explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1511: Spice Girl

2015-05-23T01:28:35Z

LionKimbro: +Category:Clickbait

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or "Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

In Randall's fantasy dystopian future, the character who is subject of the dialogue may be one of two Spice Girls, described alternately as the one who is merciful and the one started the war (which likely resulted in the said dystopia). It is possible there are only two remaining Spice Girls, or that there are simply only two likely options in the particular circumstances of the comic. It is also unclear if Randall may be suggesting two fictional Spice Girls, or if in his fantasy future, two of the actual original Spice Girls fit the criteria mentioned. ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble.

===Two interpretations===
As a result of the way the speech line was drawn in this comic, there is ambiguity as to the source of the dialogue. This leads to two possible interpretations:

====The shout comes from outside====
The four little lines at the source end of the speech line are often used by Randall to denote sound coming from an unseen source. This suggests that the quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd ''outside'' the door in reference to the female character seen in the comic. Presumably if she is "the one who started this war", the person(s) outside would be hostile toward her.

In this case, it looks like the female character (who otherwise appears to be a [[Megan]] character) does not have any intention of answering, and is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. In this interpretation, [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by "Megan" Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation, the four little lines at the source end of the speech line denote shouting, indicating that the quiz question is being shouted by Cueball to whoever is on the outside of the door, trying to determine if that person is merciful or hostile.

In this case, it looks like Megan is preparing for the latter possibility, loading her shotgun to defend herself if the person/people outside break through the door. [[#The title text|The title text]] is said by the spice girl outside, its inherent challenge suggesting that she is not the merciful one.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Clickbait]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1426: Reduce Your Payments

2015-05-23T01:27:39Z

LionKimbro: +Category:Clickbait

{{comic
| number = 1426
| date = September 26, 2014
| title = Reduce Your Payments
| image = reduce your payments.png
| titletext = I tried oxidizing them, but your bank uses some really weird paper and it wouldn't light.
}}
[[File:Sodium_borohydride.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Sodium borohydride, structural formula. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] walks into a room where [[Cueball]] sits in an armchair. Black Hat says to Cueball that he can reduce his mortgage payments, while holding a docket of paper, presumably Cueball's payment check, that looks like it has been dipped into a liquid of some kind. Black Hat uses the same formulation many Internet advertisements use: "Discover this (strange/new/amazing...) trick to (lose weight/reduce your mortgage payments/meet amazing women/grow your penis...)" known as {{w|clickbait}}. Cueball wants to know how and Black Hat responds by mentioning {{w|Sodium_borohydride|sodium borohydride (NaBH<sub>4</sub>)}}. Since Cueball fell for Black Hat's bait he exclaims, "I hate you."

{{w|Sodium borohydride}} is a strong {{w|reducing agent}}, meaning in a chemical reaction it will "{{w|redox|reduce}}" another substance. It is in fact used during the [http://www.borax.com/library/articles/news-and-events/news-release/paper's-tiger manufacture of paper], in order to bleach the natural colour from the pulp and improve the resulting paper's brightness, opacity, ink-absorbtion, and strength (among other properties).

This comic is a typical switcharound pun. Cueball expects the value on a bill paid to be reduced, while Black Hat uses the chemical meaning of {{w|Reduction (chemistry)|reducing}}, which would result at a minimum in the bleaching of all ink from the bill.

The complementary chemical reaction to reduction is oxidation, which is what happens if the paper mortgage payment is burned, as referred to in the title text. They go together in {{w|redox}} reactions, which generally involve electron transfer from the {{w|chemical species}} which is oxidized to the one which is reduced. In that case, the pun about light (to start a fire) is that a reduced financial weight may seem light (not heavy).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits on a sofa and Blackhat walks into the frame from behind.]
:Blackhat: I discovered this weird trick for reducing your mortgage payments!
:Cueball: What?
:Blackhat: Sodium borohydride.
:Cueball: ...I hate you.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Clickbait]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Puns]]

1307: Buzzfeed Christmas

2015-05-23T01:26:52Z

LionKimbro: +Category:Clickbait

{{comic
| number = 1307
| date = December 23, 2013
| title = Buzzfeed Christmas
| image = buzzfeed christmas.png
| titletext = The 6 Weirdest Objects The Buzzfeed Writers Are Throwing Out Their Windows At Us
}}

==Explanation==
Christmas caroling is a tradition in which groups of singers travel from house to house, singing {{w|Christmas carol|carols}}.

These carolers are in front of the [http://www.buzzfeed.com/ BuzzFeed] offices singing the {{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}, which ''usually'' contains:

:On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.
:12 Drummers drumming
:11 Pipers piping
:10 Lords a-leaping
:9 Ladies dancing
:8 Maids a-milking
:7 Swans a-swimming
:6 Geese a-laying
:5 Golden rings
:4 Calling birds
:3 French hens
:2 Turtle doves
:And a partridge in a pear tree.

The carolers changed the lyrics to match the style of headlines of the topics published by BuzzFeed, which usually contain a number and a superlative; for example, ''13 Worst Plane Crashes of the Decade'' or ''8 Otters Who Are So Cute We Can't Even Handle It''. This method of writing headlines, referred to as clickbait, is used by several other news sites, because it is known to generate a lot of visits and ad revenue. [[Randall]] has touched on this subject before in [[1283: Headlines]].

Carolers are usually rewarded with a gift, but the BuzzFeed writers probably didn't appreciate the song, because they threw weird stuff at them which the carolers used in their 6th verse.

==Transcript==
:[Four carolers (Megan, Cueball, Ponytail and Hairy) are singing.]
:12 Best drummers of ''all time''
:11 Pipers whose jaw-dropping good piping will make you cry
:You won't ''believe'' what these 10 lords leap over
:[Caption below the frame)]
:Carolers outside the Buzzfeed offices perform "12 Weird things I ''actually got'' for Christmas"

==Trivia==
*The Buzzfeed YouTube Channel uploaded a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v92edGrMbY video] called ''The 12 Days of Internet Christmas'', which is similar to ''The Twelve Days of Christmas'' song. But the video contains a number of strange objects and images, to name a few, a naked Ryan Gosling and four men with curly beard. Because of its absurd content, according to the like-dislike ratio, the video's quality is rather controversial.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Christmas]]
[[Category:Clickbait]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]