explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1787: Voice Commands

2017-01-20T03:06:09Z

PsyMar: 100 WPM on qwerty, so 90 on dvorak not impressive

http://wbic16.xedoloh.com/dvorak.html converts "svat ussupd ;dlh a kdbk" to "okay google send a text"--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 16:38, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
:Well that's a much easier way of converting it than my method of looking at two keyboards. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.58|162.158.255.58]] 16:42, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

:I think that's just for US keyboards. I get different results trying that on a UK QWERTY keyboard [[User:Jdluk|Jdluk]] ([[User talk:Jdluk|talk]]) 16:56, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

:The opposite way of typing QWERTY on Dvorak gives the even less pronounceable "RTAF IRRIN. O.BE A Y.QY". –''TisTheAlmondTavern'', 12:38, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

The QWERTY layout is to slow typists down is an enduring myth. In the early days there were typing competitions (with big prizes) to find the fastest typist and fastest machine. This was won by QWERTY in the English world and AZERTY in the French one. Other languages may vary.

The avoid a clash reason (as users of manual machines know) is shown up by the common Left Right Left sequence of "the" and the many letter pairs in English of "er" which are adjacent left fingers and often caused me jams!

Other layouts and designs may have benefits, but will never become the default - a bit like Esperanto methinks ;-) [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:31, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

: "In the early days" typewriters would jam easily, so ''of course'' a layout that for the most part avoided that would be fastest way back then. Just because the layout ''still'' had jamming problems doesn't mean it wouldn't come out on top. Touchtyping (a more recent development than QWERTY) makes QWERTY uncomfortable to use at speed, but the pretty much random nature of the layout makes life easier for spell checking software (a more recent development than Dvorak) than Dvorak. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 23:43, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

I have only typed Dvorak since 1991, currently on a TypeMatrix 2030DV. Since I have pretty much forgotten Qwerty, I had to look at my wife's laptop to find the letters. Back and forth looking at the comic, it took me a minute to translate that in Notepad. ;-) I can do about 90 wpm in DV. Friends don't let friends type Qwerty!
[[User:TrueFalcon|TrueFalcon]] ([[User talk:TrueFalcon|talk]]) 17:10, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
* Dvorak? pfft. I use butterflies [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.160|108.162.245.160]] 23:52, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
* As a fellow Dvorak user, I think comments like these are the reason we keep getting comics about us. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.177|162.158.69.177]] 18:03, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
** I can practically guarantee it. Especially since actual studies on the subject suggest it's more ability and practice that improve typing speed rather than what layout is used. --[[User:KingStarscream|KingStarscream]] ([[User talk:KingStarscream|talk]]) 20:16, 18 January 2017 (UTC)
** Case in point: I wasn't born until 1988 so I have less experience than OP, but I type about 100 WPM in QWERTY. What does that say about Dvorak? --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 03:06, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

The hovertext should say "vocal cords," right? Not "chords"? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.222|173.245.50.222]] 18:20, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

: I've heard there ''are'' people who can sing more than one note at a time - a real vocal chord. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.16|198.41.238.16]] 23:47, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

:I suppose it might be a deliberate error, but, yes, "vocal chords" is incorrect: it should be "vocal cords" (i.e. strings), or even more correctly [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_folds vocal folds]. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.173|141.101.99.173]] 09:27, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

: A stenograph (as used by a court stenographer) is a keyboard where one presses several keys at a time, called a chord, so I think the hover text 'vocal chord' is a play on the idea of vocalising several 'keys' at once --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.126|141.101.107.126]] 13:01, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

The layout was intended to reduce jams, and was likely a trial and error process in development. The layout does in effect slow down the people of the day some, as for instance so many words are typed by left hand only, but this is likely unintentional. Notice that keys like the "I" and "O" are "together", but in fact are separated by three other key linkages, "K""," and "9", so pressing those didn't cause a jam as frequently when pressed in rapid succession, but nevertheless would have been faster had they been on opposite sides of the keyboard. Another point is that keyboarding was still visual at the time, so this keyboard mechanism never took into account the touch typing method that was developed a decade or so later. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.10|172.68.38.10]] 19:27, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

Is this an appropriate time to mention the advantages of MessageEase? No? Nevermind then. {{unsigned ip|162.158.114.82}}

I enjoyed MessageEase until I discovered Multiling O. It’s much more customizable. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.172|108.162.245.172]] 22:33, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

Bah. Everyone knows saying it in the original Klingon is much more efficient. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.11|108.162.238.11]] 14:18, 19 January 2017 (UTC)

Can we remove that last paragraph? It seems irrelevant to the explanation - as do a few other interludes that seem to only contribute to the opinions of the authors.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 14:55, 19 January 2017 (UTC)
: It would be safer to say which paragraph you mean, or multiple people might follow your suggestion and remove multiple paragraphs --[[User:OliReading|OliReading]] ([[User talk:OliReading|talk]]) 00:18, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1687: World War III+

2016-05-30T09:17:55Z

PsyMar: sign comment

The mouseover text mentions stripping a quote of its context... although this kind of makes the point of the context can often dilute the meaning, it seems that a counter point could be made by pointing out an example where the context is the source at least two major quotes (such as "No man is an island" and "Ask not for whom the bell tolls" both coming from John Donne).

Or I could just be being frivolous here?

[[User:Joshupetersen|Joshupetersen]] ([[User talk:Joshupetersen|talk]]) 04:15, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Hey, Randall skipped World War XIII. --[[User:XndrK|XndrK]] ([[User talk:XndrK|talk]]) 04:20, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Maybe World War XIII is just sticks and stones again, considering XII? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.71|173.245.56.71]] 05:14, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

I swear that I've seen this exact joke somewhere before. Not just the general idea, but I mean down to the text. Can't find anything in searches though -- does anyone else remember seeing this before?--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.221|108.162.220.221]] 05:22, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Comics released within the United State Memorial Day weekend. The unknown VIII-IX could reference Star Wars movies with their unknown scripts. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.15|141.101.98.15]]
:I made this misreading too, but it's VIII-XI, and I do not know of that many star wars movies planned. Could it be a final fantasy reference? --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 09:17, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1687: World War III+

2016-05-30T09:17:30Z

PsyMar: Not star wars. Final Fantasy?

Talk:1678: Recent Searches

2016-05-09T16:54:04Z

PsyMar: /* FSCK */

You can convert jpg to Excel (http://www.think-maths.co.uk/spreadsheet), so converting gif to Excel is not really absurd...

Interestingly enough "CPU temperature sensor limits" might be a serious consideration for extreme overclockers, who use things like liquid nitrogen to cool their PC. [[User:SG 01|SG 01]] ([[User talk:SG 01|talk]]) 15:45, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

This is my first time trying to help out with an explanation, please let me know if I did something wrong ^_^; [[User:Undergroundmonorail|Undergroundmonorail]] ([[User talk:Undergroundmonorail|talk]]) 15:48, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Is it possible the first one is an attempt to misuse google translate to translate programming code (to another programming language or even between linguistic languages)? [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 15:59, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

GIF to XLS could be a reference to http://www.think-maths.co.uk/spreadsheet [[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.55|141.101.93.55]] 16:16, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Doesn't "recursive" mean that it repeats (recurs)? [[User:Cardboardmech|Cardboardmech]] ([[User talk:Cardboardmech|talk]]) 16:44, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

== autoexec joke ==

isn't this related to autoexec.bat? [[User:Blydro|Blydro]] ([[User talk:Blydro|talk]]) 16:00, 9 May 2016 (UTC)blydro

I originally interpreted "clean reinstall keybinding" as meaning that his keybindings were so entirely screwed that he wanted to do a clean reinstall of the keybinding system, but the other interpretation is funnier. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.74|108.162.219.74]] 16:24, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

== FSCK ==

I've only ever seen "fsck" as a way of saying "fuck" that bypasses content filters, such as in global chat in games like World of Warcraft. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.62|173.245.52.62]] 16:25, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure it's file system consistency check. It's a program for checking your Linux filesystem. I think the Joke is that he needs to check his filesystem for corruption so often that he needs the convenience of a chrome extension. I have not edited the page because I neither use chrome extensions nor have I ever run fsck. Can anyone back me up on this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.197|108.162.218.197]] 16:43, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

:Yes, that's what fsck refers to here. I've run it many a time on my old Red Hat installation that somehow kept corrupting itself. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 16:54, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

== Predictable touchpad ==

A predictable touchpad would actually be a major blow to internet security -- mouse events are being used to seed randomness generators for cryptography. I don't think this piece of information is suited for the explanation, but just in case someone's interested: You're welcome! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.247|141.101.91.247]] 16:26, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1646: Twitter Bot

2016-02-22T08:19:00Z

PsyMar: email password recovery

Technically, nothing until the actual fight is against the Three Laws -- he didn't tell the bot NOT to do those things. And self-preservation is the third law, so it's allowed to defend itself in a fight, so long as it does not harm Cueball (First Law) -- so let's assume its phaser is set on "stun" (unbeknownst to Cueball) accounting for the pew pew noises, and this is now all within the three laws. Nothing in the Three Laws says it can't *threaten* a human, after all. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 08:15, 22 February 2016 (UTC)
:Also, unless the bot changed its own e-mail -- and I think Twitter sends a verification to the *old* e-mail that must be responded to -- changing the password shouldn't keep Cueball out, as Cueball can reset the password by e-mail. If he gave the bot his e-mail password then that's his fault, as is if he used the same password for his email and Twitter.--[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 08:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1646: Twitter Bot

2016-02-22T08:15:56Z

PsyMar: Could work within Three Laws

Talk:1636: XKCD Stack

2016-01-29T07:17:39Z

PsyMar: grr sign comments grr

I just came here. AM I IN THE FUTURE? ''I'm in the future!''
:We are in the future together.
::But if there are no comments, aren't we in the past? The distant past, before the beginning of the comments? ...Watch out for raptors!

Would you two sign your comments, please? --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 07:17, 29 January 2016 (UTC)

1618: Cold Medicine

2015-12-21T10:31:31Z

PsyMar: /* Explanation */ Fix typo. can't get rid off -> can't get rid of

{{comic
| number = 1618
| date = December 18, 2015
| title = Cold Medicine
| image = cold_medicine.png
| titletext = Seriously considering buying some illegal drugs to try to turn them back into cold medicine.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is, in this comic, probably representing [[Randall]], who as anyone else living in {{w|Geographical zone|The North Temperate Zone}} is very likely to have a {{w|Common cold|cold}} at this time of year (released in December). The way the title text is phrased makes this even more likely, see below. Also it is only two weeks ago Randall posted another comic about a cold works: [[1612: Colds]]. It thus seems that he is suffering from a long lasting cold, that he just can't get rid of.

Cueball is evidently suffering from a cold and he is searching the shelves labeled cold and {{w|Influenza|Flu}} at a {{w|pharmacy}} for any kind of '''cold medicine''' (hence the title), to alleviate his symptoms. Note that this all he can hope for, as there are still {{w|Common_cold#Management|no cure}} that really helps getting rid of the cold faster. All medication can do is help relieving the symptoms until the body's own {{w|immune system}} takes care of the relatively harmless cold virus.

After looking at several different options Cueball is clearly unsatisfied with what he finds. Either he doesn't feel that any of the unmonitored drugs available on the serve-yourself-shelf is useful, or he is actually too sick to properly ascertain which medicine he needs. In the end he approaches the counter and asks the {{w|pharmacist}} ([[Ponytail]]) to give him one of every kind of cold medicine which requires an ID to purchase. ('''Warning''': Taking lots of different medicines together could harm, or even kill you, because certain combinations of medications interact in ways that make them dangerous or even lethal). But that is not the message that Ponytail tries to give him, instead she tries to warn him that he would end up on some watchlist, presumably one of the government agencies ({{w|DEA}}, {{w|FBI}}, {{w|CIA}} etc.) But she never get to finish her sentence because Cueball is beyond caring and tells her this.

In the USA, cold medicines containing {{w|pseudoephedrine}} are kept behind the counter and IDs purchasing them are monitored, because pseudoephedrine can be used to make the illegal drug {{w|methamphetamine}} or meth (a more potent version of {{w|amphetamine}}). However, it is also an extremely effective {{w|decongestant}} (a pharmaceutical drug that is used to relieve {{w|nasal congestion}}/plugged nose), much more so than the common substitutes {{w|phenylephrine}} and {{w|oxymetazoline}}. This could be one reason why Cueball just requests all kinds of cold medicines of amongst other this type; he does not appear to care what exactly he is purchasing, believing that his one criterion will provide him medicine powerful enough for his illness. It may also be that he is just too sick to care or realize that this will arouse suspicion of him being a drug dealer, or to recognize the need to select only one medication of these type, to avoid a potentially deadly overdose.

This could be a reference to the medicine with the brand name {{w|Sudafed}}, sold as an over the counter decongestants with pseudoephedrine as the active ingredient. Now they also sell a different type of medicine for decongestants with the same brand name but without pseudoephedrine, but with for instance phenylephrine, which has recently been deemed only as effective as {{w|placebo}}... If you can buy this from the shelf (because it does not contain the drug precursor) then you could easily get home with the once effective Sudafed, only to realize later that, since you bought it on the shelf it does not help you at all. This could offer another explanation for Cueball's request and outburst in the final panel.

The title text seems to be Randall's own comment on how badly he is affected by his cold. He thus, humorously, suggest that he is now ready to purchase illegal drugs (this would then be ''meth'') in order to turn it back into a cold medicine (i.e. pseudoephedrine). This would not be feasible or safe to do, but may may be a reference to this spoof paper: ''[http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine''], a take on the long-going joke on the recent difficulty in obtaining pseudoephedrine, i.e. it is now easier to get your hands on the illegal drug made from it... It is a humorous exaggeration of how far Randall is willing to go to get the best cold medicine, and the potency of the drugs needed to treat his apparently debilitating illness. There are many illegal drugs that when first synthesized were planned to use as a medical drug, but then later abused by drug addicts, but given the subject of the comic, the title text obviously refers to meth.

Randall continued in the medical world with the next comic: [[1619: Watson Medical Algorithm]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in a drug store, with a drug in his hand he has taken from the shelf he is standing next to. The shelf is labeled.]
:Cueball: *Sniffle*
:Label: Cold &Flu

:[Cueball is standing alone, examining some medicine he is holding up, while having some other medicine in the other hand.]
:Cueball: *Cough*
:Cueball: *Sniff*

:[Cueball continues examining more medicine. Looking down on one in his hand, having another in the other hand and there are also three packages at his feet.]
:Cueball: Ughhh...

:[Cueball is at the labeled counter in the drug store with computer etc. Ponytail is behind the counter.]
:Counter label: Sale
:Cueball: Just gimme one of every kind of cold medicine you need ID to buy.
:Ponytail: You'll go on the watchlist for—
:Cueball: Don't care.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

Talk:1609: Food Combinations

2015-12-09T09:38:35Z

PsyMar: french fries on pizza

I tried this on a friend and after three tries she said, you just mentioned all my favorite food items. So... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:27, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

You know what's really good? Ice cream on pizza. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:23, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
:That's a popular summer snack in Tasmania. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 08:02, 28 November 2015 (UTC)
::I used to eat french fries on pizza in high school. Mom still thinks I'm weird for this. I mean, I'm weird, but that's not why [[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 09:38, 9 December 2015 (UTC)
So nobody puts sour cream on pancakes??? {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.14}}

Joey agrees with that - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSFgDZJVYbo [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.139|162.158.34.139]] 15:40, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
:Thanks I was just thinking of that episode when seeing this comic. Think it deserves a place in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:06, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

Well, I made a first-hack attempt, with terrible grammar and no appropriate citations. Please don't be too harsh! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.83|199.27.129.83]] 16:14, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

Most of the combinations involving the dairy items are disgusting. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.9|108.162.216.9]] 19:29, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

If you think sour cream and pancakes is not a traditional combination, you've never been to Russia. We put sour cream in a lot of things, really, but pancakes especially. That applies almost as well to sour cream and ketchup (though that is just a pair of commonly combined condiments, not a food item in itself). I do, however, agree with the commentor above (even regarding sour cream). Incidentally, I had to google "relish" - apparently it's a general term for a big variety of chopped-vegetable items. The Russian name for one particularly common type literally translates as "eggplant caviar". Goes nicely with ham, is applied to pancakes occasionally. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.180.191|162.158.180.191]] 20:51, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
:FYI, pickle (that is to say, pickled cucumber) relish is generally what people from the US mean when referring to relish. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 05:05, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

It will be interesting to see if all items will be checked of eventually when people from many different countries comes by? I checked of pancakes and ice cream. I put ice in almost every time I make sweet pancakes. Yummy. But we also have "food" pancakes (not sweat) with meat in them. And I'm note talking about tortillas or burrito pancakes. Made exactly like normal sweet pancakes without sugar and with salt. In The Netherlands they have pancake houses where the toppings is more like that of a pizza, and then after wards they drop on some kind of syrup... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:06, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

Avocado and ice cream is traditional? Really? I mean, the novelty ice cream places (bacon ice cream, beer ice cream, Tabasco ice cream, you know the drill), sure, but where is that a traditional pairing? ... However, I'm putting in another vote for sour cream with pancakes. Especially if you consider crêpes and associated acts as in the pancake category, so there's the whole world of savory pancakes out there. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.7|108.162.221.7]] 04:16, 28 November 2015 (UTC)MR
:I have removed avocado and ice cream. That cannot be thought of as traditional even if someone actually likes it. I do not know if you could think of pancakes and sour cream as traditional. But again if you think of them both as sweat and food pancakes (as already is the case, then maybe...) I will not list it though as I do not feel it is traditional. But I would also not delete it if anyone else feels it is. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:41, 28 November 2015 (UTC)
:Sorry, that was me. Wasn't aware that this had to be exclusively limited to food items from the US, but anyway was thinking about the avocado icecream here (taluwang.com.my). It's quite popular where I come from and quite delicious, actually. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.137|162.158.153.137]] 14:13, 29 November 2015 (UTC)
:Avocado ice cream is also eaten occasionally in Brazil. Admittedly, Brazil isn't the United States. However, a simple Google Search of "Avocado Ice Cream" brings up dozens of very different recipes (including an avocado coconut ice cream that I really have to try). In addition, the table of traditional pairings says "it should mainly be combinations that are common in the US". If it said "combinations exclusively in the US" then I could see justifiably removing Avocado Ice Cream. However, since there are multiple countries that it is both popular and commonly eaten ''and'' literally millions of hits show up in English if you search it in Google, I would say that it counts. (That's not even including the smoothies and shakes that include avocado and ice cream). [[User:Jeudi Violist|Jeudi Violist]] ([[User talk:Jeudi Violist|talk]]) 07:13, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

At least five of those alleged "individually good" so-called "foods" - relish, ketchup, cheese, sour cream, and avocado - are absolutely disgusting and would destroy any food value of things they came in contact with. YMMV.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 09:46, 28 November 2015 (UTC)
:Well I also do not like avocado or sour cream and neither most forms of eggs plus only a few kind of cheese. But I know that many people really love these items, and that would not make it a bad combination to put sour cream and avocado together. I just would not wish to eat it for my personal taste. That I do not like it, does not make it disgusting. But I would be sorry if someone tried to make me eat it. But not get disgusted because other people eat it in front of me. Disgusting things are something like rat or excrements... ;-) And this has to be taken into account before anyone changes the table above. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:37, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

There's some "almost something I've seen" combinations, in the above. For example, while I've never had Ham And Avocado, Ham And Pineapple is not uncommon. (Of course, now we're also into neighbouring territory of "does pineapple belong on a pizza?" ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 16:39, 28 November 2015 (UTC)
:Yes pineapple definitely belongs to a pizza! Ham and pineapple are the basis for a classic hawaiian pizza recipe. Nothing odd about it, fairly common in stores or pizza places. One of my favourites. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:28, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

Err, what? Ketchup flavored chips hard to come by in the US? I've yet to see a single supermarket that didn't have a large quantity of Herr's Ketchup Chips. And I live in the american Northeast.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 05:00, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

"Pairings" is itself a bit ambiguous, but I'd vote that none of cupcakes/sour cream, pancakes/cheese nor eggs/ relish are traditional pairings. Pancakes with sour cream may well edge in as blinis, but only by counting blinis (and crepes?) within pancakes. Some others are perhaps a little more likely, but still would not make my personal cut as a traditional pairing -- ice cream/ hot chocolate & ham/relish would fail, and if we count hot chocolate/pancakes as OK because they may both be part of a breakfast, then why not hot chocolate/eggs? [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:40, 29 November 2015 (UTC)
: I agree that Cupcakes/Sour Cream is certainly not a traditional pairing. I believe this should be removed. [[User:Teleksterling|Teleksterling]] ([[User talk:Teleksterling|talk]]) 23:24, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

In my experience, all combinations of individually-good foods are only bad if you go into it expecting them to be. Speaking of which, I highly recommend putting creamy peanut butter and slices of banana on a burger.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.60|108.162.216.60]] 05:21, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

the one problem i see is the non-solid combinations... such as ketch and hot coco or eggs (depending on state) [[User:Needforsuv|Needforsuv]] ([[User talk:Needforsuv|talk]]) 11:20, 30 November 2015 (UTC)

I think some of those "traditional" combinations colored-coded into the chart are very much "[citation needed]." Just because something /can/ go together (without being disgusting :p) doesn't mean they /traditionally/ occur together. Skittles and Ice Cream don't sound like a bad combination (depending on the ice cream flavor), but I've never seen nor heard of them together.

Pancakes and Ham seem to be paired because they're both "breakfast" foods, but I've never heard of anyone putting ham on their pancakes, so it's not a traditional pairing as is "ham and eggs" or "ham and (disgusting) cheese [sandwiches]."
: I can go to any diner around here and get pancakes and ham for breakfast. Nothing in the comic says I have to put the ham ''on'' the pancakes (the comic is about "X ''and'' Y", not "X ''on'' Y"), although now that sounds like a good idea to try next time (I have done so with bacon, hmmmm baaacoooon...) [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:28, 1 December 2015 (UTC)
:: The comic, however, is food ''combinations''. That, to me, suggests foods that are eaten together, not merely at the same meal. *shrug* But I'm not a regular 'round these parts, so.... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 03:28, 2 December 2015 (UTC)
::: I thought putting ham on pancakes was popular in Russia, but on googling, I found dozens of recipes for pancakes, ham ''and cheese'' (note that both ham and pancakes are commonly combined with cheese) - and none for ''just'' pancakes and ham. (You can indeed get that at Teremok, though, as well as a lot of other pancake condiments.) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.180.179|162.158.180.179]] 06:39, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

The same goes for cheese and relish. They both may be on the same food (burgers), but they're not paired on their own. There may be a correlation, but it's certainly not a /pairing/.

I'm not a contributor, just an anonymous snarker, so I won't be making edits to the chart - especially since someone would just as likely strike them on accusation of "vandalism." :( [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 03:02, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

The comments seem to have converged on the idea that there must be ''traditional'' pairings. I think the purpose of the comic is more about being open minded and about "what does sound like a possible good idea" especially where it is not traditional. Comments seem to focus on literally "X ''on'' Y" instead of a more vague "X ''and'' Y." The color table is too much black-and-white (pun intended); instead what would be more interesting would be a number of likes/dislikes if people were asked "would you be ''open'' to ''try'' to eat X at the same than Y?" I have no idea how to do that with a wiki syntax. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:28, 1 December 2015 (UTC)
:The table is labeled as "Traditional pairings found in the list of combinations" - thus the commentary on them being traditional pairings or not. The comic itself says nothing about traditionality. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 03:20, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

What are you kidding me? Ham and Skittles is the shit! [[User:Auraxangelic|Auraxangelic]] ([[User talk:Auraxangelic|talk]]) 20:10, 1 December 2015 (UTC)
: Removing the slang/idiomatic connotations, I'd agree. :p [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.33|108.162.221.33]] 03:28, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Too bad mayonnaise and peanut butter aren't choices. I love them on a sandwich, although I'm sure others would find that combination disgusting.[[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 18:27, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

mmm... skittles and pancakes... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 00:11, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

1596: Launch Status Check

2015-10-28T09:10:59Z

PsyMar: give reason explanation is incomplete

{{comic
| number = 1596
| date = October 28, 2015
| title = Launch Status Check
| image = launch status check.png
| titletext = Visual checks suggest the cool bird has exited the launch zone. Tip the rocket sideways and resume the countdown--we're gonna go find it!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|nobody added one yet}}

==Transcript==
:[A rocket is about to launch.]
:Countdown: ''T-Minus 2 minutes''
:Offscreen Voice 1: Tank and booster are go for launch.
:Offscreen Voice 2: Safety console?
:Offscreen Voice 1: Check. Safety-
:Offscreen Voice 2: Wait.

:Offscreen Voice 1: What is it?
:Offscreen Voice 2: On the live feed- a cool bird just flew past the tower!

:[A shadow darkens the launch site.]
:Offscreen Voice 1: Whoa, what kind?
:Offscreen Voice 2: Like a hawk, maybe!
:Offscreen Voice 1: Could it be a vulture?
:Offscreen Voice 2: I doubt it. The wings were flat, not in a "V".
:Offscreen Voice 1: It could be an eagle!
:Offscreen Voice 2: Ooh!

:Offscreen Voice 1: This is launch control. We have a possible sighting of a cool bird. Halt the countdown.
:Offscreen Voice 2: Someone get some binoculars up here!
:Offscreen Voice 1: I want to see!

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1591: Bell's Theorem

2015-10-16T20:33:47Z

PsyMar: light-nanosecond ~= one foot

I'm sure some people here have this memorised, but light travels just under 30 centimetres in a nanosecond. For our Metric-ally challenged friends, that's about one foot – so 5 metres takes around 16.67 nanoseconds. I leave the comic explanation to smarter people than me. [[User:Paddles|Paddles]] ([[User talk:Paddles|talk]]) 13:02, 16 October 2015 (UTC)
:I have seen Admiral Grace Hopper demonstrate this with approximately foot-long lengths of wire representing "light-nanoseconds". It's accurate to one part in 50 (although not as accurate as the one-part-in-1000 "30 centimeters" measurement). [[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 20:33, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

The comic only shows that the two characters are 5m apart at chest level. What if there was a miniature wormhole or distortion in time in a separate area, making this seemingly "FTL" communication scientifically possible? {{User:17jiangz1/signature|14:19, 16 October 2015}}

For an explanation of Bell's theorem in the words of the man himself, and targeted at an educated lay audience, this is essential reading:
https://cds.cern.ch/record/142461/files/198009299.pdf [[Special:Contributions/162.158.35.36|162.158.35.36]] 16:22, 16 October 2015 (UTC) : Tim B posting as Anon

Wow, the explanation needs some explaining. Can the first part about quantum mechanics be simplified, moved, or have something clearer put in front of it? I don't feel up to the task, but the section is not very helpful. -[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 17:32, 16 October 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1585: Similarities

2015-10-02T09:30:56Z

PsyMar: agree with NASA theory

;Origins

I've heard 50 Shades of Grey started out as Twilight fan fiction, but don't know how The Martian came to be. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.115|108.162.216.115]] 05:56, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

-- Still missing from the explanation is what kind of brand ''The Martian'' is about... -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.217|162.158.114.217]] 08:18, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:NASA? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.238|108.162.229.238]] 08:22, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:A Mars bar? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.65|141.101.98.65]] 09:09, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
:I'm going with NASA. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 09:30, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

: It is Twilight fan-fiction. The original version is still availble for free. They just renamed the characters and removed references to Christian being a sparkling vampire and published it as a new book.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.115.22|162.158.115.22]] 08:43, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1565: Back Seat

2015-08-17T07:20:06Z

PsyMar: typo fix; mildly offended but only mildly

Added my very first transcript. If there are errors in formatting etc. please fix them 05:37, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

The backseats of some cars are really messy. I have yet to see any dead animals though, unless you count hamburgers.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.163|173.245.54.163]] 04:30, 17 August 2015 (UTC)
E
I wrote a very quick first draft of the explanation. This is my first time writing from scratch, so feel free to take it all down and start over. Also, my first time posting a comment, so sorry for inevitable formatting errors. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.84|162.158.255.84]] 04:33, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Welcome! I would say that to me this is not a comic about how raccoons always end up in the back seat of cars, but more a comic about how the phrase "clear a few things out of the back" is always an understatement/euphemism for disgusting stuff that's back there. In my opinion he just chose dead raccoon because of how gross that is. [[User:Bbruzzo|Bbruzzo]] ([[User talk:Bbruzzo|talk]]) 04:36, 17 August 2015 (UTC)
:I for one am mildly offended by this comic; while I am lazy about when I throw out bags of trash that often find their way to the back seat--mostly stuff like "trays that used to contain pecan twirls" or soda bottles--I do at least keep it wrapped up in ready-to-throw-out plastic bags to hide the smell, and under no circumstances do I leave enough food for a raccoon to go hunting in my back seat. (Please note *mildly* offended; I get it's just a comic.) Also, I hope it's okay to fix obvious typos in other people's comments, because I just did that.[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 07:20, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:931: Lanes

2015-08-12T20:54:50Z

PsyMar: Jimmy Carter

;Typo?
Not positive enough to change, but..."Randall's now wife"? Is that supposed to be 'Randall's NEW wife'? --[[Special:Contributions/68.200.188.141|68.200.188.141]] 02:00, 28 January 2013 (UTC)
:No. At the time, she was his fiancee. She is now his wife. His then-fiancee, now-wife. [[Special:Contributions/184.144.254.165|184.144.254.165]] 01:32, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
::This explain now covers this issue very well. Thanks for your hints. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:35, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

;My edit to the transcript
I've noticed that when the only characters in a comic are two stick figures, explainxkcd usually calls them "Cueball" and "Friend". So I changed this transcript to reflect that. I tried to clarify what "off-panel" meant, and I added the fact that the second Cueball-only panel shows only the top half of his body. Lastly, I changed "roughly fifty" to "fifty-two", since an exact count of the lanes was given in the explanation. I hope no one disagrees with these changes, but if you do, please don't just revert without an explanation. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 19:06, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Here's to Randall's Now Wife. Good on you my dear!

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 16:29, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Fuck cancer. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.143|108.162.219.143]] 02:02, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

Just read Jimmy Carter's got cancer. I echo the sentiments of the IP poster above me.[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 20:54, 12 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1560: Bubblegum

2015-08-05T17:01:01Z

PsyMar: English is screwy.

I believe the title text refers to the story about Calvin Coolidge about making a bet to not say 3 words.[[User:Blawho|Blawho]] ([[User talk:Blawho|talk]]) 04:51, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Duke Nukem says: "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum...", not the other way around. Don't know if this is worth mentioning. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:24, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't know the movie quote. With this info in mind, I now think that panel 2 shows that Cueball is perhaps not making friends, so he decides to just go for the chewing gum option?? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.36|141.101.99.36]] 08:40, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
I added that the dénouement was similar to something the naïve and childish Beret Guy would do, that okay? [[User:MadHaighaHatta|Completely sane (And not Anglo-Saxon)]] ([[User talk:MadHaighaHatta|talk]]) 11:27, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

;Title text
Title text only 16 words? ''I(1) came(2) here(3) to(4) chew(5) bubblegum(6) and(7) say(8) no(9) more(10) than(11) eighteen(12) words(13) ... and(14) I'm(15) all(16) out(17) of(18)'' --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.98|162.158.93.98]] 10:26, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
: Title text 18 words, movie quote 16 words. Unless Randall takes the stuff in the movie quote as "bubble gum" where Randall's own text uses "bubblegum." Which is entirely possible, but weird. But then, what's not to like about "weird?" [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 10:41, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
:: sorry, no native english - why is "I'm" counted as one word as it is "I am" which I would count as two words? Or is "don't" and "can't" also one word? -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.17|162.158.92.17]] 13:09, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
:::"don't" and "can't" are both also considered one word. In English, a contraction functions as one word, even though it combines multiple words. Don't bother asking why... the rules of English don't necessarily make sense. :-) [[User:Suspender guy|Suspender guy]] ([[User talk:Suspender guy|talk]]) 16:37, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
::::This is absolutely true. Basically, if it's not separated by spaces, it's one word, be there an apostrophe, hyphen or whatever. But the thing about English is not only do the rules not necessarily make sense, they don't necessarily exist, either, or if they do not everyone agrees on them, such as how many spaces to put after a period at the end of a sentence (used to be universally two, now that's quite rare); and whether to put punctuation inside or outside of quotation marks (I usually put it outside unless it's part of the quote, but that style is mainly restricted to computer manuals that are trying to avoid you typing in the sentence-ending period.) I still think English is harder to learn than Japanese (which is what most native English speakers cite as "a difficult-to-learn language") and I grew up speaking English.[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 17:01, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

The description of the hovertext mentions "out of words" and "out of both"; might want to include the original, "out of bubblegum". Also, the deliberate truncation implies "out of time", which could relate to the possibility of it being a tribute to Roddy Piper.--[[User:Beth|Beth]] ([[User talk:Beth|talk]]) 12:44, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't wanna change Randall's work - I just want to mention that ''I came here to chew bubblegum and say only sixteen words ... and I'm all out of'' would be more close to proposed origin where a) 16 words [with I'm= 1] and b) only positive descriptions used. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.17|162.158.92.17]] 13:16, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1552: Rulebook

2015-07-17T07:22:43Z

PsyMar: DH argument

Doesn't ''the law'' forbid harming another's domestic animal? --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 05:20, 17 July 2015 (UTC)
:Yes. Yes it does. So, basically, the rulebook of the country says they cannot do it. It could have been a great cartoon if he had picked an example that was actually legal. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.239.32|198.41.239.32]] 05:50, 17 July 2015 (UTC)
::Well, technically ([[1475: Technically]]) the law isn't part of any rule book... Unless there is a law (or rule) which says otherwise. (edit: That doesn't mean the law wouldn't apply nevertheless!)[[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:15, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

Amusingly, Air Bud is also wrong because the basketball rules say that a team consists of five men, and dogs are not men. --[[User:AndyZ|AndyZ]]
:That can be argued, if Air Bud is a male dog. Besides, "baseball is a game of two teams of 9 players each", but then they go and use the Designated Hitter. So Air Bud is just the Designated Dog. [[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 07:22, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1548: 90s Kid

2015-07-08T15:09:36Z

PsyMar: what to use instead of facebook

Usual gripes that the median does not have to mean typical
13:49, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

(Above comment not properly signed..? It's not me, anyway.) I authored the first go at an explanation. Looks too wordy. But probably could do with other links to the various other "time flies, doesn't it?" cartoons, if anything ought to be added.

Not sure about my comments about LOL. I didn't really encounter it in force until >2000, before which I never really experienced Web 2.0. "ROFL" or various smilies having been the more standard on areas of Usenet that I frequented in the decade before that where web pages were rarely quite so chatty and 'social' IME.

(My own childhood was in the '70s in the UK. For some reason I'm actually fairly aware of Rugrats, but Doug is just something 'I know about'. There must be a child of the '90s, or late '80s, who can better describe the shows.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 14:07, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Median may not be typical, but it *does* mean right at the 50% mark, which means that a significant portion of the top half of the bell curve is going to be 90s kids, with the proportion continuing to increase throughout the decade as more years from the 90s come of age. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.169|173.245.56.169]] 14:09, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

"Typical" doesn't have quite as strict a meaning as "median" ... but yeah, assuming the median date of birth of a new mother is 1 January 1990, then half of all new mothers are pre-90's kids. Taking into account mothers born in the 2000s, this would mean that the majority of new mothers are NOT 90's kids. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 14:13, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

I teach British teenagers, and they scoff at people who "still use facebook". These "time passes" comics are getting a little tedious for my tastes. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 14:13, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

:What the hell are you supposed to use? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.32|108.162.215.32]] 14:52, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

::Twitter and/or IRC. Although if I ever choose to post something lengthy, I go with either pastebin or (and yes people will laugh at this) my ancient LiveJournal. [[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 15:09, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

BTW, Cosmogoblin, you're probably right to change my original "'90s" to "90's" based on the comic style, but I thoroughly disagree with the format Randall chooses. Stylebooks be damned (or at least those that say it can/''should'' be done this way), but as a contraction of the plural of "1990" it really ought to have an apostrophe (if anywhere) for the characters lost in the contraction and ''no'' apostrophe for the pluralisation. (In fact, in the comic, it should actually be "90s' kid", best to omit the first apostrophe and put the second where it ''actually'' belongs in this possessive context.) Rant over. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.252|141.101.98.252]] 15:02, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Talk:416: Zealous Autoconfig

2015-05-01T13:13:43Z

PsyMar: Another way to copy without ctrl-C

I have my network autoconfig set up to run a rainbow table attack if there's a password on the network. Wifi everywhere is great. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 15:05, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

But how would the school know about the Lenhart children if Mrs. Roberts deleted the students table? {{unsigned ip|184.11.73.88}}}
:I say it'd be a liveware attack. A voice-call from the application, with in-built speech-synthisis and speech-recognition capabilities, requesting information from the school secretary him/herself. Probably a Black Hat construction. Or Hartigan (/whoever) from the Leverage series... ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.107.249.215|178.107.249.215]] 23:43, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

I think Miss Lenhart must be the Lenhart children's paternal aunt. Their mother is most probably Mrs. Lenhart. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 02:20, 14 October 2013 (UTC)

When I saw "Ctrl + C" my first thought was "copy." It's the dumb thing about windows and every implementation that uses that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.217|108.162.245.217]] 14:02, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

It gets worse! I regularly use Konsole, where ctrl-c cancels things; ctrl-shift-c copies, but then I start using ctrl-shift-c in Chrome and end up debugging web pages instead of copying text. GAH! {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.157}}

A similar concept to [[538: Security]]. [[User:Shanek|Shanek]] ([[User talk:Shanek|talk]]) 12:29, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

Believe it or not, you can use ctrl-insert to copy on almost any linux or windows program. Shift-delete is cut and shift-insert is paste. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 13:13, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1515: Basketball Earth

2015-04-22T17:11:38Z

PsyMar: basketball hoop too high

Apologies to the first editor, who made a snappier version of what I wrote. For the record, whilst fighting a dodgy internet connection I eventually ended up replacing the following...
Cueball is seen trying to explain the relative sizes of the earth and moon by comparing the earth to a basketball and the moon to what looks like a golf ball. This explanation is constantly thwarted by passerby interacting with the basketball while Cueball is explaining it.
For the title text, the answer is zero, since it is against basketball rules.
...with what I tried to keep short during my own writing from scratch. I also ommited several other concepts of my own thought: The fact that Blackhat must have used a very light-touch to ''only'' generate a megatsunami (albeit already unimaginably large, at Earthball's scale); The possibility of recursion (including something like the Men In Black 'cat collar' allusion); and that in the universe of the comic strip there is only ''one'' actual basketball (the Earthball itsself), although I like how we ''both'' had the idea that the basketballs upon Earthball would not have counted in a game of basketball with an Earthball-scaled hoop, due to quite obvious interpretations of the sport's regulations. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 05:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Oh yeah, and reversion is invited, if deemed preferable. As is amalgamation, and refinement and re-replacement by something even better, of course. As per the standard Wiki creed. Much as I am cringing at having upset the original contributor, I'm quite happy to be gazumped in turn. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 05:14, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
If you look at the third frame of the Blackhat sequence and compare it to the frames underneath, you can see that he didn't just touch the Earth or an ocean--he actually rotated it 90 degrees.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.115|108.162.221.115]] 09:38, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
:Well spotted! Edit that in! (Do it quickly with a pre-prepared edit. I kept getting hit by edit-conflicts, which I set about to resolve amicably without reversing anybody else's input; only to get hit by further edit-conflicts by the next person to come along and improve overlapping pieces, whom I also strived not to disregard.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.67|141.101.98.67]] 09:57, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
::No he didn't. the Earth always rotates from the first panel to the next. So that it is in a different position when Black Hat touches it, to where it was the panel before does not imply that he rotated the Earth. If anything he only rotated it a few degrees, as it had already rotated most of those 90 degree from panel 1 to panel 2 before Black Hat reaches the Earth. As far as I can see there has not been any change to include this yet. So that is good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:41, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I really love this comic. It is great fun. Thanks Randall, happy Earth day. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:42, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

... a tennis ball an average 7.2 metres away, while the Sun would be 26 metres across and 2.8 km away. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.165|108.162.250.165]] 13:25, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

It's 13:23 right now, but the clock of explainxkcd.com says it's 13:37. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:37, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

If we assume 9,000,000 basketballs sold every year ([http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=82227 bbs.ClutchFans.net]), one basketball lasts about 10,000 bounces ([http://www.sotruefacts.com/rule/770 SoTrueFacts.com]), and there's between 2,500 and 3,000 bounces per game ([http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_lifespan_of_a_basketball_in_bounces_in_National_Basketball_Association_play Answers.com]) we can extrapolate that on average a basketball doesn't live for more than a year, and the number of basketballs sold replace those which have lifed-out. Let's build in a 10% slush factor and say there 10m basketballs produced in the world last year. Let's further say that there's an extra 1m basketballs sold every year which don't get regular use and are in some kid's room and those have been accumulating for about ten years (different kids get basketballs every year which end up in their bedrooms). Dunking a basketball gives two points, and at 20 million basketballs, that gives 40 million points – and a safe bet you're going to make it to the playoffs that year. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:51, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Is it possible that the megatsunami is actually caused by the gravity of the scale Moon (it being way too close to the scale Earth)? This is a major problem that most children's books (or adult's books or websites) have. They scale the planets/moons/stars but not the distance. As the comment above, to get normal tides, the tennis ball should be 7.2m away at this scale. --[[User:Gravitron|Gravitron]] ([[User talk:Gravitron|talk]]) 14:06, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I find it interesting that Randall makes the same mistake a lot of people make reguarding the distance between the earth and moon at that scale. I was watching Veritasium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9D6xba9Og) on Youtube a while back and the guy there was asking people how far away a tennis ball sized moon would be from a basketball sized Earth. Most people made the distance way too small, very similar to how far away they appear in the comic. In reality they would be something like 10 times that distance. Usually Randall is more accurate than this. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:09, 22 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
:Unless he was simply trying to compare the relative sizes. It's possible after that he would get in to the relative distance between the two - but good point. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:12, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

I don't agree with the claim (at a couple points in the article) that *all* life would be extinguished by any of these manipulations. 2-4 may kill off most or all macroscopic life, but microbes would survive all of them (unless Megan has bleach in that sports bottle). If 3 or 4 shattered the earth, that might extinguish all microbes, but even that I doubt. The only case I can imagine would be if 3 or 4 caused it to spiral into the sun. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:10, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Title text might be reference to HHGTG: “
Ford Prefect: I read of one planet in the seventh dimension got used as a ball in a game of intergalactic bar billiards. Got potted straight into a black hole, killed ten billion people.
Arthur Dent: Madness. Total madness.
Ford Prefect: Yeah. Only scored thirty points too. ”[[Special:Contributions/198.41.241.91|198.41.241.91]] 14:23, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

-----

I admit that I'm super-confused by the structure of the comic. The explanation here describes possible consequences for the actions, but as depicted, only the first has any "real world" effect. I too would expect the water bottle to cause a deluge, but it doesn't seem to. What's going on? [[User:Mattdm|Mattdm]] ([[User talk:Mattdm|talk]]) 15:40, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

-----

The hoop in panel 16 seems too high, unless both Cueball and Megan are under 5 feet tall. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 17:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-15T10:34:12Z

PsyMar: added comment

So funny - especially the title text made me laugh :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The "coriolis effect" in the title text refers to the spin direction of vortices (rotating currents such as cyclones, whirlpools, and water draining from a basin), which is counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. The title text is a joke extending the reversal to the flow of time.
: The spin direction of whirlpools and basins is 'not' determined by the coriolis effect, on this scale its impact is way too small to make a difference. The title text refers to how the coriolis effect is often used to explain phenomena (especially with relation to the hemispheres), even when its wrong. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]] 08:23, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The events described during which the conception of a person with a given birth month occurred assumes that the parents were in the United States at that time. The seasons would be shifted by six months in the southern hemisphere, and the holidays of the 4th of July (Independence Day -- Aries), Halloween (Cancer, conception in October), Thanksgiving (Leo, conception in November), Mother's Day (Aquarius, conception in May), and the NCAA (college) basketball playoffs ("March Madness" -- Sagittarius) , might either not be celebrated or celebrated on a different day. [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 08:11, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

"Today, horoscopes are admitted to be pseudoscience." Citation needed. But what rubbish. Horoscopes are not even pseudoscience, so who is it "admitting" they are? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 08:36, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The general trick to horoscopes is make them vague enough that anyone can think they're true, regardless of their sign. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 10:34, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T12:46:24Z

PsyMar:

One objection: although ''What About Bob?'' was set at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, it was actually filmed at Smith Mountain Lake, VA. {{unsigned|‎Jstech}}

The Napoleon Dynamite Idaho square doesn't cover Preston, where it was filmed.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 06:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

The ''Twilight/50 Shades'' area really shouldn't cover eastern Washington and Oregon either. East of the Cascade Mountains is much more like Boise than Seattle. [[User:Tribble314|Tribble314]] ([[User talk:Tribble314|talk]]) 07:12, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Tribble314 is completely correct

It gets Forest Gump wrong, that is set in Alabama, including the Alabama gulf coast and not easter Georgia, The Tombstone section is on the wrong side of Arizona and Zorro is set, and filmed, in California. Anything By Mark Twain is too far south, and since Road Runner cartoons all have Saguaro and organ pipe cactus, it is amazing how the map outlines the exact part of Arizona where they don't exist

It's not about where it's set. It's where it's filmed. And I object to the 'Anything by Mark Twain' on the grounds that it's basically just Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn without say Innocents Abroad or for that matter most of what was written by a guy who did a good bit of traveling in his lifetime.--Dude[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 09:28, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Let's not forget _A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court_! I'm pretty sure that doesn't fit in 'Anything By Mark Twain'-space. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 12:46, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

I never even knew I lived so close to so many awesome movies. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 12:39, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia tells me that there are 3 2005 War of the World's movies. So... [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 12:43, 8 April 2015 (UTC)