explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2526: TSP vs TBSP

2021-10-08T19:40:58Z

MagicalR2D2: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2526
| date = October 8, 2021
| title = Tsp vs Tbsp
| image = tsp_vs_tbsp.png
| titletext = It's like one teraspoon / when all you need is a kilonife
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ALANIS TURINGETTE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic plays a joke on the common liquid measurements of {{w|teaspoon}}s (tsp) and {{w|tablespoon}}s (tbsp), which are commonly confused. A teaspoon is defined as 5 mL (0.18 imp fl oz; 0.17 US fl oz) while a tablespoon is defined as 14.8 ml (0.50 US fl oz; 3 tsp) in the US.

It also plays a joke on metric measurements (which use powers of 10) versus computer measurements (which use powers of 2), which also cause confusion. See also [[394: Kilobyte]].

The title text is a play on a lyric from the Alanis Morissette song "{{w|Ironic (song)|Ironic}}": "It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife." Randall changes the line to "teraspoon" and "kilonife".

If "spoon" is understood as teaspoon, then one teraspoon will be 5000 cubic meters and a binary teraspoon will be 5497,6 cubic meters. If the tablespoon is taken as base unit, a teraspoon will be 14800 cubic meters and a binary teraspoon 16272.8 cubic meters. Both volumes are much too large to fit inside a typical residential kitchen.{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Cooking tips: tsp vs tbsp

:[left column:]
:<big>Tsp</big>
:Teraspoon
:1,000,000,000,000
:(10<sup>12</sup>) spoons

:[right column:]
:<big>Tbsp</big>
:Binary tsp
:1,099,511,627,776
:(1024<sup>4</sup>) spoons

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Food]]

2507: USV-C

2021-08-25T16:42:10Z

MagicalR2D2: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2507
| date = August 25, 2021
| title = USV-C
| image = usv_c.png
| titletext = Ultra-Serial Violet C light is unpolarized, so you don't have to flip the polarizing filter over when you get the orientation wrong the first time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE CURATOR OF THE EVER EXPANDING CURSED CONNECTORS COLLECTION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the fourth installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #280: USB-C to UV-C. It follows [[2503: Memo Spike Connector]] (#102).

The comic depicts a cable with a USB-C connector on one end and a UV-C LED on the other.

USB-C is a type of USB connector which supports many different types of data. UV-C is a type of Ultraviolet light.

This comic depicts a cable that converts from USB-C (at the top of the picture) to UV-C (at the bottom).

{{w|USB-C}} is a rotationally symmetrical {{w|Universal Serial Bus}} connector.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet#UVC UV-C] is a range of ultraviolate light with wavelengths between 100 and 280 nm. This is often used as a germicide, so this comic may also be related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The title text mentions that UV-C is unpolarized. This mirrors the fact that USB-C is symmetrical. So neither of them requires you to get the orientation right when using it.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A cable with a USB-C connector on one end and a UV-C LED on the other end is shown]
:Cursed Connectors #280
:USB-C to UV-C
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Cursed Connectors]]
[[Category: Comics with color]]

94: Profile Creation Flowchart

2020-11-30T21:45:55Z

MagicalR2D2: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 94
| date = April 26, 2006
| title = Profile Creation Flowchart
| image = profile_flowchart.jpg
| titletext = This one goes out to xxCrazyPixie1987xx
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|AIM_(software)|AIM}} (short for AOL Instant Messenger, now defunct) offered its users profile pages to share info about themselves or their friends. Randall notes that these pages fall into one of three categories:

*People without friends or significant others who linked to their {{w|LiveJournal}} (a blogging service popular in the early 2000s);
*People with friends and significant others who would celebrate their relationship all over their page;
*People with friends who would fill their profile with inside jokes only their friends could understand.

Both AIM and LiveJournal were known for their teenage user base, as shown by the title text's fictional AIM screen name.

The title text seems to reference the kind of behavior someone with a tribute page would display, but is actually an example of an inside joke, for cartoonists. The text comes from [http://www.nataliedee.com/index.php?date=010806 Natalie Dee Comic 956, from January 8, 2006], a few months before this XKCD comic was published on April 26 of the same year.

==Transcript==
[A flowchart is shown.]
:Have Friends? → No → Link to your LiveJournal
:Have Friends? → Yes, and want to alienate everyone else → Inside jokes!
:Have Friends? → Yes → Have Boyfriend/ Girlfriend? →
::No → Angsty about it? →
:::Yes → Link to your LiveJournal
:::No → Yes you are → Angsty about it?
::Yes → A profile tribute is the greatest possible expression of love.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Social networking]]