explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2244: Thumbtacks And String

2022-05-26T17:17:14Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 278487 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2244
| date = December 20, 2019
| title = Thumbtacks And String
| image = thumbtacks_and_string.png
| titletext = A tattoo of a tattoo parlor receipt
}}

==Explanation==
{{tvtropes|StringTheory|In many media}}, crimes and conspiracy theories are solved on bulletin boards. "Leads" are attached to the board using {{w|Drawing pin|thumbtacks}}, and the leads are connected to each other using string (specifically {{w|twine}} is mentioned), in order to sort out connections and possibilities. There are many systems for {{w|information mapping}} that show entities as nodes in a {{w|Graph (discrete mathematics)|graph}}, with relationships represented by connections between nodes.

[[Beret Guy]], eccentric as always, manipulates this by making just such a setup solely to determine where to buy the thumbtacks and string for use in it. The joke is that the bulletin board is entirely [[:Category:Self-reference|self-referential]] -- without a need for thumbtacks and string to hold and connect things on the bulletin board, there would be no need for the bulletin board itself, but because of the bulletin board's string and thumbtacks, Beret Guy needs the items advertised on it. An additional minor joke may be that the Office Depot store map near the bottom of the bulletin board has markers that are often called [https://www.perkinselearning.org/technology/blog/how-create-digital-pushpin-map "digital pushpins"].

In media, characters (especially conspiracy theorists) tend to obsess over these boards, overanalyzing or staring at every little detail to try and make sense of them - Beret Guy may be so obsessed with these string boards that he has been driven to obsessing further over the details of making ''more'' of these boards.

The title text continues the self-reference theme: The receipt for the tattoo is tattooed to the person who orders the tattoo, which is the receipt for said tattoo of the receipt. This has happened for real [https://www.eonline.com/news/528117/teen-tattoos-mcdonald-s-receipt-on-his-arm-a-week-later-tattoos-the-tattoo-receipt-on-his-other-arm in Norway].

The idea of the receipt being the object you buy, has been used in a rug that used to be sold by {{w|IKEA}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Beret Guy is in front of a bulletin board covered in images, connected by thumbtacks and string. The below transcripts of each image are left to right, top to bottom.]
:<u>Sale</u> String and Twine 🧵 🧵
:Where to Buy Thumbtacks
:Scrapbooking Supplies (partially covered:) Call Now
:Sale
:📌
:???
:Great Deals YARN 🧶
:Office Supplies Thumbtacks Pushpins & More 📌
:Office Depot
:?
:Office Supply Liquidation SALE ⭐

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

598: Porn

2022-05-26T17:14:23Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 278367 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 598
| date = June 17, 2009
| title = Porn
| image = porn.png
| titletext = I have a thing for corrupt women.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s mention of how porn did not scar him is a reference to [http://www.xxxchurch.com/ a lot of testimony on how porn has negatively affected people's lives]. Of course, the porn really did affect the way he looked at women. Due to dial-up being of such a slow speed, videos that needed to be transmitted via dial-up had to be compressed using a lossy format, which reduces file sizes substantially but also causes heavy data losses; the result being that the new decompressed file would not be of the same quality of the original uncompressed file. In this case, the lossy format eats away at the detail of the picture, which, during decompression, results in blocky artifacts in an attempt to "reconstruct" the lost data. Since he associated blocky pictures with arousal, he seems to have trouble enjoying sex with his comparatively hi-fi girlfriend. In other words, the porn really did scar him after all.

The title text expands on this, referencing {{w|file corruption}}. It is also a pun on female "corruption," or a woman's awareness of her sexuality.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is hunched up at a computer. A circle surrounds him; the rest of the panel is black. The text is written in a square panel above the white circle.]
:I shouldn't have watched all that porn as a teenager.

:[The text is above the picture in a square frame. A computer screen is shown. It displays an on-line video player, with what appears to be a Cueball-like guy performing cunnilingus on a Megan-like girl. Five other windows (maybe ads) are also visible, though what they depict is not clear. One of them has readable text above a picture (of what appear to be a fleshlight). The rest of the text, including a heading at the top, is unreadable. There is picture with a lady with "big" hair holding her arms out. She has two black blotches on each side of her body. Maybe representing her breast, perhaps in a bra.]
:It's not that it scarred me.
:Ad text: X 10

:[A modem is shown between the two text parts. The text is in two square frames.]
:It's just that we had dial-up.
:Modem: 14.4 kbps
:And now I'm stuck with a fetish.

:[Cueball and Megan are in bed together. The text above the picture is in a square frame.]
:For video compression.
:Cueball: Can you try to look... blockier?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Fleshlights]]
[[Category:Puns]]

1008: Suckville

2022-05-26T17:13:04Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 278368 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1008
| date = January 25, 2012
| title = Suckville
| image = suckville.png
| titletext = Suckville is considered by the Census Bureau to be part of the Detroit metropolitan statistical area, despite not being located anywhere near Detroit.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are playing a card game (probably {{w|Dominion (game)|Dominion}}) and Megan whips a common insult, a play on the word "suck" that adds a typical city name suffix to the end of it. Other variations are: "Losertown", "Lameville", etc.

The phrase is originally based on the ubiquitous signage you see along American roads that say "Welcome to Town X — Population Y".

Then, since Cueball one-ups Megan by indicating there is a city by that name, she can only resign herself to the fact that her smack talk did not work. Since Cueball knows where Suckville can be found in the census data, it's likely that he has received this insult in the past (maybe even from Megan) and searched through the census data to prepare a comeback for this time.

The title text informs the reader that Suckville is classified as part of the Detroit area despite not being located there. Detroit, of course, is the quintessential example of a city so run down, it might as well really be named "Suckville", or include a district of that name. In fact, the city only recently (2013) declared itself bankrupt.
(Fun fact: looking in the [https://data.census.gov/cedsci/ US Census] Suckville is "corrected" to {{w|Saukville, Wisconsin}}, which is indeed not particularly close to {{w|Detroit, Michigan}}. However the population of Saukville in the 2010 census is given as 4451 for the village, and 1755 for the surrounding town municipality.)

==Transcript==
:[Megan is kneeling on the floor, playing a card game.]
:Megan: Hah!
:Megan: Welcome to Suckville–population: ''You''.
:[In a frame-less panel, Cueball is sitting on the floor opposite her, also playing the game.]
:Cueball: Why are you using 2000 census data?
:Cueball: That's an old figure.
:[Megan turns around from the game to look at her laptop, which is sitting on the floor behind her.]
:Megan: I couldn't find Suckville in the 2010 census.
:Cueball: Huh? It's right there in SF-1 table P1.
:Megan: Oh. So it is.
:[Megan turns back to Cueball, who is looking at his cards.]
:Megan: Well, then.
:Megan: Welcome to Suckville–population: 83.
:Cueball: Much better.

==Trivia==
* Megan appears to have 3 arms and 4 legs in the third panel. This may indicate a movement between the cards and the laptop or just a drawing error.

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

1045: Constraints

2022-05-26T17:11:00Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 278192 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1045
| date = April 20, 2012
| title = Constraints
| image = constraints.png
| titletext = [title-text similarly alphabetized]
}}

==Explanation==
An {{w|epigram}} is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. {{w|Constrained writing}} is an age-old literary phenomenon, where writers impose rules or patterns in their works. {{w|Haiku}} is a well known example of this.

{{w|Twitter}} is a short message social network and communication service. At the time this comic was published, all messages (known as tweets) on the service needed to be under 140 characters. Until August 2015 even private messages had that restriction. Twitter is frequently used by well-known comedians as a place to make interesting jokes and observations. It should be noted that the limit is now 280 characters.

All the words spoken by [[Megan]], from "Yeah" to "alphabetization", are in reverse alphabetical order. Here are the starting letters (with extra letter when more than one word in a row begins with the same letter):
:Y, Wr, Wo, U, T, R, P, N, M, L, F, Ex, Ep, Em, B, A.

It both answers [[Cueball]]'s question and exemplifies with an ingenious {{w|self-reference}}, while being short enough (133 characters) to be a valid tweet — hence the "whoa."

The title text, "title-text similarly alphabetized", is also backwards-alphabetized and self-referential. Starting letters:
:Ti, Te, S, A.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits in an office chair at his computer desk, motioning toward the screen with a hand as Megan stands behind him.]
:Cueball: I don't get why authors and comedians spend so much energy trying to be clever on Twitter. Couldn't they put that creativity into more books and scripts?
:Cueball: Is there something they ''like'' about the 140-character format?

:[Same picture but in a frame-less panel, except Cueball has taken his arm down.]
:Megan: Yeah. Writers working under tight restrictions produce novel material—like, for example, epigrams employing backward alphabetization.

:[A slim panel with only Cueball at his computer desk shown.]
:Cueball: ...Whoa.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]

1401: New

2022-05-26T17:09:49Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 278190 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1401
| date = July 30, 2014
| title = New
| image = new.png
| titletext = The nice thing about headcannnons is that it's really easy to get other people to believe in them.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic strip uses a play on the {{w|homophone|homophonic}} relationship between "{{w|Canon_(fiction)|canon}}", the literary term, and "{{w|cannon}}", a projectile weapon. The word headcannon is a compound of "head" and "cannon".

In this strip, [[Black Hat]] tells [[Cueball]] that he has a "new headcannon". [[Cueball]], thinking Black Hat means "headcanon" (an unjustified belief or theory about a fictional universe), inquires what Black Hat's new idea is. Instead of the expected idea or theory, Black Hat removes his hat to reveal a tiny cannon on his head which blows away Cueball and his computer desk.

While headcanon may often be ignored or dismissed as a personal theory, a headcannon would be far harder to ignore, as it is a physical object which has a notable (and in this case violent) impact on the real world.

In the title text Randall makes the spellings of these two words indistinguishable by using three consecutive "n"s to spell "headcannnon". Therefore, the title text is deliberately vague. It could be interpreted that it is easy to convince people that you have a cannon on your head, that it is easy to make people believe in a self invented headcanons, or both. Since you are choosing your own interpretation of this title text, the joke is that you are creating your own headcanon.

This comic also shows Cueball being once again distracted from his work in a manner similar to [[1388: Subduction License]].

===Canon===
In terms of a given literary series, "''{{w|Canon_(fiction)|canon}}''" describes a set of works that are collectively recognized by the community as having authenticity. Generally, works created or endorsed by the original author(s) are considered canonical. Not all original content is considered canon and not all canon is original content. Sometimes creators will rewrite the canon (called a {{w|retcon}}) and make things that were previously canonical non-canonical. For example, the origins of a character may be rewritten, thus invalidating the portions of the works that speak to the old origins. Other times creators will incorporate non-original content and therefore incorporate the canon of these borrowed works.

===Headcanon===
A ''headcanon'' as the name implies is a form of canon that only exists in one's mind. More specifically, a headcanon is created when a consumer watching or reading the material develops their own ideas about a fictional universe that are not actually part of the canon, perhaps developing their own backstories or experiences for characters. Some frequent examples of headcanon include relationships between characters, abilities, events following the conclusion of the work, etc. which the author or creator has not explained or included. For example, a consumer may "read between the lines" and assume that there was a previous romantic relationship between two characters where no conclusive evidence actually exists of one. Some fans who come up with particularly interesting or convincing headcanons may decide to share them with others in hopes that their idea spreads.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat walks in.]
:Black Hat: New headcannon:

:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, using his computer.]
:Cueball: Yeah?

:[Black Hat lifts his hat, revealing his "headcannon": a tiny cannon on the top of his head. The headcannon fires and blows up Cueball's desk, the explosion throwing Cueball backwards.]
:Headcannon: '''BOOM'''
:Cueball: Augh!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Puns]]

296: Tony Hawk

2022-05-26T17:06:55Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 277884 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 296
| date = July 30, 2007
| title = Tony Hawk
| image = tony_hawk.png
| titletext = Bad idea #271: Dropping into the half-pipe on a Segway.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is seen using a hand-held game system, while on a skateboard. He is playing one of the many ''{{w|Tony Hawk's (series)|Tony Hawk}}'' titles in which you control a skater and perform tricks to gain points and achievements. While playing the game, he wants to simultaneously perform the trick in real life, both because it is exceptionally difficult to do both and because the game will give him praise when he does a trick successfully.

In the title text, Randall describes his Bad Idea #271: Dropping into the {{W|half-pipe}} on a {{w|Segway PT|Segway}}.
One imagines this would result in the Segway becoming unstable and going completely crazy, hence one would classify it as a "bad idea."
Which is surprisingly not the case; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvyHs4VmHs it even looks quite fun].
The Segway engineers obviously foresaw this situation and implemented the Segway controller with its tilt sensors accordingly.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Doing skateboard tricks in ''Tony Hawk'' while also doing them in real life.
:[Cueball moves towards a quarter pipe on his skateboard while manipulating his PSP.]
:''Beep''
:''Click''
:''Beep''

:[Cueball is in mid air having performed a Frontside 360°, both literally and on the PSP.]
:''♪ Frontside 360°! ♫''
:''Frontside 360°!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

296: Tony Hawk

2022-05-26T17:05:51Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 277750 by Donald Trump (talk)

2291: New Sports System

2022-05-26T17:04:51Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 277615 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2291
| date = April 8, 2020
| title = New Sports System
| image = new_sports_system.png
| titletext = Under my system, boxing and football suffered, pair figure skating still worked but had to adapt by dropping some moves, and pro wrestling was actually completely unaffected.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is the 16th comic in a row (not counting the [[2288: Collector's Edition|April Fools' comic]]) in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}.

As communities have been ordered to stay indoors to avoid spreading the virus, this has also affected sports leagues around the world, with many of them suspending their seasons, or cancelling them outright. (see {{w|Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on sports|this Wikipedia article}} for a full list of sports or sporting events impacted) Some leagues have instead promoted e-sports, such as the [https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2020-04-06/patrick-beverley-favorite-to-win-nba-2k-players-tournament NBA holding an ''NBA 2K20'' tournament between active NBA players].

[[Randall]], in this comic, proposes an obviously bad "new sports system" of "virtual sports", in which players play with a virtual ball in separate arenas, and are guided by online viewers. This obviously proves to be challenging, as the ball is virtual but the players are not wearing any virtual reality or augmented reality headsets, and thus they do not know how to interact with it properly. Playing in separate arenas would solve the problem of spreading the virus, as the players do not have any direct interactions with each other.

This would be a similar system to {{w|Twitch Plays Pokémon|Twitch Plays ''Pokémon''}}, in which Twitch viewers "play" ''Pokémon'' video games in a crowdsourced manner. There are also many games that are intentionally constructed so that some players must accomplish a goal they cannot see or with incomplete information, while they are guided by other players. These include common team-building exercises (often involving blindfolds), and the bomb-disposal themed puzzle game ''{{w|Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes}}''.

The NBA also is holding a similar idea, holding a {{w|Variations of basketball#H-O-R-S-E|Horse}} tournament among [https://www.nba.com/article/2020/04/09/nba-air-horse-challenge-espn NBA and WNBA players], which works better than the version of basketball shown in this comic because players don't need to interact with the same ball.

In the title text, Randall claims that boxing and football (he does not specify gridiron football or association football) proved to be difficult, with {{w|Pair skating|pairs figure skating}} still possible as long as figures like {{w|Figure skating lifts|elevations}} are removed, and {{w|professional wrestling}} being unaffected. Boxing and gridiron football would be impossible to play in these situations; on top of the difficulty of trying to play without knowing where the other players are located, these sports are predicated on contact. A boxer cannot get a knockout without being able to touch the other players, and football players cannot block or tackle even if they mime catching the ball. Association football, with less emphasis on contact, might still be playable, but would suffer at least from the same complications as basketball shown here. Pairs figure skating would be possible, excepting "throwing" moves or "lifts", as typically pairs figure skaters skate in unison, replicating the same moves.

Humorously, Randall claims that professional wrestling will be unaffected by his new system. This is in reference to the "open secret" that the matches have predetermined outcomes and are more "entertainment" than actual competition, with much of the 'forced' movement of one competitor being aided or even guided by the 'victim' rather than the 'aggressor' in semi-improvised feats of coordinated athleticism.

==Transcript==
:[Single wide frame representing a basketball court with a basketball hoop at each end. There are seven players running around the court, with a virtual ball in the bottom right corner (indicated as a dashed circle). Nine off-screen voices of "online viewers" are yelling instructions to the players. A caption is below the frame running nearly the full width of the frame.]

:Viewer One: No!
:Viewer Two: It's on the–
:Viewer Three: Look out!
:[A player with thick hair and a goatee is "air-shooting" into the left-hand basket.]
:Viewer Four: ''No!''
:[A player with thick hair is running to the right.]
:Viewer Five: He's right there
:Viewer Five: Don’t run into–
:[A player with no hair is air-dribbling to the right.]
:Viewer Six: Go ''left!''
:Viewer Seven: ''Left!''
:Viewer Eight: ''Riiight!''
:[A player with thick hair and a full beard is facing left and jumping, hands raised to intercept a ball.]
:[A player with no hair is facing left and crouching, reaching for a ball.]
:[A player with no hair is making an alley-oop motion towards the right-hand basket.]
:Viewer Nine: ''Stop dunking and find the ball!''
:[The virtual ball is slowly moving right, unseen by the players.]
:[A player is hanging on the rim of the basket, making a dunking motion.]

:Caption below the panel: No one liked my new sports system, in which each player is in a separate arena sharing a single virtual ball that they can't see while online viewers yell instructions, but it was fun to watch while it lasted.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2291: New Sports System

2022-05-26T17:02:45Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 277589 by Donald Trump (talk)

714: Porn For Women

2022-05-26T17:01:18Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 277538 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 714
| date = March 15, 2010
| title = Porn For Women
| image = porn_for_women.png
| titletext = Yes, there are a lot of longing looks across the bridge of Galactica first, but that's beside the point!
}}

==Explanation==
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0811855511 ''Porn for Women''] is a popular illustrated humor book that features exactly what the comic says.

There is an opinion that women especially dislike blunt porn that objectifies the people involved in the intercourse. The authors of the book follows this line, presenting no sex but several images of extremely attractive men performing household chores. Megan objects to this, stating that her porn contains sex.

''Galactica'' is the ship from the show {{w|Battlestar_Galactica_(2004_TV_series)|''Battlestar Galactica''}}. Megan likely has a romantic attraction to some of the characters on the show, possibly involving {{w|Shipping (fandom)|"shipping" fanfiction}}.

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits at a desk, typing on a computer with a fairly large flat-panel display.]
:Megan: To the authors of ''Porn for Women'':
:Your book features pictures of hot, clothed guys cooking, doing laundry and vacuuming.

:[Megan continues typing.]
:Megan: The idea seems to be that my deepest fantasies, like the rest of my life, likely revolve around housework.

:[Megan continues typing.]
:Megan: So I wanted to write in to clarify: in my porn,

:[Megan leans forward in her chair.]
:Megan: People ''fuck''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sex]]

2039: Begging the Question

2022-05-26T17:00:58Z

MasterOfTheTiger: Undo revision 277476 by Donald Trump (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2039
| date = August 29, 2018
| title = Begging the Question
| image = begging_the_question.png
| titletext = At least we can all agree on the enormity of this usage.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic makes fun of the constant battle between those who maintain a {{w|Linguistic prescription|prescriptive view of language}} and those who have a {{w|Linguistic description|descriptive view}}. In the prescriptive view, language has fixed rules and fixed usage, and any usage that does not adhere to established rules is incorrect. In the descriptive view however, language is malleable and any usage can be correct if it is common and understood by most people.

The comic specifically calls out two phrases which are commonly misused in the prescriptive sense, and whose meanings have changed in modern usage in the descriptive sense:

;Nauseous
''Nauseous'' in its supposedly 'proper' form means "causing {{w|nausea}}", while ''nauseated'' means affected with nausea.

Prescriptively speaking, it is only correct to use the word "nauseous" to describe the food item since that was the cause of Ponytail's nausea. Saying "the food made her nauseous" would be interpreted, by a prescriptivist, as meaning the food somehow caused her (her body, her appearance, etc.) to become so disgusting that she now causes other people to feel nausea. As White Hat states, the proper phrasing is that the "the food was nauseous", and it "made [her] nauseated".

Both historically and in modern usage, however, "nauseous" is a valid synonym of "nauseated". It is difficult, if not impossible, to cite an era of history when most people would not understand "she is nauseous" to mean she does not feel well.

;Begging the question
{{w|Begging the question}} originally referred to a logical fallacy where an argument assumed its conclusion. The phrase first meant to question (beg) the original question. In modern usage, it has come to mean to "raise a question or point that has not been dealt with". This is often a point of contention for prescriptivists. However, as the caption explains, Cueball has an entirely different meaning for this phrase that he created himself: "fight a losing battle against changing usage". This is actually a meta-meaning, as that is actually the common activity of prescriptivists who complain about incorrect usage; it's a losing battle, because language change is inevitable and unstoppable. And specifically, trying to preserve the original meaning of "begging the question" is a losing battle.

Ponytail might recognize that her exposure to nauseous food has both nauseated her and caused her to become nauseous to Cueball. The question is not merely begged, it is missed.

The title text also plays on another word commonly argued over by prescriptivists. "Enormity" in its classical usage means either extreme wickedness or a monstrous offense or evil, though it is more commonly used in modern writing as a synonym for enormousness (i.e. largeness in size). The title text exploits the lexical ambiguity that this creates.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and White Hat standing next to each other talking. White Hat has raised his hand while Cueball stands behind him.]
:Ponytail: That food made me nauseous.
:White Hat: No, the ''food'' was nauseous. It made you ''nauseated''.
:Cueball: Come on, you're just begging the question.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I annoy people on all sides by using "beg the question" to mean "fight a losing battle against changing usage".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Language]]