explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3037: Radon

2025-01-13T22:53:10Z

TallJason: possible triva

The sun is a white star. It looks yellow from within the atmosphere because blue light is scattered out of it, the same reason the sky is blue. How did physicist Randall not know that? [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:26, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:Randall is almost certainly a Superman fan, and we all know that Kryptonians get their powers from yellow suns. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:07, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

Wikipedia disagrees; The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V), informally called a yellow dwarf, though its light is actually white. It formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.23.87|172.71.23.87]] 20:43, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:Your quote agrees with me. As @Starstar says below, it might be intentional on his part. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 20:53, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:: No "his quote" doesn't?? (Unless I'm understanding your meaning with "his quote") Yes the sun is White. HOWEVER, it is NOT called a "white star". Stars aren't categorized by color but by tempeture. Which I mean I guess it sorta means their catagorized by color but thats being nitpicky. Our sun is 5,772 K, which according to wikipedia means its a class-G star which is known by the not nerds as a yellow dwarf. Being a physicist means Randell is VERY aware of the category of our Sun. Repeat, the Sun is called a "yellow dwarf", therefore is Ponytail said "white star", she'd be talking about a star that is 9000 K and therfor NOT our Sun. Seriously this was like a 5 minute google search. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 21:01, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:: At any rate, I believe it plays into Ponytail just goofing around more than being precise [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 22:12, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

Perhaps it is intentional? [[User:Starstar|Starstar]] ([[User talk:Starstar|talk]]) 20:36, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

Possible trivia: The effect used in the title text for "²³⁸Umbrella" does NOT use html formatting. It uses unicode for the almost-but-not-technically superscripted "238" before "Umbrella." On some systems, this renders with the "23" being larger than and slightly below the level of the "8". Whether Randall knew of this effect or not is a mystery. If he did know, his motivations are a mystery. Maybe the 8 is radioactive and emitted a non-massless particle, thereby making it smaller (less mass != less volume, but go with it here) and more buoyant (less weight) in the presence of the adjacent characters. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.227.105|198.41.227.105]] 21:19, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:You can't use HTML markup in the title attribute, so there's no other way to do super/sub-scripting there. He could have used JavaScript to emulate the title attribute, though. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:38, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

What do people think of Hairstylist Wannabe's near-total rewrite of the explanation? While they added lots of technical details about radon, I think they missed much of the humor. Ponytail's comments are typical of the kind of things a home inspector or repair person will say to the owner, not really "flippant". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:48, 13 January 2025 (UTC)
:I like the facts but i changed the joke explantion back. [[User:Apollo11|Apollo11]] ([[User talk:Apollo11|talk]]) 22:07, 13 January 2025 (UTC)

Possible trivia: 238 Umbrella is a common weight for a patio umbrella stand.

2995: University Commas

2024-10-07T22:21:23Z

TallJason: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2995
| date = October 7, 2024
| title = University Commas
| image = university_commas_2x.png
| imagesize = 580x273px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The distinctive 'UCLA comma' and 'Michigan comma' are a long string of commas at the start and end of the sentence respectively.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT COMMA - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
,,,,,,,The, {{w|Oxford comma}}, is, a, comma, between, the, second,-to,-last, item, in, a, list, and, the, word, ''and'',.,,,,,, For instance, you can write "red, white, and blue" (with the Oxford comma) or "red, white and blue" (without it). Some style guides such as ''{{w|The Oxford Style Manual}}'' recommend using it while others recommend against it. This comic imagines other commas associated with universities.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Please, buy, apples, mac, and, cheese, milk, and, bread,.

Yale Comma
Columbia Comma
Cornell Comma
Princeton Comma
Harvard Comma
Stanford Comma
Cambridge Comma
Oxford Comma
MIT Comma

'''Caption''':
The Oxford one is the most famous, but many major universities have their own comma.
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2476: Base Rate

2021-06-16T14:52:24Z

TallJason:

"''Aaaand we're back!''"<br>[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:01, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
: What happened? [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 09:02, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
::I missed you! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 19:18, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:::There is this : [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#So_what_happened_to_the_site.3F post], but it does not help much yet... But great to be back live as long as it stays like this --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:08, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

I can't tell if cueball is holding the pointer in his left or right hand [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.122|141.101.98.122]] 21:30, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:If he's facing the audience, it's in his right hand. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:32, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:Typically cueball has a slightly noticeable 'chin' that indicates the direction he is looking (ex: #2471, #2468, #2460(cell 2 he looks at Megan and cell 3 looks away from her) ). So in this case I'd say he is looking to the right with his body facing the audience. --[[User:TallJason|TallJason]] ([[User talk:TallJason|talk]]) 15:52, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

I wonder if we can expect a comic soon about fan sites going offline. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:32, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:I really don't think Randall keeps an eye on this page... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

I removed the claim that Cueball was left-handed; I don't think we can tell whether he is or isn't. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.82|172.70.130.82]] 22:36, 15 June 2021 (UTC)
:There's now a claim that he's ''right''-handed, and I don't think that's reliable either. Yes, the "proper" way to do a presentation is to be facing away from the screen, but I've seen a lot of not-very-good presenters. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:30, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
::I’ll bet that about 90% of the not-very-good presenters you’ve seen were right-handed, therefore if Cueball is not very good, he’s probably right-handed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.190|172.69.34.190]] 04:53, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
Wouldn't cueball be technically correct, despite his logical error? Given a set of people who make base-rate errors, with no other qualifications, and given that 90 percent are right handed, wouldn't that make 90 percent of the people who make base rate errors right handed? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.180|172.69.71.180]] 13:21, 16 June 2021 (UTC)

2193: Well-Ordering Principle

2019-08-23T22:19:05Z

TallJason: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2193
| date = August 23, 2019
| title = Well-Ordering Principle
| image = well_ordering_principle.png
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp.]
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.
:Megan: Hmm.

:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.
:Genie: Ok, and?

:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.

:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinite wishes?
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.

{{comic discussion}}

2193: Well-Ordering Principle

2019-08-23T22:18:50Z

TallJason: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2193
| date = August 23, 2019
| title = Well-Ordering Principle
| image = well_ordering_principle.png
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp.]
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.
:Megan: Hmm.

:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.
:Genie: Ok, and?

:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.

:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinte wishes?
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.

{{comic discussion}}

2193: Well-Ordering Principle

2019-08-23T22:15:25Z

TallJason: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2193
| date = August 23, 2019
| title = Well-Ordering Principle
| image = well_ordering_principle.png
| titletext = We could organize a nationwide old-photo-album search, but the real Worst McFly is probably lost to time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD MARTY MCFLY COSTUME. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan rubs a lamp held in her hands. A genie appears from the end of the lamp.]
:Genie: Greetings, mortal. You have freed me. I will grant you one wish.
:Megan: Hmm.

:Megan: It's been over 30 years since ''Back to the future'' came out. Since then, probably hundreds of thousands of people have tried to dress as Marty McFly for Halloween.
:Genie: Ok, and?

:Megan: Of those people, one of them must have done the worst job.
:Megan: My wish is to see their costume.

:Genie: Not a billion dollars? Flight? Infinte wishes?
:Megan: These wish things are always traps.
:Megan: Just show me the worst McFly and we'll call it even.

{{comic discussion}}