federal law || Likely a pun on "Federal Law Breaker," though it could also be taken literally, as above. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.
|-
| Second law of thermodynamics || The Second Law of Thermodynamics, in simple terms, states that the total entropy (or disorder) of an isolated system can only increase over time. It's a fundamental principle that dictates the direction of energy flow and the feasibility of many processes, and provides an arrow of time.
Turning off the second law of thermodynamics would have some pros and cons.
;GOOD STUFF
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines''': Machines that can do work indefinitely without an energy source would become possible, defying our current understanding of energy conservation.
*'''Reversibility of Processes''': Many natural processes that are irreversible under current laws could be reversed. For instance, melted ice could spontaneously turn back into a solid without energy removal.
*'''Recycling Energy''': We could theoretically use the same quantum of energy over and over again, leading to ultra-efficient systems and potentially solving many of the world's energy problems.
*'''Reversing Entropy-Driven Processes''': Things like mixing cream and coffee or ink in water could spontaneously unmix.
;BAD STUFF
*'''End Life as We Know It:''' All living organisms rely on the second law for crucial processes, including metabolism and reproduction. If the second law were negated, life, at least as we understand it, might not be possible.
*'''No Heat Engines:''' Engines rely on the flow of heat from hotter to colder bodies. Without the Second Law, our cars, power plants, refrigerators, and many other devices would not function.
*'''Breakdown of Molecular Processes:''' Molecules spontaneously move from areas of higher to lower concentration due to entropy. Without this, diffusion, osmosis, and many biochemical reactions wouldn't occur as they currently do.
*'''Loss of Directionality:''' One interpretation of the Second Law provides a directionality to time (the so-called "arrow of time"). Without it, causality and our understanding of past, present, and future could be fundamentally altered.
*'''Unpredictable Outcomes:''' Turning off the Second Law could result in a universe where outcomes are not probabilistically predictable. You couldn't rely on anything happening as it "should," leading to chaos in every sense.
 This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].
| rowspan="3"|"Physics" items
|-
| Friction || Friction is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Turning it off has some upsides and downsides.
;UPSIDES
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines:''' Without friction, once an object starts moving, it would continue indefinitely unless acted upon by another force. This could lead to perpetual motion machines that could generate energy.
*'''Super-Efficient Transport:''' Cars, trains, and other vehicles would glide effortlessly once set into motion, leading to immense energy savings.
*'''Unique Sports:''' New sports and activities would emerge, where players glide or slide over surfaces without friction.
;DOWNSIDES
*'''Walking Would Be Impossible:''' We rely on friction between our feet and the ground to move. Without it, we would be unable to walk, run, or even stand.
*'''No Manual Dexterity:''' Holding, grabbing, or manipulating objects would be impossible. Even simple tasks like holding a glass or writing with a pen would be out of reach.
*'''Catastrophic Mechanical Failures:''' Many machines rely on friction to function. Brakes in cars, for instance, use friction to slow down and stop the vehicle. Without it, uncontrollable accidents would occur.
*'''No Sound:''' Friction between air molecules creates sound waves. Without friction, the world would be silent.
*'''Breathing Difficulties:''' Our respiratory system relies on frictional forces when the alveoli in our lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the bloodstream.
*'''No Fire:''' Fire relies on friction for its creation, such as when striking a match. The absence of friction would mean no traditional methods of starting a fire.
*'''Collisions:''' Objects, once set in motion, would continue to move until they hit something, leading to a myriad of unpredictable and uncontrollable collisions.
 Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].
|-
| Gravity || Gravity is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Turning off gravity would have some advantages and disadvantages.
;ADVANTAGES
* '''Flight''': Without gravity, every leap could turn into a flight. We could push off surfaces and float effortlessly through the air.
* '''No Weight Restrictions''': Large structures could be built without concern for weight-bearing loads. This would drastically change engineering and architectural designs.
* '''New Sports''': Zero-gravity sports and activities could become a reality on Earth. Imagine playing basketball or soccer without gravity!
;DISADVANTAGES
* '''Loss of Atmosphere and Oceans''': Without gravity, Earth's atmosphere would dissipate into space, and water from oceans, rivers, and lakes would float away, making life as we know it impossible.
* '''Unanchored Chaos''': Everything not fixed to the ground, including people, animals, vehicles, and foundationless structures, could become airborne, causing massive destruction and chaos.
* '''Disruption of Celestial Order''': Earth would no longer orbit the Sun, the Moon would drift away rather quickly, and the structural integrity of the universe, including galaxies and solar systems, would be jeopardized.
* '''Everything Exploding''': Most celestial bodies, ranging from the moon to supermassive black holes, would explode from internal pressure and centripetal forces no longer fighting against gravity throwing everything into space.
* '''Aggregation Absence''': Stars, galaxies, and basically anything in space requires gravity to form. Without gravity, no stars, planets, or meteors would form ever again.

Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it much, much easier to move around the house, get to higher areas, and move objects, but could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for the floor.
|-
| Circuit breakers || colspan="2"|Possibly the "master" breaker, controlling the main circuit that supplies power to all other circuit breakers. However, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off will possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off (i.e.: If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself).

Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos.

Note that it might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.
|-
! colspan="3"|Title text
|-
| colspan="3"|The title text is about causality, arguably another level above the "Physics" switches, and how to use this (unseen) breaker along with the either the last shown switch or another unseen 'meta level' switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.

Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

Whether or not turning off causality would actually turn off causality if causality is turned off is an exercise for the reader.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}

2848: Breaker Box

2023-10-31T21:30:43Z

FrankHightower: /* Table of the breakers labels */

{{comic
| number = 2848
| date = October 30, 2023
| title = Breaker Box
| image = breaker_box_2x.png
| imagesize = 560x776px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Any electrician will warn you to first locate and flip the house's CAUSALITY circuit breaker before touching the CIRCUIT BREAKERS one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIGH-PITCHED HUM GENERATOR THAT WAS LAST MENTIONED EXACTLY 1258 COMICS AGO - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall inside a building, usually in some maintenance area, containing several {{w|circuit breakers}} that let power through to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever that can be used to manually isolate the electrical connections beyond it from the incoming power supply, but that will also physically trigger open if too much power is flowing through (often due to some grounding fault), to mitigate against dangerous short-circuits that can injure/damage people and appliances, in the most serious cases hopefully preventing fires and even risk of death.

In most breaker boxes, each individual breaker is labeled to let the operator know what that specific breaker controls. A breaker will usually control something like the outlets or lights (perhaps all those in a certain room), or some large appliance which normally draws a large current all on its own.

However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or are poorly wired), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s or early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.

The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of XKCD – may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of disabling certain laws of physics.

===Table of the breakers labels===
{|class = "wikitable"
! Label next to breaker !! Explanation !! Note
|-
! colspan="3"|Left column of switches
|-
| Kitchen Lights || The lights in the kitchen. || rowspan="3"| Standard items that could be separate
|-
| Living room lights || The lights in the living room.
|-
| Porch lights || The lights on the porch.
|-
| Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere || The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet.
It is not uncommon for the power supply to a 'wet room' (usually just lighting, but perhaps also relevent appliances like a double-fused 'shaver supply' and/or electric shower unit) to be wired up independently to restrict the impact of short-circuits due to unexpected water seepage or allow specific isolation during later maintence work.

Having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, it is possible that another electrician – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit because it seems more convient/sensible to do so than to tap onto any other, or because all other circuits are close to overloading. This can mystify homeowners (and future installers) who aren't fully informed about this aspect of the wiring history.
| Standard, but 'kludged'
|-
| North-facing appliances || colspan="2"|Peculiar and a bit complex to execute. Here's how it might have been set up:
# Install a breaker switch that is actually a mechanical switch to control a smart home automation instead of its normal function
# Replace relevant normal outlets with Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets
# Use smart home software to create a custom group of all outlets that control all north-facing appliances
# Set up a software automation to selectively toggle this user-defined group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets when triggered.
# Adding a matching appliance to the house would require editing the automation.

Alternative explanations:
* The switch may be physically wired only to outlets installed on a southern wall in the property (or ''all'' southern walls, for each room that requires them), and you'd ensure that everything connected to these exclusively north-facing outlets also faces directly away from the wall(s).
* It switch could control appliances on the north-facing walls of the house.

Note: "North-facing" has broad interpretation, as lax as northeast to northwest or as strict as {{w|Points of the compass#32-wind compass rose|north by east to north by west}}.

|-
| Bathtub drain light || colspan="2"|Bathtub drains typically do not have lights, but this breaker provides power to that and only that. Why it isn't already considered a "bathroom light" is unexplained (unless it's for the bit of the pipe that is ''external'' to that room).
Indeed, it is possible the reason the "bathroom light" breaker was able to take that additional random outlet connetion was because this light had been miswired.
|-
| Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" || colspan="2"|Another odd and amusing specification.

To make it work, one might use the "North-facing appliances" setup, but using a different custom group of Wi-Fi-controlled smart outlets chosen to only control appliances with an "F' in their name.

Some common household appliances that this switch might control:
* coffee maker
* refrigerator
* freezer
* fan
* air fryer
* food processor
* waffle iron
* fabric steamer
* fireplace (electric)
Note that only ''most'' of these are kitchen appliances, following the theme of "bathroom and one mystery outlet somewhere"
|-
| Hot water heater || Usually just a heater that creates (and typically stores) hot water. But given that the next breaker controls the "Regular water heater", this breaker might actually control a water heater that pointlessly heats water that is ''already'' hot.
This is probably a joke about the fact that the common phrase "hot water heater" is [[technically]] redundant or misleading:
* Redundant because the simpler term "water heater" is enough to describe a device that produces hot water
* Misleading because it's not the purpose of residential water heaters to heat water that is ''already'' hot.
|rowspan="2"|Two "heaters"
|-
| Regular water heater || The heater for regular water. Together with the switch above, this presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke).
|-
| Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in || colspan="2"|This controls every outlet in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in, such as the dining room and kitchen and – depending on the "normal" habits of the inhabitants – other rooms such as the bedroom, bathroom, or living room (if not already covered by the "living room lights" switch above) but presumably not closets single-purpose rooms such as the laundry room.
|-
| High-pitched hum generator || colspan="2"|Controls a high-pitched hum generator. This is a call-back to [[1590: The Source]].
|-
| The solution to the cryptogram below: || colspan="2"|Likely a pun on "breaking" or solving a cryptogram, which is a puzzle where a sentence has been encoded using a cipher, usually simple, and the goal is to determine the cipher and recover the original sentence from the encoded one.
Another explanation is that this switch enables or disables the solution somehow, perhaps toggling its knowability or solvability.
|-
| Bugs || colspan="2"|Several interpretations are possible:
* Disable all software bugs in the house*
* Disable all insect bugs in the house – as an efficient form of pest control – perhaps using ultrasonic emitters that drive away bugs (may be a reference to [[2753: Air Handler]]) - or perhaps the house contains noise machines that play sounds of insects or other ways of simulating insects.
* Disable power to all covert listening devices, which would be able to be switched off if wired into the house's electrical grid.
* Disable the whole global category of bugs (insects, arachnids, and other small arthropods), in which case we'd have no more pests and we'd reduce disease likes malaria and {{w|Lyme disease}}. Food webs would also collapse, and our world would be overrun with waste.
 <nowiki>*</nowiki>Though it's unlikely that it's what Randall is referring to, computer bugs switches actually exist. It's a feature in some video game emulators to either run an unofficial patched version or to stay true to the original system, for example to allow bug-exploit speedruns of a video game.
|-
! colspan="3"|Right column of switches
|-
| A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now || colspan="2"|The AC in a building usually creates quiet white noise from fans, which people usually do not hear until they become aware that there is a sound. Other appliances, such as refrigerators or home servers, can have similar effects.
|-
| Dishwasher || colspan="2"|The dishwasher.
|-
| Dishes || colspan="2"|Traditionally, dishes cannot be turned off, as they do not normally require electricity. "Dishes" could be the label for a dishwasher on another house's breaker box, but this one already used that label. Another, unlikely explanation is that this switch controls two or more satellite dishes.
|-
| Hallway lights || The lights in the hallway or hallways. || rowspan="3"|"Hallway" regions
|-
| Hallway outlets || The outlets in the hallway or hallways.
|-
| Hallway floors || This breaker has several potential interpretations:
#A master switch for all floors (storeys) in the building which include hallways, e.g. the guestroom areas in a hotel, whilst possibly excluding the lobby and service levels
#Outlets in the floor
#Electric underfloor heating (heated bathroom floors are a feature in some houses)
#Electrification of the floors -- not common outside of horror and heist movies.
#Disabling all floors entirely, so everything resting on the floors falls through.
|-
| Social media || colspan="2"|This breaker also has several potential interpretations of "turning off social media":
#'Digital detoxes', where someone says "I'm going to turn off my social media" and intends to deny themselves access to all their social media apps.
#A switch for a parent to turn off all social media entering the house to protect their kids and themselves, which references a type of specialized content filter available through Wi-Fi router settings, not traditionally a breaker box.
#A callback to [[908: The Cloud]]. Since most social media platforms are centralized services, it would be theoretically possible to hook up a switch to the main power supply of every server building at once, given some extremely long wires, a breaker capable of handling the abhorrently massive electric load, and agreement from every social media provider([[1439|optional]]).
#The theoretical desire by some to "turn off social media" for the world due to its harmful effects on society. As someone who lived before social media and saw its spread over two decades, Randall may be ruing the impacts of social media on civilization and channeling his desire to put the genie back in the bottle.
|-
| State law || Likely a pun on "State Law Breaker."
Taken literally, it would either disable enforcement of State Law or nullify every single one, creating a state of martial law similar to the premise of the popular movie, "The Purge". It's unclear if this refers to Randall's state of Massachusetts or State Law as a general concept.
| rowspan="2"|"Legal" items
|-
| Federal law || Likely a pun on "Federal Law Breaker," though it could also be taken literally, as above. The ramifications of nullifying every US Federal law are immense. Disabling Federal Law while keeping State Law would theoretically fulfill the goals of the "States Rights" advocates, groups of conservatives across US history aiming to return Federal power to the States.
|-
| Second law of thermodynamics || The Second Law of Thermodynamics, in simple terms, states that the total entropy (or disorder) of an isolated system can only increase over time. It's a fundamental principle that dictates the direction of energy flow and the feasibility of many processes, and provides an arrow of time.
Turning off the second law of thermodynamics would have some pros and cons.
;GOOD STUFF
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines''': Machines that can do work indefinitely without an energy source would become possible, defying our current understanding of energy conservation.
*'''Reversibility of Processes''': Many natural processes that are irreversible under current laws could be reversed. For instance, melted ice could spontaneously turn back into a solid without energy removal.
*'''Recycling Energy''': We could theoretically use the same quantum of energy over and over again, leading to ultra-efficient systems and potentially solving many of the world's energy problems.
*'''Reversing Entropy-Driven Processes''': Things like mixing cream and coffee or ink in water could spontaneously unmix.
;BAD STUFF
*'''End Life as We Know It:''' All living organisms rely on the second law for crucial processes, including metabolism and reproduction. If the second law were negated, life, at least as we understand it, might not be possible.
*'''No Heat Engines:''' Engines rely on the flow of heat from hotter to colder bodies. Without the Second Law, our cars, power plants, refrigerators, and many other devices would not function.
*'''Breakdown of Molecular Processes:''' Molecules spontaneously move from areas of higher to lower concentration due to entropy. Without this, diffusion, osmosis, and many biochemical reactions wouldn't occur as they currently do.
*'''Loss of Directionality:''' One interpretation of the Second Law provides a directionality to time (the so-called "arrow of time"). Without it, causality and our understanding of past, present, and future could be fundamentally altered.
*'''Unpredictable Outcomes:''' Turning off the Second Law could result in a universe where outcomes are not probabilistically predictable. You couldn't rely on anything happening as it "should," leading to chaos in every sense.
 This law of physics was also explored in the What If? article [https://what-if.xkcd.com/145/ Fire From Moonlight].
| rowspan="3"|"Physics" items
|-
| Friction || Friction is the resistive force that opposes the relative motion or tendency of such motion of two surfaces in contact. Turning it off has some upsides and downsides.
;UPSIDES
*'''Perpetual Motion Machines:''' Without friction, once an object starts moving, it would continue indefinitely unless acted upon by another force. This could lead to perpetual motion machines that could generate energy.
*'''Super-Efficient Transport:''' Cars, trains, and other vehicles would glide effortlessly once set into motion, leading to immense energy savings.
*'''Unique Sports:''' New sports and activities would emerge, where players glide or slide over surfaces without friction.
;DOWNSIDES
*'''Walking Would Be Impossible:''' We rely on friction between our feet and the ground to move. Without it, we would be unable to walk, run, or even stand.
*'''No Manual Dexterity:''' Holding, grabbing, or manipulating objects would be impossible. Even simple tasks like holding a glass or writing with a pen would be out of reach.
*'''Catastrophic Mechanical Failures:''' Many machines rely on friction to function. Brakes in cars, for instance, use friction to slow down and stop the vehicle. Without it, uncontrollable accidents would occur.
*'''No Sound:''' Friction between air molecules creates sound waves. Without friction, the world would be silent.
*'''Breathing Difficulties:''' Our respiratory system relies on frictional forces when the alveoli in our lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the bloodstream.
*'''No Fire:''' Fire relies on friction for its creation, such as when striking a match. The absence of friction would mean no traditional methods of starting a fire.
*'''Collisions:''' Objects, once set in motion, would continue to move until they hit something, leading to a myriad of unpredictable and uncontrollable collisions.
 Being in a frictionless environment (and a vacuum, as physicists love...) was the subject of [[669: Experiment]].
|-
| Gravity || Gravity is a natural force that attracts two bodies toward each other, proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Turning off gravity would have some advantages and disadvantages.
;ADVANTAGES
* '''Flight''': Without gravity, every leap could turn into a flight. We could push off surfaces and float effortlessly through the air.
* '''No Weight Restrictions''': Large structures could be built without concern for weight-bearing loads. This would drastically change engineering and architectural designs.
* '''New Sports''': Zero-gravity sports and activities could become a reality on Earth. Imagine playing basketball or soccer without gravity!
;DISADVANTAGES
* '''Loss of Atmosphere and Oceans''': Without gravity, Earth's atmosphere would dissipate into space, and water from oceans, rivers, and lakes would float away, making life as we know it impossible.
* '''Unanchored Chaos''': Everything not fixed to the ground, including people, animals, vehicles, and foundationless structures, could become airborne, causing massive destruction and chaos.
* '''Disruption of Celestial Order''': Earth would no longer orbit the Sun, the Moon would drift away rather quickly, and the structural integrity of the universe, including galaxies and solar systems, would be jeopardized.
* '''Everything Exploding''': Most celestial bodies, ranging from the moon to supermassive black holes, would explode from internal pressure and centripetal forces no longer fighting against gravity throwing everything into space.
* '''Aggregation Absence''': Stars, galaxies, and basically anything in space requires gravity to form. Without gravity, no stars, planets, or meteors would form ever again.

Of course, if this switch is turned off, it may simply mean that objects within the house itself are no longer subject to gravity. This would be '''''far''''' less cataclysmic, and as a bonus, this would make it much, much easier to move around the house, get to higher areas, and move objects, but could prove to cause some problems once the breaker is turned back on, especially for the floor.
|-
| Circuit breakers || colspan="2"|If this was turned off, it would presumably turn off the functionality of the circuit breaker itself, if it was wired to include itself. Practically, it would turn of all power in the house since no breaker is supplied or supplying power any more. (Most houses have a main circuit breaker that provides this functionality.) However, because this specifically is a switch for literally circuit breakers and it itself is a circuit breaker, given the other surreal things this breaker box controls, turning it off will possibly make it impossible to turn it on ever again as the switch will no longer function once switched off.

(It might be a perfectly valid label if it refers to multiple subsidiary 'boxes', cascaded off this particular one, each containing one or more additional breakers for convenience or safety. e.g. units dedicated to a shed, garage or workshop room which save the need to traipse all the way to this box's utility cupboard location in the event of an otherwise easily resolved power issue.)

Moreover, if this circuit breaker disables all circuit breakers everywhere, it would result in global infrastructure collapse, halting essential services, including transportation, healthcare, and communication, and leading to widespread chaos.
|-
! colspan="3"|Title text
|-
| colspan="3"|The title text is about causality, arguably another level above the "Physics" switches, and how to use this (unseen) breaker along with the either the last shown switch or another unseen 'meta level' switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.

Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.

Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.

Whether or not turning off causality would actually turn off causality if causality is turned off is an exercise for the reader.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
:Living room lights / Dishwasher
:Porch lights / Dishes
:Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere / Hallway lights
:North-facing appliances / Hallway outlets
:Bathtub drain light / Hallway floors
:Appliances whose names contain the letter "F" / Social media
:Hot water heater / State law
:Regular water heater / Federal law
:Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in / Second law of thermodynamics
:High-pitched hum generator / Friction
:The solution to the cryptogram below: [Additional squiggled words that are too small/indistinct to read.] / Gravity
:Bugs / Circuit breakers

{{comic discussion}}

2847: Dendrochronology

2023-10-29T02:57:02Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2847
| date = October 27, 2023
| title = Dendrochronology
| image = dendrochronology_2x.png
| imagesize = 332x444px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = These anomalies are known as Miyake events, named for the pioneering scientist who discovered them and was tragically devoured by a carnivorous tree.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by TOM BOMBADIL'S ARCH NEMESIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Dendrochronology}} is a scientific method of using tree rings to tell the age of a tree and learn about historical climate from features found in each ring. It's based on the fact that trees add a new ring each year, so counting the rings will tell a tree's age in years. Additionally, climate and ecology affect the size and composition of that year's ring, so scientists can use them to estimate what conditions were like each year. They can cross compare tree-ring samples from overlapping ranges, of comparable trees grown and felled at different times, to build up and confirm a useful ring history well beyond that of a single tree.

In some cases, tree rings contain remnants of specific events, such as forest fires, large volcano eruptions, atomic tests or droughts. Extremely disparate years can often be seen represented by a clear visual change in the usual subtle variation of ring-growth. The comic posits that trees (for one particular year only, i.e. 1635) became somehow {{w|carnivorous}}, and the ring for that year contains indications of the bones of such creatures that they ate. This was just a temporary condition, since the rings after this have no bones, but clearly was a coordinated event to have caused this to be a comparable marker. And an event that may have reoccured at other times (see below), just not again/before within the lifetime of this particular tree as illustrated.

The title text says that anomalous years like this are called 'Miyake events', after a scientist named Miyake who discovered them and was subsequently eaten by the trees, similar to the origin of {{w|Thagomizer}}. In actual fact, {{w|Miyake event}}s are periods when there are a larger than normal amount of certain isotopes that are created by cosmic rays. Evidence of these events are often found in ancient tree rings, and Fusa Miyake discovered them when investigating tree rings from years 774-775; but she wasn't then devoured by the trees – certainly not in 1635, which is a long time prior to 2012-13 when she published her discoveries.

A surprising number of [https://www.google.com/search?q=things+found+in+trees things can be actually found within the 'flesh' of trees], though mostly inorganic items (e.g. metal tools, etc) that are placed and abandoned there long enough for the tree to expand its bark and woody trunk around them. Skeletal remains are more often found [https://www.google.com/search?q=human+bones+in+trees in the roots of fallen trees]. They are mostly{{Citation needed}} from bodies that will have been there before the tree started growing there, or perhaps being deliberately planted to mark/obscure the prior burial.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A cross section of a tree in beige, with a brown bark around the cross section and black rings throughout, except one layer around the middle where white bones are shown between two exceptionally separated ring boundaries.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Dendrochronologists can date wood samples by identifying growth ring anomalies that correspond to specific events. For example, it's often possible to spot the horrible summer of 1635 when trees turned carnivorous.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2781: The Six Platonic Solids

2023-05-27T04:55:15Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2781
| date = May 26, 2023
| title = The Six Platonic Solids
| image = the_six_platonic_solids_2x.png
| imagesize = 368x370px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Plato made the solids, and five were gifted to the mathematicians. But in secret Plato forged a sixth solid to rule over all the others.
}}

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

This comic imagines an alternate reality where mathematicians discover a new {{w|Platonic solid}}. There are five Platonic solids, and it has been mathematically proven that there are exactly five in three-dimensional space. In the comic, Randall proposes a new Platonic solid, called the jorb, which appears to be a roughly conical shape with a round base, a triangular tip, and a rectangular extension at the bottom. It surface also seems to have parallel grooves or ribs. The jorb does not fit the criteria for a Platonic solid, since a Platonic solid's faces have to be regular polygons and also all have to be the same shape. Furthermore, each vertex of the solid must be formed out of the same number of faces as the other vertices.

The title text references Lord of The Rings, in which the One Ring was forged in secret.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2723: Outdated Periodic Table

2023-01-12T06:30:54Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2723
| date = January 11, 2023
| title = Outdated Periodic Table
| image = outdated_periodic_table_2x.png
| imagesize = 360x350px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Researchers claim to have synthesized six additional elements in the second row, temporarily named 'pentium' through 'unnilium'.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by BERYLLIUM-BASED LIFE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Some {{w|Chemical elements|elements}} do not occur naturally on earth and have to be {{w|Synthetic element|synthesized}}. Those elements are generally excluded from {{w|periodic table|the periodic table}} until they have been synthesized (and are no longer theoretical). At the beginning of the universe, the temperature, and thus the kinetic energy, was too high for matter to form big nuclei. It took some time (how long is not accurately defined) before parts of the universe had cooled down sufficiently for further elements to form naturally. In the first minutes after the Big Bang, only hydrogen, deuterium, helium and lithium nuclei were present. If a scientific textbook had somehow been written at that time (which is highly unlikely, as paper and ink consist of heavier elements such as carbon), it would be able to describe only a very few elements based on observations.

Because scientific textbooks do not update themselves after being published,{{citation needed}} one can determine the age of a scientific textbook by checking how many elements are present in the textbook's periodic table.

Interestingly, despite helium being one of the first elements to exist, it did not appear in the earliest period tables. Because the noble gasses do not react chemically, they were unknown to human scientists until the late 19th century.

The title text refers to how yet-undiscovered elements are given a {{w|Systematic element name|temporary name according to how many protons they have}}, consisting of Greek and Latin roots. Here the numbers are very low ("pentium" being based on "pent" which means "five", and thus would refer to {{w|Boron}}) because only four elements had been discovered at the time of publication (this may also be a reference to the four {{w|classical elements}}). {{w|Pentium}} is also the name of a series of microprocessors launched by Intel in the 1990s. The term "unnilium" is a description of the digits of ten, i.e. 1 0, using the numerical roots established by convention. In reality, had neon once been a hypothetical element, it would more likely have been called something along the lines of "decium". Of course, how the early life created particle accelerators is unknown.

The title text also suggests that there were scientists half an hour after the Big Bang who managed to synthesize these heavier elements. However, said scientists probably didn't use the same naming system as us.{{citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Figure 6.14
:The periodic table of the elements
:H Hydrogen
:He Helium
:Li Lithium
:Be Beryllium
:[Caption below the panel]:
:You can spot an outdated science textbook by checking the bottom of the periodic table for missing elements. For example, mine was published half an hour after the Big Bang.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]

2700: Account Problems

2022-11-19T14:00:50Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */ Ponytail's reaction

{{comic
| number = 2700
| date = November 18, 2022
| title = Account Problems
| image = account_problems_2x.png
| imagesize = 538x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My password is just every Unicode codepoint concatenated into a single UTF-8 string.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a VISIBLE ZERO WIDTH SPACE. Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] walks toward [[Ponytail]] carrying his laptop. Ponytail is sitting at her desk, and turns to face him. Having attempted to fix [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's tech issues]], she replies with dread. Cueball promises that "It's a normal problem this time", and Ponytail reluctantly agrees to look at it. Cueball then reveals that he has included a {{w|Null-terminated_string|null string terminator character}} in one of his passwords, probably for a website. Ponytail responds in disbelief, and Cueball defends his actions by saying that the website told him to use special characters.

In computers, every "character" is a sequence of bytes. Every byte is a sequence of eight bits. A bit is always either a zero (0) or a one (1).

Every character is a sequence of bytes, but not every sequence of bytes is a valid character. For example, a JPEG image is also a sequence of bytes (much longer than a character). An MP3 audio file is also a sequence of bytes.

A null string terminator is a type of character called a control character. Unlike characters which are letters of the alphabet or numbers, control characters are not intended to be displayed on the screen, and are not intended to be typed on a keyboard; rather, they are used for internal purposes in the computer program. It is thus strange and hard to understand how Cueball was able to successfully insert such a character in his password, since there is no sequence of keys he could type that would result in a null terminator.

Null terminators are used in older, C-based languages to mark where a string ends. Every programming language has variables,{{citation needed}} which are used to store data. In C, a primitive variable can store a small amount of data, such as an integer or boolean (true or false) value. Strings (which are a sequence of characters) often need to store much larger amounts of data; too much to fit in the memory space which is available for a primitive. To solve this, C uses a system called "pointers", in which the variable is an integer which refers to a memory location. When the string needs to be read or written, C looks up the memory location, and interprets the data as a series of characters. One problem is, because a string can be any length (big or small), C needs to know where to stop reading from memory. The null terminator is C's solution to this. When C encounters the null terminator, it knows it has reached the end of the string and stops reading. Therefore, it is important that the null terminator is not a normal character that can be typed on a keyboard.

This has implications for security. If users are able to add or remove null terminators at will, then they can exploit C's string reading mechanisms in order to read data in a way not intended by the software programmers. If a malicious user is successful in doing this, they may be able to intentionally cause security problems on the computer, such as infecting it with malware.

Ponytail, however, doesn't seem interested in the security exploit potential, instead she simply asks "How" Cueball was able to include a null terminator at all. Since the null terminator is inserted automatically, there is no key nor key combination for it. When required in programming, null terminators must be escaped (usually by writing "\0", which the compiler then translates into a null terminator). Passwords are usually not compatible with escaping (i.e. even if a "\0" was included, it would still be a slash and a zero, it would not get translated into a null terminator) so Cueball would've needed to have a custom-built input method that could insert the null terminator into the password field at all. Cueball, however, misinterprets her question as "why".

Cueball notes that his password contains a "special character", which is a typical requirement imposed on users. However, in most contexts, "special character" means an ordinary printable character, other than letters or numbers, that can be typed on a normal keyboard and seen on the screen. Cueball's use of "special" is technically true, as null terminals do have a specialized purpose; but his usage of the word is not in keeping with the way that phrase is normally understood.

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

:[Cueball carries a laptop over to Ponytail. Ponytail is sitting at her desk.]
:Cueball: Can you help me with my account?
:Ponytail: Oh no.

:[Cueball holds his laptop in front of Ponytail.]
:Cueball: No no, I promise it's a normal problem this time.
:Ponytail: Okay. Fine. What is it?

:[Ponytail is using Cueball's laptop.]
:Cueball: I included a null string terminator as part of my password, and now I can't-
:Ponytail: ''How?!''
:Cueball: They said to use special characters!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

Talk:2686: Space Adventure

2022-10-20T18:35:22Z

FrankHightower:

Is “escape this arc” a pun on the craft’s course, or is that just me? [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 05:54, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

When I read the explanation (just before going to bed) it referred to the “Golden Age of Television” which confused me, because I always knew that phrase to refer to the period from the late 40’s to 1960 or so, ie, the era before the “Network Era.” This morning I did a little research and I see that the period from around 2000 to the present is now commonly referred to as simply the “Golden Age of Television” though some will prepend the adjective “New” or “Second” or even “Third.” The revised explanation, with its emphasis on the term “Prestige TV” seems much better, especially since that’s the phrase used in the hover text. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 11:12, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

This seems to reference the finale of She Hulk (spoiler alert) where she escapes into one of the MCU "making of" shows, and argues with K.E.V.I.N - whilst arguing with her K.E.V.I.N asks her to change back to normal "off camera", because "it's cheaper".
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 12:29, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Isn't this a reference to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S1E4? In that episode there was a black hole that they went right next to and it also included the shuttle Galileo. However, the Galileo doesn't fire at the black hole so probably not. Just some thoughts. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.143.50|172.70.143.50]] 12:16, 19 October 2022 (UTC)
: It's a generic mashup. I'd add in the whole starting-premise/series-opener for Andromeda (also a Roddenbury thing), in terms of (pre-wallbreaking)nconcept, even if not visuals (TOS-style vessel, Interstellar-style swirly-sucky thing). I'm not sure there's likely any direct and deliberate reference to any particular episode of anything. BICBW. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.157|172.70.85.157]] 18:42, 19 October 2022 (UTC)
:: Also the premise for Farscape, where pulling a particular manouevre induces a black hole that drags the character to a whole different part of the universe, and much of the series subsequently revolves around studying and attempting to reproduce the physics of black holes for intergalactic travel. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.54|172.70.91.54]] 08:23, 20 October 2022 (UTC)
: Hm. Possible, but that episode had the exact same visualization of a black hole. It's probably just a small reference to that but not everything. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.163.212|162.158.163.212]] 02:31, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

There's a dangerous amount of tvtropes links here. Despite the warnings, I still got sucked in (pun intended) at work yesterday, and lost like an hour of productivity. Not saying we should remove them, just mentioning it as a warning for anyone who has already opened some tabs, and is reading these comments before """"quickly"""" checking those pages. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.98.97|172.71.98.97]] 07:08, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

The "showrunners" could also refer to the "reality is a simulation" hypothesis (so basically, Randall may be attempting to crash the simulation to escape his captors). I have no idea where to put this in the explanation, though.--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 18:35, 20 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2624: Voyager Wires

2022-05-29T17:28:43Z

FrankHightower:

This is fun - assuming a pair of 14ga wires were run the 14.5 billion mile distance from Earth to Voyager 1, the mass of copper would be on the order of 1012 kg, or ~5 times the mass of copper ever mined out of the earth. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.87|172.70.126.87]] 17:18, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Wow, that's a lot of copper! I wonder how they've been communicating with the probes up until now? :) [[User:Danny E. Corchado|Danny E. Corchado]] ([[User talk:Danny E. Corchado|talk]]) 20:46, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Why are you assuming 14 gauge when [https://precmfgco.com/wire-gauge-sizes-guide/ 30 gauge (0.08mm diameter) is for sale?] Only 3,440 Ohms per kilometer! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.89|172.68.133.89]] 00:02, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

At current prices for copper, this spool would cost ~9.6 trillion dollars. Surprisingly, that's only about a third of the US national debt. --[[User:KrazyKat|KrazyKat]] ([[User talk:KrazyKat|talk]]) 17:29, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Hear me out here: if all the high school dropouts are employed making space probe wire, where are the health insurance companies going to be able to get people who will deny coverage against attending physicians' recommendations? Eh? See what I'm getting at?!? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.89|172.68.133.89]] 00:04, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

The problem of the Earth spinning could be solved by putting the contact at one of the poles; it will have to be on a swivel joint to prevent it from twisting. But there's also the Earth revolving around the Sun, which requires the cable length to cycle up and down by 186 million miles every year. I guess we could use a big version of dog leash holders. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:44, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

Days before this comic was published, NASA reported issues with Voyager 1, reporting that "the probe’s attitude articulation and control system (AACS) don’t reflect what’s actually happening onboard"
[https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/engineers-investigating-nasas-voyager-1-telemetry-data]
:"the data may appear to be randomly generated, or does not reflect any possible state the AACS could be in"
:Has anyone alerted the {{w|SETI Institute}}? They live for this kind of thing. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.89|172.68.133.89]] 00:08, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

If they used wires and it was due to budget constraints, why not reel the Voyager probes back in and recycle the wire? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.173|108.162.245.173]] 19:24, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Only if you feel a tug, then tell your friend to get the net ready. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.89|172.68.133.89]] 00:09, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

Quick calc+google - world copper reserves are estimated at 870 million tonnes, Voyager 1 is 14,471,238,963 miles from Earth (Voyager 2 a bit closer, 12 x 10^9 miles)... a lot of unit conversions and simple arithmetics later... World copper reserves would be enough for a cable with about 4 mm^2 cross-section (2,3 mm diameter) for one of them or 2.3 mm^2 cross-section (1,7 mm diameter) cables to both. Someone check the math please, it's been a long day... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.139|172.68.110.139]] 19:31, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

This is a comic worth a What-If-article. Even with zero friction extraction systems and enough available copper, there is the problem of the speed you need to send out new wire. Voyager is moving at ca. 17 km/s and Earth moves at about 30. So when Earth and Voyager move in opposite directions you have to produce *a lot* of wire per second in order to keep up with that (not exactly 47 km/s because Voyager is moving away from the ecliptic. [[User:Kimmerin|Kimmerin]] ([[User talk:Kimmerin|talk]]) 19:53, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Yes, definitely worth a What If! Randall, if you read this, please write a What If article on this! [[User:Danny E. Corchado|Danny E. Corchado]] ([[User talk:Danny E. Corchado|talk]]) 20:47, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
::Maybe this is a sly advertisement for an existing article in the forthcoming book! :) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.105|172.70.34.105]] 21:24, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

Voyager 1 and 2 communicate with each other, or with Earth? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.65|172.70.126.65]] 20:27, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:The comic clearly shows the wire going all the way from a Voyager to Earth. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:00, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

The explanation mentions the wire going through the Sun when we're on opposite sides of the Sun. But the Voyagers aren't traveling in the ecliptic plane, so it will probably miss the Sun. Although it still might be close enough that the heat will melt it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:00, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:While this isn't a problem now, it would have been one during the first three years of its mission where the probe traveled from planet to planet. See e.g. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Voyager_1_Scaled_Track_de.svg for the track of Voyager I.[[User:Kimmerin|Kimmerin]] ([[User talk:Kimmerin|talk]]) 07:10, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Is the whole joke of the "Alternate explanation" that they went overboard with the [citation needed]s? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:00, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Removed this section. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.117|172.69.33.117]] 23:15, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
Theoretically speaking, if the copper spool were to be anchored at the North or South Pole, it would avoid issues of wraparound. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.35.70|172.70.35.70]] 23:02, 25 May 2022 (UTC)
:Now you just have to work out what happens as the conductor moves (around, but also feeds out through) the geomagnetic field. (See {{w|Electrodynamic tether}}, not sure if it would help or not to be anchored directly upon the maximum declanation point of the geomagnetic pole, which isn't ''quite'' at the axial pole for the purposes of rotation-mitigation [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 23:44, 25 May 2022 (UTC)

What about the Star Trek reference in the Title Text? That's definitely referring to the VGER probe that returned to Earth after being elevated to an AI.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.90|172.70.91.90]] 06:39, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:I don’t think many other people use the word “definitely” in that way.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.125|172.70.210.125]] 19:58, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.218.225|172.70.218.225]] 10:27, 26 May 2022 (UTC)anyone wanting to calculating the resistance and power requirements for current data transfer rates to Voyager through a copper wire?

Quite funny how people focus on how this could actually work... Pole anchor, on a plane, not hitting sun, when the tensile strength of the Cu wire has not even been mentioned... :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:49, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:It looks like the suggested plan is to keep a lot of slack on the line. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.233|172.70.210.233]] 02:56, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
::that is what the comic is portraying, though. A lot of slack so we can cut it some--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 17:28, 29 May 2022 (UTC)

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-29T11:29:19Z

FrankHightower: don't the cat

{{comic
| number = 2621
| date = May 18, 2022
| title = Mainly Known For
| image = mainly_known_for.png
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she is uncertain that Steve's last name is Jobs, so she refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy", asking Cueball if Jobs is the correct name. Jobs is ''mainly known for'' (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.}} In 1986 (between his periods leading Apple) he funded the spinoff of {{w|Pixar Animation Studios}} as an independent company, serving as it's chairman. While this was a significant business achievement, it wasn't especially famous among the general public, and was far less well-known than Jobs' role with Apple.

Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name. The comic, for its demographic of nerds, is joking on how it can come across to have lived a life separate from popular culture, where one learns things for different reasons than most people do.

[[Cueball]] points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon was a founding member of {{w|The Beatles}}, which is one of the most famous bands of all time. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. Bizarrely she ''does'' remember the name of Lennon's bandmate {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Even stranger, Megan still fails to associate Ringo with The Beatles, but rather remembers him as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show ''{{w|Shining Time Station}}''. Starr was never particularly well-known for his acting career, and even among his acting roles ''Shining Time Station'' was a minor and obscure example.

Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers John doing a song with {{w|David Bowie}}. But she cannot remember the name of the song ("{{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}") or even Bowie's name, recognizing him instead for his acting role in ''{{w|Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth}}''. When Cueball states Bowie's name and adds, presumably sarcastically, that he think he is famous for "other stuff", she also remembers ''{{w|Zoolander}}'' which is a less prominent film in which Bowie had a cameo. Bowie is primarily famous for his famous musical career (such as his smash hits "{{w|Space Oddity}}" or "{{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}").

Sensing Cueball's annoyance, but failing to understand it, she attempts to excuse herself for not remembering ''Zoolander'' to begin with, because it came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a minor TV personality and is far less well known than her father..

While the kind of associations people make, like Megan in this comic, are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about all the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently they are never what those people are best known for. The oddness of having such obscure knowledge about celebrities and popular culture, but apparently missing far more common knowledge, is frustrating to Cueball, but there's nothing he can point to that she's wrong about.

There may also be some overlap with the {{w|Streisand effect}}, named after a woman widely known for owning an overly lavish mansion on the coast of a state north of Mexico.

In the title text, Megan stacks her unusual references and takes them to extremes. She refers to "{{w|Keira Knightley|Keira Knightly}}" [''sic'' -- her surname is spelled Knightley], who is probably best known for her roles in the {{w|Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films}} and the {{w|Pride & Prejudice (2005 film)|2005 ''Pride and Prejudice'' film}}, by referencing her small role in ''{{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}'' (as Sabé, who funnily enough is a handmaiden and ''decoy'' for Queen Padmé Amidala, a main character played by Natalie Portman). "Star Wars" is one of the most famous film franchises in history, but Megan seems not to know the name of the series, or the film, referring to it as the "first movie" (it was the first in the plotline, but the fourth one made) in "that series by ''The Land Before Time'' producer". ({{w|George Lucas}}, is famous as the creator of {{w|Star Wars}}, and was also one of the executive producers of the 1988 animated film ''{{w|The Land Before Time (film)|The Land Before Time}}'').

In addition to George Lucas, she identifies another actor in the ''Star Wars'' series, {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}, by his roles in ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} ''(an extremely successful film, but one in which Jackson had a relatively small role) and the PBS children's series ''{{w|Ghostwriter (1992 TV series)|Ghostwriter}}'' (in which Jackson appeared in only a few episodes). In addition, Megan mentions that the ''Star Wars'' series had "script work by {{w|Billie Lourd}}'s mom", referring to {{w|Carrie Fisher}}. Fisher came to fame playing the major role of {{w|Princess Leia Organa}} in the original "Star Wars" film, and reprising her role in multiple sequels, but she also [https://www.slashfilm.com/548436/carrie-fisher-script-doctor/ contributed uncredited script-doctoring work] to the franchise.

''Ghostwriter'' was previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".

==Transcript==
:[Megan holds her hand palm up towards Cueball.]
:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.

:[Megan puts her hand down.]
:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.
:Cueball: How is '''''that''''' your main association?

:[In a frameless panel Megan holds a finger up in front of Cueball.]
:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.

:[Megan puts her hand down while Cueball facepalms. The line connecting his is curved.]
:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.
:Cueball: ''*Sigh*''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T06:05:35Z

FrankHightower: /* Title text */

{{comic
| number = 2621
| date = May 18, 2022
| title = Mainly Known For
| image = mainly_known_for.png
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Megan points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she has trouble remembering Jobs's name. Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name{{citation needed}}. While these associations are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently not what those people are best known for.

Megan refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy". Jobs is mainly known for (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and twice CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple Computer}}, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s (between his stints at Apple), he was the chairman of Pixar Animation Studios, which is what Megan knows him for.

Cueball points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon is a famous songwriter who played and wrote for {{w|The Beatles}} before they broke up, and later continued on a solo music career. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. She instead asks about the band he was in with {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Ringo, however, is not mainly memorable to her for his role in The Beatles, but rather as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show {{w|Shining Time Station}}. The Beatles' fame seems to have escaped Megan, which vexes Cueball.

Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers {{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}, a 1975 song that he co-wrote with {{w|David Bowie}} and performed backing vocals and guitar on. She is, however, again unable to remember Bowie's name, recognizing him for his acting roles in ''{{w|Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth}}'' and ''{{w|Zoolander}}'', rather than his more famous musical career (such as his smash hits {{w|Space Oddity}} or {{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}).

Sensing Cueball's annoyance, she attempts to excuse herself by saying ''Zoolander'' came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a TV personality and much less widely known than her father{{citation needed}}.

===Title text===
In the title text, Megan refers to "{{w|Keira Knightley|Keira Knightly}}" [''sic'' -- her surname is spelled Knightley], who is probably best known for her role in the {{w|Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films}}, by referencing her small role in {{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}.

Megan continues her unusual references by identifying the film as the "first movie" (it was the first in the plotline, but the fourth one made) in "that series by ''The Land Before Time'' producer" ({{w|George Lucas}}, creator of {{w|Star Wars}}, was also one of the executive producers of the 1988 animated film {{w|The Land Before Time (film)|The Land Before Time}}).

Seeming to think that identifying George Lucas doesn't narrow it down at all, she identifies another actor in the ''Star Wars'' series, {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}, by his roles in {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} (an extremely successful film, but one in which Jackson had a relatively small role) and the PBS children's series {{w|Ghostwriter (1992 TV series)|Ghostwriter}} (in which Jackson appeared in only a few episodes). In addition, Megan mentions that the ''Star Wars'' series had "script work by {{w|Billie Lourd}}'s mom", referring to {{w|Carrie Fisher}}, who contributed uncredited script-doctoring work to the ''Star Wars'' franchise. However, Fisher is more closely associated with ''Star Wars'' for having played the major role of Princess Leia Organa in six films in the series.

''Ghostwriter'' was previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".

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

:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.

:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.
:Cueball: How is ''that'' your main association?

:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.

:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.
:[Cueball facepalms]
:Cueball: ''*SIGH*''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T05:52:36Z

FrankHightower: links in case the reader doesn't know those movies

{{comic
| number = 2621
| date = May 18, 2022
| title = Mainly Known For
| image = mainly_known_for.png
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Megan points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she has trouble remembering Jobs's name. Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name{{citation needed}}. While these associations are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently not what those people are best known for.

Megan refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy". Jobs is mainly known for (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and twice CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple Computer}}, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s (between his stints at Apple), he was the chairman of Pixar Animation Studios, which is what Megan knows him for.

Cueball points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon is a famous songwriter who played and wrote for {{w|The Beatles}} before they broke up, and later continued on a solo music career. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. She instead asks about the band he was in with {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Ringo, however, is not mainly memorable to her for his role in The Beatles, but rather as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show {{w|Shining Time Station}}. The Beatles' fame seems to have escaped Megan, which vexes Cueball.

Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers {{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}, a 1975 song that he co-wrote with {{w|David Bowie}} and performed backing vocals and guitar on. She is, however, again unable to remember Bowie's name, recognizing him for his acting roles in ''{{w|Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth}}'' and ''{{w|Zoolander}}'', rather than his more famous musical career (such as his smash hits {{w|Space Oddity}} or {{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}).

Sensing Cueball's annoyance, she attempts to excuse herself by saying ''Zoolander'' came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a TV personality and much less widely known than her father{{citation needed}}.

===Title text===
In the title text, Megan refers to "{{w|Keira Knightley|Keira Knightly}}" [''sic'' -- her surname is spelled Knightley], who is probably best known for her role in the {{w|Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)|''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films}}, by referencing her small role in {{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}.

Megan continues her unusual references by identifying the film as the "first movie" (it was the first in the plotline, but the fourth one made) in "that series by ''The Land Before Time'' producer" ({{w|George Lucas}}, creator of {{w|Star Wars}}, was also one of the executive producers of the 1988 animated film {{w|The Land Before Time (film)|The Land Before Time}}).

She also identifies another actor in the ''Star Wars'' series, {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}, by his roles in {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} (an extremely successful film, but one in which Jackson had a relatively small role) and the PBS children's series {{w|Ghostwriter (1992 TV series)|Ghostwriter}} (in which Jackson appeared in only a few episodes). In addition, Megan mentions that the ''Star Wars'' series had "script work by {{w|Billie Lourd}}'s mom", referring to {{w|Carrie Fisher}}, who contributed uncredited script-doctoring work to the ''Star Wars'' franchise. However, Fisher is more closely associated with ''Star Wars'' for having played the major role of Princess Leia Organa in six films in the series.

''Ghostwriter'' was previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".

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

:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.

:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.
:Cueball: How is ''that'' your main association?

:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.

:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.
:[Cueball facepalms]
:Cueball: ''*SIGH*''

{{comic discussion}}

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T05:46:17Z

FrankHightower: Undo revision 270471 by 172.70.211.126 (talk) Vandalism

{{comic
| number = 2621
| date = May 18, 2022
| title = Mainly Known For
| image = mainly_known_for.png
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Megan points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she has trouble remembering Jobs's name. Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name{{citation needed}}. While these associations are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently not what those people are best known for.

Megan refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy". Jobs is mainly known for (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and twice CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple Computer}}, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s (between his stints at Apple), he was the chairman of Pixar Animation Studios, which is what Megan knows him for.

Cueball points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon is a famous songwriter who played and wrote for {{w|The Beatles}} before they broke up, and later continued on a solo music career. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. She instead asks about the band he was in with {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Ringo, however, is not mainly memorable to her for his role in The Beatles, but rather as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show {{w|Shining Time Station}}. The Beatles' fame seems to have escaped Megan, which vexes Cueball.

Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers {{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}, a 1975 song that he co-wrote with {{w|David Bowie}} and performed backing vocals and guitar on. She is, however, again unable to remember Bowie's name, recognizing him for his acting roles in ''Labyrinth'' and ''Zoolander,'' rather than his more famous musical career (such as his smash hits {{w|Space Oddity}} or {{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}).

Sensing Cueball's annoyance, she attempts to excuse herself by saying ''Zoolander'' came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a TV personality and much less widely known than her father{{citation needed}}.

===Title text===
In the title text, the conversation has apparently turned to {{w|Keira Knightly}}. Megan still wants to prove that she does, in fact know who she is. She remembers Knightly had a minor role in {{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}, but is unable to remember the name of the movie. She remembers that it was made by {{w|George Lucas}} but can't remember Lucas's name. She does remember that George Lucas was {{w|executive producer}} for {{w|The Land Before Time}}, even though this role is generally attributed to the other executive producer, {{w|Don Bluth}}, who was the creative force behind it. Seeming to think ''The Land Before Time'' is not a well-known movie, she clarifies that it's the series where {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}} recorded the snarls one of the predators in the 15th direct-to-video movie in the series[https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time_XV:_The_Quest_to_Sparkling_Forest], which she doesn't seem to find obscure at all.

Unable to remember Jackson's name, she calls him "the guy from {{w|Jurassic Park}} and {{w|Ghostwriter (1992 TV series)|Ghostwriter}}". Jackson does play an important role in ''Jurassic Park'' as Ray Arnold, the chief engineer in the computer room and chain smoker; as well as in Ghostwriter, where he plays Mr. Jenkins, the protagonist's father.

Megan, however, worries that this doesn't narrow it down (i.e. that it wouldn't help identify Samuel L. Jackson) and feels the need to clarify that ''The Land Before Time'' is the series where {{w|Carrie Fisher}} did "script work" in the 8th and 12th direct-to-video sequels, even though Fisher is better known as an actress, not a scriptwriter. Unable to remember Fisher's name, she refers to her as "{{w|Billie Lourd}}'s mom". Lourd, however, has worked on far fewer films than her mother and is therefore much less well-known.

The PBS children's series ''Ghostwriter'' was previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".

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

:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.

:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.
:Cueball: How is ''that'' your main association?

:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.

:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.
:[Cueball facepalms]
:Cueball: ''*SIGH*''

{{comic discussion}}

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T05:40:34Z

FrankHightower: /* Title text */

{{comic
| number = 2621
| date = May 18, 2022
| title = Mainly Known For
| image = mainly_known_for.png
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Megan points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she has trouble remembering Jobs's name. Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name{{citation needed}}. While these associations are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently not what those people are best known for.

Megan refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy". Jobs is mainly known for (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and twice CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple Computer}}, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s (between his stints at Apple), he was the chairman of Pixar Animation Studios, which is what Megan knows him for.

Cueball points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon is a famous songwriter who played and wrote for {{w|The Beatles}} before they broke up, and later continued on a solo music career. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. She instead asks about the band he was in with {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Ringo, however, is not mainly memorable to her for his role in The Beatles, but rather as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show {{w|Shining Time Station}}. The Beatles' fame seems to have escaped Megan, which vexes Cueball.

Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers {{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}, a 1975 song that he co-wrote with {{w|David Bowie}} and performed backing vocals and guitar on. She is, however, again unable to remember Bowie's name, recognizing him for his acting roles in ''Labyrinth'' and ''Zoolander,'' rather than his more famous musical career (such as his smash hits {{w|Space Oddity}} or {{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}).

Sensing Cueball's annoyance, she attempts to excuse herself by saying ''Zoolander'' came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a TV personality and much less widely known than her father{{citation needed}}.

===Title text===
In the title text, the conversation has apparently turned to {{w|Keira Knightly}}. Megan still wants to prove that she does, in fact know who she is. She remembers Knightly had a minor role in {{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}, but is unable to remember the name of the movie. She remembers that it was made by {{w|George Lucas}} but can't remember Lucas's name. She does remember that George Lucas was {{w|executive producer}} for {{w|The Land Before Time}}, even though this role is generally attributed to the other executive producer, {{w|Don Bluth}}, who was the creative force behind it. Seeming to think ''The Land Before Time'' is not a well-known movie, she clarifies that it's the series where {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}} recorded the snarls one of the predators in the 15th direct-to-video movie in the series[https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time_XV:_The_Quest_to_Sparkling_Forest], which she doesn't seem to find obscure at all.

Unable to remember Jackson's name, she calls him "the guy from {{w|Jurassic Park}} and {{w|Ghostwriter (1992 TV series)|Ghostwriter}}". Jackson does play an important role in ''Jurassic Park'' as Ray Arnold, the chief engineer in the computer room and chain smoker; as well as in Ghostwriter, where he plays Mr. Jenkins, the protagonist's father.

Megan, however, worries that this doesn't narrow it down (i.e. that it wouldn't help identify Samuel L. Jackson) and feels the need to clarify that ''The Land Before Time'' is the series where {{w|Carrie Fisher}} did "script work" in the 8th and 12th direct-to-video sequels, even though Fisher is better known as an actress, not a scriptwriter. Unable to remember Fisher's name, she refers to her as "{{w|Billie Lourd}}'s mom". Lourd, however, has worked on far fewer films than her mother and is therefore much less well-known.

The PBS children's series ''Ghostwriter'' was previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".

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

:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.

:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.
:Cueball: How is ''that'' your main association?

:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.

:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.
:[Cueball facepalms]
:Cueball: ''*SIGH*''

{{comic discussion}}

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T05:37:27Z

FrankHightower: Title text (Thanks 172.70.254.121)

{{comic
| number = 2621
| date = May 18, 2022
| title = Mainly Known For
| image = mainly_known_for.png
| titletext = Oh sure, I know Keira Knightly, from the first movie in that series by The Land Before Time producer. You know, the franchise with the guy from Jurassic Park and Ghostwriter, and script work by Billie Lourd's mom?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by that guy from NASA, what was his name? Something Munroe - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Megan points out an uncanny resemblance between someone's dad and {{w|Steve Jobs}}. However, she has trouble remembering Jobs's name. Frequently, when people can't remember a celebrity's name, they will point out other works they are known for in hopes someone else will recognize them from that and remind them of the name{{citation needed}}. While these associations are often prone to the {{w|Mandela effect}}, Megan's information about the celebrities is, in fact, correct, but apparently not what those people are best known for.

Megan refers to Jobs as "the Pixar guy". Jobs is mainly known for (hence the comic's title) being the co-founder and twice CEO of {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple Computer}}, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s (between his stints at Apple), he was the chairman of Pixar Animation Studios, which is what Megan knows him for.

Cueball points out that Megan's tendency to avoid the "main" association and instead go with a much more secondary one is weird, which confuses her. To demonstrate how weird her associations are, Cueball asks her, "Who is {{w|John Lennon}}?" Lennon is a famous songwriter who played and wrote for {{w|The Beatles}} before they broke up, and later continued on a solo music career. Megan recognizes Lennon as a musical artist, but is unable to remember the name of The Beatles. She instead asks about the band he was in with {{w|Ringo Starr}}. Ringo, however, is not mainly memorable to her for his role in The Beatles, but rather as Mr. Conductor from the first season of the 1989 children's television show {{w|Shining Time Station}}. The Beatles' fame seems to have escaped Megan, which vexes Cueball.

Hoping to show that she really does know Lennon and that her associations aren't weird, she points out that she remembers {{w|Fame (David Bowie song)|Fame}}, a 1975 song that he co-wrote with {{w|David Bowie}} and performed backing vocals and guitar on. She is, however, again unable to remember Bowie's name, recognizing him for his acting roles in ''Labyrinth'' and ''Zoolander,'' rather than his more famous musical career (such as his smash hits {{w|Space Oddity}} or {{w|Let's Dance (David Bowie song)|Let's Dance}}).

Sensing Cueball's annoyance, she attempts to excuse herself by saying ''Zoolander'' came out a long time ago, during the {{w|Presidency of George W. Bush}}. ''Zoolander'' was indeed released in 2001. Apparently unable, again, to remember the president's name, she identifies him as "{{w|Jenna Bush}}'s dad". Jenna Bush is a TV personality and much less widely known than her father{{citation needed}}.

===Title text===
In the title text, the conversation has apparently turned to {{w|Keira Knightly}}. Megan still wants to prove that she does, in fact know who she is. She remembers Knightly had a minor role in {{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}, but is unable to remember the name of the movie. She remembers that it was made by {{w|George Lucas}} but can't remember Lucas's name. She does remember that George Lucas was {{w|executive producer}} for {{w|The Land Before Time}}, even though this role is generally attributed to the other executive producer, {{w|Don Bluth}}, who was the creative force behind it. Seeming to think ''The Land Before Time'' is not a well-known movie, she clarifies that it's the series where {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}} recorded the snarls one of the predators in the 15th direct-to-video movie in the series[https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time_XV:_The_Quest_to_Sparkling_Forest], which she doesn't seem to find obscure at all.

Unable to remember Jackson's name, she calls him "the guy from {{w|Jurassic Park}} and {{w|Ghostwriter (1992 TV series)|Ghostwriter}}". Jackson does play an important role in ''Jurassic Park'' as Ray Arnold, the chief engineer in the computer room and chain smoker; as well as in Ghostwriter, where he plays Mr. Jenkins, the protagonist's father.

Megan, however, feels this doesn't narrow it down and feels the need to clarify that ''The Land Before Time'' is the series where {{w|Carrie Fisher}} did "script work" in the 8th and 12th direct-to-video sequels, even though Fisher is better known as an actress, not a scriptwriter. Unable to remember Fisher's name, she refers to her as {{w|Billie Lourd}}'s mom. Lourd, however, has starred in far fewer films than her mother and is therefore much less well-known.

The PBS children's series ''Ghostwriter'' was previously featured in [[130: Julia Stiles]], which described a scene from the show as "the best thing ever to appear on TV".

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

:Megan: ...And her dad looks ''exactly'' like the Pixar guy. Steve what's-his-name? Jobs?
:Cueball: "Pixar guy"?
:Cueball: You always know famous people for such weird reasons.

:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: Who is John Lennon?
:Megan: Wasn't he in a band? With Ringo from ''Shining Time Station''.
:Cueball: How is ''that'' your main association?

:Megan: I also know he once did a song with the guy from Labyrinth!
:Cueball: You mean David Bowie? I think he's famous for some other stuff, too.

:Megan: Oh yeah, he was also in Zoolander!
:Megan: I forgot that movie, it came out back when Jenna Bush's dad was president.
:[Cueball facepalms]
:Cueball: ''*SIGH*''

{{comic discussion}}

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T04:59:45Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */ merging edits

2621: Mainly Known For

2022-05-19T04:52:02Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

Talk:2271: Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad

2022-05-12T20:01:01Z

FrankHightower: Owning my comments from before creating my account because I got this one as a random page and recognize my comment

Is the Title Text a callback to 2268 with the "no further research is needed" comment? [[User:Stickfigurefan|Stickfigurefan]] ([[User talk:Stickfigurefan|talk]]) 17:58, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
*That was the first thing that came to my mind. Since researching when people named Jason and Chad became grandparents is far from a top research priority, one can indeed say that further research is not "needed". That said, though, I would have liked to have seen the female counterparts, to indicate what "Grandma" names are also coming into vogue now. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.195|162.158.74.195]] 18:05, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
**Agree. I added a few sentences to that effect. To ela*borate: Enough research has been done to support the main joke which is the incongruity between what specific names implied in the 70's and what they imply today. More specific information would not improve the joke. And, let's face it, would not be very interesting. [[User:Epsilon|Epsilon]] ([[User talk:Epsilon|talk]]) 11:04, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
**Note: Should we explain *x* to any non-nerds (or, the non-nerd ?) reading this? For text rendered in plain ASCII the asterisks surrounding a word or a phrase imply that this text should have been rendered in bold. I.e. emphasized. This might not be obvious to everybody. [[User:Epsilon|Epsilon]] ([[User talk:Epsilon|talk]]) 11:04, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
*Looks like I may have edited the page at the same time as someone else. Sorry about that! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.148|108.162.216.148]] 18:41, 21 February 2020 (UTC)
*Does someone know of -- and can add to the explanation -- a reason why Jason and Chad are coming into popularity as names? In Australia, Jason Donovan was an actor who played a lead character in the popular soap "Neighbours" alongside Kylie Minogue (which is why, in Australia, we'd be getting "Grandma Kylie" coming into vogue. [[User:DrSamCarter|DrSamCarter]] ([[User talk:DrSamCarter|talk]]) 20:51, 21 February 2020 (UTC)DrSamCarter
**Well, to be precise, Jason and Chad came into popularity about 50 years ago, but I don't know why that happened at that time. While it's true that you should be seeing a bunch of "Grandma Kylie"s in Australia now, Kylie Minogue can't take the credit for that. She was born into a generation where the name was already popular. In 1970, Kylie was the 5th most popular name for baby girls in Australia, so Kylie Minogue, born in 1968, might have gone to school with a number of other Kylies, well before she joined the cast of "Neighbours" in 1986. The name Kylie didn't catch on in the U.S. until much later, so it'll be years before we see a significant number of "Grandma Kylie"s here. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.17|162.158.74.17]] 00:38, 22 February 2020 (UTC)
***{{w|Jason and the Argonauts (1963 film)|Jason and the Argonauts}} came out in 1963. Given the slower speed of film distribution, it is not farfecthed to think that some future parents were seeing it for the first time in the 70s and thought that would be a groovy name for their kids, or just watched it growing up and the name stuck with them. (Source for this being the most famous Jason: the Baby Boomers of America wouldn't talk about any other Jason while I was growing up).
:::Chad is a little harder. While there ''is'' a {{w|The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come|movie in the same time period with a protagonist named Chad}}, it was nowhere near as successful as Jason and the Argonauts. There was also a {{w|Chad Allan (musician)|famous Canadian TV host named Chad}} at the time. Since the nickname {{w|Chad (slang)|originated near the Canadian border}}, it seems like a more likely candidate.
:::--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] 17:15, 23 February 2020 (UTC)
***Chad Everett starred as Dr. Joe Gannon on CBS' Medical Center starting in 1969. The show was popular enough that it could have helped inspire parents to name their sons after him.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.13|108.162.242.13]] 16:27, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

In case someone wants to do further research on The Netherlands, here's some data on first names popularity: https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/nvb/english --[[User:IByte|IByte]] ([[User talk:IByte|talk]]) 09:55, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

Current wiki link to Chad (slang) might be better changed to {{w|Chad (name)}}. And, while we're there, one could also make Jason into the {{w|Jason_(given_name)}} link or similar? ((Re-edit to say that I understand the Chad Slang link is important. Maybe put that over another useful leap-off term, letting legitimate Jasons and Chads get their own glory???)) And I find the range of ages of grandparentage to be interesting, with both friends and relatives having rushed into new generations far quicker than me. (I have... four..? first cousins twice removed, if I haven't forgotten another one of them, and I think one of ''them'' might become a parent before I do.) Or maybe I'm just taking too long to settle down? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.26|162.158.159.26]] 15:12, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

I look at that graph, then think about the fact that my grandfather was born in 1870, my father in 1918, and I in 1969 (so my grandfather was 48 when my dad was born, and would have been 99 when I was born) and if things work out and I have my first child this year I will be 51 when it is born. Who are the people having kids so young to pull that curve down so far that 50 is the *average* age for being a *grandparent?* I know there are occasional out-of-wedlock births to kids in college or even high school, but if those stats are correct that would seem to dramatically underscore the need for better sex education, and better access to birth control, in schools.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.139|172.69.63.139]] 07:00, 23 February 2020‎ (UTC)
:Technically, I know people on both ends of the spectrum. I'm currently 49, and I have a friend from grade school who became an empty nester at 47 and a grandfather at 48. I'm more middle of the road- my Child was born 16 years ago, when I was 32. I have a cousin who had a daughter at age 21, who in turn had a daughter at age 21, making her a grandmother at age 42. I have heard of cases with precocious puberty of women having children as young as age 8, and if you had that for two generations, a girl could technically become a grandmother at age 16 and for three generations a great-grandmother by age 24.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:50, 24 February 2020 (UTC)
:For what it's worth, I'm a millennial and my parents "had me" at 32, and it was considered "a little late in life" by their peers, even though they were just following my grandparents before them. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.10|162.158.122.10]] 17:15, 23 February 2020 (UTC)
:I don't have his DOB handy (though its on a family tree file, I wrote up a few years ago) but my Grandad died when I was v.young, being quite old for his generation, but also maybe industry-related ill health didn't help his whole cohort; my father was very fit and active (for most of his life, until he wasn't) and died at a decent age of 88, but before I in turn had kids for him to grandparent (he was in his forties before I arrived on the scene and I've not been any more rushed in this). I could easily not see grandchildren of my own. And I have a cousin married to a Jason! (Not yet a grandpa, either - though it could easily happen in the next year or two, though that would depend very much upon his daughter of course, IYSWIM.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.168|141.101.107.168]] 17:30, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

I checked - the first Jason (Friday13th) movie came out in 1980, so we can't blame that particular genre for the popularity of the name. One source suggests the film director chose the name because it was popular at the time. Other possibility: "There was a character named Jason Weber on The Guiding Light in the 1965-66 season. " [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 13:51, 24 February 2020 (UTC)

I believe part of the reason we imagine Chad as a young man's name is because of the "Virgin Chad" meme, which typically depicts a Chad as a frat bro.

User talk:FrankHightower

2022-05-12T20:00:59Z

FrankHightower: /* Sorry */

== Sorry ==

I want to repeat my apology for stepping on your [[2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols]] table edits. You're absolutely right that adding columns basically has to be done in large edits, unless, for example, you insert empty cells first and then go back and add them one-by-one. Next time I will check the recent edit summaries in the history before jumping in to try to fix a broken table. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 08:09, 16 April 2022 (UTC)
::Don't beat yourself up over it. As far as I'm concerned, the case was closed when I said I finished. This is a problem with wikis as a system, not with the people involved. You're OK. It's OK. --[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 20:00, 12 May 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2607: Geiger Counter

2022-04-16T04:14:56Z

FrankHightower: probably more relevant here

Vanilla joke, but funny. [[User:Nafedalbi|Nafedalbi]] ([[User talk:Nafedalbi|talk]]) 18:41, 15 April 2022 (UTC)Nafedalbi
:It's Randall's "dad joke". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:23, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

I added telegraph wires (UK-only term, possibly, and anachronistic as they are telephone cables, so feel free to change to be US-centric) and birds seem happy to sit on pole-suspended POTS cables as much as power-lines, so the linked heat-effect thing is definitely a minority necessity. I think it's just a perch. Though we probably have more signal-wires. Most(?) streets more than a few decades old have telegraph poles feeding wires to established properties (even if cable/FTTP has been dug into trenches) but mains electricity tends to have been subsurface for much longer, with only HV national/rural-area transmission grids up on pylons/poles. Obviously there ''are'' a lot more perching birds out in the countryside, where they may dominate (but still the 'telegraph' may follow road or rail routes to service the villages and isolated inhabitations along them) but you don't tend to see birds atop the larger lines at all... Too high up? ''Too'' hot? I've seen rooks/etc happily doing a Hitchcock upon a pylon itself, apparently enjoying the communal view. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 18:54, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

For the record, [[User:Avni]] at 19:30 UTC on 2022-04-15 [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2607:_Geiger_Counter&diff=next&oldid=230502 deleted everything on this page] 
--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 04:11, 16 April 2022 (UTC)

The title text joke may be understood more easily by reading "stood under" in place of "understood". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124|162.158.107.124]] 19:37, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Living in Manhattan, you learn to notice when an area is full of bird droppings and avoid standing there. You also need to pay attention when parking your car. Certain lamp posts (where the lamp is cantilevered over the street) near Central Park often tend to have a large accumulation under them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.178|108.162.246.178]] 19:47, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

I do not understand the joke in the title text, so if somebody could please write an explanation, that would be great.
Also, this is my first ever full comic description! Yay!
I don't know what categories this fits in, if somebody could also put those in that would be great. [[User:MrYellow04|MrYellow04]] ([[User talk:MrYellow04|talk]]) 19:58, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:I suggest you stand under a wire with lots of birds on it for a while. It will hit you. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:32, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Randall, come here. Yes, right there. Stand still. THWACK! THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK! That is all, you may go now. 20:41, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

The explanation makes clear the side of the pun regarding the Geiger counting clicking, but for non-native English speakers, the phrase "it clicked" meaning "I understood" may need clarification. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.213|162.158.166.213]] 21:17, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

I thought it meant the birds were dangerously mutated because of the radioactivity, but now I understand. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.84|172.69.34.84]] 22:00, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:Just make sure you don't open your mouth and tilt your head back. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 22:59, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Also possibly related to this news story https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/unprotected-russian-soldiers-disturbed-radioactive-dust-chernobyls-red-forest-2022-03-28/

Talk:2607: Geiger Counter

2022-04-16T04:11:13Z

FrankHightower:

Vanilla joke, but funny. [[User:Nafedalbi|Nafedalbi]] ([[User talk:Nafedalbi|talk]]) 18:41, 15 April 2022 (UTC)Nafedalbi
:It's Randall's "dad joke". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:23, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

I added telegraph wires (UK-only term, possibly, and anachronistic as they are telephone cables, so feel free to change to be US-centric) and birds seem happy to sit on pole-suspended POTS cables as much as power-lines, so the linked heat-effect thing is definitely a minority necessity. I think it's just a perch. Though we probably have more signal-wires. Most(?) streets more than a few decades old have telegraph poles feeding wires to established properties (even if cable/FTTP has been dug into trenches) but mains electricity tends to have been subsurface for much longer, with only HV national/rural-area transmission grids up on pylons/poles. Obviously there ''are'' a lot more perching birds out in the countryside, where they may dominate (but still the 'telegraph' may follow road or rail routes to service the villages and isolated inhabitations along them) but you don't tend to see birds atop the larger lines at all... Too high up? ''Too'' hot? I've seen rooks/etc happily doing a Hitchcock upon a pylon itself, apparently enjoying the communal view. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 18:54, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

The title text joke may be understood more easily by reading "stood under" in place of "understood". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124|162.158.107.124]] 19:37, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Living in Manhattan, you learn to notice when an area is full of bird droppings and avoid standing there. You also need to pay attention when parking your car. Certain lamp posts (where the lamp is cantilevered over the street) near Central Park often tend to have a large accumulation under them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.178|108.162.246.178]] 19:47, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

I do not understand the joke in the title text, so if somebody could please write an explanation, that would be great.
Also, this is my first ever full comic description! Yay!
I don't know what categories this fits in, if somebody could also put those in that would be great. [[User:MrYellow04|MrYellow04]] ([[User talk:MrYellow04|talk]]) 19:58, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:I suggest you stand under a wire with lots of birds on it for a while. It will hit you. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:32, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Randall, come here. Yes, right there. Stand still. THWACK! THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK! That is all, you may go now. 20:41, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

The explanation makes clear the side of the pun regarding the Geiger counting clicking, but for non-native English speakers, the phrase "it clicked" meaning "I understood" may need clarification. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.213|162.158.166.213]] 21:17, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

I thought it meant the birds were dangerously mutated because of the radioactivity, but now I understand. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.84|172.69.34.84]] 22:00, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:Just make sure you don't open your mouth and tilt your head back. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.63|172.70.90.63]] 22:59, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Also possibly related to this news story https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/unprotected-russian-soldiers-disturbed-radioactive-dust-chernobyls-red-forest-2022-03-28/

For the record, [[User:Avni]] at 19:30 UTC on 2022-04-15 [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2607:_Geiger_Counter&diff=next&oldid=230502 deleted everything on this page] --[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 04:11, 16 April 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols

2022-04-15T18:12:46Z

FrankHightower:

Apparently, nobody knows what U+237C ⍼ means (https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html)
: For me it looks very like as designation of where electrical cable is burrowed. It should come with numbers near angle hands designating depth and offset from sign. But it just a guess, of course [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.221|141.101.76.221]] 05:30, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

: There are at least four people on (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31012865) who claim to have seen the symbol in the wild: German/Dutch proof by contradiction, diode with a gate, Finnish proofreaders mark indicating when and how to split a word, and indicating which way EM waves are polarized --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.180|162.158.62.180]] 11:42, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

: I think that is "larry potter" as the lightning symbol, and the L comes from the L shape the lightning is over imo. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.191|172.70.34.191]] 14:47, 14 April 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

Can someone add a column where we try to crowdsource a description for the "mathematical use of symbol" ?

I'm curious what those symbols actually mean, and the unicode titles don't give that much information.

I do not doubt that have enough math geeks on here to find the answer to most of then :-D

Thanks!
[[User:Flekkie|Flekkie]] ([[User talk:Flekkie|talk]]) 01:20, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

i agree w Flekkie's comment
[[User:Blue in real life|Blue in real life]] ([[User talk:Blue in real life|talk]]) 02:27, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

If you make edits, please don't immediately delete all of mine because you think yours are better. It shows you conflicting edits for a reason. Some explanations are nonsensical, like defining a smash product as the "result of dividing two product spaces." The smash product is specifically the quotient of the underlying spaces of two pointed spaces where points in the product spaces are identified if they contain either labeled point as an element. Other claims are simply mistaken. For instance, the ≝ symbol is used to introduce a definition, not to declare that the definition has been achieved in a proof. The claim that "A union on smash product appears to be one where the sets are nit isomorphic" is totally meaningless. The symbol ⩩ is not merely decorative but is intended as a supplemental math symbol like all the others. I couldn't track down its purpose. The APL symbol description somehow never bothers to mention APL. This is all very cursory, which is fine, but just please don't delete my work while doing it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.5|172.70.130.5]] 04:15, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:I'm done, page is yours. I'd been working on it for an hour and every time I tried to save, a new edit came in. I did my best to reconcile them but by the fifth I just saved a copy of what was there and pasted mine over. I immediately got to work on recovering what I had pasted over as indicated in the edit comment and like I said, I'm done. I've merged to the best of my ability and have no more interest in this page.
:--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 04:37, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
::I'm very sorry if I was one of those who stepped on your edits. I was originally trying to fix brokenness in the table. ^^^^^ ≫ ^ is the symbol for preferring many small edits over not saving your work often in a batch-mode collaborative editing environment. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 04:55, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:::since adding a column means adding a cell to every row, I thought it would be easier/better to put something in each cell. I wasn't expecting this --[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 18:12, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:: Don't worry about it, idk why I was so upset. It's that feeling you get when you click "save" and then suddenly it's gone. If anything's still missing, I'll just restore it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.106|172.70.131.106]] 05:41, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

I wish we had as much research on ⧍ and ⩩ as we have for ⍼. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 05:16, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
: No clue what those are for. The first is a triangle with serifs? The triangle symbol (not capital delta) is often used in geometry to represent a triangle, but why in the world would you give a geometric figure serifs? I think I may have seen the triple cross-hatch somewhere, but I couldn't say where. Maybe it's the chess commentary symbol for being mated so badly it's embarrassing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.106|172.70.131.106]] 05:41, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:: I'm guessing what must have happened is the [https://decodeunicode.org/en/u+2A00 code page in question] was filled in by a typographer with more graphic design than mathematical experience, who likely added made-up "missing" symbols as the design-logical extensions of the symbols they were given, presumably to be on the safe side in case they had what appeared to be a possibly incomplete set. There are some awesome ones in there, like "⩐" TEST-TUBE PARTHENOGENISIS, and "⨻" THE ILLUMINATI IS DEAD. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.171|162.158.255.171]] 06:07, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
: The ⧍ character has the same origin as ⍼, namely that they were both part of ISO/IEC TR 9573-13 with no explanation given. You can find it in some old charts online, like here: [https://www.w3.org/TR/REC-MathML/chap6/ISOAMSBe2.html], under `trisb`/codepoint E27E. [[User:Ionchy|ionchy]] ([[User talk:Ionchy|talk]]) 07:03, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:: I am sure that I have seen maps with such a symbol used for campsites, and without the bold strokes of the top sides as the National Park Service draws it. I haven't found any yet, but I have found one without the center base -- like _/\_ -- on a 1960s era map. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.131|172.69.134.131]] 07:07, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
: As for ⩩, the character just before it in the Unicode code chart [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2A00.pdf], ⩨, has the text "identical and parallel to", so it's possible the horizontal lines in this one also means "identical to". I don't know what three vertical lines mean though, and in Unicode there's three (!) different characters with similar glyphs: U+2980 ⦀, U+2AF4 ⫴, and U+2AFC ⫼. [[User:Ionchy|ionchy]] ([[User talk:Ionchy|talk]]) 07:28, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:: Identical both vertically and horizontally? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.131|172.69.134.131]] 07:32, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:: I found one suggestion that the dodecathorp should be used to refer to very big numbers...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 08:33, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

Apparently, Randall reads Hacker News like the rest of us... --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.141|172.68.110.141]] 09:38, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

Did you know that ⩩ was a logo of the Romanian fascist group Iron Guard?[[Special:Contributions/172.68.238.67|172.68.238.67]]
:Wow. "Saint Michael's Cross, the ({{w|Iron Guard}}) movement's symbol designed by Codreanu." I prefer the 4x4 tic-tac-toe board.... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.181|172.69.33.181]] 12:29, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

Not that I have special knowledge (above aspiring-polymath level), but for "Rightwards Arrow Above Reverse Almost Equal To" and its leftwards sibling (the current suggestion being that it's an assignment of an approximation) I'd posit that it's a directional approximation specific to chaotic systems. For a precise a=b in a system where small changes to one side can effect large changes in the other, uncertainty or deliberate approximation of either of them ''may'' still map well enough to the value across the desired ≈ relationship, but that is only acceptably so unidirectionally. Hence (and I wouldn't know which would be the better convention) the arrow depicts the direction of either the dependence or the more dominant option, whichever it is that almost-ties the values tovether. (I also really ought to check what the ''reverse'' almost-equal-to sign is used for, it could be radically different from the 'forwards' version in some field, for which the directionality might even be trivially understood by context.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.36|172.70.91.36]] 11:25, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:Any sources? I found several papers on the topic you describe naively searching on those keywords, and while they are packed with notation, I couldn't find any arrows or approximate equality signs, let alone any sort of composition of the two. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.51|172.69.33.51]] 12:47, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
::No sources except in my (above-IP's, just to confirm) head. It's just something I ''might'' use it for, if let loose on a whiteboard for some reason, not something for which I've seen it used. It's a situation I've encountered often enough in my own amateur numerical analysis, but under self-taught/self-experimenting circumstances where I was probably just (inefficiently) re-inventing the wheel. And if I've been commenting code (itself strings of conventional syntactical symbols), as a usually futile attempt to remind future-me what I was doing, I would have been using longhand to describe what I was either basing my functions on or actually asking them to test... So no surprise that a paper-search didn't match much of my description. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 14:39, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

No idea how Randall got that wrong, but U+2A50 (⩐) is totally catching a snowflake with your tongue. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.141|172.68.110.141]] 15:02, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

While cute, I think it'd probably be better to remove the Unicode letters in the chart for the second hashtag (⩩). Not only would it mess up screenreaders, but it doesn't actually look like the image in question. Perhaps it would be better to upload an image and give it some alt text to describe it.
--[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 00:12, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:Could the strange-looking characters be made to look like the image in question using Unicode combining diacritical marks? [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:31, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:A screen reader should read it as "Double struck H, Double struck a, double struck s..." etc. which seems a pretty accurate readout to me --18:12, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

== Calming down - Sigma long S ==

Calming down may refer to the pronounciation of the Letter Esh https://en.m.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Esh_(letter)

"Other links: XKCD #2606 mentions ⍼ and its Explain XKCD entry cites this post" yooo people the blog post now mentions us! Someone put this in trivia or something [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 09:01, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
:Ah, yes, so the article we reference that we think Randall references has now referenced both him and us and so now we ought to reference that? [[978: Citogenesis|Seems perfectly Ok to me!]] :-p
:(P.S. Hello to that author. You should just be glad that you're not Wikipedia... ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 11:19, 15 April 2022 (UTC)
::The blog author is [[User:Ionchy]], who has contributed to the discussion above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.72|172.70.211.72]] 13:47, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

2607: Geiger Counter

2022-04-15T18:03:03Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2607
| date = April 15, 2022
| title = Geiger Counter
| image = geiger_counter.png
| titletext = At first I didn't get why they were warning me about all those birds sitting on the wire, but then I understood.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Geiger counter}}s emit a clicking noise when they detect radiation. Cueball was asked to bring a Geiger counter with apparently no further explanation. Rather than try to inquire further, he simply complied, and soon heard it start clicking. "It clicked" is also slang for a sudden understanding, such as when one "gets" a joke.

In the title text, Cueball was similarly confused when warned about the large number of birds on a wire. Birds are well-known to rest on power lines (colloquially called "wires") particularly in cold weather[https://birdwatchingbuzz.com/why-do-birds-sit-on-power-lines]. "Understood" here is taken in its etymological meaning: to stand under it. Cueball presumably had bird poop fall on him, and then he understood the warning.

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

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]

2607: Geiger Counter

2022-04-15T18:00:51Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2607
| date = April 15, 2022
| title = Geiger Counter
| image = geiger_counter.png
| titletext = At first I didn't get why they were warning me about all those birds sitting on the wire, but then I understood.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Geiger counter}}s emit a clicking noise when they detect radiation. Cueball was asked to bring a Geiger counter with apparently no further explanation. Rather than try to inquire further, he simply complied, and soon heard it start clicking. "It clicked" is also slang for a sudden understanding, such as when one "gets" a joke.

In the title text, Cueball was similarly confused when warned about the large number of birds on a wire. "Understood" here is taken in its etymological meaning: to stand under it. Cueball presumably had bird poop fall on him, and then he understood the warning.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2607: Geiger Counter

2022-04-15T18:00:05Z

FrankHightower: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2607
| date = April 15, 2022
| title = Geiger Counter
| image = geiger_counter.png
| titletext = At first I didn't get why they were warning me about all those birds sitting on the wire, but then I understood.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Geiger counter}}s emit a clicking noise when they detect radiation. Cueball was asked to bring a Geiger counter with apparently no further explanation. Rather than try to inquire further, he simply complied, and soon heard it start clicking. "It clicked" is also slang for a sudden understanding, such as when one "gets" a joke.

In the title text, Cueball was similarly confused when warned about birds on a wire. "Understood" here is taken in its etymological meaning: to stand under it. Cueball presumably had bird poop fall on him, and then he understood the warning.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols

2022-04-14T04:37:28Z

FrankHightower:

Apparently, nobody knows what U+237C ⍼ means (https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html)

Can someone add a column where we try to crowdsource a description for the "mathematical use of symbol" ?

I'm curious what those symbols actually mean, and the unicode titles don't give that much information.

I do not doubt that have enough math geeks on here to find the answer to most of then :-D

Thanks!
[[User:Flekkie|Flekkie]] ([[User talk:Flekkie|talk]]) 01:20, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

i agree w Flekkie's comment
[[User:Blue in real life|Blue in real life]] ([[User talk:Blue in real life|talk]]) 02:27, 14 April 2022 (UTC)

If you make edits, please don't immediately delete all of mine because you think yours are better. It shows you conflicting edits for a reason. Some explanations are nonsensical, like defining a smash product as the "result of dividing two product spaces." The smash product is specifically the quotient of the underlying spaces of two pointed spaces where points in the product spaces are identified if they contain either labeled point as an element. Other claims are simply mistaken. For instance, the ≝ symbol is used to introduce a definition, not to declare that the definition has been achieved in a proof. The claim that "A union on smash product appears to be one where the sets are nit isomorphic" is totally meaningless. The symbol ⩩ is not merely decorative but is intended as a supplemental math symbol like all the others. I couldn't track down its purpose. The APL symbol description somehow never bothers to mention APL. This is all very cursory, which is fine, but just please don't delete my work while doing it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.5|172.70.130.5]] 04:15, 14 April 2022 (UTC)
:I'm done, page is yours. I'd been working on it for an hour and every time I tried to save, a new edit came in. I did my best to reconcile them but by the fifth I just saved a copy of what was there and pasted mine over. I immediately got to work on recovering what I had pasted over as indicated in the edit comment and like I said, I'm done. I've merged to the best of my ability and have no more interest in this page.
:--[[User:FrankHightower|FrankHightower]] ([[User talk:FrankHightower|talk]]) 04:37, 14 April 2022 (UTC)