explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

917: Hofstadter

2023-05-11T09:49:07Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 917
| date = June 27, 2011
| title = Hofstadter
| image = hofstadter.png
| titletext = "This is the reference implementation of the self-referential joke."
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Douglas Hofstadter}} is an American author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is perhaps most famous for his book ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' which explores "strange loops," or {{w|self-reference|self-referential systems}}. "Meta-" is a Greek prefix meaning "outside" or "beyond." As an adjective, "meta" informally refers to anything self-referential, like the last phrase of this sentence. An example of the use of such a term can be found in [[1313: Regex Golf]].

At first reading, the six word autobiography in the second panel, "I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''", may seem unfinished, however the clue is in the final word. An acronym is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a series of words, and reading the first letter of each of the six words in order yields "ISMETA", completing the sentence and setting up the self-reference. If you take the words and then add the acronym on the end you read 'I'm so meta even this acronym is meta. Hofstadter himself did something similar in ''Gödel, Escher, Bach'' in the chapter "Contracrostipunctus", where the first letter of each line spells out the phrase "'''H'''ofstadter's '''C'''ontracrostipunctus '''A'''crostically '''B'''ackwards '''S'''pells '''J'''.S.Bach" - and taking the first letters of each word in ''that'' sentence backwards does indeed spell "'''J.S. BACH'''".

This comic is probably a reference to ''{{w|Six-Word Memoirs}}'', a project launched in 2006 in which people "tell their life story in just six-words".
This comic may additionally be a reference to the meme "explain <whatever> in six words", which was making the rounds at the time.

In the title text, a ''reference implementation'' is, broadly, an example of how to implement some feature during the software development process. In this case the feature is a self-referential joke, and the sentence itself is, correctly, self-referential.

Hofstadter has been referenced before, in the title text of [[555: Two Mirrors]] and [[608: Form]]. Furthermore, his famous book has been directly spoofed in the title of [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. Finally, the self-reference reference ("IS META") is also a typical concept used most famously in [[688: Self-Description]] but also in [[:Category:Self-reference|several other comics]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, working on a laptop. Megan approaches the desk and picks up a tiny book.]
:Megan: What's this?
:Cueball: Douglas Hofstadter's six-word autobiography. After all those 700-page tomes, I guess he wanted to try for brevity.
:Megan: Huh. Let's see...

:[Close up of Megan, reading the tiny book.]
:Book: I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''

:[Full shot of Cueball and Megan again. Megan looks down at the tiny book in her hand.]
:Megan: ...whoa.
:Cueball: I think he nailed it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

917: Hofstadter

2023-05-11T09:48:39Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 917
| date = June 27, 2011
| title = Hofstadter
| image = hofstadter.png
| titletext = "This is the reference implementation of the self-referential joke."
}}

==Explanation==
{{Douglas Hofstadter}} is an American author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is perhaps most famous for his book ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' which explores "strange loops," or {{w|self-reference|self-referential systems}}. "Meta-" is a Greek prefix meaning "outside" or "beyond." As an adjective, "meta" informally refers to anything self-referential, like the last phrase of this sentence. An example of the use of such a term can be found in [[1313: Regex Golf]].

At first reading, the six word autobiography in the second panel, "I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''", may seem unfinished, however the clue is in the final word. An acronym is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a series of words, and reading the first letter of each of the six words in order yields "ISMETA", completing the sentence and setting up the self-reference. If you take the words and then add the acronym on the end you read 'I'm so meta even this acronym is meta. Hofstadter himself did something similar in ''Gödel, Escher, Bach'' in the chapter "Contracrostipunctus", where the first letter of each line spells out the phrase "'''H'''ofstadter's '''C'''ontracrostipunctus '''A'''crostically '''B'''ackwards '''S'''pells '''J'''.S.Bach" - and taking the first letters of each word in ''that'' sentence backwards does indeed spell "'''J.S. BACH'''".

This comic is probably a reference to ''{{w|Six-Word Memoirs}}'', a project launched in 2006 in which people "tell their life story in just six-words".
This comic may additionally be a reference to the meme "explain <whatever> in six words", which was making the rounds at the time.

In the title text, a ''reference implementation'' is, broadly, an example of how to implement some feature during the software development process. In this case the feature is a self-referential joke, and the sentence itself is, correctly, self-referential.

Hofstadter has been referenced before, in the title text of [[555: Two Mirrors]] and [[608: Form]]. Furthermore, his famous book has been directly spoofed in the title of [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. Finally, the self-reference reference ("IS META") is also a typical concept used most famously in [[688: Self-Description]] but also in [[:Category:Self-reference|several other comics]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, working on a laptop. Megan approaches the desk and picks up a tiny book.]
:Megan: What's this?
:Cueball: Douglas Hofstadter's six-word autobiography. After all those 700-page tomes, I guess he wanted to try for brevity.
:Megan: Huh. Let's see...

:[Close up of Megan, reading the tiny book.]
:Book: I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''

:[Full shot of Cueball and Megan again. Megan looks down at the tiny book in her hand.]
:Megan: ...whoa.
:Cueball: I think he nailed it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

917: Hofstadter

2023-05-11T09:48:09Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 917
| date = June 27, 2011
| title = Hofstadter
| image = hofstadter.png
| titletext = "This is the reference implementation of the self-referential joke."
}}

==Explanation==
[[Douglas Hofstadter]] is an American author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is perhaps most famous for his book ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' which explores "strange loops," or {{w|self-reference|self-referential systems}}. "Meta-" is a Greek prefix meaning "outside" or "beyond." As an adjective, "meta" informally refers to anything self-referential, like the last phrase of this sentence. An example of the use of such a term can be found in [[1313: Regex Golf]].

At first reading, the six word autobiography in the second panel, "I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''", may seem unfinished, however the clue is in the final word. An acronym is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a series of words, and reading the first letter of each of the six words in order yields "ISMETA", completing the sentence and setting up the self-reference. If you take the words and then add the acronym on the end you read 'I'm so meta even this acronym is meta. Hofstadter himself did something similar in ''Gödel, Escher, Bach'' in the chapter "Contracrostipunctus", where the first letter of each line spells out the phrase "'''H'''ofstadter's '''C'''ontracrostipunctus '''A'''crostically '''B'''ackwards '''S'''pells '''J'''.S.Bach" - and taking the first letters of each word in ''that'' sentence backwards does indeed spell "'''J.S. BACH'''".

This comic is probably a reference to ''{{w|Six-Word Memoirs}}'', a project launched in 2006 in which people "tell their life story in just six-words".
This comic may additionally be a reference to the meme "explain <whatever> in six words", which was making the rounds at the time.

In the title text, a ''reference implementation'' is, broadly, an example of how to implement some feature during the software development process. In this case the feature is a self-referential joke, and the sentence itself is, correctly, self-referential.

Hofstadter has been referenced before, in the title text of [[555: Two Mirrors]] and [[608: Form]]. Furthermore, his famous book has been directly spoofed in the title of [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. Finally, the self-reference reference ("IS META") is also a typical concept used most famously in [[688: Self-Description]] but also in [[:Category:Self-reference|several other comics]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, working on a laptop. Megan approaches the desk and picks up a tiny book.]
:Megan: What's this?
:Cueball: Douglas Hofstadter's six-word autobiography. After all those 700-page tomes, I guess he wanted to try for brevity.
:Megan: Huh. Let's see...

:[Close up of Megan, reading the tiny book.]
:Book: I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''

:[Full shot of Cueball and Megan again. Megan looks down at the tiny book in her hand.]
:Megan: ...whoa.
:Cueball: I think he nailed it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

917: Hofstadter

2023-05-11T09:47:40Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 917
| date = June 27, 2011
| title = Hofstadter
| image = hofstadter.png
| titletext = "This is the reference implementation of the self-referential joke."
}}

==Explanation==
[[w|Douglas Hofstadter]] is an American author who has written several books about philosophy, mathematics, and science. He is perhaps most famous for his book ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' which explores "strange loops," or {{w|self-reference|self-referential systems}}. "Meta-" is a Greek prefix meaning "outside" or "beyond." As an adjective, "meta" informally refers to anything self-referential, like the last phrase of this sentence. An example of the use of such a term can be found in [[1313: Regex Golf]].

At first reading, the six word autobiography in the second panel, "I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''", may seem unfinished, however the clue is in the final word. An acronym is an abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a series of words, and reading the first letter of each of the six words in order yields "ISMETA", completing the sentence and setting up the self-reference. If you take the words and then add the acronym on the end you read 'I'm so meta even this acronym is meta. Hofstadter himself did something similar in ''Gödel, Escher, Bach'' in the chapter "Contracrostipunctus", where the first letter of each line spells out the phrase "'''H'''ofstadter's '''C'''ontracrostipunctus '''A'''crostically '''B'''ackwards '''S'''pells '''J'''.S.Bach" - and taking the first letters of each word in ''that'' sentence backwards does indeed spell "'''J.S. BACH'''".

This comic is probably a reference to ''{{w|Six-Word Memoirs}}'', a project launched in 2006 in which people "tell their life story in just six-words".
This comic may additionally be a reference to the meme "explain <whatever> in six words", which was making the rounds at the time.

In the title text, a ''reference implementation'' is, broadly, an example of how to implement some feature during the software development process. In this case the feature is a self-referential joke, and the sentence itself is, correctly, self-referential.

Hofstadter has been referenced before, in the title text of [[555: Two Mirrors]] and [[608: Form]]. Furthermore, his famous book has been directly spoofed in the title of [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. Finally, the self-reference reference ("IS META") is also a typical concept used most famously in [[688: Self-Description]] but also in [[:Category:Self-reference|several other comics]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, working on a laptop. Megan approaches the desk and picks up a tiny book.]
:Megan: What's this?
:Cueball: Douglas Hofstadter's six-word autobiography. After all those 700-page tomes, I guess he wanted to try for brevity.
:Megan: Huh. Let's see...

:[Close up of Megan, reading the tiny book.]
:Book: I'm So Meta, Even This ''Acronym''

:[Full shot of Cueball and Megan again. Megan looks down at the tiny book in her hand.]
:Megan: ...whoa.
:Cueball: I think he nailed it.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

493: Actuarial

2023-05-11T08:53:03Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 493
| date = October 24, 2008
| title = Actuarial
| image = actuarial.png
| titletext = I started to do the tables for more famous people but it got really depressing and morbid and I had to go outside. Hat guy wins again.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is commenting about how he shouldn't feed the trolls, but sometimes gets provoked to the point where he can't help replying. The term ''{{w|Troll (Internet)|Trolling}}'' is used to describe provocative, destructive, or annoying behavior on the {{w|Internet}}.

[[Black Hat]] agrees and tells that he had an issue yesterday with a guy who had a serious case of the
[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/first first] urge. Some people have to be the first to make a comment on any given posting (be it a blog post or a YouTube video or some other commentable content) and to obnoxiously point out that they have made the first comment. This often manifests as the poster simply posting the word "First" without contributing any actual content to the discussion.

Once again, Black Hat is thus provoked into online retaliation bordering on the sociopathic, choosing a form of retribution that doesn't necessarily break any written rules but strikes directly at the heart and/or mind of his opponent. In this case, he tells the ''first'' guy when all his childhood heroes are likely to die - this could make anyone miserable. To do this, he is using {{w|Life table|actuarial table}}s or life tables, which show for each age the probability that a certain person will be alive by their next birthday.

Cueball reflects that he doesn't wish to become the target of such ire himself, but (without apparent malice on Black Hat's part...) still suffers from a piece of memetic shrapnel from the original attack - Cueball obviously loves the original ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' movies - and Black Hat would know this!

In the title text, it is said how {{tvtropes|TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou|Black Hat's offensive is so effective that he appears to have caused grief even to his own author and creator}}, [[Randall]], who only managed to check up on the ''Star Wars'' cast before getting too depressed.
(So far, six main cast members have died: {{w|Peter Cushing}} ([https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wilhuff_Tarkin Grand Moff Tarkin]) in 1994, {{w|Alec Guinness}} ([https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Obi-Wan_Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi]) in 2000, {{w|Kenny Baker (English actor)}} ([https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/R2-D2 R2-D2]) and {{w|Carrie Fisher}} ([https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Leia_Organa General Leia]), both in 2016, {{w|Peter Mayhew}} ([https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Chewbacca Chewbacca]) in 2019, and finally {{w|David Prowse}} ([https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Anakin_Skywalker Darth Vader]) in 2020.)

Randall has used this idea again in [[893: 65 Years]] and published a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2012/07/12/a-morbid-python-script/ 'morbid' program] (the original code has been removed, but an implementation can be found on Github) that uses actuarial tables to calculate the probability that someone will die within a given time. The offense that provoked Black hat was mentioned already in [[269: TCMP]] and then returned to in both [[1019: First Post]] and [[1258: First]].

A similar setting with Cueball and Black Hat also discussing movies appears later in [[1751: Movie Folder]]. But then Black Hat is reading on his smartphone.

It is possible that [[494: Secretary: Part 1]] and the following series are a continuation of this comic, as Black Hat's great power over even Internet trolls via his sociopathic ways would explain why he was chosen as Internet secretary.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball, seated at a computer terminal, facing to the left.]
:Cueball: I know you shouldn't feed the trolls, but sometimes they just provoke me to where I can't help replying.

:[Black Hat, seated in an armchair reading a book, facing to the right]
:Black Hat: Yeah, me too. Yesterday this guy kept spamming "First!", so I got a set of actuarial tables and spent twenty minutes telling him when all his childhood heroes would likely die.

:[Cueball turns around in his chair.]
:Cueball: ...

:[Black Hat, still reading his book.]
:Cueball (off-screen): Remind me never to upset you, ever.
:Black Hat: 2038: Last of the original Star Wars cast dies.
:Cueball (off-screen): Augh!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

461: Google Maps

2023-05-11T08:33:34Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 461
| date = August 11, 2008
| title = Google Maps
| image = google_maps.png
| titletext = Apparently Google assumes you're traveling during the ferry's normal operating hours. We lost two hours circling that damn lake (to say nothing of the Straw Man).
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Google Maps}} is a web mapping service application. Before smartphones with GPS mapping software were widespread and most people's printers hadn't yet run out of ink, it was common to print out directions to take with you on a trip. The web version of Google Maps has many features including a route planner. As sophisticated as early versions were, it occasionally gave suboptimal directions. For example, the directions may tell you to take an exit that, in reality, is unmarked. Directions also did not take time of day into account, which would help in planning routes to avoid traffic or to make use of services such as a ferry.

Though no specific game or movie is referenced, steps 75 to 81 of the directions read like the plot of a horror film, a guide of a video game, or a role playing game. A straw man is another term for scarecrow, a common antagonist in both. Step 80 reads exactly like an old {{w|Interactive fiction|text adventure}} game's description of an area.

There are additional small jokes in the distance column of the directions:
*Step 75 tells you to travel 1172 feet up, a direction that Google Maps doesn't normally take into account.
*No distance is traveled in step 77, so Google instead tells you to be careful when talking to Charlie.
*{{w|Pi}} is a ratio usually used in calculations involving circles, rather than in measuring distances.
*Google doesn't know how far it is from the Spectral Wolf to your destination, so it gives you question marks as the distance.

This might be a reference to Google Maps' {{w|List_of_Google_hoaxes_and_easter_eggs#Google_Maps_and_Google_Earth|many easter eggs}}.

The title text tells us that Cueball and his brother attempted to drive around the lake, since they could not take the ferry. It seems they also had an unfortunate run-in with the Straw Man, apparently waking him as the directions warned against.

All in all the directions seem like the instructions from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign

===Directions===
{| class="wikitable"
!Direction Number
!Direction
!Explanation
|-
| 70
| Slight '''left''' at '''RT-22''' - go 6.8 mi
| A normal direction, RT-22 might mean Route 22.
|-
| 71
| Turn '''right''' to stay on '''RT-22''' - go 2.6 mi
|
|-
| 72
| Turn '''left''' at '''Lake Shore Rd''' - go 312 ft
|
|-
| 73
| Turn '''right''' at '''Dock St''' - go 427 ft
|
|-
| 74
| Take the '''ferry''' across the '''lake.''' - go 2.8 mi
|
|-
| 75
| Climb the '''HILL''' toward '''Hangman's Ridge,''' avoiding any '''mountain lions.''' - up 1,172 ft
| Google Maps does not usually ask you to avoid mountain lions, nor does it ask you to walk if you want to drive and there is an available route by road.
|-
| 76
| When you reach an '''old barn,''' go around back, knock on the '''second door,''' and ask for '''Charlie.''' - go 52 ft
| This resembles less directions from Google Maps, and more a back-alley dealing trying to introduce a contact to another contact.
|-
| 77
| Tell '''Charlie''' the '''Dancing Stones''' are '''restless'''. He will give you his '''van'''. - Careful
| This seems more like a text adventure game with the code words.
|-
| 78
| Take '''Charlie's van''' down '''Old Mine Road'''. Do not wake the '''Straw Man'''. - go π mi
| It is impossibe to go exactly π miles. But then it is also impossible to go exactly 52 feet or 3.2 miles.
|-
| 79
| Turn left on '''Comstock'''. When you feel the '''blood chill''' in your '''veins''', stop the van and '''get out'''. - go 3.2 mi
| Google Maps usually does not ask you to wait until your blood chills. {{citation needed}}
|-
| 80
| Stand very still. Exits are '''north''', '''south''', and '''east''', but are blocked by a '''Spectral Wolf'''. - go 0 ft
| The directions resemble a text adventure game.
|-
| 81
| The '''Spectral Wolf''' fears only '''fire'''. The '''Google Maps Team''' can no longer help you, but if you master the '''wolf''', he will guide you. '''Godspeed'''. - go ?? mi
|
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:My road trip with my brother ran into trouble around page three of the Google Maps printout

:[Google Maps printout.]
::← 70. Slight '''left''' at '''RT-22''' - go 6.8 mi
::→ 71. Turn '''right''' to stay on '''RT-22''' - go 2.6 mi
::← 72. Turn '''left''' at '''Lake Shore Rd''' - go 312 ft
::→ 73. Turn '''right''' at '''Dock St''' - go 427 ft
::[An icon of water] 74. Take the '''ferry''' across the '''lake.''' - go 2.8 mi

:[A car is driving in the dark.]
:Brother: Okay, now take Dock St toward the ferry.
:Cueball: We're supposed to take a ferry? It's past midnight, and these woods are creepy.
:Brother: Google Maps wouldn't steer us wrong.

:[Cueball and his brother stand outside the car. The ferry has a sign on it reading CLOSED.]

:[Cueball is standing next to his brother, who is holding a Google Maps printout.]

:[Cueball motions towards his brother.]
:Cueball: Let me see those directions.

:[Google Maps printout.]
::[An icon of water] 74. Take the '''ferry''' across the '''lake.''' - go 2.8 mi
::↗ 75. Climb the '''HILL''' toward '''Hangman's Ridge,''' avoiding any '''mountain lions.''' - up 1,172 ft
::↷ 76. When you reach an '''old barn,''' go around back, knock on the '''second door,''' and ask for '''Charlie.''' - go 52 ft
::[An icon of a van] 77. Tell '''Charlie''' the '''Dancing Stones''' are '''restless'''. He will give you his '''van'''. - Careful
::[An icon of a straw man] 78. Take '''Charlie's van''' down '''Old Mine Road'''. Do not wake the '''Straw Man'''. - go π mi
::← 79. Turn left on '''Comstock'''. When you feel the '''blood''' chill in your '''veins''', stop the van and '''get out.''' - go 3.2 mi
::↓ 80. Stand very still. Exits are '''north''', '''south''', and '''east''', but are blocked by a '''Spectral Wolf'''. - go 0 ft
::[An icon of a menacing face] 81. The '''Spectral Wolf''' fears only '''fire'''. The '''Google Maps Team''' can no longer help you, but if you master the '''wolf''', he will guide you. '''Godspeed.''' - go ?? mi

==See also==
*[https://www.maps.google.com Google Maps]
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Google Maps]]

917: Hofstadter

2023-05-11T08:30:55Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

Category talk:Animals

2023-05-10T17:45:22Z

Koolkat38: /* Why will it not edit the way i want it to? */ new section

This category doesn't even seem nearly complete.--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|12:10, 17 August 2015}}

== Why will it not edit the way i want it to? ==

I am trying to add the crossbreeds mentioned in fork and spoon into animals, but it has changed the animals page entirely

Category:Animals

2023-05-10T17:43:02Z

Koolkat38:

A crossbreed is a variation of a spork first mentioned in [[Forks and Spoons]]. Created by Cueball and Megan, the crossbreeds are various combinations of spoons, forks, and knifes. The crossbreeds eventually kill Cueball and Megan. They are also later mentioned in [[Making Hash Browns]]
{{navbox-characters}}
[[Category:Comics by topic]]

22: Barrel - Part 3

2023-05-09T11:22:42Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 22
| date = October 24, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 3
| image = barrel_whirlpool.jpg
| titletext = A whirlpool!
}}

==Explanation==
In the first two comics in the [[Barrel]] series, the boy is floating in the ocean in a barrel, making fairly innocent points about life's uncertainty. In this comic, the view has zoomed out considerably, and the boy is seen to be on the edge of a gigantic {{w|whirlpool}}. Thus, there is now a palpably heightened sense of danger, though the boy's reaction continues to be innocent wonder.

The comic's visual composition is reminiscent of {{w|File:Maelstrom-Clarke.jpg|a classic 1919 illustration}} by {{w|Harry Clarke}}, made for {{w|Edgar Allan Poe}}'s 1841 short story "{{w|A Descent into the Maelström}}." In the short story, the main character escapes from drowning by using a barrel to escape The Maelström.

This is the third in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] who is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style. The character is in a barrel.

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[A large and deep vortex is in the center; spinning water covers the whole panel. A boy in a floating barrel is near the edge, apparently about to be sucked in.]
:Boy: wow!

== Trivia ==
*This was the 23rd comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[40: Light]].
**The next was [[23: T-shirts]].
*Original title: "Monday's Drawing"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "The saga of the boy and his barrel continues! ([[1: Barrel - Part 1|Part 1]] and [[11: Barrel - Part 2|Part 2]])"
**There are links to the pictures of the two first parts.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 23]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Barrel|04]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 04]]

25: Barrel - Part 4

2023-05-09T11:21:18Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 25
| date = October 31, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 4
| image = barrel_part_4.jpg
| titletext = :(
}}

== Explanation ==
In the first three comics of the [[Barrel]] series, the character explored the ocean in a barrel and then encountered a whirlpool, all with a reaction of innocent wonder. Here, the empty barrel floating adrift, plus the title text and a previous announcement by Randall that this would be the conclusion of barrel boy's story, imply that the character's encounter with the whirlpool separated him from the barrel, and he may have come to some harm.

This is the fifth in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] who is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style. The character was in the barrel in parts 1-3.

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

== Transcript ==
:[The barrel is shown on a grid paper background, floating sideways and empty in a choppy sea.]

==Trivia==
*This was the 26th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[37: Hyphen]].
**The next was [[26: Fourier]].
*The original title of this comic was "Monday's Drawing".
*There were no original [[Randall]] quote for this comic.
**However, three hours after posting the comic, he made a new post with the following statement:
:::'''''Barrel series'''''
:::By the way, here are all the barrel comics on a single (easily linked) page:
:::[https://web.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html] [This is an archived version of the page. The original link is dead. This text is not included in the statement.]
:::I cheated, and went back and lightened the gridlines in #2. It was just bothering me. I'll try not to do that much. But as I'm not destroying anyone's childhood, I don't feel like I'm really pulling a George Lucas.
:::I mean, I'm not destroying more than one childhood.
:::Oops.
*Since this was not (as he stated in the [[37: Hyphen#Trivia|previous comic]]) the last in the [[:Category:Barrel|barrel series]], the last comic must later have been included.
**Since this last barrel comic [[31: Barrel - Part 5]] involved the [[:Category:Ferret|ferret]], the previous ferret story [[20: Ferret]] must also have been included then.
**Thus making the original ferret a "real" part of the barrel story.
**Randall also confesses that he changed the appearance of the 2nd Barrel comic.
***At this time, that must have referred to the one called [[11: Barrel - Part 2]], although Randall in the page above has moved this to after the first ferret comic.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explains why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 26]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Barrel|05]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 05]]

1: Barrel - Part 1

2023-05-09T11:20:07Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 1
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| titletext = Don't we all.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the first comic in the [[Barrel]] series, which shows a young boy floating in a barrel in an ocean that doesn't have a visible end. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The boy is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet, rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism.

The title text expands on the philosophical content, with the boy representing the average human being: wandering through life with no real plan, quietly optimistic, always opportunistic and clueless as to what the future may hold.

The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn. This comic could also reflect on Randall's feelings towards creating xkcd in the first place; unsure of what direction the web comic would turn towards, but hopeful that it would eventually become the popular web comic that we know today.

This is the first in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] that is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. They are listed below in the order Randall chose for the short story above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}.

==Transcript==
:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?

:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]

==Trivia==
*This was the 5th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous comic was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].
**The next was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]].
*The original title was "Barrel".
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "He's fairly upbeat about the situation!"
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*This is the first of the original drawings that was not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*A more realistic description of the behavior of a barrel in water is here: [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ Wired Science: Should Dwarves Stand Up in Floating Barrels?]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Barrel|01]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 01]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

1: Barrel - Part 1

2023-05-09T11:18:44Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 1
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| titletext = Don't we all.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the first comic in the [[barrel]] series, which shows a young boy floating in a barrel in an ocean that doesn't have a visible end. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The boy is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet, rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism.

The title text expands on the philosophical content, with the boy representing the average human being: wandering through life with no real plan, quietly optimistic, always opportunistic and clueless as to what the future may hold.

The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn. This comic could also reflect on Randall's feelings towards creating xkcd in the first place; unsure of what direction the web comic would turn towards, but hopeful that it would eventually become the popular web comic that we know today.

This is the first in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] that is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. They are listed below in the order Randall chose for the short story above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}.

==Transcript==
:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?

:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]

==Trivia==
*This was the 5th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous comic was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].
**The next was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]].
*The original title was "Barrel".
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "He's fairly upbeat about the situation!"
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*This is the first of the original drawings that was not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*A more realistic description of the behavior of a barrel in water is here: [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ Wired Science: Should Dwarves Stand Up in Floating Barrels?]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Barrel|01]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 01]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

11: Barrel - Part 2

2023-05-09T11:13:06Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 11
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 2
| image = barrel mommies.jpg
| titletext = Awww.
}}

==Explanation==
Like in the previous comic in the [[Barrel]] series, the boy is floating in the ocean in a barrel. The previous comic made a point about the uncertainty of life; here, the boy's lament at not finding a mother is pure sentimentality, as accentuated by the title text.

According to Freud, the first stage of psycho-sexual development is the Oral Stage, which relates to a baby's relationship with its mother. The realization that 'mommy' cannot be found is the first point at which a person learns to stop trusting the world and realizes that the world is not always comforting and safe.

This is the second in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] that is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style. The character is in a barrel.

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
:Boy: none of the places i floated had mommies.

==Trivia==
*This was the 13th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[14: Copyright]].
**The next was [[15: Just Alerting You]].
*This comic kept it's original title: "Barrel - Part 2 "
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "The story continues."
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*The drawing style is very reminiscent of the {{w|The Little Prince|Little Prince}}.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 13]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 13]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Barrel|03]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 02]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

1092: Michael Phelps

2023-05-09T10:49:39Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

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

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

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

However, according to the title text, after having waited the time necessary for the water to gelify, Cueball realizes that Phelps has eaten all of the resulting Jello. This may be a reference to Phelps being used to eating [https://web.archive.org/web/20101113024452/http://www.michaelphelps.net/michael-phelps-diet/ impressive food quantities (about 12,000 calories daily)], to keep up with his strenuous exercise regimen; or it may be a reference to pictures of Phelps smoking from a bong that arose after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, as Marijuana use is often associated with an increased appetite. Otherwise, the text may simply be a reference to Phelps being capable of achieving super-human feats, such as devouring an entire pool full of Jello.

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

The title text may also be a reference to [[Magnus]], where people are thrown into strange contests with others, for example a hot dog-eating contest against the championship race horse Secretariat.

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

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

:[Cueball heads off to fetch something.]

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

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

794: Inside Joke

2023-04-21T10:43:59Z

Koolkat38: Order correction

{{comic
| number =794
| date =September 17, 2010
| title =Inside Joke
| image =inside_joke.png
| titletext =I've looked through a few annotated versions of classic books, and it's shocking how much of what's in there is basically pop-culture references totally lost on us now.
}}

==Explanation==
Inside jokes occur between friends and family members that live through a shared experience, which makes them laugh when they make reference to it later on. For people not "in the know", these inside jokes can come across as being completely incomprehensible, and in extreme cases just sound like random words strung together.

Randall posits the hypothesis that this has been going on throughout history and that historical figures probably had the same number of inside jokes as any modern group of high-school students. He probably chose to compare them to high-school students because that is a time of complex social interactions and cliques, which are conducive to the formation of inside jokes.

The title text says that there are several classic books that make pop-culture references to events that no modern reader was alive to see. Topicality sometimes has the unfortunate side-effect of the work being far less understood to later generations. Suggested examples so far include Homer's ''{{w|Odyssey}},'' Shakespeare's ''{{w|Much Ado About Nothing}},'' and Lewis Carroll's ''Alice'' books, whose many nineteenth-century cultural references are enumerated in ''{{w|The Annotated Alice}}.''

The inside joke presented in the comic appears to be a reference to the esoterically-named {{W|Buddha Jumps Over the Wall}}, a type of fish soup that allegedly smelled so delicious, Buddhist disciples would sneak out of their meditative ceremonies to eat it. In this case, the ham seller comments that his products are so delicious that even the monk nearby is climbing over the wall to get some ham after the buyer remarked that his product was too expensive.

==Transcript==
:[A man with a beard and a turban stands to the left of a crude wooden counter. On the right of the counter is a man with a beard and no turban. Further behind the counter is a woman with a bun kneeling on the ground and putting something into a box.]
:Turban man: Nine silvers for a ham? That's too much!
:No-turban man: Too much? There's a monk out back ''with a ladder!''
:[Both men start laughing.]

:Caption: There's no reason to think that people throughout history didn't have just as many inside jokes and catchphrases as any modern group of high-schoolers.

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

729: Laser Pointer

2023-04-21T08:55:47Z

Koolkat38: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 729
| date = April 19, 2010
| title = Laser Pointer
| image = laser_pointer.png
| titletext = It's a lasing cat-vity!
}}

==Explanation==
It is common to use a {{w|laser pointer}} as a cat toy because cats are attracted to the dot and attempt in vain to catch it in their paws. They will chase the dot as it moves around, sometimes pouncing on it or swiping at it with their claws; but they will never be able to catch it.{{Citation needed}} This is very frustrating for cats (and dogs), because it triggers a hunting instinct, but removes the satisfaction of actually catching their prey.

Cueball is messing with his cat with a laser pointer, however he is unprepared when his cat pounces and successfully grabs the laser dot. As Cueball looks around and tries to figure out what happened to the laser, his cat licks it, before eating it and starting to glow with a red light.

The cat then shoots lasers from its eyes and disintegrates a surprised Cueball on the spot in revenge for taunting it with the laser pointer.

It is then revealed that everything that happened was just a cat's dream. Only in its dreams can a cat successfully enact the rest of the comic{{citation needed}}

The last panel where it is revealed that the rest of the comic shows the cat facing away from the reader, which may be meant to suggest that the cat is remembering real events

Real cats' eyes (and some other animals' eyes) have a {{w|tapetum lucidum}} behind their retinas, which increases their sensitivity in low-light conditions. This can cause their eyes to appear to glow, but they're actually just reflecting light from the environment.

The title text makes a pun on the chamber in which lasers are formed, known as a {{w|laser cavity}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball points a laser pointer at the floor. A black cat crouches, staring at the red dot.]

:[The cat pounces.]

:[The cat lands with its paw on the dot, claws out.]

:[The cat tugs on the dot.]
:''tug tug''

:[Cueball tries to use the laser pointer, which is no longer emitting a beam.]
:Cueball: ??? ''click click''

:[The cat nibbles on the red laser dot.]
:Cat: ''lick? nom nom''

:[The cat arches, emitting red shock lines.]

:[The cat shoots lasers out of its eyes at Cueball, who is covered in a bright red glow.]
:''FWOOSH''
:Cueball: AUGH!
:[The right side of the panel is the end of a thought bubble.]

:[The black cat, sleeping, has dreamed the entire strip.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Cats]]
[[Category:Dreams]]