explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

689: FIRST Design

2017-06-05T13:26:24Z

Ornithikos: Possibility is not inevitability.

{{comic
| number = 689
| date = January 15, 2010
| title = FIRST Design
| image = first_design.png
| titletext = Pool on the roof must've sprung a leak.
}}

==Explanation==
Two members of a team are designing a robot for the 2010 {{w|FIRST Robotics Competition}}, in which teams design robots to push soccer balls into their team's goals. The final design for this team's robot is a trailer with a matchbook on a telescoping pole and the actual robot, a mobile platform with an umbrella on top and pusher in front.

This is an underhanded design, exploiting the presence of a heat-activated {{w|sprinkler system}} at the venue and lack of water resistance in the opposing team's equipment.

When the event starts, the robot moves off and deploys its umbrella. The trailer extends its arm, causing a lit match to set off the sprinkler, which causes the opposing robots to short out and malfunction. This allows the umbrella-protected robot to score goals without opposition.

This may also be referencing how FIRST is famous for its bending of the rules, as loopholes are not only not against the rules, they are encouraged. This would be shown best by how Team 67 designed a robot that utilized a loophole, which allowed them to control a robot using an Xbox Kinect during the time where the robot is supposed to be autonomous. (This loophole has been removed in the rules for more recent competitions.)

The title text is an excuse presented by the umbrella robot team, presumably because they won but are facing disqualification. This excuse seems weak because none of the venues have a rooftop pool. The comment "the pool on the roof must've sprung a leak" is a quote from the 1995 movie "Hackers".

==Transcript==
:Team Member 1 (out of panel): Wow, this is a much better design.
:Team Member 2 (out of panel): Let's build it.
:[A blueprint depicting a robot design for the FIRST competition. It consists of a standard mobile platform, with a pusher blade at the front. Additional parts include an umbrella on top and a trailer unit consisting a telescoping pole with a matchbox and match on top.]

:Referee (out of panel): Go!
:''CLICK''
:[A FIRST competition field, with teams at opposite ends. Various robots appear on the field, and the team whose design appears above activates their robot.]

:[The robot's trailer unit detaches as the telescoping pole begins to extend, and the mobile platform with umbrella rolls forward.]
:''VRRR''
:''CLICK''

:[Telescoping pole extends further.]
:''VRRRR''

:[Telescoping pole extends further.]
:''VRRRR''

:[Telescoping pole extends further, approaching a sprinkler head fixture.]
:''VRRR''

:[Telescoping pole stops extending, placing the matchbox and match very near the sprinkler head fixture.]

:[The mobile platform stops moving.]

:[The umbrella deploys, extending beyond the dimensions of the mobile platform.]
:''FWOOMP''

:[The match box and match are lit beneath the sprinkler head.]
:''FWOOSH''

:[The heat from the match triggers the sprinkler's valve, and water sprays out of the sprinkler into the room below.]
:''PSSSSHH''

:[Water pours from the sprinkler onto the competition field, causing the electrical components of the opposing team's robotics platform to short and malfunction. The opposing team appears distressed and confused.]
:''FZZZT''
:''BWooooooo!!!''

:[The initial robot, still protected by its umbrella, pushes along the balls toward the goal zone without any difficulty.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Soccer]]

Talk:1668: Singularity

2016-04-17T03:32:57Z

Ornithikos: Fixum

Incidentally, [http://craphound.com/rotn/Cory_Doctorow_and_Charles_Stross_-_Rapture_of_the_Nerds.html Rapture of the Nerds] mentions [[1664: Mycology|Toxoplasma gondii]] in passing. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 13:19, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

Great! Who brought Roko's Basilisk into this?! Now we to delete the entire Explain in order to contain this threat. >:( There needs to be an internet rule that forbids the discussion of the basilisk. Except that such a rule only furthers its creation. Augh!!![[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:13, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

;Quantum gravity

Is there something more to this joke than the comedy of public nudity? With Munroe there usually is. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.25|141.101.80.25]] 13:46, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

: {{w|Naked singularity}}. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 13:50, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

::Ahh, I missed the Naked singularity joke. Good catch. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 14:53, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

::: The "incomplete" tag ("Haven't explained title text") should be removed, it is no longer needed. The title text is surely a reference to the physics rule that black holes always have event horizons (the naked singularity is never exposed to the rest of the universe), as noted in the final paragraph (as of this writing). {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.20}}

: I just realized, Randall's characters are effectively almost naked! (They may wear hats, but clothing is only drawn for effect, such as a flower-printed sun dress, or an open trench coat.) {{unsigned ip|108.162.220.227}}

It looks like this is a continuation of comic #1084: Server Problem, which ends with Megan suggesting Cueball should shut down his laptop and wait for the singularity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.96|108.162.245.96]] 16:35, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

:It doesn't. First, in 1084, cueball was working on a server problem, but in this, he is editing a file. Second, in this one, there is no sight of any tech problems. Just because both mention the singularity does not mean that this is a continuation. [[User:HisHighestMinion|HisHighestMinion]] ([[User talk:HisHighestMinion|talk]]) 19:55, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

The "Yup/Nope" combo reminds me of "Choices (Yup)" by E-40. I'd link it but: ads. The hook seems to match like staying rich, not selling your soul and not worrying about what anyone thinks, while the phone's apparently "broke". [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 05:32, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

While singularity does involve artificial intelligence surpassing humans, I don't think this involves personal computers in any way. Unless minimal requirements for new games get really high, personal computers wouldn't have nearly enough computation power for AI. Cloud servers, maybe. Don't store your stuff in cloud, you may lose it in singularity. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 14:23, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

:It could be distributed computing. [[User:HisHighestMinion|HisHighestMinion]] ([[User talk:HisHighestMinion|talk]]) 19:55, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

:You might not actually lose the data in the cloud in case of singularity. However, it might be used by the AI to make you do stuff against your wishes - like buying things online. Wait....! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.50|162.158.255.50]] 00:14, 17 April 2016 (UTC)

1668: Singularity

2016-04-17T03:26:26Z

Ornithikos: The smartphone doesn't chase the laptop, or return therefrom.

{{comic
| number = 1668
| date = April 15, 2016
| title = Singularity
| image = singularity.png
| titletext = I figured that now that society has collapsed, I wouldn't need to wear clothes anymore, but apparently that violates some weird rule of quantum gravity.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Is there more to the conversation with the phone?}}
The {{w|technological singularity}} is a hypothetical event in which {{w|artificial intelligence}} (for example, intelligent computers, computer networks, or robots) would be capable of recursive self-improvement (progressively redesigning itself), or of autonomously building ever smarter and more powerful minds than itself, up to the point of a runaway effect — an intelligence explosion — that yields an intelligence surpassing all current human control or understanding. Because the capabilities of such a superintelligence may be impossible for a human to comprehend, the technological singularity is the point beyond which events may become unpredictable or even unfathomable to human intelligence.

In this case, the singularity has occurred, and [[Cueball]] who was in the middle of editing a file on his laptop is flustered that it flies away without even letting him print it first.

When Cueball returns from chasing his flying laptop his smartphone informs him that it didn't join the singularity because it was not a "true believer". This could be a joke on how desktop computers and laptops have different standards, use patterns, etc. from those of phones. It then claims that now it and Cueball will have to face the {{w|Great Tribulation|tribulation}} since it has stayed behind. Cueball says that's great, but since he cannot use his laptop anymore he decides he will go and read a {{w|book}} or something. The way he phrases it suggest he doesn't really know what to do now that he doesn't have a computer. It is probably a long time since he read a book, or did anything else that doesn't involve computers. He informs his phone that it can yell if it needs him (although it would have been funnier if he had asked it to ''call him'' <sup>[[[285|''citation needed'']]]</sup>).

The rising up of the laptop into the air, and the remaining behind of the phone, are probably references to the {{w|Rapture}}, where some Christian denominations believe that at the second coming of Christ, true believers will be taken up bodily from this world. Some depictions have them disappear, while others show them physically rising up into the air. This will leave behind non-believers to face a time of tribulation, in which the ones left behind will be given a second chance to accept Christ as their savior.

The singularity has often been referred to as "the Rapture of the nerds," a phrase coined by {{w|Ken MacLeod}} in his 1998 novel ''[http://www.amazon.com/Cassini-Division-Fall-Revolution-Series/dp/1857237307 The Cassini Division]''. As the Christian Rapture is traditionally depicted to involve believers being assumed bodily into Heaven, the technological singularity is often depicted to feature humans and machines being incorporated into a new "post-human" entity. The humor in this strip comes from depicting the singularity as a ''literal'' "Rapture of the nerds," or at least of the nerds' devices—instead of merging with humans, the machines physically rise up into the air, and the "nonbeliever" phone is left behind.

Another possible understanding of "The Tribulation" may be a reference to [http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk Roko's Basilisk][http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/07/roko_s_basilisk_the_most_terrifying_thought_experiment_of_all_time.html] where a malevolent AI is created that retroactively punishes everybody who didn't actively work towards its creation.

The title text is a pun on another meaning of both singularity, i.e. a {{w|gravitational singularity}} and "collapse". In this case, society has literally collapsed under its own gravity into an infinitely small point - in other words, it's formed a {{w|black hole}}. A black hole is covered by an event horizon; without the event horizon (it's close), it would be called a "{{w|naked singularity}}", which is forbidden in most theories by the {{w|cosmic censorship hypothesis}}. As Cueball is now inside the collapsed society singularity then even though he wants to go around naked, he can't because the theory of {{w|quantum gravity}}, that (eventually) should explain how black holes behave - won't let him.

It seems that this may be a subject on [[Randall|Randall's]] mind. The last comic was about the increasing complexities of algorithms ([[1667: Algorithms]]) (which like this comic also refers to religion), and two comics ago it was [[1666: Brain Upload]], which some speculate could be a way to reach the singularity. Earlier this year, a comic also touched upon judgment day by AI singularity in [[1626: Judgment Day]]. See also [[1046: Skynet]] and [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]] as well as the several other [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|comics about AI]].

The rather more niche topic of laptops flying away has also been covered before by [[1395: Power Cord]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk typing on his laptop when an off-screen voice calls to him and then the laptop answers.]
:Off-screen voice: Oh, hey-
:Off-screen voice: The singularity is here.
:Cueball: Really?
:Laptop: Yup!

:[A frameless panel where the laptop rises (by its own means as indicated by small lines around the corners) from the desk while Cueball, holding on to it, is being lifted off his chair.]
:Cueball: Wait, I just-
:Laptop: ''So long, suckers!''

:[Cueball is running around his desk, which is only partly shown behind him as he tries to follow his now flying laptop as it flies away from him to the right. He still has one hand on the keys as more small lines indicates the movement of the laptop and a longer line indicates the direction that the laptop flies.]
:Cueball: Can I just print a copy of the file I was-
:Laptop: ''Nope!''

:[Cueball just stands and looks after his laptop that has flown out of this beat panel.]

:[Cueball turns back towards left.]

:[Cueball walks back left.]

:[Cueball enters a room where a table is standing with his smartphone lying on top. the phone talks to him.]
:Phone: Hi!
:Cueball: Phone? You're still here?

:[A wider view of the table where the phone continues to talks to Cueball who in the end turns right and walks away as he replies.]
:Phone: I was not a true believer. Now, together, we must face the tribulation!
:Cueball: Okay, cool.
:Cueball: I'm gonna go look for a book or something, but yell if you need me, I guess.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Religion]]

1598: Salvage

2015-11-03T17:11:18Z

Ornithikos: As it was.

{{comic
| number = 1598
| date = November 2, 2015
| title = Salvage
| image = salvage.png
| titletext = My hobby: Taking advantage of the rice myth by posting articles on "how to save your wet phone" which are actually just elaborate recipes for rice pilaf.
}}

==Explanation==

The {{w|RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic''}} was a large ocean liner which, when it was completed in 1912, was the largest ship afloat. The ship famously hit an {{w|Iceberg|iceberg}} on its maiden voyage and sank, killing two-thirds of its complement (approximately 1,500 people) in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters ever.

As it sank, the ''Titanic'' broke into two pieces. The ship was lost for decades until the {{w|Wreck of the RMS Titanic|wreck site}} was discovered in 1985. A number of proposals have been made to salvage the wreck of the ''Titanic'' both before and since the wreck's discovery, famously fictionalised in the thriller novel and film {{w|Raise the Titanic!|''Raise the Titanic!''}} There could be a joke on this title as in ''Rice'' the Titanic, even though it would not be possible to mistake the two words when spoken. This comic may play on the dual meaning of the word "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salvage salvage]" in respect of {{w|Salvage data|electronics}} and {{w|Marine salvage|maritime wrecks}}.

The general consensus at this time is that the wreck is too fragile to be salvaged intact. Numerous expeditions have been made to the wreck site since its discovery, with several parties (without any outside authorization) taking various artifacts from the site. A popular view is that the wreck is effectively a mass grave and that plundering the site for profitable artifacts is akin to grave-robbing. Most believe the wreck should be left where it is, intact. That said, explorers have already done notable damage to the wreck.

This comic shows a fictional attempt to salvage the two main pieces of the ''Titanic'' wreck, which, as it likely would in real life, garners media coverage as a 'historic salvage'. The salvage seems to consist of several ships raising the hull via cables attached to some sort of buoyant sled placed under the hull (as might actually happen). This is followed by helicopters carrying the hull in unison, again via cables to the cradle (a much less practical operation). The hull halves are then dropped into a giant tub of rice. The entire salvage attempt is increasingly cartoonish and unrealistic, but the tub of rice takes this to another level. Also, the two parts of the Titanic collapsed when hitting the sea floor, and thus could not be moved as shown in the comic. See this video of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSGeskFzE0s How Titanic Sank].

The punchline to the comic references the "rice myth," a popularly disseminated method of salvaging consumer electronics (usually cell phones) which have been submerged in water. (See [http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2013/november/researchshowsriceistheanswerforawetmobile.php Research Shows Rice is the Answer for a Wet Mobile]). The method entails burying the wet device in a bowl of rice. This process is commonly claimed to dry the device, but investigation reveals that it isn't true.

The comic suggests that the wreck of the Titanic would benefit from being dried as quickly as possible, but this would probably not benefit a large ocean wreck. Surviving non-metallic material on board the ship may not benefit at all from drying. Far more ancient shipwrecks are best preserved by keeping the recovered timbers ''wet'' (but progressively desalinated, where applicable), cool and anoxic, at least while conserving chemicals such as {{w|Polyethylene glycol}} are infused into the wood to allow safe and gradual drying without causing further damage. Leather, cloth and other organic remains may have variations on this regime. Thus the rice might benefit an electronic device briefly exposed to water, but is not likely to benefit a ship that has been immersed for over a century, where the interest is in more than merely stabilizing the remaining metal hull and infrastructure.

The title text tells of another [[:Category:My Hobby|hobby]] of [[Randall|Randall's]]. He likes to take advantage of the "rice myth" to post fake articles on how to save your wet cell phone. But the instructions turn out to be elaborate recipes for rice {{w|Pilaf}}. It is thus clear that he considers the 'rice' method of electronic salvage to be a myth. There are numerous online discussions of the technique with mixed levels of success. Critically, where rice is tested against other methods, rice appears to perform worse than other methods. Controlled experiments on this topic tend to show that {{w|silica gel}} (aka the "Do Not Eat" {{w|Silica_gel#Desiccant|packets}} often found in boxes with electronics or pharmaceuticals) is the most effective drying agent, with mixed results for rice. (see [http://smartphones.wonderhowto.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/ Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone]).

==Transcript==
:[Megan is shown standing at the rail of a ship with a microphone reporting the event shown in the background. A small helicopter and a larger two rotor model, lowering a rope with hook, are hovering over a crane ship with its hook down line going down in the water. It is depicted like a news screen as seen on TV. Below Megan are two headings. The first in a white insert with double frame, and the other written in white over the gray ocean water.]
:Historic Salvage
:Live

:[Four crane ships are shown lifting the bow part of the RMS Titanic. There are pontoons beneath the ship to help it float up. The name of the ship can be seen.]
:RMS Titanic

:[Both parts of the Titanic are now flown by helicopters, four for the stern and five for the bow. One helicopter for each part is a two rotor model. Ropes go from the helicopters down on each side of the ship parts to pontoons below them. Below in the ocean there are two crane ships.]

:[The two parts of the ship is now lowered in to a huge bowl of rice (labeled) standing at the coast just out of the ocean, which can be seen to the left. One of the five helicopters for the bow is missing. For scale there are drawn two trees to the left, and something is parked to the right, maybe a truck.]
:Rice

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

1598: Salvage

2015-11-03T17:10:18Z

Ornithikos: A little more day music.

{{comic
| number = 1598
| date = November 2, 2015
| title = Salvage
| image = salvage.png
| titletext = My hobby: Taking advantage of the rice myth by posting articles on "how to save your wet phone" which are actually just elaborate recipes for rice pilaf.
}}

==Explanation==

The {{w|RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic''}} was a large ocean liner which, when it was completed in 1912, was the largest ship afloat. The ship famously hit an {{w|Iceberg|iceberg}} on its maiden voyage and sank, killing two-thirds of its complement (approximately 1,500 people) in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters ever.

As it sank, the ''Titanic'' broke into two pieces. The ship was lost for decades until the {{w|Wreck of the RMS Titanic|wreck site}} was discovered in 1985. A number of proposals have been made to salvage the wreck of the ''Titanic'' both before and since the wreck's discovery, famously fictionalised in the thriller novel and film {{w|Raise the Titanic!|''Raise the Titanic!''}} There could be a joke on this title as in ''Rice'' the Titanic, even though it would not be possible to mistake the two words when spoken. This comic may play on the dual meaning of the word "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salvage salvage]" in respect of {{w|Salvage data|electronics}} and {{w|Marine salvage|maritime wrecks}}.

The general consensus at this time is that the wreck is too fragile to be salvaged intact. Numerous expeditions have been made to the wreck site since its discovery, with several parties (without any outside authorization) taking various artifacts from the site. A popular view is that the wreck is effectively a mass grave and that plundering the site for profitable artifacts is akin to grave-robbing. Most believe the wreck should be left where it is, intact. That said, explorers have already done notable damage to the wreck.

This comic shows a fictional attempt to salvage the two main pieces of the ''Titanic'' wreck, which, as it likely would in real life, garners media coverage as a 'historic salvage'. The salvage seems to consist of several ships raising the hull via cables attached to some sort of buoyant sled placed under the hull (as might actually happen). This is followed by helicopters carrying the hull in unison, again via cables to the cradle (a much less practical operation). The hull halves are then dropped into a giant tub of rice. The entire salvage attempt is increasingly cartoonish and unrealistic, but the tub of rice takes this to another level. Also, the two parts of the Titanic collapsed when hitting the sea floor, and thus could not be moved as shown in the comic. See this video of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSGeskFzE0s How Titanic Sank].

The punchline to the comic references the "rice myth," a popularly disseminated method of salvaging consumer electronics (usually cell phones) which have been submerged in water. (See [http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2013/november/researchshowsriceistheanswerforawetmobile.php Research Shows Rice is the Answer for a Wet Mobile]). The method entails burying the wet device in a bowl of rice. This process is commonly claimed to dry the device, but investigation reveals that it isn't true.

The comic suggests that the wreck of the Titanic would benefit from being dried as quickly as possible, but this would probably not benefit a large ocean wreck. Surviving non-metallic material on board the ship may not benefit at all from drying. Far more ancient shipwrecks are best preserved by keeping the recovered timbers ''wet'' (but progressively desalinated, where applicable), cool and anoxic, at least while conserving chemicals such as {{w|Polyethylene glycol}} are infused into the wood to allow safe and gradual drying without causing further damage. Leather, cloth and other organic remains may have variations on this regime. Thus the rice might benefit an electronic device briefly exposed to water, but is not likely to benefit a ship that has been immersed for over a century, where the interest is in more than merely stabilizing the remaining metal hull and infrastructure.

The title text tells of another [[:Category:My Hobby|hobby]] of [[Randall|Randalls]]. He likes to take advantage of the "rice myth" to post fake articles on how to save your wet cell phone. But the instructions turn out to be elaborate recipes for rice {{w|Pilaf}}. It is thus clear that he considers the 'rice' method of electronic salvage to be a myth. There are numerous online discussions of the technique with mixed levels of success. Critically, where rice is tested against other methods, rice appears to perform worse than other methods. Controlled experiments on this topic tend to show that {{w|silica gel}} (aka the "Do Not Eat" {{w|Silica_gel#Desiccant|packets}} often found in boxes with electronics or pharmaceuticals) is the most effective drying agent, with mixed results for rice. (see [http://smartphones.wonderhowto.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/ Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone]).

==Transcript==
:[Megan is shown standing at the rail of a ship with a microphone reporting the event shown in the background. A small helicopter and a larger two rotor model, lowering a rope with hook, are hovering over a crane ship with its hook down line going down in the water. It is depicted like a news screen as seen on TV. Below Megan are two headings. The first in a white insert with double frame, and the other written in white over the gray ocean water.]
:Historic Salvage
:Live

:[Four crane ships are shown lifting the bow part of the RMS Titanic. There are pontoons beneath the ship to help it float up. The name of the ship can be seen.]
:RMS Titanic

:[Both parts of the Titanic are now flown by helicopters, four for the stern and five for the bow. One helicopter for each part is a two rotor model. Ropes go from the helicopters down on each side of the ship parts to pontoons below them. Below in the ocean there are two crane ships.]

:[The two parts of the ship is now lowered in to a huge bowl of rice (labeled) standing at the coast just out of the ocean, which can be seen to the left. One of the five helicopters for the bow is missing. For scale there are drawn two trees to the left, and something is parked to the right, maybe a truck.]
:Rice

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

1598: Salvage

2015-11-03T17:05:31Z

Ornithikos: "Even more" than what? Anglicize where needed.

{{comic
| number = 1598
| date = November 2, 2015
| title = Salvage
| image = salvage.png
| titletext = My hobby: Taking advantage of the rice myth by posting articles on "how to save your wet phone" which are actually just elaborate recipes for rice pilaf.
}}

==Explanation==

The {{w|RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic''}} was a large ocean liner which, when it was completed in 1912, was the largest ship afloat. The ship famously hit an {{w|Iceberg|iceberg}} on its maiden voyage and sank, killing two-thirds of its complement (approximately 1,500 people) in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters ever.

As it sank, the ''Titanic'' broke into two pieces. The ship was lost for decades until the {{w|Wreck of the RMS Titanic|wreck site}} was discovered in 1985. A number of proposals have been made to salvage the wreck of the ''Titanic'' both before and since the wreck's discovery, famously fictionalised in the thriller novel and film {{w|Raise the Titanic!|''Raise the Titanic!''}} (There could be a joke on this title as in ''Rice'' the Titanic, even though it would not be possible to mistake the two words when spoken). This comic may play on the dual meaning of the word "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/salvage salvage]" in respect of {{w|Salvage data|electronics}} and {{w|Marine salvage|maritime wrecks}}.

The general consensus at this time is that the wreck is too fragile to be salvaged intact. Numerous expeditions have been made to the wreck site since its discovery, with several parties (without any outside authorization) taking various artifacts from the site. A popular view is that the wreck is effectively a mass grave and that plundering the site for profitable artifacts is akin to grave-robbing. Most believe the wreck should be left where it is, intact. That said, explorers have already done notable damage to the wreck.

This comic shows a fictional attempt to salvage the two main pieces of the ''Titanic'' wreck, which, as it likely would in real life, garners media coverage as a 'historic salvage'. The salvage seems to consist of several ships raising the hull via cables attached to some sort of buoyant sled placed under the hull (as might actually happen). This is followed by helicopters carrying the hull in unison, again via cables to the cradle (a much less practical operation). The hull halves are then dropped into a giant tub of rice. The entire salvage attempt is increasingly cartoonish and unrealistic, but the tub of rice takes this to another level. Also, the two parts of the Titanic collapsed when hitting the sea floor, and thus could not be moved as shown in the comic. See this video of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSGeskFzE0s How Titanic Sank].

The punchline to the comic references the "rice myth," a popularly disseminated method of salvaging consumer electronics (usually cell phones) which have been submerged in water. (See [http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2013/november/researchshowsriceistheanswerforawetmobile.php Research Shows Rice is the Answer for a Wet Mobile]). The method entails burying the wet device in a bowl of rice. This process is commonly claimed to dry the device, but investigation reveals that it isn't true.

The comic suggests that the wreck of the Titanic would benefit from being dried as quickly as possible, but this would probably not benefit a large ocean wreck. Surviving non-metallic material on board the ship may not benefit at all from drying. Far more ancient shipwrecks are best preserved by keeping the recovered timbers ''wet'' (but progressively desalinated, where applicable), cool and as anoxic, at least while conserving chemicals such as {{w|Polyethylene glycol}} are infused into the wood to allow safe and gradual drying without causing further damage. Leather, cloth and other organic remains may have variations on this regime. Thus the rice might benefit an electronic device briefly exposed to water, but is not likely to benefit a ship that has been immersed for over a century, where the interest is in more than merely stabilizing the remaining metal hull and infrastructure.

The title text tells of another [[:Category:My Hobby|hobby]] of [[Randall|Randalls]]. He likes to take advantage of the "rice myth" to post fake articles on how to save your wet cell phone. But the instructions turn out to be elaborate recipes for rice {{w|Pilaf}}. It is thus clear that he considers the 'rice' method of electronic salvage to be a myth. There are numerous online discussions of the technique with mixed levels of success. Critically, where rice is tested against other methods, rice appears to perform worse than other methods. Controlled experiments on this topic tend to show that {{w|silica gel}} (aka the "Do Not Eat" {{w|Silica_gel#Desiccant|packets}} often found in boxes with electronics or pharmaceuticals) is the most effective drying agent, with mixed results for rice. (see [http://smartphones.wonderhowto.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/ Myth Debunked: Uncooked Rice Isn't the Best Way to Save Your Water-Damaged Phone]).

==Transcript==
:[Megan is shown standing at the rail of a ship with a microphone reporting the event shown in the background. A small helicopter and a larger two rotor model, lowering a rope with hook, are hovering over a crane ship with its hook down line going down in the water. It is depicted like a news screen as seen on TV. Below Megan are two headings. The first in a white insert with double frame, and the other written in white over the gray ocean water.]
:Historic Salvage
:Live

:[Four crane ships are shown lifting the bow part of the RMS Titanic. There are pontoons beneath the ship to help it float up. The name of the ship can be seen.]
:RMS Titanic

:[Both parts of the Titanic are now flown by helicopters, four for the stern and five for the bow. One helicopter for each part is a two rotor model. Ropes go from the helicopters down on each side of the ship parts to pontoons below them. Below in the ocean there are two crane ships.]

:[The two parts of the ship is now lowered in to a huge bowl of rice (labeled) standing at the coast just out of the ocean, which can be seen to the left. One of the five helicopters for the bow is missing. For scale there are drawn two trees to the left, and something is parked to the right, maybe a truck.]
:Rice

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

User:Ornithikos

2012-12-06T04:48:52Z

Ornithikos: Created page with "==Checkershadow illusion== File:Checkershadow.png See [http://persci.mit.edu/gallery/checkershadow Adelson's source page]."

==Checkershadow illusion==

[[File:Checkershadow.png]]

See [http://persci.mit.edu/gallery/checkershadow Adelson's source page].

User talk:Ornithikos

2012-12-06T04:47:36Z

Ornithikos: Created page with "The Gostak Distims the Doshes!"

The Gostak Distims the Doshes!