explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

583: CNR

2019-12-08T21:13:58Z

Passerby: /* Explanation */ Fixed type

{{comic
| number = 583
| date = May 13, 2009
| title = CNR
| image = cnr.png
| titletext = Can't and shouldn't.
}}

==Explanation==
"Could not reproduce" (CNR as per the title) is used here as a {{w|double entendre}}. Because the reported bug is that speech recognition failed on a young child's voice, the programmers attempt to reproduce (biologically) in order to have a child to use as a test subject to understand and fix the bug, starting by reproducing it (the bug). However the attempt fails, as shown by the negative pregnancy test, and therefore the bug report is closed with the reason being "could not reproduce": they could not reproduce the bug because they could not reproduce biologically.

Nowadays, developers of software usually have a centralized repository of bugs which generally uses one of a handful of standard interfaces for tracking problems and desired features in software. There is usually a quick way of removing pending items from this system by changing the status to closed and selecting a reason from perhaps a dropdown list. "Could not reproduce" is a standard reason provided in almost all of these systems, so the novel pun provides extra humor to software developers. This reason also shows up in comic [[937: TornadoGuard]].

The secondary joke is that Megan has chosen a ridiculous method of obtaining a child for the relatively simple task of testing the software. The obvious solution is to find a pre-existing child to use; giving birth to (and, presumably, raising) a child would burden the programmers with serious expenses, health concerns, and responsibilities; and it would take years before the child would be able to speak clearly enough to use the program.

The title-text "Can't and shouldn't" qualifies the bug report, meaning that the programmers not only could not reproduce, they also should not reproduce, as their reasons for doing so shows they have exceedingly bad judgment. (They also have poor child-rearing skills, as demonstrated in comic [[674: Natural Parenting]].)

==Transcript==
:[Megan is sitting at a computer.]
:Computer: Speech2Text Commander
:Computer: Bug #167801
:Computer: Speech recognition fails on young child voices.
:Megan: Hmm.

:[The view enlarges to show a man sitting at another desk.]
:Megan: Hey, can you do me without a condom? We need a young child for something.
:Cueball: Okay.

:[A pregnancy test is displayed. The label indicates not pregnant.]
:Pregnant
:Not pregnant

:[Megan is typing on the computer.]
:Megan typing: Bug #167801
:Megan typing: Status: Closed
:Megan typing: Reason: Could not reproduce.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2206: Mavis Beacon

2019-09-28T11:52:16Z

Passerby: /* Explanation */ Adjusted Wikipedia link as link macro

{{comic
| number = 2206
| date = September 23, 2019
| title = Mavis Beacon
| image = mavis_beacon.png
| titletext = There are actually lowercase-like 'oldstyle' forms of normal numbers with more pronounced ascenders and descenders, which is why some numbers like '5' in books sometimes dangle below the line. But the true capital numbers remain the domain of number maven Mavis Beacon.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is being congratulated by the game he plays, ''Mavis Beacon'', on his computer, because he has beaten the end boss and unlocked a new ability - the ability to type capital numbers...

''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}'' is a computer game first released in 1987, with the goal of teaching touch-typing and improving typing speed on a computer keyboard. Unlike many video games, ''Mavis Beacon'' contains no combat and therefore does not feature any "{{w|Boss_(video_gaming)#Final_boss|end boss}}" (a very powerful enemy encountered as the final challenge of the game). In many video games, defeating major opponents "unlocks" special features, such as improved weapons. Also, playing ''Mavis Beacon'', although it may improve typing skill, has no effect on how typing works on one's computer.

In the caption, however, [[Randall]] asserts that after 30 years of playing ''Mavis Beacon'', he encountered and defeated such a boss. Playing the same game for 30 years is rare{{Citation needed}}. Regardless, Randall claims that defeating this "end boss" unlocked an ability to type esoteric "capital numbers," which Randall depicts as more extravagant versions of the familiar numerals. Although modern {{w|Latin letters}} have different {{w|letter case}} (i.e. capital or upper case and small or lower-case), {{w|Arabic numerals}} - the conventional numerals 0-9 used in the Western world - do not.

Stating that the game is old enough that it could have been played for 30 years, could be another attempt at making people, who actually did play the game in the early days, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|feel old]]. But this doesn't seem to be the main point of the comic.

Typing such numerals is said to require pressing the Alt, tilde (~), Scroll Lock, and numeral keys at the same time. Some keyboard layouts do not have a scroll lock key or a separate tilde key (such that pressing ~ actually requires pressing a shift/{{w|Modifier key|modifier}} key along with the ~ key), and in any event pressing four or five keys at once would be quite difficult. Needless to say, pressing all those keys simultaneously does not, in fact, do anything like what the comics describes in any known computer system, though some smaller subset of those keys together (i.e. "Alt ~" or "Alt numeral-key") might activate other operating system or user-defined shortcuts.

Keyboards vary in how many simultaneous key presses they can process ({{w|Rollover (key)|rollover}}). Computer keyboards for English may be limited to as few as 3 simultaneous keys, whereas other languages or higher quality keyboards may be able to handle an unlimited number of keys at once. (A musical keyboard might need to handle 10 or more simultaneous keys, likewise gaming or braille keyboards may need to handle many simultaneous keys.)

In the title text, Randall notes that [https://www.bamagazine.com/Text-type-typeface-s/105.htm certain typefaces] feature {{w|text figures}}, numerals that have ascenders and descenders, much as lower-case letters do, rather than all standing at the full X-height like capital letters. He then goes on to joke that, conversely, there are true "capital numerals," but they are a guarded secret of Mavis Beacon. {{w|Mavis Beacon (character)|Mavis Beacon}} was the character created as the typing instructor for the ''Mavis Beacon'' game, and is fictional, not a real person. Additionally, as a typing instructor, this person (even if she actually existed) would not be able to change typographical standards. Randall's description of Mavis Beacon as a "number {{w|maven}}" (that is, expert or connoisseur) contrasts with her supposed field of expertise in typing, which involves letters and punctuation more than numbers.

The comic itself hotlinks to this article: [https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-3/numbers/oldstyle-figures Oldstyle Figures]. It is about oldstyle/text figures.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk in front of his computer reading a message that is shown coming from the screen with a zigzag line, going to the text above him. The two upper lines (of five) are separated from the lines below, but connected with a small zigzag line. The computer short cut is written in three boxes. The last line is the numbers from 1 to 9 and 0, in a highly stylized format but recognizable in this context. The digits are shown below in their standard appearance since the stylized versions cannot be reproduced in this transcript.]
:Congratulations.
:Use this power wisely.

:Key Code (secret!!):
:<kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>Tilde</kbd> + <kbd>Scroll Lock</kbd> + Number
:1234567890

:[Caption below the panel:]
:After 30 years, I finally beat the end boss of ''Mavis Beacon'' and unlocked the ability to type capital numbers.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

2206: Mavis Beacon

2019-09-28T11:44:41Z

Passerby: /* Explanation */ Added clarification for the phrase "shift key"

{{comic
| number = 2206
| date = September 23, 2019
| title = Mavis Beacon
| image = mavis_beacon.png
| titletext = There are actually lowercase-like 'oldstyle' forms of normal numbers with more pronounced ascenders and descenders, which is why some numbers like '5' in books sometimes dangle below the line. But the true capital numbers remain the domain of number maven Mavis Beacon.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is being congratulated by the game he plays, ''Mavis Beacon'', on his computer, because he has beaten the end boss and unlocked a new ability - the ability to type capital numbers...

''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}'' is a computer game first released in 1987, with the goal of teaching touch-typing and improving typing speed on a computer keyboard. Unlike many video games, ''Mavis Beacon'' contains no combat and therefore does not feature any "{{w|Boss_(video_gaming)#Final_boss|end boss}}" (a very powerful enemy encountered as the final challenge of the game). In many video games, defeating major opponents "unlocks" special features, such as improved weapons. Also, playing ''Mavis Beacon'', although it may improve typing skill, has no effect on how typing works on one's computer.

In the caption, however, [[Randall]] asserts that after 30 years of playing ''Mavis Beacon'', he encountered and defeated such a boss. Playing the same game for 30 years is rare{{Citation needed}}. Regardless, Randall claims that defeating this "end boss" unlocked an ability to type esoteric "capital numbers," which Randall depicts as more extravagant versions of the familiar numerals. Although modern {{w|Latin letters}} have different {{w|letter case}} (i.e. capital or upper case and small or lower-case), {{w|Arabic numerals}} - the conventional numerals 0-9 used in the Western world - do not.

Stating that the game is old enough that it could have been played for 30 years, could be another attempt at making people, who actually did play the game in the early days, [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|feel old]]. But this doesn't seem to be the main point of the comic.

Typing such numerals is said to require pressing the Alt, tilde (~), Scroll Lock, and numeral keys at the same time. Some keyboard layouts do not have a scroll lock key or a separate tilde key (such that pressing ~ actually requires pressing a shift/[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modifier_key modifier] key along with the ~ key), and in any event pressing four or five keys at once would be quite difficult. Needless to say, pressing all those keys simultaneously does not, in fact, do anything like what the comics describes in any known computer system, though some smaller subset of those keys together (i.e. "Alt ~" or "Alt numeral-key") might activate other operating system or user-defined shortcuts.

Keyboards vary in how many simultaneous key presses they can process ({{w|Rollover (key)|rollover}}). Computer keyboards for English may be limited to as few as 3 simultaneous keys, whereas other languages or higher quality keyboards may be able to handle an unlimited number of keys at once. (A musical keyboard might need to handle 10 or more simultaneous keys, likewise gaming or braille keyboards may need to handle many simultaneous keys.)

In the title text, Randall notes that [https://www.bamagazine.com/Text-type-typeface-s/105.htm certain typefaces] feature {{w|text figures}}, numerals that have ascenders and descenders, much as lower-case letters do, rather than all standing at the full X-height like capital letters. He then goes on to joke that, conversely, there are true "capital numerals," but they are a guarded secret of Mavis Beacon. {{w|Mavis Beacon (character)|Mavis Beacon}} was the character created as the typing instructor for the ''Mavis Beacon'' game, and is fictional, not a real person. Additionally, as a typing instructor, this person (even if she actually existed) would not be able to change typographical standards. Randall's description of Mavis Beacon as a "number {{w|maven}}" (that is, expert or connoisseur) contrasts with her supposed field of expertise in typing, which involves letters and punctuation more than numbers.

The comic itself hotlinks to this article: [https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-3/numbers/oldstyle-figures Oldstyle Figures]. It is about oldstyle/text figures.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk in front of his computer reading a message that is shown coming from the screen with a zigzag line, going to the text above him. The two upper lines (of five) are separated from the lines below, but connected with a small zigzag line. The computer short cut is written in three boxes. The last line is the numbers from 1 to 9 and 0, in a highly stylized format but recognizable in this context. The digits are shown below in their standard appearance since the stylized versions cannot be reproduced in this transcript.]
:Congratulations.
:Use this power wisely.

:Key Code (secret!!):
:<kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>Tilde</kbd> + <kbd>Scroll Lock</kbd> + Number
:1234567890

:[Caption below the panel:]
:After 30 years, I finally beat the end boss of ''Mavis Beacon'' and unlocked the ability to type capital numbers.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Talk:2206: Mavis Beacon

2019-09-23T19:31:49Z

Passerby:

== So the # key, then? ==

Shifted or not? The implication is that it is, since that's where ‘~’ is. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.41|141.101.99.41]] 18:44, 23 September 2019 (UTC)
: On a typical German QWERTZ layout keyboard, the tilde key '~' can/must be entered via AltGr++; alternatively, Ctrl+Alt++ should work when there is no AltGr key. On certain "dead key" keyboard layouts, there even is no single and direct '~' key: To type a tilde, one would have to press AltGr++ followed directly by a space or to double-tap + while holding AltGr. This would mean even more complicated or pretty much impossible key combinations that would be needed to be pressed at the same time. However, holding AltGr or Ctrl+Alt to try and type a tilde would probably cancel out the "single" Alt key necessary for the comic's secret key code. So, once you've managed to type a tilde, it likely wouldn't count any more for the key combo, making it impossible to type this key combination on such keyboard. --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 19:26, 23 September 2019 (UTC)

The link from Friday's comic to this new one is missing. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 19:21, 23 September 2019 (UTC)
: This page was created by the bot only a short while ago. I may be wrong, but I think those links will be set automagically by such bot at some point after the creation of this page. --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 19:31, 23 September 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2206: Mavis Beacon

2019-09-23T19:26:24Z

Passerby:

2206: Mavis Beacon

2019-09-23T18:42:27Z

Passerby:

Talk:2198: Throw

2019-09-05T17:52:31Z

Passerby: Just a Thank you

I created this page as it seem DgbrtBOT fails because it is interactive. So far it still won't shown on the front page or with a button to it from the previous comic or the "newest" comic button. Maybe it just takes some time? It is now in the [[List_of_all_comics]] but still no luck getting it to work... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:58, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Maybe it is because it was published on a tuesday? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:16, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::No it is not unusual that a comic does not come out on MWF. For instance the Sunday comic recently. Here is the list of Tuesday comics: [[:Category:Tuesday_comics]]--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Also it doesn't display my comment below the explanation. Something is very broken here...--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:25, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:It appears now. [[User:PkmnQ|PkmnQ]] ([[User talk:PkmnQ|talk]]) 08:53, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
How did he get an estimate for Carly Rae Jepson, anyway? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.34|162.158.255.34]] 09:52, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgwAywJlo1M [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.221|172.68.142.221]] 09:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::Alternatively he could have worked together with her, as with Serena Williams. I will look it up in the afternoon, when I have my preordered book :) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:22, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

By the transitive property of Worthiness, if Capt America can throw Thor's Hammer, surely George Washington is Worthy!{{unsigned ip|172.69.68.141}}

I got this data from the code:
{| class="wikitable"
! id
! name
! canThrow
! canBeThrown
! length
! diameter
! mass
! dragC
! throwPower
|-
| microwave
| A microwave oven
| false
| true
| 0.406
| 0.406
| 10.591
| 0.8
|
|-
| basketball
| a basketball
| false
| true
| 0.243
| 0.243
| 0.624
| 0.3
|
|-
| blender
| a blender
| false
| true
| 0.203
| 0.203
| 5.216
| 0.8
|
|-
| gold_bar
| a gold bar
| false
| true
| 0.0535
| 0.0535
| 12.4
| 0.8
|
|-
| cake
| a wedding cake
| false
| true
| 0.51
| 0.51
| 13
| 0.8
|
|-
| pingpong
| a ping pong ball
| false
| true
| 0.04
| 0.04
| 0.003
| 0.5
|
|-
| quarterback
| an NFL quarterback
| true
| false
| 1.905
| 0.584
| 102.058
| 0.6
| 20
|-
| acorn
| an acorn
| false
| true
| 0.0191
| 0.0191
| 0.0045
| 0.3
|
|-
| hammer
| thor's hammer
| false
| true
| 0.5
| 0.15
| 2000
| 0.4
|
|-
| javelin
| a javelin
| false
| true
| 1.8
| 0.0254
| 0.8
| 0.1
|
|-
| george
| George Washington
| true
| true
| 1.829
| 0.562
| 90.718
| 0.6
| 15
|-
| pikachu
| Pikachu
| true
| true
| 0.4
| 0.3
| 5.9874
| 0.4
| 10
|-
| car
| A car
| false
| true
| 4.5
| 2.134
| 1179.34
| 0.25
|
|-
| silver_spin
| a silver dollar (spinning)
| false
| true
| 0.04
| 0.011
| 0.027
| 0.5
|
|-
| silver_tumble
| a silver dollar (tumbling)
| false
| true
| 0.04
| 0.04
| 0.027
| 0.66
|
|-
| carly
| Carly Rae Jepsen
| true
| false
| 1.575
| 0.46
| 49.895
| 0.6
| 10
|-
| thor
| thor, god of thunder
| true
| false
| 1.91
| 0.59
| 91
| 0.6
| 10000
|-
| chris hemsworth
| chris hemsworth
| true
| false
| 1.91
| 0.59
| 91
| 0.6
| 10
|-
| squirrel
| A squirrel
| true
| true
| 0.203
| 0.096
| 0.454
| 0.6
| 10
|}
(Sorry if this table messes the talk page.)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.136|162.158.78.136]] 13:51, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Nah its great. Not sure how to use it in the explanation yet, but guess it will go in there somehow later.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:28, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

:{| class="wikitable"
! id
! name
! canThrow
! canBeThrown
! length
! diameter
! mass
! dragC
! throwPower
|-
| you
|
|
|
|
| (mass^(1/3))/8
|
| 0.6
| 5/10/15/20
|}
:Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.64|172.68.110.64]] 09:17, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

The comic looks different on my screen, not displaying multiple possible selections next to each other, but all below each other. Quite dynamic... --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:26, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:If I zoom out I can make it shown only one item each line, but if I zoom in two is maximum. But it should go in the explanation when we get there.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:28, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

The suggestion to litteraly throw a party in the air could be a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in which there is a flying building with a party in it, and there's even Thor partying in it when the protagonists are coming there. --Roger 15:12, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Any reason why George Washington has 50% more throw power than Christ Hemsworth? Some reference? ~TK

Interesting, there appears to be additional units of measurement in the source code that were not used in the comic: "wiffles" and "light-nanoseconds" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.52|108.162.241.52]] 16:52, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:I'm going to try to add those to the table; I know where nano-light seconds are, but could you give an example length that's converted to wiffles? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 16:41, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
::Pulled unit data from the code:
::{| class="wikitable"
! id
! plural name
! conversion
|-
|meter
|meters
|meters:1
|-
|foot
|feet
|meters:.3048
|-
|furlong
|furlongs
|meters:201.168
|-
|attoparsec
|attoparsecs
|meters:.03086
|-
|smoot
|smoots
|meters:1.7
|-
|wiffle
|wiffles
|meters:.0089
|-
|football_field
|football fields
|meters:91.44
|-
|rack_unit
|rack units
|meters:.04445
|-
|horse
|horses
|meters:2.4
|-
|manhattan_block
|manhattan blocks
|meters:80
|-
|light_nanosecond
|light-nanoseconds
|meters:.03
|-
|kilogram
|kilograms
|kg:1
|-
|pound
|pounds
|kg:.453592
|}
::N.B. Conversion for "wiffles" is off by a factor of ten (i.e. should be .089 rather than .0089). While wiffles should be the next unit above rack-units and below feet, the unit conversion typo prevents it from being accessible by any thrower-object combination, as far as I can tell. [[User:OneHunted|OneHunted]] ([[User talk:OneHunted|talk]]) 02:57, 5 September 2019 (UTC)

Does it seem... excessive to anyone else that the NFL quarterback can throw a silver dollar almost two football fields?[[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.161|172.68.142.161]] 17:08, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

The explanation for Manhattan block conversion appears to be wrong. They mention that their calculation for how large one block is was made with 4 numbers ignoring George Washington as an outlier. However there are 6 total examples of Manhattan block to use and George Washington's is not an outlier. I calculated the mean with all of the data to be 79.9142 meters.--[[User:Szeth|Szeth]] ([[User talk:Szeth|talk]]) 17:12, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

We need a table with a brief description of each thrower. [[User:DKMell|DKMell]] ([[User talk:DKMell|talk]]) 17:14, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

How do we know how old George Washington was when he throws a squirrel? Speaking of age, this format kind of reminds me of the Magnus comic: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1628:_Magnus [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.52|108.162.241.52]] 17:41, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

I think we need to add something about the myth that George Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.40|108.162.241.40]] 19:42, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
: I agree it adds to the appreciation of the humor and have added that myth to the explanation. I have also added the fact that football quarterbacks are specialists at throwing the ball. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:55, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Pretty sure that the ping-pong ball distances are severely overestimated due to air resistance slowing them very rapidly. Someone with lab facilities might want to check... --[[User:Marcus Rowland|Marcus Rowland]] ([[User talk:Marcus Rowland|talk]]) 19:49, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Sorry, never mind, I think I saw a very early version of the actual page that had the distances much greater - seems reasonable now. --[[User:Marcus Rowland|Marcus Rowland]] ([[User talk:Marcus Rowland|talk]]) 19:53, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
The buttons look to be failing simply because [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]] hasn't been updated with the lastest comic number - the page is protected so needs someone with higher powers than I. [[User:Dresken|Dresken]] ([[User talk:Dresken|talk]]) 19:59, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
'Worthiness' was only a thing in the comics. In the myths Thor had a belt of strength and a couple other things. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.125|172.69.33.125]] 21:35, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Unless I am missing something there is a unit conversion error for pound and kilogram. For instance if you enter 1.83m and 90.7kg for "YOU" the throw distance by Thor is 137m. However, if you enter the equivalent weight of 200lb you get a throw distance of 183m.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.28|172.68.206.28]] 23:20, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

: That is correct! The mass gets converted twice from pounds to kg. The intermediate mass (after one conversion, i.e. the correct mass) is used for deducing the diameter - so the same results cannot be easily obtained. Clearly a bug! Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.82|172.68.110.82]] 13:47, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

"An American football field (where Randall comes from) is 100 yards or 91.44 m long" Please rewrite. I don't think (and I humbly reserve the right to be wrong) that Randall did not come from a football field. [[User:OtterlyAmazin|OtterlyAmazin]] ([[User talk:OtterlyAmazin|talk]]) 23:24, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
: I attempted a rewrite per your request - hopefully I have addressed the issue without making things worse. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:37, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
::I've substituted another explanation - American Football (the game with the field implied to be measured here) is ''not'' only played in North America, and Canadioan Football fields, in North America, have different measurements. No doubt someone else will replace my edit in turn.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.238|108.162.210.238]] 03:02, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Should images of the throwers and objects be included? As the comic image is not interactive as the full comic, one cannot see what Randall's version of e.g. Thor or Chris H. looks like, without of visiting the actual comic and using it. Similar things have been done with other interactive comics (IIRC). --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:13, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
: I tried to do just that. However, apparently, only special users are allowed to upload files: "Upload error - You do not have permission to create new pages." An uploaded image file seems to count as a "page" for MediaWiki. I prepared a 7zip file with all of this comic's thrower/item images from xkcd, already properly renamed. It's [https://ufile.io/qq1klu37 available for download here]. In case some mighty editor comes along and would want to upload the images and insert them on this page, please feel free to do so. --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 20:20, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
::Great work with the files, I used them and included a table with the images instead of a list of throwers and objects. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:44, 5 September 2019 (UTC)
::: Thank you, [[User:Kynde|Kynde]]! Turned out even better than what I had in mind for the images. :) --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 17:52, 5 September 2019 (UTC)

Could somebody figure out the equation he's using from the book and post it in the explanation? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 14:57, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Instead of Carly Rae Jepsen, he should have used Kelsey Plum who throws t-shirts like a cannon! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeO2BSHj36I] [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 15:16, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Used Formulas:

g = 9.805;

A = (3 * thrower_length * thrower_throwPower * thrower_mass / (object_mass + thrower_mass / 1000))^(1 / 3);

B = sqrt(2 * object_mass * g / (PI * (object_diameter / 2)^2 * 1.2041 * object_dragC));

Result = A^2 * sqrt(2) / (g * sqrt(A^4 / B^4 * 0.8 + A^2 / B^2 * 3 + 2));

Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.64|172.68.110.64]] 15:39, 4 September 2019 (UTC), slightly corrected on --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.64|172.68.110.64]] 21:37, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

: 1,2041 is in units of kg/m³ and is the density of air at sea level; both A and B are in units of speed m/s; throwPower is in m²/s³, or equivalently in m/s * N/kg. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.82|172.68.110.82]] 21:22, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

I posted this yesterday but it didn't "take." The alternative distance-units used are entirely a function of the distance thrown in meters:
light-nanoseconds (1.00-1.06m), atto-parsecs (1.07-2.69m), rack units (2.70-6.67m), feet (6.68-16m), smoots (16-36m), horses (36-75m), manhattan blocks (75-131m), football fields (132-201m), furlongs (201m+). It's not true that only Thor uses furlongs; a sufficiently large and athletic custom thrower can throw a javelin 206 furlongs. To get light-nanometers, trying having a minimally-athletic "You" 0.2m tall and 129kg throw a gold brick.
-[[User:Jojo|Jojo]] ([[User talk:Jojo|talk]]) 18:44, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Er, I meant "to get light-nanoseconds." (It's my first post. Obviously I had to make a mistake.) --[[User:Jojo|Jojo]] ([[User talk:Jojo|talk]]) 18:48, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Should the hotlinking/embedding image at https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/throw.png be referencd somehow? [[User:Kyuuhachi|Kyuuhachi]] ([[User talk:Kyuuhachi|talk]]) 20:17, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Re: Mjolnir, an enchanted hammer in Marvel comics? Does this reference take priority over the Norse myths: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mj%C3%B6lnir
:I think the current explanation allows the interpretation, that Mjölnir is a marvel invention. That is of course wrong. However, if you look at the drawing style of Thor and Mjölnir, and the fact that Chris H. is also available for selection, we can agree, that this hammer in fact represents the hammer inside the Marvel universe, which is merely based upon the orginial nordic god. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:36, 5 September 2019 (UTC)

:September 5 2019 9:05 Pacific time --- I found that while it seems that thor is the only one capable of throwing thor's hammer, with the customized "you" at 30 feet tall and 1000 pounds, and a super trainer, you can throw thor's hammer 1.5 meters. Conclusion - Giants are inherently worthy. And George Washington is not.

I'm surprised Randall didn't add a "worthiness" variable into the formula somehow. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.34|172.69.69.34]] 16:50, 5 September 2019 (UTC) Sam

Talk:2198: Throw

2019-09-04T20:20:44Z

Passerby:

I created this page as it seem DgbrtBOT fails because it is interactive. So far it still won't shown on the front page or with a button to it from the previous comic or the "newest" comic button. Maybe it just takes some time? It is now in the [[List_of_all_comics]] but still no luck getting it to work... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:58, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Maybe it is because it was published on a tuesday? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:16, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::No it is not unusual that a comic does not come out on MWF. For instance the Sunday comic recently. Here is the list of Tuesday comics: [[:Category:Tuesday_comics]]--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:29, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Also it doesn't display my comment below the explanation. Something is very broken here...--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:25, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:It appears now. [[User:PkmnQ|PkmnQ]] ([[User talk:PkmnQ|talk]]) 08:53, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
How did he get an estimate for Carly Rae Jepson, anyway? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.34|162.158.255.34]] 09:52, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgwAywJlo1M [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.221|172.68.142.221]] 09:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::Alternatively he could have worked together with her, as with Serena Williams. I will look it up in the afternoon, when I have my preordered book :) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:22, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

By the transitive property of Worthiness, if Capt America can throw Thor's Hammer, surely George Washington is Worthy!{{unsigned ip|172.69.68.141}}

I got this data from the code:
{| class="wikitable"
! id
! name
! canThrow
! canBeThrown
! length
! diameter
! mass
! dragC
! throwPower
|-
| microwave
| A microwave oven
| false
| true
| 0.406
| 0.406
| 10.591
| 0.8
|
|-
| basketball
| a basketball
| false
| true
| 0.243
| 0.243
| 0.624
| 0.3
|
|-
| blender
| a blender
| false
| true
| 0.203
| 0.203
| 5.216
| 0.8
|
|-
| gold_bar
| a gold bar
| false
| true
| 0.0535
| 0.0535
| 12.4
| 0.8
|
|-
| cake
| a wedding cake
| false
| true
| 0.51
| 0.51
| 13
| 0.8
|
|-
| pingpong
| a ping pong ball
| false
| true
| 0.04
| 0.04
| 0.003
| 0.5
|
|-
| quarterback
| an NFL quarterback
| true
| false
| 1.905
| 0.584
| 102.058
| 0.6
| 20
|-
| acorn
| an acorn
| false
| true
| 0.0191
| 0.0191
| 0.0045
| 0.3
|
|-
| hammer
| thor's hammer
| false
| true
| 0.5
| 0.15
| 2000
| 0.4
|
|-
| javelin
| a javelin
| false
| true
| 1.8
| 0.0254
| 0.8
| 0.1
|
|-
| george
| George Washington
| true
| true
| 1.829
| 0.562
| 90.718
| 0.6
| 15
|-
| pikachu
| Pikachu
| true
| true
| 0.4
| 0.3
| 5.9874
| 0.4
| 10
|-
| car
| A car
| false
| true
| 4.5
| 2.134
| 1179.34
| 0.25
|
|-
| silver_spin
| a silver dollar (spinning)
| false
| true
| 0.04
| 0.011
| 0.027
| 0.5
|
|-
| silver_tumble
| a silver dollar (tumbling)
| false
| true
| 0.04
| 0.04
| 0.027
| 0.66
|
|-
| carly
| Carly Rae Jepsen
| true
| false
| 1.575
| 0.46
| 49.895
| 0.6
| 10
|-
| thor
| thor, god of thunder
| true
| false
| 1.91
| 0.59
| 91
| 0.6
| 10000
|-
| chris hemsworth
| chris hemsworth
| true
| false
| 1.91
| 0.59
| 91
| 0.6
| 10
|-
| squirrel
| A squirrel
| true
| true
| 0.203
| 0.096
| 0.454
| 0.6
| 10
|}
(Sorry if this table messes the talk page.)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.136|162.158.78.136]] 13:51, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Nah its great. Not sure how to use it in the explanation yet, but guess it will go in there somehow later.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:28, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

:{| class="wikitable"
! id
! name
! canThrow
! canBeThrown
! length
! diameter
! mass
! dragC
! throwPower
|-
| you
|
|
|
|
| (mass^(1/3))/8
|
| 0.6
| 5/10/15/20
|}
:Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.64|172.68.110.64]] 09:17, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

The comic looks different on my screen, not displaying multiple possible selections next to each other, but all below each other. Quite dynamic... --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:26, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:If I zoom out I can make it shown only one item each line, but if I zoom in two is maximum. But it should go in the explanation when we get there.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:28, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

The suggestion to litteraly throw a party in the air could be a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in which there is a flying building with a party in it, and there's even Thor partying in it when the protagonists are coming there. --Roger 15:12, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Any reason why George Washington has 50% more throw power than Christ Hemsworth? Some reference? ~TK

Interesting, there appears to be additional units of measurement in the source code that were not used in the comic: "wiffles" and "light-nanoseconds" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.52|108.162.241.52]] 16:52, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:I'm going to try to add those to the table; I know where nano-light seconds are, but could you give an example length that's converted to wiffles? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 16:41, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Does it seem... excessive to anyone else that the NFL quarterback can throw a silver dollar almost two football fields?[[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.161|172.68.142.161]] 17:08, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

The explanation for Manhattan block conversion appears to be wrong. They mention that their calculation for how large one block is was made with 4 numbers ignoring George Washington as an outlier. However there are 6 total examples of Manhattan block to use and George Washington's is not an outlier. I calculated the mean with all of the data to be 79.9142 meters.--[[User:Szeth|Szeth]] ([[User talk:Szeth|talk]]) 17:12, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

We need a table with a brief description of each thrower. [[User:DKMell|DKMell]] ([[User talk:DKMell|talk]]) 17:14, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

How do we know how old George Washington was when he throws a squirrel? Speaking of age, this format kind of reminds me of the Magnus comic: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1628:_Magnus [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.52|108.162.241.52]] 17:41, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

I think we need to add something about the myth that George Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.40|108.162.241.40]] 19:42, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
: I agree it adds to the appreciation of the humor and have added that myth to the explanation. I have also added the fact that football quarterbacks are specialists at throwing the ball. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:55, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Pretty sure that the ping-pong ball distances are severely overestimated due to air resistance slowing them very rapidly. Someone with lab facilities might want to check... --[[User:Marcus Rowland|Marcus Rowland]] ([[User talk:Marcus Rowland|talk]]) 19:49, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Sorry, never mind, I think I saw a very early version of the actual page that had the distances much greater - seems reasonable now. --[[User:Marcus Rowland|Marcus Rowland]] ([[User talk:Marcus Rowland|talk]]) 19:53, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
The buttons look to be failing simply because [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]] hasn't been updated with the lastest comic number - the page is protected so needs someone with higher powers than I. [[User:Dresken|Dresken]] ([[User talk:Dresken|talk]]) 19:59, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
'Worthiness' was only a thing in the comics. In the myths Thor had a belt of strength and a couple other things. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.125|172.69.33.125]] 21:35, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Unless I am missing something there is a unit conversion error for pound and kilogram. For instance if you enter 1.83m and 90.7kg for "YOU" the throw distance by Thor is 137m. However, if you enter the equivalent weight of 200lb you get a throw distance of 183m.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.28|172.68.206.28]] 23:20, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

: That is correct! The mass gets converted twice from pounds to kg. The intermediate mass (after one conversion, i.e. the correct mass) is used for deducing the diameter - so the same results cannot be easily obtained. Clearly a bug! Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.82|172.68.110.82]] 13:47, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

"An American football field (where Randall comes from) is 100 yards or 91.44 m long" Please rewrite. I don't think (and I humbly reserve the right to be wrong) that Randall did not come from a football field. [[User:OtterlyAmazin|OtterlyAmazin]] ([[User talk:OtterlyAmazin|talk]]) 23:24, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
: I attempted a rewrite per your request - hopefully I have addressed the issue without making things worse. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:37, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
::I've substituted another explanation - American Football (the game with the field implied to be measured here) is ''not'' only played in North America, and Canadioan Football fields, in North America, have different measurements. No doubt someone else will replace my edit in turn.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.238|108.162.210.238]] 03:02, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Should images of the throwers and objects be included? As the comic image is not interactive as the full comic, one cannot see what Randall's version of e.g. Thor or Chris H. looks like, without of visiting the actual comic and using it. Similar things have been done with other interactive comics (IIRC). --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:13, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
: I tried to do just that. However, apparently, only special users are allowed to upload files: "Upload error - You do not have permission to create new pages." An uploaded image file seems to count as a "page" for MediaWiki. I prepared a 7zip file with all of this comic's thrower/item images from xkcd, already properly renamed. It's [https://ufile.io/qq1klu37 available for download here]. In case some mighty editor comes along and would want to upload the images and insert them on this page, please feel free to do so. --[[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 20:20, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Could somebody figure out the equation he's using from the book and post it in the explanation? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 14:57, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Instead of Carly Rae Jepsen, he should have used Kelsey Plum who throws t-shirts like a cannon! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeO2BSHj36I] [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 15:16, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Used Formulas:

g = 9.805;

A = (3 * thrower_length * thrower_mass * thrower_throwPower / (thrower_mass + object_mass / 1000))^(1 / 3);

B = sqrt(2 * object_mass * g / (PI * (object_diameter / 2)^2 * 1.2041 * object_dragC));

Result = A^2 * sqrt(2) / (g * sqrt(A^4 / B^4 * 0.8 + A^2 / B^2 * 3 + 2));

Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.64|172.68.110.64]] 15:39, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

I posted this yesterday but it didn't "take." The alternative distance-units used are entirely a function of the distance thrown in meters:
light-nanoseconds (1.00-1.06m), atto-parsecs (1.07-2.69m), rack units (2.70-6.67m), feet (6.68-16m), smoots (16-36m), horses (36-75m), manhattan blocks (75-131m), football fields (132-201m), furlongs (201m+). It's not true that only Thor uses furlongs; a sufficiently large and athletic custom thrower can throw a javelin 206 furlongs. To get light-nanometers, trying having a minimally-athletic "You" 0.2m tall and 129kg throw a gold brick.
-[[User:Jojo|Jojo]] ([[User talk:Jojo|talk]]) 18:44, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Er, I meant "to get light-nanoseconds." (It's my first post. Obviously I had to make a mistake.) --[[User:Jojo|Jojo]] ([[User talk:Jojo|talk]]) 18:48, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

Should the hotlinking/embedding image at https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/throw.png be referencd somehow? [[User:Kyuuhachi|Kyuuhachi]] ([[User talk:Kyuuhachi|talk]]) 20:17, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

2198: Throw

2019-09-04T19:18:26Z

Passerby: /* Table of distance units */ Sorted units by the lengths they are used for in the comic

{{comic
| number = 2198
| date = September 3, 2019
| title = Throw
| image = throw.png
| titletext = The keys to successfully throwing a party are location, planning, and one of those aircraft carrier steam catapults.
}}
*To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the {{xkcd|2198|original comic}}.
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THOR, GOD OF THUNDER. Add the equation for throwing? Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is an interactive comic made to celebrate the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[How To]]''. The comic is based on a chapter in the book.

As the comic celebrates the book, which was released on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019, the comic was thus also released on a [[:Category:Tuesday comics|Tuesday]] to coincide with the release day, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release. This was the same timing used for another of Randall's book releases, when [[1608: Hoverboard]] came out on the Tuesday when [[Thing Explainer]] came out. Although the Hoverboard comic is much more complex than this one, they are both [[:Category:Dynamic comics|dynamic]] and [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive]], with [[:Category:Comics with animation|animations]] a part of them.

In this comic the viewer can select a person/{{w|Pikachu}}/god/squirrel as the thrower and an object (including a person, Pikachu, or squirrel) to be thrown, and get an animation of how the selected throw would work out, along with an estimated distance of the throw (both in SI units and in other very arbitrary units; see [[#Table of distance units|table]] below) if the throw was possible. Impossible throws include ones in which the thrower is smaller than the thrown object. The formula/guideline is apparently based on a chapter from the book. One special case to the calculations is Thor's hammer, which is enchanted such that only those deemed "worthy" are able to lift it. As such, despite its mass being liftable by many of the characters, only Thor, God of Thunder (who is canonically worthy), and self-created characters who are well over the human records for height ({{w|List of tallest people|272 cm}}) and/or weight ({{w|List of heaviest people|635 kg}}) are shown to actually be able to throw it. Also Thor is the only one who uses {{w|furlongs}} to measure his distances.

There are 7 throwers + 1 open option and 15 + 1 things to throw, giving a total of 105 different combinations for the static elements; see the [[#Table of throw distances|table]] below plus those for the open option. The open option can be defined by height, weight and a 1-4 scale of atleticism. But only Thor (or an unrealistically tall and heavy custom character) can throw all 15, with three of the objects (George Washington, hammer, and car) unthrowable by any of the other premade characters. The smaller critters can throw only a few things, so the total number of throws is much less than 100. Still there is an animation for all 105 combinations, but with no throw distance for some. An object with negative weight (you probably) flies backwards.

The athleticism scale does not define the character used for the animation.

The title text refers to throwing a party (a colloquial synonym of hosting a party) and first makes the assumption of actually giving hints for giving a party, and then switching to suggest a mechanism to literally throw a huge object, such as a house with a party going on inside. An {{w|Aircraft_catapult#Steam_catapult|aircraft steam catapult}} is a mechanism to launch aircraft from ships, typically used on aircraft carriers.

==Throwers and throw items==
George Washington, Pikachu, and a squirrel are both throwers and throw items.

* '''An NFL {{w|quarterback}}''' is the average American's perception of a highly athletic individual; gridiron football is a full-contact sport that requires durability, speed, and precision. One of the primary skills required of quarterbacks is to be able to throw the football far with precision accuracy.
* '''{{w|George Washington}}''' was the first president of the United States of America. There is a myth that a young George Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River which is more than a mile wide for much of its length. Or alternatively that he would throw rocks across the Rappahannock River which was about 300 feet wide near George's boyhood home. http://kenmore.org/education/kidstuff/legends.html. He is also used as a throwing item to represent the likelihood of a thrower distance with an average human as the projectile.
* '''{{w|Pikachu}}''' is a species of Pokémon, and the mascot of the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Although Pikachu are not normally shown to throw things, the ''Super Smash Bros'' series shows they are perfectly capable of picking things up that do not significantly out-size them. That said, Pikachu is capable of throwing a wide variety of objects through the move Fling, which allows the user to deal damage by throwing it's held item (and, incidentally, a Fling TM). Its presence as a throwing item appears to reference the most recently released Pokémon games as of the comic's release, ''Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu'' and ''Pokémon Let's Go Eevee'', where the partner Pokémon of the respective title is not kept in a Poké Ball but thrown into battle when deployed.
** According to Pokédex entries throughout the series, the average Pikachu is 1'04" (0.4m) tall and weighs 13.2 lbs (6kg). Randall appears to have done his research, as a custom thrower with these stats and default athleticism will have near-identical results to Pikachu for both thrower and thrown item.
* '''{{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}''' is a Canadian music artist.
* '''{{w|Thor}}''' is the god of thunder in Norse mythology, wielding a hammer that returns to its wielder when thrown. He is also {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|featured in Marvel comics}}, and is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth (listed below) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films. Thor was previously referenced in [[2097: Thor Tools]].
* '''{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}''' is an Australian film actor, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
* '''A {{w|squirrel}}''' is a small mammal of the family ''Sciuradae'', known for hoarding acorns. Squirrels have been a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring topic]] on xkcd, and have been used in ''What if?'' in lieu of a subject that Randall really doesn't want to draw. Due to their small size, a squirrel is also selectable as a throwing item.
* '''{{w|human|You}}''' (the viewer) may also choose to create a custom thrower, inputting name, height, weight, and general level of athleticism, as measured on a scale from "[[Black Hat]]" to "championship athlete" (a swimmer is pictured). The custom thrower is also selectable as a throwing item, presumably to provide more variety compared to the fixed values of George Washington.
* '''A {{w|microwave oven}}''' is a common household appliance in most American homes, used to heat or reheat food for consumption.
* '''A {{w|basketball (ball)|basketball}}''' is an inflated sphere used as a projectile in the sport of the same name.
* '''A {{w|blender}}''' is a common household appliance in most American homes, used to shred food or ingredients into a slush for consumption or baking.
* '''A {{w|gold bar}}''' is the form in which gold is cast for storage.
* '''A {{w|wedding cake}}''' is traditionally a layer cake used for wedding receptions with copious amounts of frosting and figurines of the bride and groom standing upon the top layer. The figurines appear to have been removed before the cake is thrown, as they are before the cake is cut and served.
* '''A {{w|ping pong ball}}''' is a small sphere designed to bounce, used as a projectile in the sport of table tennis or "ping pong".
* '''An {{w|acorn}}''' is a small nut which serves as a squirrel's primary form of nourishment.
* '''Thor's hammer''' refers to {{w|Mjolnir (comics)|Mjolnir}}, an enchanted hammer in Marvel comics which can only be lifted, much less thrown, by those deemed worthy. In this case it appears to simply be incredibly heavy, though this is more to allow the custom thrower to make use of it instead of any sort of commentary on canonicity. When discounting the custom option, Thor is the only thrower to be able to throw Thor's hammer.
* '''A {{w|javelin}}''' is an aerodynamic polearm thrown in Olympic sport.
* '''A {{w|Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollar}}''' is a silver coin representing one (1) US dollar in value. The coin is given two trajectories to choose from when thrown; '''spinning''', as one would properly throw a discus, and '''tumbling''', as might result from flipping a coin to make a decision. The spinning coin always goes farther than the tumbling one, since facing the air edge-on leads to a smaller area facing the wind and therefore less air resistance.
* '''A {{w|car}}''' is the most common form of long-distance transport in several well-developed countries.

==Table of throw distances==
{| class="wikitable"
!Item / Thrower
!NFL Quarterback
!George Washington
!Pikachu
!Carly Rae Jepsen
!Thor
!Chris Hemsworth
!Squirrel
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Microwave oven'''
|10.32 m
|7.76 m
|N/A
|3.67 m
|181.57 m
|6.15 m
|N/A
|-
|33.85 feet
|25.46 feet
|N/A
|82.65 rack units
|1.99 football fields
|138.40 rack units
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Basketball'''
|40.18 m
|33.22 m
|2.34 m
|19.11 m
|113.67 m
|27.99 m
|N/A
|-
|16.74 horses
|19.54 smoots
|75.90 attoparsecs
|11.24 smoots
|1.42 Manhattan blocks
|16.46 smoots
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Blender'''
|16.58 m
|12.45 m
|N/A
|5.89 m
|333.25 m
|9.86 m
|N/A
|-
|9.75 smoots
|40.85 feet
|N/A
|132.51 rack units
|1.66 furlongs
|32.34 feet
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Gold bar'''
|9.73 m
|7.23 m
|N/A
|3.36 m
|549.28 m
|5.69 m
|N/A
|-
|31.93 feet
|23.73 feet
|N/A
|75.65 rack units
|2.73 furlongs
|128.11 rack units
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Wedding cake'''
|8.96 m
|6.75 m
|N/A
|3.2 m
|146.25 m
|5.35 m
|N/A
|-
|29.40 feet
|22.14 feet
|N/A
|72.00 rack units
|1.60 football fields
|120.45 rack units
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Ping-pong ball'''
|11.8 m
|11.63 m
|9.28 m
|11.25 m
|12.53 m
|11.41 m
|4.95 m
|-
|38.72 feet
|38.17 feet
|30.46 feet
|36.92 feet
|41.10 feet
|37.44 feet
|111.37 rack units
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Acorn'''
|83.00 m
|75.84 m
|28.16 m
|62.85 m
|135.98 m
|67.91 m
|6.53 m
|-
|1.04 Manhattan blocks
|0.95 Manhattan blocks
|16.57 smoots
|26.19 horses
|1.49 football fields
|28.30 horses
|146.85 rack units
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Thor's Hammer'''
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|19.32 m
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|11.36 smoots
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Javelin'''
|56.10 m
|42.04 m
|N/A
|20.12 m
|3028.75 m
|33.09 m
|N/A
|-
|23.37 horses
|17.51 horses
|N/A
|11.84 smoots
|15.06 furlongs
|19.46 smoots
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''George Washington'''
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|136.65 m
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|1.49 football fields
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Pikachu'''
|15.22 m
|11.41
|N/A
|5.39 m
|332.52 m
|9.03 m
|N/A
|-
|49.94 feet
|37.45 feet
|N/A
|121.18 rack units
|1.65 furlongs
|29.63 feet
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Car'''
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|27.22 m
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|16.01 smoots
|N/A
|N/A
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Spinning dollar'''
|177.09 m
|143.96 m
|16.91
|92.63 m
|1331.21 m
|115.89 m
|2.20 m
|-
|1.94 football fields
|1.57 football fields
|9.95 smoots
|1.16 Manhattan blocks
|6.53 furlongs
|1.45 Manhattan blocks
|71.41 attoparsecs
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Tumbling dollar'''
|58.17 m
|53.77 m
|13.92 m
|44.08 m
|84.82 m
|49.03 m
|2.14 m
|-
|24.24 horses
|22.41 horses
|45.67 feet
|18.37 horses
|1.06 Manhattan blocks
|20.43 horses
|69.42 attoparsecs
|-
|rowspan="2"|'''Squirrel'''
|58.64 m
|46.92 m
|2.92 m
|25.44 m
|256.54 m
|38.50 m
|N/A
|-
|24.43 horses
|19.55 horses
|65.71 rack units
|14.97 smoots
|1.28 furlongs
|16.04 horses
|N/A
|}

==Table of distance units==
*Table of other distance-units and their length in meters:
{| class="wikitable"
!Unit name
!Length in comic
!Explanation
|-
|{{w|Atto-}}{{w|parsecs}}
|0.03086 m
|The parsec is a unit of length used to measure large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System. A parsec is defined as the distance at which one {{w|astronomical unit}} subtends an angle of one {{w|arcsecond}}. One parsec is equal to about 3.26 light-years or 31 trillion kilometers (31×1012 km) or 19 trillion miles (19×1012 mi). Atto- is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10−18 or 0.000000000000000001. Together the two unit exponents will almost cancel out, as 31 trillion kilometers can be written as 3.1×1018cm, meaning that an attoparsec is 3.1 cm. The unit is only used three times in non-customized settings: once for Pikachu and twice for the squirrel. It is used for lengths from 1.06 to 2.69 meters.
|-
|{{w|Rack units}}
|0.4445 m
|A rack unit (abbreviated U or RU) is a unit of measure defined as 1 3⁄4 inches (44.45 mm). Mainly used to measure the overall height of the likes of {{w|19-inch rack}} frames or the equipment put in there. It is used for lengths from 2.69 to 6.67 meters.
|-
|{{w|Foot (unit)|Feet}}
|0.3048 m
|One foot is defined as 0.3048 meter. In customary and imperial units, the foot comprises 12 inches and three feet compose a yard. It is used for lengths from 6.67 to 16 meters.
|-
|{{w|Smoots}}
|1.7000 m
|The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. One smoot is equal to Oliver Smoot's height at the time of the prank, 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). Mr. Smoot was used to measure the length of the Harvard bridge (connecting Boston and Cambridge) by being repeatedly laid down along the length of the bridge; the markings indicating distances in smoots along the bridge have been maintained by the fraternity. The smoot is used for lengths from 16 to 36 meters. While the smoot is a nonstandard unit of length, Oliver Smoot has been chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and President of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ANSI and ISO are among the world's main standardizing bodies, so Randall may indirectly be making the pun that while Smoot's body isn't a standard measure Smoot has been in charge of bodies that standardize measurements.
|-
|{{w|Horses}}
|2.4 m
|The length of a horse varies a lot with the horse type, breed, age and genes. In the Wikipedia article on horses the length of a horse is not even mentioned, only the height and weight. But Randall has used horses for measurements before. A {{w|horse length}} is approximately 8 feet (2.4 m). It is used for lengths from 36 to 75 meters.
|-
|{{w|Manhattan}}-{{w|City block|blocks}}
|80.0 m
|The numbered streets in Manhattan run east-west, and are generally 60 feet (18 m) wide, with about 200 feet (61 m) between each pair of streets. With each combined street and block adding up to about 260 feet (79 m), there are almost exactly 20 blocks per mile. The typical block in Manhattan is 250 by 600 feet (76 by 183 m). When driving in a grid like city the {{w|Manhattan distance}} between two points is a concept, although it is also called {{w|Taxicab geometry}}. It seems like it is indeed the combined street and block distance. Also there is an error. The number has been found by taking four numbers not three, but then leaving out George Washington's distance which would give a block length of only 72.05 m. This measurement is used for lengths from 75 to 131 meters.
|-
|{{w|American football field|Football fields}}
|91.44 m
|An American Football field is 100 yards or 91.44 m long. It is used for lengths from 131 to 201 meters.
|-
|{{w|Furlongs}}
|201.168 m
|A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one eighth of a mile. It should thus give that one furlong is 201.168 metres. However, the United States does not uniformly use this conversion ratio. Older ratios are in use for surveying purposes in some states. Only Thor's distances are given in furlongs. The unit is used for distances of 201 meters up.
|}

==Transcript==
:[As this is an interactive comic, not all possible text should be given in this transcript. Also it is not possible to see all the different throwers or objects in one image. This transcript here includes only the text that can be found when loading the page, without changing the thrower or object (the default), but also includes the text that can be found by scrolling in the two select "windows" as that would be similar to a long comic where you need to scroll. For further differences that occur by changing the objects refer to a table of all combinations.]

:[A heading with a subheading is above a line, beneath which are a sentence, that is generated by the selections in the two windows beneath this sentence:]
:<big>'''Throw Calculator'''</big>
:This calculator implements the approximate throwing distance estimation model from ''How To'' Chapter 10: ''How to throw things''.

:How far could George Washington throw a Microwave oven?

:[Beneath this sentence are two "windows" with a frame around them, one to the left and one to the right, each with a heading breaking the top frame. Each also has a scroll bar to the right, which allows one to scroll down through 7 different possible selections in the left window and 15 in the right window. There are two selections on each line, leaving one alone at the bottom left of each list as there are uneven numbers in both lists. Here below each windows' content is given under their respective headings. Each possible selection is a drawing with a caption beneath it.]
:Select a thrower

:*You
:*An NFL Quarterback
:*George Washington
:*Pikachu
:*Carly Rae Jepsen
:*Thor, God of Thunder
:*Chris Hemsworth
:*A squirrel

:Select an object to be thrown
:*You
:*A microwave oven
:*A basketball
:*A blender
:*A gold bar
:*A wedding cake
:*A ping-pong ball
:*An acorn
:*Thor's Hammer
:*A javelin
:*George Washington
:*Pikachu
:*A car
:*A silver dollar (spinning)
:*A silver dollar (tumbling)
:*A squirrel

:[Below the two windows is the result of the animation that will happen when a selection has been made. An animation of the selected thrower throwing (or failing to throw) the selected object is shown, and the object's traveling distance is measured out both in meters (SI units) and in some other unit in brackets below. If the distance is not too long compared to the size of the object and thrower, then both can be seen, and in case the object is soft it may break from the throw.]

:[In the pre-selected version George Washington throws a microwave oven, which ends up several meters from him lying on a corner broken with its wire lying beneath it. The distance is given under the ruler along which the throw has occurred, with markings for approximately every meter. In this case there are seven steps even though the distance is above 7 meters:]
:7.76 meters
:(25.46 feet)

==Trivia==
*The comic refers to Thor as the character from the Marvel comics and movies (and other media), who is himself a reference to the ancient Norse god. In Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth.
*Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, bears an enchantment that prevents any living being from lifting it unless they are "worthy." This is reflected in the simulation by giving Mjölnir a mass of 2,000 kg.
**In-universe, Thor's hammer weighs [https://urbandud.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/detail-128-thors-hammer.jpg?w=550 42.3 pounds].
*The option to customize your own character was added to the comic later.
*Due to a bug, the calculations for the customized person ('you') are incorrect when the mass is specified in pounds

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with animation]] 
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Physics]] 
[[Category:American football]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] 
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Religion]] 
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Food]] 
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Sport]] 
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:How To]]

Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age

2018-05-24T21:06:53Z

Passerby:

;Comic names overlapping comic numbers
Beginning on Monday, 21. May 2018 we will have comic numbers which are the same as other comic names.
*That will be 1996, 1999, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2038. Not more right now.
Since xkcd uses only the number for navigation we have to adopt this or the navigation here will be broken.

In general we have three pages for a single comic. Here it is "1995: MC Hammer Age" AND two redirects "1995" as well as "MC Hammer Age". The redirect "1995" (the number) is used for navigation.

This means all those future comics and their named companions will have a disambiguation line on top AND the numbered page MUST redirect to the comic belonging to that number.

Do not hesitate to ask further questions, or just wait until the next comic is out. I don't expect that Randall will omit this number.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:02, 20 May 2018 (UTC)

;Navigation bar
Hitting next on this page brings you to comic #768 titled 1996. This comic is #1995. I thought that there was an extra comic today at first. [[User:MrNinja|MrNinja]] ([[User talk:MrNinja|talk]]) 14:58, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number. That will happen a few times more in the future. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:03, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
::It's either changed now or different on my iPad 1. For me it leads to a page with "1996" alone, like it's the comic number, but that's it. No name, no navigation buttons, nothing. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:16, 20 May 2018 (UTC)
:::Yes, it wasn't me but the page is now empty. See my further remarks above. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:02, 20 May 2018 (UTC)

I suspect we’ll start needing Wikipedia-style disambiguation pages soon, given comic numbers that overlap other comic’s names. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 16:13, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
: As I recall, if you search a comic number or title, it lists matching comics. A lower number, like, say, to pick a random example, "199" would list comic #199 as well as comics #1990 to #1995 right now. I know the same goes for titles. I assume such disambiguation will lead to both comics being listed, and the user can click/tap the one they mean. Actually, checking now, actually running the search leads to a search results page which is essentially a disambiguation page (which is indeed listing the currently-blank 1996 page as well as the old comic named "1996"). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:16, 20 May 2018 (UTC)

;Further discussions
"Hammer Age" > "hemorrhage", coincidence? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.16|141.101.88.16]] 15:19, 18 May 2018 (UTC)

I came here from xkcd to find out who in the world MC Hammer was. (I guess I'm too old to really care, but I was curious.) At least there was a wiki link, but the explanation here could say something. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.170|172.69.22.170]] 16:27, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
:Because MC Hammer was so well known, everybody old enough to have been around back then - and therefore old enough to Feel Old from this - knows who he is. :) The explanation talks about him now. He was a One Hit Wonder with his song "U Can't Touch This" (to the music of Superfreak), including an iconic shuffling dance he did in the video with iconic puffy pants. SORT OF a One Hit Wonder, as he had a couple of others back then (I recall 2 Legit 2 Quit, not sure if it was numbers in the title), but oldies stations and segments only really play U Can't Touch This these days. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:16, 20 May 2018 (UTC)
::Really? MC Hammer is on "oldies stations" nowadays?! If I didn't feel old from this before -- now I do! [[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 21:06, 24 May 2018 (UTC)

But MC Hammer is actually almost 60? He's 56. {{unsigned|Captaindomon}}
:r/whooosh [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.94|162.158.202.94]] 21:22, 18 May 2018 (UTC)
::Guess Captaindomon didn't read the rest of the comic, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:16, 20 May 2018 (UTC)

I wonder what comic 2000 will be. Maybe it will be like 1000?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.118|108.162.241.118]] 11:40, 19 May 2018 (UTC)
:My question is about 2018, which comes out in 2018! [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 16:44, 23 May 2018 (UTC)

Wow this works on my Kindle! Noy even fire to boot! Well done Jeff!
Check Please! [[User:StillNotOriginal|StillNotOriginal]] ([[User talk:StillNotOriginal|Talk to me!]]) 00:01, 20 May 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1962: Generations

2018-03-04T20:56:46Z

Passerby:

Table guy! Maybe this could be a table with "Year", "Generation Name", "References" and "Speculation". Or something. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.172|198.41.230.172]] 17:31, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

The highlighted generations are clearly the ones Pew Research named, but I can't figure out why Randall's numbers don't seem to match Pew's here: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/ft_15-05-11_millennialsdefined/ [[User:TheAnvil|TheAnvil]] ([[User talk:TheAnvil|talk]]) 17:37, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

—••— means X in Morse code [[User:Inexorably advancing wall of ice|Inexorably advancing wall of ice]] ([[User talk:Inexorably advancing wall of ice|talk]]) 18:21, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

But seriously, it was funny the first time. I'm sorry for the above incomplete tag in the comments{{Citation needed}},but it feels like most comics since maybe #1900 ([[1914: Twitter Verification]] comes to mind...) have this kind of thing for their incomplete tag. Maybe if it's spaced out more, instead of put into nearly every comic nowadays, it won't be so much of a problem. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.184|162.158.75.184]] 18:02, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
: If you can address this problem, please edit the user. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.26|162.158.155.26]] 23:04, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
::Removed the incomplete tag, changed the citation needed tag into the correct one. Dude, please don't do that again, it's not funny, just seriously annoying. The incomplete tag is not there for you to abuse. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 12:07, 3 March 2018 (UTC)
:::Oh, and now that I've finally caught up to you, 162.158.155.26, please check your talk page. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 12:07, 3 March 2018 (UTC)

Can someone help me? [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 20:20, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

What's the emoji 2000-2017? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.214|172.68.141.214]] 21:05, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
:I think I found it: 💅 [https://emojipedia.org/nail-polish/ "nail-polish"] (Comes up very different on different systems) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.233|162.158.79.233]] 21:20, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
:Couldn't this emoji, and hence the title "Generation 💅", refer to the rise of nail care salons or manicure salons during the recent years? I don't know about other countries, but at least in certain parts of Europe, Germany in particular, there seems to be such a boom of this kind of establishments that I often wonder how they survive and open even more such businesses, even though it appears there's more nail salons than (manicured) nails in town. [[User:Passerby|Passerby]] ([[User talk:Passerby|talk]]) 20:56, 4 March 2018 (UTC)

I have to believe the 1748 - 1765 generation is some form of "Long s" such as U+1E9C or U+1E9D [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.233|162.158.79.233]] 21:12, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

: It looks more like a forte ([https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/1d191/index.htm U+1D191]). I'm not sure why that would be funny—maybe because of [[Wikipedia:fortepiano|fortepiano]]s? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.214|172.69.69.214]] 21:43, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
::My position comes from the fact that documents written by this generation (i.e. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s#/media/File:Long-s-US-Bill-of-Rights.jpg Declaration of Independance] and the US Constitution) are noted for having this letter form. The script form of the long s looks like what Randall has written, which, to your point, looks like a "forte" [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.233|162.158.79.233]] 22:51, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
::: Actually, it quite clearly is '''not''' long s. Long s only has the tic on the left side of the main stroke, not on both sides as is the case here. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.118|162.158.78.118]] 22:24, 3 March 2018 (UTC)

Hitler was born in 1889, about three years before the "Oops, one of us is Hitler" generation ... --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.240|141.101.105.240]] 21:37, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

Can someone who's a big Trekkie than I am help explain the dates for ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''? If we're going off of the events of the show + movies, it seems to start well before the events of the show and end before the last of the movies. [[User:PvOberstein|PvOberstein]] ([[User talk:PvOberstein|talk]]) 21:49, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
:Year 2378 may be explained by last episode of Voyager happening that year, but no idea about year 2360. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:59, 3 March 2018 (UTC)
::Year 2360 is when the humans who became adults (18) in 2378 were born. This time-span is probably when the majority of human TNG characters would have been born (not necessarily notable ones). This is similar to how people born in 1982 became the first new adults in the new millenium. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.143|172.68.46.143]] 05:02, 3 March 2018 (UTC)

Filled in most of the table with explanations (I'm pretty sure most of the latter generation names are references to potential transhumanist futures), but I'm not sure what "Second-Greatest" Generation refers to unless it's about the Civil War. Also, I'm not entirely certain whether the generation before the gilded one was cut a lot of slack. And I'll let someone more versed in standard sociological history fill in the common reasons for the core 20th century generations.[[User:WingedCat|WingedCat]] ([[User talk:WingedCat|talk]]) 22:49, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

;Paperclip machine
I think the paperclip machines refer to the browser game "Universal Paperclips", where paperclip machines take over the universe. [http://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/index2.html]. Best regards, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.10|172.68.110.10]] 11:55, 3 March 2018 (UTC)

The incomplete explination tag seemed to be a useless joke, so I deleted it.

;Ω
Wow that’s a lot of speculation on the Ω generation! 177 words of it! Who knew people could imagine so much inspired by a single character (and no historical context to extrapolate from). Personally, I tend to think of it as the “resistance generation” given my electronic background 😜. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 15:11, 4 March 2018 (UTC)