explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2661: Age Milestone Privileges

2022-08-21T02:12:35Z

Steve:

Who is God empress?{{unsigned ip|172.68.50.207|23:05, 19 August 2022}}
:I reminds me of the God-empress of Missouri from an earlier comic about nested WWII speculation.{{unsigned ip|172.69.69.207|23:17, 19 August 2022}}
::That's comic [[2149]], yeah. There's also "I Swear Allegiance To The God-Empress In Life And In Death" in comic [[1413]], a phrase that will suddenly be very familiar in the year 2038.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.46|172.70.111.46]] 03:28, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
: The age to learn about Her Majesty, the God-empress is accurate, you kids will just think he's joking before you turn 45 and hear Her voice in your head.{{unsigned ip|162.158.62.167|23:56, 19 August 2022}}

The age must be stored in a 7 bit number because it wraps back to zero when 128 is reached. - Brian K {{unsigned ip|172.70.174.159|23:52, 19 August 2022}}
:''(Hey, you eager lot, you've all forgotten to (''properly'', if at all) sign your discussion contributions...)''
:...if it were 8-bit signed, unchecked bitwise rollover could be awkward. Especially in 1's Compliment. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 00:23, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Make sure the explanations you’re putting in the table are explanations, not reviews of the comic! I agree with the fact that the comic is “America-centric,” but things like that should be stripped of opinion before being put into the article. A better way to put that might be (before the table) “Since Randall lives in America, many of the entries in this comic are specific to the U.S.” [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 01:39, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Image has been updated, a new line item at age 50 for shingles vaccine. Whosoever knows how to fix the image on this site, please do so. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 05:24, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I think perhaps the 125 item was meant to be (17+21+35+50) but Randall got it wrong. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 05:51, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I think 118 means thereafter you get to vote 100 times in each election, not that you have voted 100 times ever. Not correcting the table yet, as I may be the only one who thinks this. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 06:34, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I thought that, for what it's worth (there wasn't even a table when I first was here, though, and left everyone else to get on with it). If nobody else mentions it ('officially'), I may do so later. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.225|141.101.98.225]] 08:47, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I assumed a joke about getting to cast 100 votes in each subsequent election, but the explanation could be what he meant. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.73|172.71.146.73]] 09:05, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I don't think it was deliberate, but I think a certain editor ended up globally deleting some words (without going back to check the Diffs: car, election, Senator, years) from the text when adding something new. Be careful. Easy to restore, and hopefully I did that even whilst retaining the legitimate-looking edit that coincided with that error, but seems like something I need to mention as having happened. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.173|172.69.79.173]] 20:31, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I suspect that the "age rolls over" idea came from the Wikipedia search excerpt using Duck Duck Go in Firefox (haven't checked anywhere else) -
[https://ibb.co/grL7032 Screenshot] --[[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 02:10, 21 August 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2661: Age Milestone Privileges

2022-08-21T02:10:45Z

Steve:

Who is God empress?{{unsigned ip|172.68.50.207|23:05, 19 August 2022}}
:I reminds me of the God-empress of Missouri from an earlier comic about nested WWII speculation.{{unsigned ip|172.69.69.207|23:17, 19 August 2022}}
::That's comic [[2149]], yeah. There's also "I Swear Allegiance To The God-Empress In Life And In Death" in comic [[1413]], a phrase that will suddenly be very familiar in the year 2038.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.46|172.70.111.46]] 03:28, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
: The age to learn about Her Majesty, the God-empress is accurate, you kids will just think he's joking before you turn 45 and hear Her voice in your head.{{unsigned ip|162.158.62.167|23:56, 19 August 2022}}

The age must be stored in a 7 bit number because it wraps back to zero when 128 is reached. - Brian K {{unsigned ip|172.70.174.159|23:52, 19 August 2022}}
:''(Hey, you eager lot, you've all forgotten to (''properly'', if at all) sign your discussion contributions...)''
:...if it were 8-bit signed, unchecked bitwise rollover could be awkward. Especially in 1's Compliment. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 00:23, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Make sure the explanations you’re putting in the table are explanations, not reviews of the comic! I agree with the fact that the comic is “America-centric,” but things like that should be stripped of opinion before being put into the article. A better way to put that might be (before the table) “Since Randall lives in America, many of the entries in this comic are specific to the U.S.” [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 01:39, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Image has been updated, a new line item at age 50 for shingles vaccine. Whosoever knows how to fix the image on this site, please do so. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 05:24, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I think perhaps the 125 item was meant to be (17+21+35+50) but Randall got it wrong. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 05:51, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I think 118 means thereafter you get to vote 100 times in each election, not that you have voted 100 times ever. Not correcting the table yet, as I may be the only one who thinks this. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 06:34, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I thought that, for what it's worth (there wasn't even a table when I first was here, though, and left everyone else to get on with it). If nobody else mentions it ('officially'), I may do so later. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.225|141.101.98.225]] 08:47, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I assumed a joke about getting to cast 100 votes in each subsequent election, but the explanation could be what he meant. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.73|172.71.146.73]] 09:05, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I don't think it was deliberate, but I think a certain editor ended up globally deleting some words (without going back to check the Diffs: car, election, Senator, years) from the text when adding something new. Be careful. Easy to restore, and hopefully I did that even whilst retaining the legitimate-looking edit that coincided with that error, but seems like something I need to mention as having happened. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.173|172.69.79.173]] 20:31, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I suspect that the "age rolls over at 122" idea came from the Wikipedia search excerpt using Duck Duck Go in Firefox (haven't checked anywhere else) -
[https://ibb.co/grL7032 Screenshot] --[[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 02:10, 21 August 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2661: Age Milestone Privileges

2022-08-21T02:10:00Z

Steve:

Who is God empress?{{unsigned ip|172.68.50.207|23:05, 19 August 2022}}
:I reminds me of the God-empress of Missouri from an earlier comic about nested WWII speculation.{{unsigned ip|172.69.69.207|23:17, 19 August 2022}}
::That's comic [[2149]], yeah. There's also "I Swear Allegiance To The God-Empress In Life And In Death" in comic [[1413]], a phrase that will suddenly be very familiar in the year 2038.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.46|172.70.111.46]] 03:28, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
: The age to learn about Her Majesty, the God-empress is accurate, you kids will just think he's joking before you turn 45 and hear Her voice in your head.{{unsigned ip|162.158.62.167|23:56, 19 August 2022}}

The age must be stored in a 7 bit number because it wraps back to zero when 128 is reached. - Brian K {{unsigned ip|172.70.174.159|23:52, 19 August 2022}}
:''(Hey, you eager lot, you've all forgotten to (''properly'', if at all) sign your discussion contributions...)''
:...if it were 8-bit signed, unchecked bitwise rollover could be awkward. Especially in 1's Compliment. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 00:23, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Make sure the explanations you’re putting in the table are explanations, not reviews of the comic! I agree with the fact that the comic is “America-centric,” but things like that should be stripped of opinion before being put into the article. A better way to put that might be (before the table) “Since Randall lives in America, many of the entries in this comic are specific to the U.S.” [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 01:39, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

Image has been updated, a new line item at age 50 for shingles vaccine. Whosoever knows how to fix the image on this site, please do so. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 05:24, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I think perhaps the 125 item was meant to be (17+21+35+50) but Randall got it wrong. [[User:Mrob27|Mrob27]] ([[User talk:Mrob27|talk]]) 05:51, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I think 118 means thereafter you get to vote 100 times in each election, not that you have voted 100 times ever. Not correcting the table yet, as I may be the only one who thinks this. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 06:34, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I thought that, for what it's worth (there wasn't even a table when I first was here, though, and left everyone else to get on with it). If nobody else mentions it ('officially'), I may do so later. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.225|141.101.98.225]] 08:47, 20 August 2022 (UTC)
:I assumed a joke about getting to cast 100 votes in each subsequent election, but the explanation could be what he meant. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.73|172.71.146.73]] 09:05, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I don't think it was deliberate, but I think a certain editor ended up globally deleting some words (without going back to check the Diffs: car, election, Senator, years) from the text when adding something new. Be careful. Easy to restore, and hopefully I did that even whilst retaining the legitimate-looking edit that coincided with that error, but seems like something I need to mention as having happened. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.173|172.69.79.173]] 20:31, 20 August 2022 (UTC)

I wonder if the "age rolls over at 122" idea came from the Wikipedia search excerpt using Duck Duck Go in Firefox (haven't checked anywhere else) -
[https://ibb.co/grL7032 Screenshot] --[[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 02:10, 21 August 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2568: Spinthariscope

2022-01-14T21:05:22Z

Steve:

Someone has already updated the Wikipedia page to mention this comic reference, before anyone here has gotten around to writing the explanation [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:56, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

I added an initial explanation, but I don't recognize the references to gallium and tritium (although I know what glowsticks are), so someone else should fill in about that. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:13, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Seems like there's something off with how the "ratio" is worded. It is a safe and legal toy, so the "actual safety and legality" is actually high-ish, right? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.25|172.70.178.25]] 20:44, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Make your own Spinthariscope kiddies https://www.instructables.com/Pocket-Size-Spinthariscope/. [[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 21:05, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2480: No, The Other One

2021-06-24T02:48:13Z

Steve:

We might want a table for this comic, with three columns: one for the name of the town, one for which state the copycat is in, and one for the original. We could also add a column for "why the original is well known," but that might be a bit much. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.124|108.162.245.124]] 20:38, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
: I agree, this feels like a very table-able comic. Especially to get all the cities and not make readers try to see "hey, did I miss one?" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.117.158|172.70.117.158]] 20:49, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
:: I think the term copy-cat should not be used here, since Lincoln, IL, for instance is older and carries the name longer than Lincoln, NE.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.74|162.158.88.74]] 21:05, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
::: Although the people in Lincoln, UK (also Boston, Washington, Richmond, Plymouth, Newhaven...) might have prior claims - Richmond is an even more interesting case, in fact. And of course I also recognise Lisbon and others. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 21:26, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
:::: May I suggest merging the first two columns and just listing [City, State] under "Place name in comic"? [[User:MajorBurns|MajorBurns]] ([[User talk:MajorBurns|talk]]) 21:38, 23 June 2021 (UTC)

In the map there are (at least) three Lincoln, two Jamestown, five Houston... [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 20:52, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
: There is a Jamestown in NY and PA also. I would expect to find a Jamestown in at least half of the states. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2021 (UTC)

There seems to be an extra dot in the northeast corner of Colorado - It looks like it might correspond with the Atlanta label, but there is no Atlanta in Colorado. Based on the position of the dot I'm guessing it may correspond to Akron or Yuma.--[[User:MajorBurns|MajorBurns]] ([[User talk:MajorBurns|talk]]) 21:56, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
: Google Maps says there's an Atlanta, Colorado, but it is in the south-east corner of the state, not where the dot is. It looks like it is in the middle of nowhere outside of Springfield. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 00:42, 24 June 2021 (UTC)

Jersey Shore PA - I just drove from New Jersey across the state of Pennsylvania, and saw the sign for Jersey Shore in the mountains in the middle of PA. What the? Turns out there was a town founded by two brothers from New Jersey called Waynesburg. When a neighboring town wanted to insult them by calling them "Jersey Shore" they went ahead and officially made Jersey Shore the name of the town. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania]. I wonder how many people turn off the highway in the middle of PA wanting to go to the Jersey Shore hundreds of miles away. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2021 (UTC)

Why no Hollywood, Florida? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Florida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Florida]
: Same reason there's no Richmond, Dublin, or Pittsburg (admittedly, a different spelling), California, just to name some of the closest ones to me. The map would be solid black if it labeled every "other one." [[User:Borglord|Borglord]] ([[User talk:Borglord|talk]]) 01:57, 24 June 2021 (UTC)

..''No'' Springfields? Really? There's gotta be 30+ of them! [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 02:00, 24 June 2021 (UTC)

`The most frequently occurring community name varies through the years. In a past year, it was "Midway" with 212 occurrences and "Fairview" in second with 202. More recently, "Fairview" counted 288 and "Midway" 256. The name "Springfield" is often thought to be the only community name appearing in each of the 50 States, but at last count it was in only 34 states.` https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-most-common-citytown-name-united-states [[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 02:48, 24 June 2021 (UTC)

Talk:1072: Seventies

2021-06-10T06:13:55Z

Steve:

Can someone comment on the S-es in image's title text? I can read it, but don't know what they mean. Probably some old spelling.

Done [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:52, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s

Answering machines certainly had been invented by the 1970s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answering_machine). The first practical commercial models started appearing in the 1960s and I had one that used an endless reel of magnetic tape in the 70s. [[User:Jonat|Jonat]] ([[User talk:Jonat|talk]]) 16:20, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Touch tone phones were certainly around in 1974, although dial phones were still prevalent. Touch Tone dialing was introduced in the late 60s (it was a sufficient novelty that if you visited someone with TouchTone, they'd show it off) The "press 1" aspect came much later, with automatic voice response (AVR) systems, probably mid 80s, although dial phones were still in use ("or wait to be connected to an operator"). As noted by Jonat, answering machines with cassettes, loops, or reel to reel tapes were quite common in the 70s, as a result of the Carterfone decision allowing interconnection to the public switched system in the US.[[Special:Contributions/71.177.151.10|71.177.151.10]] 04:56, 22 January 2013 (UTC)Jim Lux

I've never encountered those "press 1 to leave a message"-type answering machines, only ones where it says: "[person you wanted to call] is not available at this moment. Please leave a message after the beep. *beep*". Maybe it's a US thing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.223|108.162.231.223]] 11:59, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

: Most voicemail systems here in the US, you just leave a message after the beep, and press 1 at the end for more options afterward before sending your message (e.g., to delete it and re-record). Some answering machines, though, (like the one on my landline) let a caller choose from several mailboxes by pressing a mailbox number during the outgoing message (e.g., "To leave a message for Aaron, press 1. To leave a message for Bob, press 2."). Most likely, Randall's just [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfFunny taking a small liberty to make the joke work]. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 20:20, 20 December 2013 (UTC)
:: I've used a dial phone on those sorts of machines. Dialing "1" (or whatever number it was) worked fine, surprisingly. But evidently the person on the other end of the phone is baffled, and hasn't tried the obvious. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.6.128|162.158.6.128]] 20:44, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Why does [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1072:_Seventies&oldid=62864 this revision] say he has an incredulous look on his face, when he doesn't have a face? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.30|108.162.216.30]] 03:04, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
: I've seen many incredulous chins in my time, and that chin reeks of incredulity. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 22:45, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Anyone care to comment on why the alttext starts the quote with a single quote (UK-style, "'") and ends with a double (US-style, '"')? Was that a thing in the 17th century? [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 00:57, 9 September 2016 (UTC)

The image file seems to be missing here. Can someone look into it? [[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 13:39, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks for bringing this up. The picture was removed in 2012. Maybe copyright.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:41, 9 March 2017 (UTC)

the title-text looks like
"Wherefore this demonic inftrument? By what forcery does it produce fuch founds?"
:That is called a "long S" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s [[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 06:13, 10 June 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2358: Gravitational Wave Pulsars

2020-09-13T07:58:17Z

Steve:

This actually an old joke "what is the secret of comedy"
[[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 07:58, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

This one isn't very funny..
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.190|162.158.75.190]] 19:37, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
::It's not topical either. I sense filler. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.100|162.158.186.100]] 19:49, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
::::Perhaps not as topical as US Presidential Elections or COVID-19, but there have been at least two research papers on gravity wave phenomena in the past two weeks, I’ve been seeing YouTube vids about it pop up in my feed and various people tweeting about it. See the research paper, "GW190521: A Binary Black Hole Coalescence with a Total Mass of 150 Solar Masses," which was published in Physical Review Letters on September 2, 2020 and The research paper, "Properties and Astrophysical Implications of the 150 Solar Mass Binary Black Hole Merger GW190521," published in Astrophysical Journal Letters on September 2, 2020. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 05:13, 12 September 2020 (UTC)
::Unless there's a hidden joke that I don't get [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.176|172.68.141.176]] 20:05, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
::There's a common joke that roughly goes "What is the secret to a good joke timing?" (said all at once) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.244|162.158.106.244]] 21:18, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

Context is here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.04496
::Related to this? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GW190521 GW190521 Wiki]] [[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 21:13, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
::No, the gravitational waves have different periods than what LIGO/Virgo detects, and therefore the astrophysical sources are different. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.200|162.158.75.200]] 21:22, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

This is a reference to the (possibly apocryphal) Johnny Carson interview of a comedian (possibly Jerry Lewis, possibly Buddy Hackett):
* Comedian: Go ahead: ask me what is the secret of comedy.
* Carson: OK, what is the...
* Comedian: TIMING!
I've looked for the source, and all I can find are retellings of retellings (e.g. https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2013/08/the-immortal-timing-of-elmore-leonard.html ). -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 02:35, 12 September 2020 (UTC)

I think the title text is referring to the saying I’m realty that the most important things to consider when buying a house are “location, location, location.” (https://www.realestateabc.com/insights/location.html)
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.5|108.162.238.5]] 03:34, 12 September 2020 (UTC)
:Which is good to know, but leaves some doubt over momentum, momentum and momentum. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.197|162.158.158.197]] 08:24, 12 September 2020 (UTC)

The use of curly braces around {location, location, location} might also be a joke.
"...using curly braces refers to the character vector that is stored within the string."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/curly-brace
I don't understand enough about the topic to be sure. ---- JM
::The link points to a specific syntax for one programming language, namely MATLAB. Other languages use {...}, of course, but equally common is (...) or [...]. But importantly it is not a standard math/physics/astronomy notation. In a paper, unless otherwise specified, (x, y, z) is a triple of numbers making a vector whereas {x, y, z} is the set containing x, y, z and nothing else, which might therefore have 1, 2 or 3 elements. If there’s any joke here, it’s that {location, location, location} = {location}.

I've forgotten 110% of what I learned about math, but I thought {length, length, length} (or, equivalently, angle and magnitude) were equally important to a vector in 3-space. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.160|172.69.62.160]] 18:22, 12 September 2020 (UTC)