explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2222: Terminator: Dark Fate

2026-06-03T09:22:06Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Has anyone read Branches on the Tree of Time? This reminded me of that story. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.86.100|172.68.86.100]] 22:12, 30 October 2019 (UTC)

Can someone add a category for ''The Terminator'' series? There is this comic along with [[1046: Skynet]], [[104: Find You]], [[652: More Accurate]], [[1978: Congressional Testimony]], [[534: Genetic Algorithms]], and probably others. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.125|172.68.46.125]] 22:25, 30 October 2019 (UTC)
:Done: [[:Category:Terminator]]; apart from this and your five others I found 11 more... Good call. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:45, 31 October 2019 (UTC)

Although not explicitlt mentioned, the idea of going back in time to warn yourself to do or not do something is also reminiscent of [[wikipedia:Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]] [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:04, 31 October 2019 (UTC)

Could there be a meta-joke here with having the same cueballs in a bunch, this comic being number 2222 ? {{unsigned ip|172.68.226.52}}
:Not enough to put it in the explanation. But now it will be mentioned here... :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:00, 31 October 2019 (UTC)

Awfully similar to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Pilot {{unsigned ip|162.158.118.20}}

But... they're all NAKED! Cueball doesn't have enough sets of clothes for them all. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.10|198.41.238.10]] 08:29, 31 October 2019 (UTC)

I don't think any of them besides the second are actually guaranteed to be Cueball. They could be ''other'' people sent back, who cared strongly about Cueball watching the film for some reason. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 11:22, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
:They are of course all Cueball that is the joke. Also the two coming together even states that they are both you... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:00, 31 October 2019 (UTC)

You guys are missing the whole point: does this mean I should or SHOULD NOT go see the movie? Right now I'm doing both because I'm stuck in a box with a cat and a radioactive decay trigger...{{unsigned|Cellocgw}}

I just want to link to the deja vu family guy episode [https://youtu.be/CII_Q2aXa-k Youtube - Brian and Stewie go Time Travelin] --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.59|141.101.104.59]] 22:23, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
:AS SOON as I saw this comic, I knew I had to read the comments to make sure somebody essentially said "Family Guy Did It First!" (which comment is in itself a South Park reference). :) Jeez, this comic is essentially a copy of that scene in that episode! :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:35, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

I came here to comment that this strip seemed awfully similar to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tO8AMy72Hc this sketch video] but it turns out that general hilarity caused by people time traveling and then talking to themselves is just a common comedic topic. Oh well. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.220|108.162.249.220]] 10:01, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

:Maybe it is worthwhile to simply append a list of other takes on the comedic topic. My contribution is [http://taadd.com/chapter/WhatDotheTeenageBoysDo4/463462-2.html "What do the Teenage Boys do" Episode 4] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.63|172.69.134.63]] 06:09, 4 November 2019 (UTC)

It seems that a future version of Randall traveled back to stop him from referencing Terminator in xkcd, because he has not done it again after this comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.245|172.70.34.245]] 01:27, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

dave strider's GODDAMN timeline be like: --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 09:22, 3 June 2026 (UTC)

Talk:389: Keeping Time

2026-06-01T03:32:43Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Also, as a note or fun fact: most militaries and their associated groups (like cadets in Canada) also do the same. [[User:Toad573|Ribbit it's Toad!]] ([[User talk:Toad573|talk]]) 05:38, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

Another fun fact: anyone who went to a piano to hear what this sounded like inadvertently rickrolled themselves! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 21:40, 2 July 2016 (UTC)
:lol i knew it {{unsigned ip|172.69.0.165|02:05, 26 November 2024}}

Hey Randall, Please don't do this.
[[User:NinjaWolf064|You just lost the game. NinjaWolf064]] ([[User talk:NinjaWolf064|talk]]) 04:04, 24 May 2017 (UTC)
WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME (i just lost the game...) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:32, 1 June 2026 (UTC)

There doesn't see to be any explanation for the title text, does it refer to anything?
([[User talk:Whee23xkcd|talk]])

Ex marching band kid- you always start marching with your left foot, and songs in a parade usually start on the left foot unless there's a pick up note.

The trinket.io music code for the treble is <d- g- b- d'->4. <e- a- c' e'-> <e- g- a->4 <c f a- c' e'->4. <f b- d'- f'> a'-16 g'- f'8 <d- g- b- d'->4. <e- a- c' e'-> <c e- g- a->4 ~ <c e- g- a->2 r8 <A- a-> <A- a-> <B- b->16 <e- e'-> <B- b-> <e- e'->. (I couldn't be bothered to do the bass, due to its complexity.)

This would absolutely work on me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.90.67|172.69.90.67]] 17:24, 19 October 2021 (UTC)

I actually like this version of the song lol (as long as there are no lyrics.), is there any more/has anyone identified if this has the rest of the song? p l e a s e i n e e d t h i s t o b e a t h i n g r a n d a l l (yes i watched the talk) [[User:Marethyu|⟨Winter is coming⟩ Marethyu]] ([[User talk:Marethyu|talk]]) 19:26, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

This is the first XKCD that I know of that went viral. Played a huge role in the popularity of the comic exploding. [[Special:Contributions/205.196.7.217|205.196.7.217]] 22:32, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3248: 182.8 Meters

2026-05-21T10:55:36Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

I remember seeing a sign for a university saying it offered “more than 17 programs.” I can’t think of a reason for them to phrase it like that if they had anything other than 18 programs in total. [[User:KelOfTheStars!|KelOfTheStars!]] ([[User talk:KelOfTheStars!|talk]]) 04:16, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:Perhaps the sign was made while a potential 19th program was under consideration or when one of 19 programs was being considered for elimination. Another possibility is that it had small "programs" that were less than full-fledged programs and there was an internal dispute about whether those "programs" should count. My hobby: Thinking about possible excuses petty bureaucrats can use when drafting signs. [[Special:Contributions/150.221.155.241|150.221.155.241]] 04:54, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:: Or it has a variable number of programs, with some only running at certain times, but never less than a core 18 programs. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:28, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

Fun fact! There's never been a US President measuring either 186 or 187 cm tall: https://potus.com/presidential-facts/presidential-heights/ [[Special:Contributions/86.23.176.63|86.23.176.63]] 04:34, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

why is it that when i look at the page this shows up:
This is a comic in the "My Hobby" is a series of xkcd comics in which Randall suggests (hopefully fictional) hobbies he has. The hobbies tend to be clever or smart-aleck things to do. They do not always fall under the type of activity that would generally be described as a "hobby", but often are merely things Randall (or Cueball) does when certain situations arise. "My Hobby" comics are not presented regularly, but there have been a number such strip.... (yada yada yada)
but when i actually edit it it shows an really short sentence??? --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:54, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:It's fixed now.[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=3248%3A_182.8_Meters&action=historysubmit&type=revision&diff=413210&oldid=413206] [[Special:Contributions/150.221.155.241|150.221.155.241]] 05:07, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
::gee, thanks! /srs so it was a problem with the category formatting i made... i'll try to avoid in future! --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 10:55, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

I remember having a book about tabletop games and different sports, which was originally written in the USA. During translation all units got converted to metric, so the book had gems like "the billiards table needs to be 213.36 cm long and 108.68 cm wide". Eventually we reverse engineered it exactly like in the comic. --[[Special:Contributions/2A02:6BF:8009:1404:A0BE:9C5C:1FBA:A96F|2A02:6BF:8009:1404:A0BE:9C5C:1FBA:A96F]] 07:35, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
: I come across this apallingly often in my daily work. I work with patient information sheets for clinical studies. They are supposed to be worded "patient-friendly", so the people who write them convert those nasty mL into much nicer teaspoons and tablespoons. And then you get gems like "During the entire study, a total volume of approximately 31.33 tablespoons of blood will be taken from you." Which is EXTREMELY reader-friendly and easy to grasp, apparently. Recently, I even had a comment trail by previous editors attached to this, where one editor asked "shouldn't we round this to something more usable"? and the other one answered "Nah, you'll only get problems with rounding errors from inconsistently rounding up or down throughout the document, and then someone will complain. Just leave it like it is" --[[Special:Contributions/93.241.210.5|93.241.210.5]] 07:55, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:: A better solution there would seem to be to find an everyday object of about the capacity of the amount to be taken (a coffee mug?), and use that as a comparison. A volume in mL is likely to be just as meaningless as the 31.33 tablespoons. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:39, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:::Yes exactly, and some authors actually do this (using coffee mugs, for example), but others just seem to stupidly follow some guidebook for easy language ("convert mL to teaspoons or tablespoons") out of fear that "someone", either a superior or a client, might complain if they deviate from it, even when they KNOW they are writing bullshit. This is the stuff that ultimately brings down civilizations IMHO. --[[Special:Contributions/93.241.210.5|93.241.210.5]] 10:51, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:: I am a translator and I encounter this as well, although not exactly often. I remember a recent book about dinosaurs that listed sizes and weights in both metric and imperial units, and it was very apparent where an overly precise conversion was use. {{unsigned ip|185.180.14.152|09:25, 21 May 2026 (UTC)}}
: In that case, though, it probably is appropriate, (at least to the mm, if not to the 0.1mm) in that the sizes have been specifically defined within the laws of the game, and then translated to metric for use in the modern world, without wanting to change the actual sizes of the tables. A professional player might well notice if the size of the table was 4mm out. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:39, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

This sort of stuff would be unfathomable if we didn't have Randall. --[[Special:Contributions/134.157.254.7|134.157.254.7]] 08:22, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

It always makes me smile when I get my milk delivered by the quaint old traditional milk man in '568mL' glass bottles. Should we have some notable real-world examples on the page? [[User:JeffUK|JeffUK]] ([[User talk:JeffUK|talk]]) 08:46, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:I don't know. There are a lot of times where packets have wierd measurements on them - I've found packets with '168g' on them. [[User:GSLikesCats307|GSLikesCats307]] ([[User talk:GSLikesCats207|talk]]) 10:01, 21 May 2026 (UTC)
:: Those were probably previously 180g, but they've sneakily reduced the quantity while charging the same price. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:24, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

This is more of a pet peeve than a hobby. Ugh! [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 08:51, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

Perhaps inspired the recent Artemis 2 mission in which it was announced the craft would make an "approximately 9.8 feet/sec" burn (3m/s)? {{unsigned ip|82.37.105.250|09:27, 21 May 2026 (UTC)}}

Talk:3248: 182.8 Meters

2026-05-21T04:54:56Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

3248: 182.8 Meters

2026-05-21T04:44:49Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3248
| date = May 20, 2026
| title = 182.8 Meters
| image = 182_8_meters_2x.png
| imagesize = 265x345px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = They rounded down to 182.8 instead of rounding up to 182.9 because 182.9 might make the statement incorrect.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a 1.8288 meter high individual. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a comic in the {{Category:My Hobby}} series, this time the hobby of reverse-engineering original units from oddly specific measurements in another unit.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[Hairbun stands at a podium to the left, gesturing toward the sign. Four visitors stand nearby observing: Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, and White Hat. Cueball has a thought bubble.]

Cueball: (thinking) '''"''More than''"?''' Why would they use that for such a precise...

Cueball: (thinking) ...Aha! 100 fathoms!

[Caption below the panel:]

My Hobby: Reverse-Engineering Original Units

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3091: Renormalization

2026-05-18T08:11:04Z

Utdtutyabthsc: Undo revision 392634 by Utdtutyabthsc (talk)

{{comic
| number = 3091
| date = May 19, 2025
| title = Renormalization
| image = renormalization_2x.png
| imagesize = 221x345px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Applying renormalization to bullies successfully transformed Pete & Pete's Endless Mike into Finite Mike.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Renormalization}} is a mathematical toolkit used in quantum field theory and other domains of physics. For example, renormalization techniques allow the replacement of mass and charge values of an electron with other values that reference attributes observed experimentally. Renormalization is presumed to account for unobserved interactions among the things in the system being studied that lead to the state of the renormalized thing being different from what was initially postulated, and it can therefore be considered justified and not a {{w|Fudge_factor|fudge factor}}. Equations with renormalized quantities reach finite solutions that can be used to do additional work, whereas those without renormalized quantities reach non-finite (infinite) solutions that cannot.

Many common examples of calculations that require renormalization are those related to self-interactions of particles. For example an electron may interact with itself by emitting and re-absorbing a (virtual) photon. A naive calculation of the “probability” of this event produces an infinite result. Renormalization is used to extract a meaningful finite answer. We find that the true state of an electron at any given time includes a component which corresponds to this emission-and-reabsorption process. There are many interpretations of these results, but one common description is that the electron is repeatedly emitting and reabsorbing a photon, i.e. “hitting itself”.

The comic invokes the commonplace {{tvtropes|StopHittingYourself|'stop hitting yourself'}} trope, in which the bully (Cueball) grabs a body part of the victim and perpetrates an assault with it, while claiming that the victim is engaged in self-harm. Use of this trope references the self-interactions that renormalization is accounting for. Megan's "... Wait" represents her starting to get the idea of renormalization, inspired by Cueball's bullying of the electron, as described in the caption. Another possible interpretation is that the earliest renormalization techniques amounted to attempts by physicists to "bully" electrons into accepting self-descriptions that gave the physicists the answers they sought.

The title text refers to the character "Endless" Mike Hellstrom, from the 1989 TV sitcom ''{{w|The Adventures of Pete & Pete#Enemies|The Adventures of Pete & Pete}}''. It links back to renormalization, because renormalization lets you remove infinities to get finite solutions, so in that sense it would turn Endless Mike into Finite Mike.

==Transcript==
: [Cueball poking an atom. Megan looks at it with a hand on her chin]
: Cueball: ''Hey, electron!''
: Cueball: ''Stop hitting yourself!''
: Cueball: ''Stop hitting yourself!''
: Megan: ...Wait.

:[Caption below the panel:]
: Renormalization actually started out as an effort to bully electrons.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

562: Parking

2026-05-18T08:09:53Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem;{{Citation needed}} [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note] (original link defunct, archive [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719122829/http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot here]), or, if possible, just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the road less traveled, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked, but will never become a functional car again.{{Citation needed}} But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

This comic may be the one referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], where it is shown that Black Hat '...completely disassembled a car' because 'It was parked across two spaces!', or this is the second time that a car has been in the way of him parking, so he has taken matters into his own hands.

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved, or possibly know enough of Black Hat's reputation to not betray him.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that blocks two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

==Trivia==
Black Hat, in the fourth panel, is also seen in the "Your Ad Here" screen.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Sabotage]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

Talk:3246: Speedrun

2026-05-18T03:24:50Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

F1RST! I actually found the comic before Theusafbot did. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:01, 16 May 2026 (UTC)
:I also did a crappy first draft explanation. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:03, 16 May 2026 (UTC)
:: There goes the speedrun records [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 01:38, 16 May 2026 (UTC)
L0l, my br0ther and father g0t me in0 t00l [[Special:Contributions/216.25.182.141|216.25.182.141]] 02:59, 16 May 2026 (UTC)
:aradia megido? --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:24, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Published on the 25th Anniversary of the song release right?

wasn't there an olympic runner who requested a song to be played with his preferred beats per minute, only to be rejected out of a concern for an unfair advantage? [[Special:Contributions/84.225.125.43|84.225.125.43]] 07:10, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Wow! I needed this explanation. I knew nothing of speedruns, nor Tool. Usain Bolt I had heard of.--[[Special:Contributions/2A00:23CC:D248:8901:79C8:645F:821A:1BA3|2A00:23CC:D248:8901:79C8:645F:821A:1BA3]] 08:37, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Cueball is such a tool. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:2455:1960:4000:2C98:4FB4:B92F:33B4|2A02:2455:1960:4000:2C98:4FB4:B92F:33B4]] 10:07, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Shouldn't they remove Usain Bolt'd record as a TAS?--[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.13|94.73.49.13]]
:No, he was the one that did the record, not a programmed computer. A robot that was programmed to perform a series of specific inputs that make it run really fast would be a TAS. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User_talk:DollarStoreBa'al|'''''converse''''']] 15:26, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Funny, I use Pneuma as my coding focus music.... [[Special:Contributions/2A0A:EF40:2D3:201:A4CA:7332:48F3:6525|2A0A:EF40:2D3:201:A4CA:7332:48F3:6525]] 12:27, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

Unfamiliar with Tool or their music portfolio, I assumed those were the usernames of other speedrunners Cueball had analyzed to develop his technique, which made the punchline seem very harsh. [[User:RegularSizedGuy|RegularSizedGuy]] ([[User talk:RegularSizedGuy|talk]]) 00:06, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Just a sidenote, to someone else's page edit about allowable device uses in marathons, I'm most familiar with a branch of cycle sport where earphones/etc are banned (mainly, I believe) for safety reasons (reduces proper awareness of traffic, etc), but also no speakers. Unsure of the original intent, could be a mix of road-awareness, being a public nuisance, the pacing issue as most linked to the comic; also, only recently have something like mini bluetooth speakers been available, perhaps to fit in a spare bottle-cage... Though that's not to say that I haven't seen someone ride a hill-climb with a boom-box bungeed to the rear-carrier, as a novelty/performative challenge.
 You ''are'' allowed to have a mobile phone with you, if you so wish, but you shouldn't be using it hands-free and (while not strictly illegal, unlike for motor vehicle drivers) it would be impractical and unsafe to be using one 'hand-on' whilst actually competing, and the benefits of being 'remotely paced'/otherwise encouraged would be against the spirit (if not the letter) of the rules however you did it.
 For {{w|Road Records Association|yet another}} related sporting body, of my acquaintence, there are specific restrictions against 'live' on-the-move communications of any kind. (Not even allowed to do direct rolling support-vehicle assistance, like they aparently do in Road Racing.)
 That said, there's nothing against a 'Cateye'/’Garmin'-style cyclocomputer presenting data (road speed, pedal revs, heartrate, watts, estimated Vmax, etc) that can be used to try to sustain the optimal ride (rather than... well, just trying as hard as you feel you jeed to try, for the duration of the event, be that a minute or two up a short, steep hill or twenty-four hours of doing ~500 miles of roads across and around a large area). I couldn't rule out there being a flashing/blinking LED/LCD solution to providing metronomic assistance ''without'' being an otyerwise impermissable audible cue. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.107|82.132.238.107]] 13:19, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Is this a [https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2026/05/09 Stephan Pastis] guest strip? [[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]]) 01:35, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

Talk:594: Period

2026-05-11T04:41:58Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

...And angular velocity: 1.97 mHz [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.30|108.162.231.30]] 23:29, 14 December 2014 (UTC)
This just makes me sad for Homestuck. ----

One must wonder whether Randall noticed the Homestuck connection at the time of making this comic. He is, apparently, a fan, as Homestuck is linked on the main xkcd site, but this comic was made within only a few months of the comic's start, so he mightn't have heard of it yet.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 03:36, 13 February 2020 (UTC)
:As a homestuck fan on the site, coincidence or not, i'm *mighty* pleased. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:41, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

This is about 16 cents away from a very, very, *very* low A, for what it's worth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.180|162.158.75.180]] 22:18, 1 July 2020 (UTC)
:Sorry, I don't speak... uh... I have no idea what language you're speaking. This comment is incomprehensible to me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.173|172.69.33.173]] 18:49, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
::Apparently cents is a musical term that has a correlation to frequency. The A is a musical note. [https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/clarinet/trivia/trivia009.html] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.129|162.158.187.129]] 02:35, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
:::Okay, that makes absolutely no cents whatsoever. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.78|172.69.34.78]] 18:30, 13 April 2021 (UTC)
::A cent is a frequency ratio of 21/1200 to 1. Just as there are 20 decibels in a 10-fold increase in sound amplitude, there are 100 cents in a semitone and 12 semitones in an octave. --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 03:29, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:A(-27), to be exact, though I don't believe there's actually any standard notation for notes lower than C0. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.161|172.70.130.161]] 23:30, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

@TheSmartestNoob - [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=594:_Period&curid=6322&diff=228342&oldid=164266 This 'correction' of grammer] seems not to have fixed anything, and actually broken it. I undid it, and I would have explained this on your own Talk page, but you don't have one and I wouldn't be able to create it. Did you mean to rewrite it as "A period is also called a {{w|Menstruation|menstrual cycle}}. It is a process marked by (etc...)"? But still, I can't see a problem with the current (again, as of now) version. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.203|172.69.79.203]] 18:44, 12 March 2022 (UTC)

Talk:594: Period

2026-05-11T04:41:38Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

...And angular velocity: 1.97 mHz [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.30|108.162.231.30]] 23:29, 14 December 2014 (UTC)
This just makes me sad for Homestuck. ----

One must wonder whether Randall noticed the Homestuck connection at the time of making this comic. He is, apparently, a fan, as Homestuck is linked on the main xkcd site, but this comic was made within only a few months of the comic's start, so he mightn't have heard of it yet.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 03:36, 13 February 2020 (UTC)
-As a homestuck fan on the site, coincidence or not, i'm *mighty* pleased. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:41, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

This is about 16 cents away from a very, very, *very* low A, for what it's worth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.180|162.158.75.180]] 22:18, 1 July 2020 (UTC)
:Sorry, I don't speak... uh... I have no idea what language you're speaking. This comment is incomprehensible to me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.173|172.69.33.173]] 18:49, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
::Apparently cents is a musical term that has a correlation to frequency. The A is a musical note. [https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/clarinet/trivia/trivia009.html] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.129|162.158.187.129]] 02:35, 30 November 2020 (UTC)
:::Okay, that makes absolutely no cents whatsoever. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.78|172.69.34.78]] 18:30, 13 April 2021 (UTC)
::A cent is a frequency ratio of 21/1200 to 1. Just as there are 20 decibels in a 10-fold increase in sound amplitude, there are 100 cents in a semitone and 12 semitones in an octave. --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 03:29, 2 September 2021 (UTC)
:A(-27), to be exact, though I don't believe there's actually any standard notation for notes lower than C0. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.161|172.70.130.161]] 23:30, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

@TheSmartestNoob - [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=594:_Period&curid=6322&diff=228342&oldid=164266 This 'correction' of grammer] seems not to have fixed anything, and actually broken it. I undid it, and I would have explained this on your own Talk page, but you don't have one and I wouldn't be able to create it. Did you mean to rewrite it as "A period is also called a {{w|Menstruation|menstrual cycle}}. It is a process marked by (etc...)"? But still, I can't see a problem with the current (again, as of now) version. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.203|172.69.79.203]] 18:44, 12 March 2022 (UTC)

Talk:3135: Sea Level

2026-05-04T08:09:08Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Holy crud empty page! F1RST P0ST! [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:38, 30 August 2025
:2038: Last of the original Star Wars cast dies. —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]] [[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 02:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::What? If you're trying to get back at me because I was being useless and just "first posting", it's a reference to [[269: TCMP]], and I also, by the way, wrote the whole first paragraph of this explanation. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 02:50, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Alright, sorry, just realized what you did is a reference to [[493: Actuarial]]. Sorry about that! [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 02:53, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::::I guess you're one of today's lucky [[Ten Thousand]]...
::::Wait, no, not everyone has read comic 493 by the time they're adults. I'm too lazy right now to calculate how many people learn about comic 493 each day, so I'll leave it as [[356|an exercise for the reader]]. —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]] [[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 01:01, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::::This is where it pays to have read every XKCD comic :P [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 16:45, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
:::::you WHAT!? --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 08:09, 4 May 2026 (UTC)
:::::(seriously, holy crud, that's impressive!) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 08:09, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

This one is related to the [https://xkcd.com/2809/ Moon] comic. [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 01:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Clearly. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:49, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Definitely easy to see, even the references are the same…Randall we trust in you not to copy again…《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 19:07, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
::it's almost a repeat. is he running out of ideas? [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 09:54, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Hope not. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 16:56, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Why do people talk about running out of ideas? That is something I can't imagine. The world throws ideas and absurdities at you all the time. Running out of time to execute an idea - sure. Seems much more likely to be filtering error (have to check current idea against 3000 previous strips). [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 19:42, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Larry Niven had a story about alien-made indestructible spaceship hulls, except the makers didn't account for tidal effects when grazing a star. The test pilot was nearly ripped apart, but figured a way to survive. He sued their butts off against the guarantee. He concluded that their home planet did not have a large moon, a Clue. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 02:41, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
: Isn't it frakking ridiculous that the Puppeteers, with all their brains, haven't observed or couldn't deduce the existence of tides? I did like the deduction about their homeworld making them nervous and their legal system of blackmail/extortion, though. --DW [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8FA9:E54A:5856:AACD:B913:6DD8|2607:FB90:8FA9:E54A:5856:AACD:B913:6DD8]] 13:59, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

I think I finally figured out the common thread. All the items here are here because they are elements of Life on Earth. The way the explanation was written kind of buried that important part of the comic.

Overall, if you just look at them as unrelated phenomena, then Lightning seems quite common. Islands made by microskeletons, and life-forms which change their form during development seem like they would be pretty common where there is life. Large tides - thought to be uncommon, but don't have much data, and models are hard. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:A0|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:A0]] 18:04, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

All planets with intelligent life we know have tides. In fact one could argue that tides play an important role in the development in life. Thus any intelligent observe is arguably familiar with tides. Thus the text is wrong in arguing that tides are surprising based on the observation that most known planets likely do not have large tides. --[[Special:Contributions/2A01:599:114:9E35:D827:C56:FF88:1858|2A01:599:114:9E35:D827:C56:FF88:1858]] 19:09, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Argument has problems - insufficient sample size, selection bias. Nothing in the comic talked about intelligent life.
:The role of tides in development of life certainly makes sense to add.
:Tides are strange in that they are very complex and hard to explain in detail. Fluid dynamics in a very complex, non-ridgid vessel, involve gravitational forces from multiple bodies. [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 20:00, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:: Sample size is definitely a problem. Nothing in the comic talks about tides being strange in a cosmic sense. They are just very weird for one of the two observers from earth. --[[Special:Contributions/195.63.76.62|195.63.76.62]] 20:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::: Realistic. Early Romans had no experience of tides until they ventured out of the Medditeranean, and were probably as spooked by them as the observer here. [[Special:Contributions/80.189.2.17|80.189.2.17]] 22:38, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:All planets with intelligent life that we know of also have microwave ovens and television cameras and rubber ducks. Perhaps those are also essential for the long-term continued existence of intelligent life? [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 19:09, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::Well, I can confirm that microwave ovens are essential for the continued existence of this intelligent lifeform. [[Special:Contributions/159.118.184.96|159.118.184.96]] 04:47, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm shocked that Randal didn't include some sort of reference to climate change- and how tides effectively, at least in 2025 and for the foreseeable future, dwarf sea rise due to melting ice. [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 20:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:On a (twice-)daily basis, yes. But that's like saying an unseasonal/hyperseasonal cold snap belies the possibility of global warming. (If that's the point you're trying to make.)
:And I'm not sure if you're saying that Randall "is the sort of person who would go on and on about climate change, but for soe reason he surprisingly didn't do so here" or "he really ought to be mentioning climate change at every opportunity, but he missed the opportunity to convey the concept"..? I'd disagree with ''both'' of those assessments of his (non-)inclusion here, though, and perhaps you're even coming from a completely different third direction that I might or might not understand. But really not the place to discuss it, as he obviously hasn't made that part of the joke/message in this comic. [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:27, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Lightning should be common throughout the universe, as the ingredients for it (planetary atmospheres containing things like dust that can build up differential static charges through agitation) appear to be. It's still a very weird phenomenon, with many aspects not understood (how does the triboelectric effect work, can breakdown patterns be predicted, wtf is going on with sprites and ball lightning, etc) but it really isn't likely to be rare. --[[Special:Contributions/81.96.108.67|81.96.108.67]] 05:48, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Ten feet tidal range on a remote island - isn't this too much? I thought it should be less, with stronger tides only in some gulfs where an amplification exists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide figure 15 shows 5 feet tidal range maximum
: In the channel tides can get pretty high and some parts of it would be remote islands by European standards. Also the comic doesn't mention remoteness. --[[Special:Contributions/195.52.138.253|195.52.138.253]] 18:42, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Significant tides can also bother or surprise people who are used to comparatively smaller tides. I should know, I am one of those people. I live by the Mediterranean Sea and any time I go to the beach on the Ocean, I am worried that I will once again lose my towel to the moving shoreline... [[Special:Contributions/2001:861:51C2:B540:1593:36EE:75F9:1F83|2001:861:51C2:B540:1593:36EE:75F9:1F83]] 18:35, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

^V^ 8th place! Learning English lol…love autocorrect. in South Carolina, tides are HELL on coast《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 19:05, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Rolled over to tuesday and no new comic?? {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|23:40, 1 September 2025}}
:It's still (as we write) Monday for Randall, even if it's ''slightly'' after midnight for some of us Rightpondians. And there are have definitely been more extreme 'delays' to the scheduled comics. Take a deep breath, man... If you have to go to sleep and wake up to the comic, then that's what you have to do... [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:48, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
::I thought Randall would just publish using +00 timezone for the love of the game. Oh well, I’ll stay awake until he publishes {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|00:40, 2 September 2025}}
:::It just varies so much. Sometimes it's "late afternoon 'tommorow'", for any given day, sometimes it has been so early, by ±0 UTC standards, that one wonders if he was effectively staying up to post it 'very late the night before'.
:::When he was on his book tour over this side of the Atlantic, I know at least some of them were 'sensibly' posted at times relative to his being in these time-zones (i.e. 5 or hours ahead of the non-'late' instances, usually.
:::Special comics (huge and/or dynamic ones) seem to be posted any time at all, at least by my possibly faulty combined recollection, which is perhaps due to last-minute tweaks (the lateness of April Fool comics is such that, whilst ''something'' is often posted, if 1/Apr is a M/W/F, it might have been an emergency-filler, or perhaps brought forward from the W/F/M following - and then days, or occasionally even a week or more, later, it happens).
:::It's only really possible, right now, to go into the edit history of various comics and see when they were uploaded by the BOT of the time (or, when BOTs have been temporarily or permanently broken, when a human editor decided it needed doing manually). This introduces some small polling-lag and response time between 'Randall time' and 'wiki time', but if you're eagerly awaiting the comic ''here'', that's probably the end-timing that most interests you.
:::I can't recall any "so late, it was almost Randall's tomorrow" instances, recently, but there was a "so early, it was not too long after his prior midnight". And if Randall ever uses an automated method of posting, I think it's only for exceptional circumstances (not noticably for individual strips, that is - things like the Time comic probably were automated-and-queued, out of planned necessity).
:::And you asked ''before'' 00:00 UTC (I restored the time... and used the Unsigned template as a quickish way to overcome you apparently not using <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> properly), so even if he were of that habit, you were asking too soon. If he was supposed to be posting at 24:00 UTC, anyway. - Quickly checking, though, and he still hasn't posted as of this moment. But it's still only late evening on Monday, where he is, and has maybe a couple more hours to spare before it becomes notably (and maybe fashionably) late. If you're under UK or one of the EU timezones, that's a long time to wait up. Not sure even ''I'' should be here, right now, though I do have my 'reasons' for it.
:::No, still no change on xkcd.com, just checked before I signed it off. Whether you'll get more or less sleep than myself, I leave up to your circumstances, possibly your other morning commitments. But I'm expecting to see the Monday comic in a few hours, when I check, even though that'll be actually the start of my own Tuesday. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.156|82.132.239.156]] 02:00, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
:The new comic is out now, although I don't think explainXKCD has updated yet.[[Special:Contributions/47.150.145.249|47.150.145.249]] 04:46, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Not sure the premise of this comic is correct. The sun generates tides on Earth of about half the amplitude of the tides generated by the moon, and those vary on close to the same period. Tidal force is proportional to rM/R^3, where r is the radius of the planet experiencing the tide, M is the mass of the body creating the tide, and R is the distance between them. Something like Gliese 581c is 6.8 times the mass of Earth, and assuming comparable density, would have r = 1.9 times the Earth. The star Gliese 581 is 0.3 times the mass of our Sun, and the planet orbits at R = 0.07 that of earth. So we have 1.9 * 0.3 / 0.07^3, a star-induced tidal force on Gliese 581c of more than 1600 times that of the Sun on Earth, and more than 800 times that of the Moon on Earth. So, while large moons near a planet might be uncommon, those aren't the only sources of tides comparable to those on Earth.[[Special:Contributions/163.116.145.92|163.116.145.92]] 17:00, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

As we're still mentioning Pluto-Charon, just need to properly point out that (regardless of planethood), its moon is ''so good'' at causing tides, on Pluto's actual hard-mass, that Pluto would now not experience cyclic tides ''anything like'' Earth's twice-daily version. It's perhaps a bit anthropocentrically-expdriential, but we could say that Earth's sweet-spot of tides lies between those of moons too small+distant to create notable tides and those so large+near that they've dominated the 'planet' into a situation where tides are meaningless. (Ditto other twin-dwarf-planets out there.) 
We also have an oceanic, but land-studded, surface; pretty much without precedent on any other body that we know sufficient information about. Tides on Titan (by Saturn, i.e. planet-on-moon) can't do quite so much with its methane 'lakes', Tides on Europa (by Jupiter) can at most flex the icy shell over its substantial water-ocean with no 'land' to flood/reveal. Which might well each produce interesting alternative tide-related effects, to the tides as ''we'' best known them, but very much not the same thing. (Titan, in particular, seems to have possible dominating 'seasonal' transference of liquid from hemisphere to hemisphere, but not by a tide-type mechanism. Any nominal Titanians would perhaps be used to that change of local shorelines, but still be mystified/surprised by ''our'' tides. What potential Europans might think is even harder to say, as we have even less unambiguous understanding about what ''their'' home-experience is, like if there's any 'spires' of base rock that reach significantly up the local column of liquid-water to make the icy shell movement a notable effect. And our world would already be considered strange enough to their 'eyes'.) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.108|82.132.238.108]] 18:24, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Anyone here in 2005? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 02:06, 12 February 2026 (UTC)
:IS ANYONE HERE IN 2422. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:36, 4 May 2026 (UTC)
:(in case you're wondering, this imitates the style of WV from Homestuck, who, in the first bit is on Earth in the year 2422) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 08:07, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3135: Sea Level

2026-05-04T08:07:49Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Holy crud empty page! F1RST P0ST! [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:38, 30 August 2025
:2038: Last of the original Star Wars cast dies. —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]] [[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 02:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::What? If you're trying to get back at me because I was being useless and just "first posting", it's a reference to [[269: TCMP]], and I also, by the way, wrote the whole first paragraph of this explanation. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 02:50, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Alright, sorry, just realized what you did is a reference to [[493: Actuarial]]. Sorry about that! [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 02:53, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::::I guess you're one of today's lucky [[Ten Thousand]]...
::::Wait, no, not everyone has read comic 493 by the time they're adults. I'm too lazy right now to calculate how many people learn about comic 493 each day, so I'll leave it as [[356|an exercise for the reader]]. —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]] [[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 01:01, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::::This is where it pays to have read every XKCD comic :P [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 16:45, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

This one is related to the [https://xkcd.com/2809/ Moon] comic. [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 01:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Clearly. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:49, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Definitely easy to see, even the references are the same…Randall we trust in you not to copy again…《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 19:07, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
::it's almost a repeat. is he running out of ideas? [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 09:54, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Hope not. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 16:56, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Why do people talk about running out of ideas? That is something I can't imagine. The world throws ideas and absurdities at you all the time. Running out of time to execute an idea - sure. Seems much more likely to be filtering error (have to check current idea against 3000 previous strips). [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 19:42, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Larry Niven had a story about alien-made indestructible spaceship hulls, except the makers didn't account for tidal effects when grazing a star. The test pilot was nearly ripped apart, but figured a way to survive. He sued their butts off against the guarantee. He concluded that their home planet did not have a large moon, a Clue. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 02:41, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
: Isn't it frakking ridiculous that the Puppeteers, with all their brains, haven't observed or couldn't deduce the existence of tides? I did like the deduction about their homeworld making them nervous and their legal system of blackmail/extortion, though. --DW [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8FA9:E54A:5856:AACD:B913:6DD8|2607:FB90:8FA9:E54A:5856:AACD:B913:6DD8]] 13:59, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

I think I finally figured out the common thread. All the items here are here because they are elements of Life on Earth. The way the explanation was written kind of buried that important part of the comic.

Overall, if you just look at them as unrelated phenomena, then Lightning seems quite common. Islands made by microskeletons, and life-forms which change their form during development seem like they would be pretty common where there is life. Large tides - thought to be uncommon, but don't have much data, and models are hard. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:A0|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:A0]] 18:04, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

All planets with intelligent life we know have tides. In fact one could argue that tides play an important role in the development in life. Thus any intelligent observe is arguably familiar with tides. Thus the text is wrong in arguing that tides are surprising based on the observation that most known planets likely do not have large tides. --[[Special:Contributions/2A01:599:114:9E35:D827:C56:FF88:1858|2A01:599:114:9E35:D827:C56:FF88:1858]] 19:09, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Argument has problems - insufficient sample size, selection bias. Nothing in the comic talked about intelligent life.
:The role of tides in development of life certainly makes sense to add.
:Tides are strange in that they are very complex and hard to explain in detail. Fluid dynamics in a very complex, non-ridgid vessel, involve gravitational forces from multiple bodies. [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 20:00, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:: Sample size is definitely a problem. Nothing in the comic talks about tides being strange in a cosmic sense. They are just very weird for one of the two observers from earth. --[[Special:Contributions/195.63.76.62|195.63.76.62]] 20:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::: Realistic. Early Romans had no experience of tides until they ventured out of the Medditeranean, and were probably as spooked by them as the observer here. [[Special:Contributions/80.189.2.17|80.189.2.17]] 22:38, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:All planets with intelligent life that we know of also have microwave ovens and television cameras and rubber ducks. Perhaps those are also essential for the long-term continued existence of intelligent life? [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 19:09, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::Well, I can confirm that microwave ovens are essential for the continued existence of this intelligent lifeform. [[Special:Contributions/159.118.184.96|159.118.184.96]] 04:47, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm shocked that Randal didn't include some sort of reference to climate change- and how tides effectively, at least in 2025 and for the foreseeable future, dwarf sea rise due to melting ice. [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 20:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:On a (twice-)daily basis, yes. But that's like saying an unseasonal/hyperseasonal cold snap belies the possibility of global warming. (If that's the point you're trying to make.)
:And I'm not sure if you're saying that Randall "is the sort of person who would go on and on about climate change, but for soe reason he surprisingly didn't do so here" or "he really ought to be mentioning climate change at every opportunity, but he missed the opportunity to convey the concept"..? I'd disagree with ''both'' of those assessments of his (non-)inclusion here, though, and perhaps you're even coming from a completely different third direction that I might or might not understand. But really not the place to discuss it, as he obviously hasn't made that part of the joke/message in this comic. [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:27, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Lightning should be common throughout the universe, as the ingredients for it (planetary atmospheres containing things like dust that can build up differential static charges through agitation) appear to be. It's still a very weird phenomenon, with many aspects not understood (how does the triboelectric effect work, can breakdown patterns be predicted, wtf is going on with sprites and ball lightning, etc) but it really isn't likely to be rare. --[[Special:Contributions/81.96.108.67|81.96.108.67]] 05:48, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Ten feet tidal range on a remote island - isn't this too much? I thought it should be less, with stronger tides only in some gulfs where an amplification exists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide figure 15 shows 5 feet tidal range maximum
: In the channel tides can get pretty high and some parts of it would be remote islands by European standards. Also the comic doesn't mention remoteness. --[[Special:Contributions/195.52.138.253|195.52.138.253]] 18:42, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Significant tides can also bother or surprise people who are used to comparatively smaller tides. I should know, I am one of those people. I live by the Mediterranean Sea and any time I go to the beach on the Ocean, I am worried that I will once again lose my towel to the moving shoreline... [[Special:Contributions/2001:861:51C2:B540:1593:36EE:75F9:1F83|2001:861:51C2:B540:1593:36EE:75F9:1F83]] 18:35, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

^V^ 8th place! Learning English lol…love autocorrect. in South Carolina, tides are HELL on coast《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 19:05, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Rolled over to tuesday and no new comic?? {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|23:40, 1 September 2025}}
:It's still (as we write) Monday for Randall, even if it's ''slightly'' after midnight for some of us Rightpondians. And there are have definitely been more extreme 'delays' to the scheduled comics. Take a deep breath, man... If you have to go to sleep and wake up to the comic, then that's what you have to do... [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:48, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
::I thought Randall would just publish using +00 timezone for the love of the game. Oh well, I’ll stay awake until he publishes {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|00:40, 2 September 2025}}
:::It just varies so much. Sometimes it's "late afternoon 'tommorow'", for any given day, sometimes it has been so early, by ±0 UTC standards, that one wonders if he was effectively staying up to post it 'very late the night before'.
:::When he was on his book tour over this side of the Atlantic, I know at least some of them were 'sensibly' posted at times relative to his being in these time-zones (i.e. 5 or hours ahead of the non-'late' instances, usually.
:::Special comics (huge and/or dynamic ones) seem to be posted any time at all, at least by my possibly faulty combined recollection, which is perhaps due to last-minute tweaks (the lateness of April Fool comics is such that, whilst ''something'' is often posted, if 1/Apr is a M/W/F, it might have been an emergency-filler, or perhaps brought forward from the W/F/M following - and then days, or occasionally even a week or more, later, it happens).
:::It's only really possible, right now, to go into the edit history of various comics and see when they were uploaded by the BOT of the time (or, when BOTs have been temporarily or permanently broken, when a human editor decided it needed doing manually). This introduces some small polling-lag and response time between 'Randall time' and 'wiki time', but if you're eagerly awaiting the comic ''here'', that's probably the end-timing that most interests you.
:::I can't recall any "so late, it was almost Randall's tomorrow" instances, recently, but there was a "so early, it was not too long after his prior midnight". And if Randall ever uses an automated method of posting, I think it's only for exceptional circumstances (not noticably for individual strips, that is - things like the Time comic probably were automated-and-queued, out of planned necessity).
:::And you asked ''before'' 00:00 UTC (I restored the time... and used the Unsigned template as a quickish way to overcome you apparently not using <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> properly), so even if he were of that habit, you were asking too soon. If he was supposed to be posting at 24:00 UTC, anyway. - Quickly checking, though, and he still hasn't posted as of this moment. But it's still only late evening on Monday, where he is, and has maybe a couple more hours to spare before it becomes notably (and maybe fashionably) late. If you're under UK or one of the EU timezones, that's a long time to wait up. Not sure even ''I'' should be here, right now, though I do have my 'reasons' for it.
:::No, still no change on xkcd.com, just checked before I signed it off. Whether you'll get more or less sleep than myself, I leave up to your circumstances, possibly your other morning commitments. But I'm expecting to see the Monday comic in a few hours, when I check, even though that'll be actually the start of my own Tuesday. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.156|82.132.239.156]] 02:00, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
:The new comic is out now, although I don't think explainXKCD has updated yet.[[Special:Contributions/47.150.145.249|47.150.145.249]] 04:46, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Not sure the premise of this comic is correct. The sun generates tides on Earth of about half the amplitude of the tides generated by the moon, and those vary on close to the same period. Tidal force is proportional to rM/R^3, where r is the radius of the planet experiencing the tide, M is the mass of the body creating the tide, and R is the distance between them. Something like Gliese 581c is 6.8 times the mass of Earth, and assuming comparable density, would have r = 1.9 times the Earth. The star Gliese 581 is 0.3 times the mass of our Sun, and the planet orbits at R = 0.07 that of earth. So we have 1.9 * 0.3 / 0.07^3, a star-induced tidal force on Gliese 581c of more than 1600 times that of the Sun on Earth, and more than 800 times that of the Moon on Earth. So, while large moons near a planet might be uncommon, those aren't the only sources of tides comparable to those on Earth.[[Special:Contributions/163.116.145.92|163.116.145.92]] 17:00, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

As we're still mentioning Pluto-Charon, just need to properly point out that (regardless of planethood), its moon is ''so good'' at causing tides, on Pluto's actual hard-mass, that Pluto would now not experience cyclic tides ''anything like'' Earth's twice-daily version. It's perhaps a bit anthropocentrically-expdriential, but we could say that Earth's sweet-spot of tides lies between those of moons too small+distant to create notable tides and those so large+near that they've dominated the 'planet' into a situation where tides are meaningless. (Ditto other twin-dwarf-planets out there.) 
We also have an oceanic, but land-studded, surface; pretty much without precedent on any other body that we know sufficient information about. Tides on Titan (by Saturn, i.e. planet-on-moon) can't do quite so much with its methane 'lakes', Tides on Europa (by Jupiter) can at most flex the icy shell over its substantial water-ocean with no 'land' to flood/reveal. Which might well each produce interesting alternative tide-related effects, to the tides as ''we'' best known them, but very much not the same thing. (Titan, in particular, seems to have possible dominating 'seasonal' transference of liquid from hemisphere to hemisphere, but not by a tide-type mechanism. Any nominal Titanians would perhaps be used to that change of local shorelines, but still be mystified/surprised by ''our'' tides. What potential Europans might think is even harder to say, as we have even less unambiguous understanding about what ''their'' home-experience is, like if there's any 'spires' of base rock that reach significantly up the local column of liquid-water to make the icy shell movement a notable effect. And our world would already be considered strange enough to their 'eyes'.) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.108|82.132.238.108]] 18:24, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Anyone here in 2005? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 02:06, 12 February 2026 (UTC)
:IS ANYONE HERE IN 2422. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:36, 4 May 2026 (UTC)
:(in case you're wondering, this imitates the style of WV from Homestuck, who, in the first bit is on Earth in the year 2422) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 08:07, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3135: Sea Level

2026-05-04T04:36:53Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Holy crud empty page! F1RST P0ST! [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:38, 30 August 2025
:2038: Last of the original Star Wars cast dies. —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]] [[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 02:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::What? If you're trying to get back at me because I was being useless and just "first posting", it's a reference to [[269: TCMP]], and I also, by the way, wrote the whole first paragraph of this explanation. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 02:50, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Alright, sorry, just realized what you did is a reference to [[493: Actuarial]]. Sorry about that! [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 02:53, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::::I guess you're one of today's lucky [[Ten Thousand]]...
::::Wait, no, not everyone has read comic 493 by the time they're adults. I'm too lazy right now to calculate how many people learn about comic 493 each day, so I'll leave it as [[356|an exercise for the reader]]. —megan [[user talk:megan|talk]] [[special:contribs/megan|contribs]] 01:01, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::::This is where it pays to have read every XKCD comic :P [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 16:45, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

This one is related to the [https://xkcd.com/2809/ Moon] comic. [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 01:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Clearly. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 01:49, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Definitely easy to see, even the references are the same…Randall we trust in you not to copy again…《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 19:07, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
::it's almost a repeat. is he running out of ideas? [[user:lett‪herebedarklight|raeb]] 09:54, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Hope not. [[User:RadiantRainwing|K9Dragon23, or RainWingSquares (talk)]] ([[User talk:RadiantRainwing|talk]]) 16:56, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:::Why do people talk about running out of ideas? That is something I can't imagine. The world throws ideas and absurdities at you all the time. Running out of time to execute an idea - sure. Seems much more likely to be filtering error (have to check current idea against 3000 previous strips). [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 19:42, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Larry Niven had a story about alien-made indestructible spaceship hulls, except the makers didn't account for tidal effects when grazing a star. The test pilot was nearly ripped apart, but figured a way to survive. He sued their butts off against the guarantee. He concluded that their home planet did not have a large moon, a Clue. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 02:41, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
: Isn't it frakking ridiculous that the Puppeteers, with all their brains, haven't observed or couldn't deduce the existence of tides? I did like the deduction about their homeworld making them nervous and their legal system of blackmail/extortion, though. --DW [[Special:Contributions/2607:FB90:8FA9:E54A:5856:AACD:B913:6DD8|2607:FB90:8FA9:E54A:5856:AACD:B913:6DD8]] 13:59, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

I think I finally figured out the common thread. All the items here are here because they are elements of Life on Earth. The way the explanation was written kind of buried that important part of the comic.

Overall, if you just look at them as unrelated phenomena, then Lightning seems quite common. Islands made by microskeletons, and life-forms which change their form during development seem like they would be pretty common where there is life. Large tides - thought to be uncommon, but don't have much data, and models are hard. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:A0|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:A0]] 18:04, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

All planets with intelligent life we know have tides. In fact one could argue that tides play an important role in the development in life. Thus any intelligent observe is arguably familiar with tides. Thus the text is wrong in arguing that tides are surprising based on the observation that most known planets likely do not have large tides. --[[Special:Contributions/2A01:599:114:9E35:D827:C56:FF88:1858|2A01:599:114:9E35:D827:C56:FF88:1858]] 19:09, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:Argument has problems - insufficient sample size, selection bias. Nothing in the comic talked about intelligent life.
:The role of tides in development of life certainly makes sense to add.
:Tides are strange in that they are very complex and hard to explain in detail. Fluid dynamics in a very complex, non-ridgid vessel, involve gravitational forces from multiple bodies. [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 20:00, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:: Sample size is definitely a problem. Nothing in the comic talks about tides being strange in a cosmic sense. They are just very weird for one of the two observers from earth. --[[Special:Contributions/195.63.76.62|195.63.76.62]] 20:39, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
::: Realistic. Early Romans had no experience of tides until they ventured out of the Medditeranean, and were probably as spooked by them as the observer here. [[Special:Contributions/80.189.2.17|80.189.2.17]] 22:38, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
:All planets with intelligent life that we know of also have microwave ovens and television cameras and rubber ducks. Perhaps those are also essential for the long-term continued existence of intelligent life? [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 19:09, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
::Well, I can confirm that microwave ovens are essential for the continued existence of this intelligent lifeform. [[Special:Contributions/159.118.184.96|159.118.184.96]] 04:47, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

I'm shocked that Randal didn't include some sort of reference to climate change- and how tides effectively, at least in 2025 and for the foreseeable future, dwarf sea rise due to melting ice. [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 20:18, 30 August 2025 (UTC)
:On a (twice-)daily basis, yes. But that's like saying an unseasonal/hyperseasonal cold snap belies the possibility of global warming. (If that's the point you're trying to make.)
:And I'm not sure if you're saying that Randall "is the sort of person who would go on and on about climate change, but for soe reason he surprisingly didn't do so here" or "he really ought to be mentioning climate change at every opportunity, but he missed the opportunity to convey the concept"..? I'd disagree with ''both'' of those assessments of his (non-)inclusion here, though, and perhaps you're even coming from a completely different third direction that I might or might not understand. But really not the place to discuss it, as he obviously hasn't made that part of the joke/message in this comic. [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:27, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

Lightning should be common throughout the universe, as the ingredients for it (planetary atmospheres containing things like dust that can build up differential static charges through agitation) appear to be. It's still a very weird phenomenon, with many aspects not understood (how does the triboelectric effect work, can breakdown patterns be predicted, wtf is going on with sprites and ball lightning, etc) but it really isn't likely to be rare. --[[Special:Contributions/81.96.108.67|81.96.108.67]] 05:48, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Ten feet tidal range on a remote island - isn't this too much? I thought it should be less, with stronger tides only in some gulfs where an amplification exists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide figure 15 shows 5 feet tidal range maximum
: In the channel tides can get pretty high and some parts of it would be remote islands by European standards. Also the comic doesn't mention remoteness. --[[Special:Contributions/195.52.138.253|195.52.138.253]] 18:42, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Significant tides can also bother or surprise people who are used to comparatively smaller tides. I should know, I am one of those people. I live by the Mediterranean Sea and any time I go to the beach on the Ocean, I am worried that I will once again lose my towel to the moving shoreline... [[Special:Contributions/2001:861:51C2:B540:1593:36EE:75F9:1F83|2001:861:51C2:B540:1593:36EE:75F9:1F83]] 18:35, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

^V^ 8th place! Learning English lol…love autocorrect. in South Carolina, tides are HELL on coast《プロキシ》(XKCD中毒者) 19:05, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Rolled over to tuesday and no new comic?? {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|23:40, 1 September 2025}}
:It's still (as we write) Monday for Randall, even if it's ''slightly'' after midnight for some of us Rightpondians. And there are have definitely been more extreme 'delays' to the scheduled comics. Take a deep breath, man... If you have to go to sleep and wake up to the comic, then that's what you have to do... [[Special:Contributions/92.17.62.87|92.17.62.87]] 23:48, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
::I thought Randall would just publish using +00 timezone for the love of the game. Oh well, I’ll stay awake until he publishes {{unsigned|SteveTheNoob|00:40, 2 September 2025}}
:::It just varies so much. Sometimes it's "late afternoon 'tommorow'", for any given day, sometimes it has been so early, by ±0 UTC standards, that one wonders if he was effectively staying up to post it 'very late the night before'.
:::When he was on his book tour over this side of the Atlantic, I know at least some of them were 'sensibly' posted at times relative to his being in these time-zones (i.e. 5 or hours ahead of the non-'late' instances, usually.
:::Special comics (huge and/or dynamic ones) seem to be posted any time at all, at least by my possibly faulty combined recollection, which is perhaps due to last-minute tweaks (the lateness of April Fool comics is such that, whilst ''something'' is often posted, if 1/Apr is a M/W/F, it might have been an emergency-filler, or perhaps brought forward from the W/F/M following - and then days, or occasionally even a week or more, later, it happens).
:::It's only really possible, right now, to go into the edit history of various comics and see when they were uploaded by the BOT of the time (or, when BOTs have been temporarily or permanently broken, when a human editor decided it needed doing manually). This introduces some small polling-lag and response time between 'Randall time' and 'wiki time', but if you're eagerly awaiting the comic ''here'', that's probably the end-timing that most interests you.
:::I can't recall any "so late, it was almost Randall's tomorrow" instances, recently, but there was a "so early, it was not too long after his prior midnight". And if Randall ever uses an automated method of posting, I think it's only for exceptional circumstances (not noticably for individual strips, that is - things like the Time comic probably were automated-and-queued, out of planned necessity).
:::And you asked ''before'' 00:00 UTC (I restored the time... and used the Unsigned template as a quickish way to overcome you apparently not using <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> properly), so even if he were of that habit, you were asking too soon. If he was supposed to be posting at 24:00 UTC, anyway. - Quickly checking, though, and he still hasn't posted as of this moment. But it's still only late evening on Monday, where he is, and has maybe a couple more hours to spare before it becomes notably (and maybe fashionably) late. If you're under UK or one of the EU timezones, that's a long time to wait up. Not sure even ''I'' should be here, right now, though I do have my 'reasons' for it.
:::No, still no change on xkcd.com, just checked before I signed it off. Whether you'll get more or less sleep than myself, I leave up to your circumstances, possibly your other morning commitments. But I'm expecting to see the Monday comic in a few hours, when I check, even though that'll be actually the start of my own Tuesday. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.156|82.132.239.156]] 02:00, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
:The new comic is out now, although I don't think explainXKCD has updated yet.[[Special:Contributions/47.150.145.249|47.150.145.249]] 04:46, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

Not sure the premise of this comic is correct. The sun generates tides on Earth of about half the amplitude of the tides generated by the moon, and those vary on close to the same period. Tidal force is proportional to rM/R^3, where r is the radius of the planet experiencing the tide, M is the mass of the body creating the tide, and R is the distance between them. Something like Gliese 581c is 6.8 times the mass of Earth, and assuming comparable density, would have r = 1.9 times the Earth. The star Gliese 581 is 0.3 times the mass of our Sun, and the planet orbits at R = 0.07 that of earth. So we have 1.9 * 0.3 / 0.07^3, a star-induced tidal force on Gliese 581c of more than 1600 times that of the Sun on Earth, and more than 800 times that of the Moon on Earth. So, while large moons near a planet might be uncommon, those aren't the only sources of tides comparable to those on Earth.[[Special:Contributions/163.116.145.92|163.116.145.92]] 17:00, 2 September 2025 (UTC)

As we're still mentioning Pluto-Charon, just need to properly point out that (regardless of planethood), its moon is ''so good'' at causing tides, on Pluto's actual hard-mass, that Pluto would now not experience cyclic tides ''anything like'' Earth's twice-daily version. It's perhaps a bit anthropocentrically-expdriential, but we could say that Earth's sweet-spot of tides lies between those of moons too small+distant to create notable tides and those so large+near that they've dominated the 'planet' into a situation where tides are meaningless. (Ditto other twin-dwarf-planets out there.) 
We also have an oceanic, but land-studded, surface; pretty much without precedent on any other body that we know sufficient information about. Tides on Titan (by Saturn, i.e. planet-on-moon) can't do quite so much with its methane 'lakes', Tides on Europa (by Jupiter) can at most flex the icy shell over its substantial water-ocean with no 'land' to flood/reveal. Which might well each produce interesting alternative tide-related effects, to the tides as ''we'' best known them, but very much not the same thing. (Titan, in particular, seems to have possible dominating 'seasonal' transference of liquid from hemisphere to hemisphere, but not by a tide-type mechanism. Any nominal Titanians would perhaps be used to that change of local shorelines, but still be mystified/surprised by ''our'' tides. What potential Europans might think is even harder to say, as we have even less unambiguous understanding about what ''their'' home-experience is, like if there's any 'spires' of base rock that reach significantly up the local column of liquid-water to make the icy shell movement a notable effect. And our world would already be considered strange enough to their 'eyes'.) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.108|82.132.238.108]] 18:24, 3 September 2025 (UTC)

Anyone here in 2005? [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 02:06, 12 February 2026 (UTC)
:IS ANYONE HERE IN 2422. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:36, 4 May 2026 (UTC)

2147: Appendicitis

2026-05-01T05:40:39Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2147
| date = May 8, 2019
| title = Appendicitis
| image = appendicitis.png
| titletext = Fortunately, after a brief skirmish, I seem to have gained the upper hand in the battle against my internal organs, at least until they learn to read and find out the mean stuff I've said about them.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]], representing [[Randall]], is visiting [[Ponytail#Doctor_Ponytail|Doctor Ponytail]], this time to diagnose some medical condition. From her description, ''zapped you with energy beams'', it sounds like they just took an {{w|Projectional radiography|x-ray image}}, maybe in the form of a {{w|CT scan}}, and Ponytail is following up on the results. It appears that he may have {{w|appendicitis}}, the title of the comic, which could be treated through {{w|antibiotics}}, or through an {{w|appendectomy}} surgery.

As is typical for Doctor Ponytail, she characterizes the diagnosis in a strange, militaristic and not particularly helpful way, likening Cueball's inflamed appendix to an armed rebellion or insurgency. In some ways, this is not a bad metaphor - Cueball is an organism, and as such, functions best when all of his organic parts are working correctly in unison, much as do national governments and economies. People often express a similar sentiment of being "betrayed by their own body" to describe a biological function that isn't working right. However, Dr. Ponytail insists on talking ''only'' in military metaphors, preventing Cueball from getting any useful medical details about his condition. This may suggest a background in {{w|military medicine}} or simply a very strange view of the world on her part.

Antibiotic treatment is described as using "chemical / biological weapons" (typically considered an extreme military tactic but a common first step in treating illness), while the appendectomy is described as "victory through the sword". She further describes more extreme "battle tactics", like crushing all other rebellions in his body. Lastly, she mentions "salting his abdomen" to prevent other rebellions. This is a reference to the {{w|salting the earth}} tactic in battle, which was a ritual to symbolize a curse on a conquered city and would have theoretically hindered future crop production, thus preventing that city from being rebuilt. It is likely that the medical usage would be the application of saline solution, salt in water, which is used for cleaning wounds.

After all this explanation, Cueball begins to question Ponytail's strange and militaristic methods, and requests to see a different doctor to get a {{w|Second_opinion#Medicine|second opinion}}.

The title text appears to be [[Randall]] speaking directly to the reader addressing a recent appendicitis and his current health state. He continues the comic's joke with a meta reference pondering the repercussions if his organs subsequently discover this comic. The title text of [[2508: Circumappendiceal Somectomy]], from August 2021, seems to indicate that while antibiotics may have cured this event, a later infection required surgery anyway, a bit more than two years after this comic was released.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is seated on an medical examination table, clutching his stomach, while Ponytail stands dressed in a doctor's coat holding a file on a clipboard in her left hand.]
:Ponytail: Well, we zapped you with energy beams, and it looks like one of your stupid organs is a traitor.
:Cueball: ...which one?
:Ponytail: I dunno, appendix? Gallbladder? One of the little ones that sucks.
:Cueball: What should I do?

:[Closeup on Ponytail. She holds her left hand in a clenched fist.]
:Ponytail: You could quash the revolt with the ruthless deployment of chemical and biological weapons.
:Cueball (off-screen): ...antibiotics?
:Ponytail: But certain victory comes only through ''the sword''.
:Cueball (off-screen): Surgery.

:[Closeup on Ponytail with her fists raised.]
:Ponytail: While we're inside, we'll look around-if we see any signs of insurrection elsewhere, we will not hesitate to act. There can be no armistice. Your parts must fall in line or be crushed.
:Cueball (off-screen): Um.

:[Zoom out again to the entire scene. Ponytail points her left hand up.]
:Ponytail: When the battle is won, we will salt your abdomen so no new organs can ever sprout up to trouble you again.
:Cueball: Maybe I should get a second opinion.
:Ponytail: Only if you care what a ''weaker'' doctor would say.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

Talk:3238: Soniferous Aether

2026-04-28T04:49:36Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Dunno how, but I managed to get to an XKCD comic within the first like 5 minutes of it's upload. Went ahead and added a really bare bones explanation. People funnier and smarter than me can take it from there. [[User:RG|RG]] ([[User talk:RG|talk]]) 04:24, 28 April 2026 (UTC)

managed to get to the xkcd comic before this page was even made somehow so yeah. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:49, 28 April 2026 (UTC)

3214: Electric Vehicles

2026-03-03T05:02:50Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */ sorry, i couldn't stand the spelling on non-rechargeable.

{{comic
| number = 3214
| date = March 2, 2026
| title = Electric Vehicles
| image = electric_vehicles_2x.png
| imagesize = 209x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Now that I've finally gotten an electric vehicle, I'm never going back to an acoustic one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by an EV WITH A NON-RECHARGEABLE BOT-TERY. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

The title text is relating electric vehicles to electric instruments, which are contrasted with acoustic guitars. In the case of guitars, this doesn't refer to how they're powered, but how their sound is transmitted from the strings and amplified. There's no such thing as an acoustic vehicle, though sound ''can'' be used to [https://hackaday.com/2025/02/21/acoustic-engine-harnesses-the-power-of-sound/ generate propulsion] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je7eLZS6GG0 on a small scale][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCnxsoXtlmY in a variety of ways.]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball is standing on the left, and Megan and White Hat are standing to his right.]

:Cueball: I would never get an electric vehicle.
:Cueball: Sure, they sound great, but what do you do if the battery runs out of charge?

:[Caption below the image:]
:I felt pretty silly when someone finally explained to me that EVs are rechargeable.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:3214: Electric Vehicles

2026-03-03T03:41:10Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

How's the transcript, guys? --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:41, 3 March 2026 (UTC)

3214: Electric Vehicles

2026-03-03T03:40:50Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Transcript */

562: Parking

2026-02-19T07:23:29Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem;{{Citation needed}} [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note] (original link defunct, archive [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719122829/http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot here]), or, if possible, just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the road less traveled, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked, but will never become a functional car again.{{Citation needed}} But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

This comic may be the one referenced in [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], where it is shown that Black Hat '...completely disassembled a car' because 'It was parked across two spaces.', or this is the second time that a car has been in the way of him parking, so he has taken matters into his own hands.

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved, or possibly know enough of Black Hat's reputation to not betray him.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that blocks two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

==Trivia==
Black Hat, in the fourth panel, is also seen in the "Your Ad Here" screen.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Sabotage]]
[[Category:Comics with a Spanish translation]]

3209: Plums

2026-02-19T05:58:56Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a rebellious icebox. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the poem [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56159/this-is-just-to-say This Is Just to Say], where the narrator is apologizing for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that Cueball cannot resist eating the plums from the icebox as a reference to the poem.

The title-text is a joke about trapping poets with references to their own poems, referencing another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball sitting at a desk with a laptop on it looking backward towards the source of speech off-screen.]
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball, thinking: Oh no.
:Caption: Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't, but how can I not!?
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3209: Plums

2026-02-19T04:53:17Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a rebellious icebox. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the poem [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56159/this-is-just-to-say This Is Just to Say], where the narrator is apologizing for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that Cueball cannot resist eating the plums from the icebox as a reference to the poem.

The title-text is a joke about trapping poets with references to their own poems, referencing another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball, thinking: Oh no.
:Caption: Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't, but how can I not!?
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3209: Plums

2026-02-19T04:31:18Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the poem [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56159/this-is-just-to-say This Is Just to Say], where the narrator is apologizing for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that Cueball cannot resist eating the plums from the icebox as a reference to the poem.

The title-text is a joke about trapping poets with references to their own poems, referencing another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball, thinking: Oh no.
:Caption: Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't, but how can I not!?
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3209: Plums

2026-02-19T04:30:55Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the poem [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56159/this-is-just-to-say This Is Just to Say], where the narrator is apologizing for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that Cueball cannot resist eating the plums from the icebox as a reference to the poem.
The title-text is a joke about trapping poets with references to their own poems, referencing another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball, thinking: Oh no.
:Caption: Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't, but how can I not!?
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:3125: Snake-in-the-Box Problem

2026-02-17T04:04:22Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

The math problem in question is https://oeis.org/A099155 [[User:Mei|Mei]] ([[User talk:Mei|talk]]) 21:57, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

why is d>8 unsolved? stevethenoob 21:59, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Computational power, I guess, although I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that for N=9 snake=196. [[Special:Contributions/94.73.52.245|94.73.52.245]] 23:18, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:It's not that hard to imagine: if you were to try a brute force search it would take time that's exponential in the path length, which itself is exponential in d. There are evidently methods to do it slightly better, but not enough to make solving d=9 feasible yet. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 10:03, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:To give an impression of the rate at which these get solved: d=6 was solved in 1988, d=7 in 1996, d=8 in 2014. [[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 10:32, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:Computational power is right. Time complexity is *super*-exponential - even the number of *nodes* increases exponentially as increasing N by 1 doubles the nodes. And time complexity doesn't increase linearly with the number of nodes - if we imagine a brute force algorithm there's 2^n nodes and each node has n-1 options, so we're looking at a multiple of exponential time. Current lower bound for N=9 is 190. [[User:GorillaWarfare|GorillaWarfare]] ([[User talk:GorillaWarfare|talk]]) 06:57, 10 August 2025 (UTC)

I would argue that computer science has one as well with the China room problem. [[User:Ctinsman|Ctinsman]] ([[User talk:Ctinsman|talk]]) 22:14, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

: Humans aren't cute animals (mostly), so I propose a variant of the problem called the Chinese Red Panda Room [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:38, 6 August 2025 (UTC)

Interesting. Just a few days ago I was investigating a very similar idea (looking at a path that transitioned between adjacent ''faces'' of a polyhedron, which was effectively going from vertex to connected vertex upon that chosen polyhedron's ''dual''), but for the opposite reason, i.e. looking for the paths that actually maximised proximity (along the path) between neighbouring faces (upon the polyhedra), so that it actually minimised the search back/forth along the path-chain to establish what value the adjacent polyhedron faces (beyond the ones automatically at ±1 positions on the chain) inherited.
 As to solving this one (basically disallowing visiting of any nodes adjacent to prior visits ''other'' than the single one that the +1 position of the chain has to first go to), I've got a basic idea of how I'd N-dimensionally space-search the possible routes (after all, visiting any given node at {0,1} value for dimensions [a, b, c, ...] rules out now visiting all of [!a, b, c, ...], [a, !b, c, ...], [a, b, !c, ...], etc, ''except'' whichever one of these was chosen for the next step of onward travel), for valid foldings across the appropriate N-polytype cuboidal analogue. Though I suspect that the exponental (or greater!) growth in the potential search-trees you'd use would be the sticking point. No point in setting off an exhaustive algorithm if it seemed likely to take three years to check just 1% of possibilities, and no doubt more dedicated analysis than my own brute-forcing method has already hit other problems in trying a more nuanced extrapolation between each level of added dimensionality, which is where the unsolved nature of this starts to bite.
 But also think it'd be far more interesting to investigate the possibilities in the N>3-Dimensional extensions of non-cubic platonic solids, like the {{w|600-cell}} and beyond, and establish what allowable lengths of traversal ''they'' would allow, under similar stipulations.
 Great! I love getting things like this to think about. If I can spare the time needed... [[Special:Contributions/82.132.245.59|82.132.245.59]] 22:22, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
: I think you've been nerd-sniped. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:42, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
::So far, I've personally got as far as:
::*For any given number of dimensions, N, there are always N adjacent points (point, zero dimensions, zero neighbours; line, one dimension, one neighbour; square, two dimension, two neighbours, etc).
::*In total, there are 2N points (0d=1, 1d=2, 2d=4, etc)
::*A maximum possible length, L, has a ''lower'' lower limit of starting at any particular vortex and only taking directions that are perpendicular to all prior directions (for a cube, only go by x, y and z directions once), and this would be eaual to N.
::*But that's overly-lazy, as you're ruling out (as you gain enough dimensions) revisiting a dimensional plane, even though you're allowed to revisit a point on that plane that's shifted by at least ''two'' other dimensions of offset. e.g. the top right of a cube's facing face when you started at the bottom left of it (went 'deep' to the rear face, took two steps from the rear-lower-left to rear-upper-right then back).
::*For the first step, you have N choices from your starting position. You take one and cannot later visit any of the ones you did not choose to go to. For the second step onwards, you have N-1 basic choices (every direction but backwards to the prior step) and should choose one and rule out ever visiting the rest.
::*This gives a new (at least for N>2) lower limit to L whereby the sum of starting, taken and not-taken nodes that you count can be added to by new steps until you would end up with have a total greater than 2N. (Line: start on one (of two), choice of one (taken), two points 'marked', only two points possible; Square: start on one (of four), two choices, take one, reserve one, three points 'marked', still the fourth point available for L=2, but then five points would be marked (the untaken-from-start being the only non-backwards choice) so can't go further.
::*But this is also wasteful as (in increasingly higher dimensions) there's nothing to stop an unvisited neighbour of a past step from being a(n enforced) unvisited neighbour from a later step, as you 'choose' to go only to a valid further point. So clever "near-neighbour" backtracking can reduce the number of ''freshly'' eaten-up points and thus maintain more future points for more steps.
::**Noting that past-step no-go-neighbours that can possibly 'fold into' the current-step's not-going-neighbours list only become such after ''at least'' two intervening steps (for 'square-based' hypercubic domains, whereas triangle-based hypernets (e.g. tetra-, octa- and icosohedrons, in 3-space) happen after just one step, and pentagon-based ones (dodecahedrons in 3-space) can't take advantage of this in less than three. (This seems to share some of the mathematics with the 'classical' rabbit-population problem, whereby new offspring only become viable breeding population after a step or two since their generation.)
::*Optimally, in fact, you should aim to double-back in such a way as leave yourself with ''all but one'' onward neighbour unavailable (thus only eating up potential points at a rate of one per step, at that point).
::*Heading vaguely back 'towards' past snake-lengths, in higher-dimensional hypernets, seems like the best(/longest) space-filling strategy. It's a bit like coil-built pottery, but with more undulations (and dimensions) to it. But with care to make sure you don't burrow yourself into a dead-end with ''no'' viable onward choices while still having maybe half of the potential visitable/neighbourable points untouched, or avoiding filling 'voids' to guaranteeing accessing a majority of the potential future visits, but unwisely not exploiting all the phase-space of vertices optimally.
::**I can mentally visualise doing this successfully in 3-, 4- and 5-cube situations, elegantly enough (it's like , but N>=6 versions get increasingly hard to do in my head with certainty. After I've slept on it, I might have to break out the pencil and paper.
::So, yeah, I've set a lower-limit to L, for various Ns, and can construct a ''possible'' upper-limit to L, but I haven't even checked these L(N)s vs. the values stated in the comic. Or what progress (and more advanced logical reasoning) has already been made in the field. I suspect I'm just reinventing the (hyper-)wheel, of course, rather than have the key to the problem that everyone else had failed to spot, but that's not the point. If I get even half way close to what the 'professionals' in this field have managed, I'll be smug and self-satisfied enough for myself. And, anyway, I've explained myself enough tolet any ''other'' similarly-minded nerd the ability to get at least as far as I've got with this problem. Which is as good an outcome, as far as I'm concerned, as getting this done entirely on my own. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.41|82.132.244.41]] 00:33, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
::: I'm still having trouble getting hold of long enough snakes. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:31, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
::: I've got the 50 length one for 7D, lets see if I can go further :) --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 13:25, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Psychology is way ahead of y'all, they've been putting actual mice in weird boxes for ''decades''. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 22:45, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:Psychology might have been putting animals in boxes for decades, but zoology has been doing it for centuries! [[Special:Contributions/97.118.209.207|97.118.209.207]] 00:36, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
::Gastronomy has been doing it for as long as people have been storing food. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:41, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/284912743/--[[Special:Contributions/2001:4450:8178:2200:D1C2:8DED:F6FE:E93C|2001:4450:8178:2200:D1C2:8DED:F6FE:E93C]] 04:01, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:::That link doesn't work. When I remove the -- at the end it goes to some kind of math game. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:58, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Reading (just) the [comments] of the underlying research suggests that 98 is the longest found snake. Perhaps that means a longer one has not been explicitly eliminated (making 8 also not solved to some extent) [[Special:Contributions/2A02:A45B:8867:0:BED8:F2BA:838E:765|2A02:A45B:8867:0:BED8:F2BA:838E:765]] 22:52, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
:a(8)=98 was proven by: Östergård, P.R.J., Pettersson, V.H. Exhaustive Search for Snake-in-the-Box Codes. Graphs and Combinatorics 31, 1019–1028 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00373-014-1423-3
:[[User:Zmatt|Zmatt]] ([[User talk:Zmatt|talk]]) 09:46, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

I suppose Randall doesn't consider [[beetles]] cute, or else [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_Investigations#Wittgenstein's_beetle philosophy of language] would be included. [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 23:15, 6 August 2025 (UTC)
: that's a great example [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 01:46, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
: very nice one, reminds me of the story of the bug (moth) and debugging in computer science {{unsigned ip|88.129.22.189|07:46, 1 September 2025}}

In simultaneous interpreting, humans are the cute animal in the box. {{unsigned|DrInterpreter|07:35, 7 August 2025 (UTC)}}

I don't believe an explanation of the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment is necessary to understand this comic. However, people keep editing the page to include an incorrect description of the experiment, by saying the cat is either dead or alive and you don't know which until you open the box. That's wrong and misses the point of quantum superposition. The cat is not dead or alive, it's literally both, due to its fate being linked to radioactive decay, a process that is subject to quantum superposition. Since it does seem inevitable that someone will keep editing this to add an explanation, I've added one myself. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.49.23|177.12.49.23]] 10:29, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

The link in the mail newsletter lead to "http://https//xkcd.com/3125/", not sure if that's worth documenting here. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 13:07, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Not a chemistry grad student, but is it possible that Randall intended "lure campus squirrels into laundry hampers in the hope that it ''sparks'' inspiration" as a humorous method of investigating the triboelectric effect? [[Special:Contributions/129.222.87.163|129.222.87.163]] 13:25, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

n=2: Snakes on a plane. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 16:47, 7 August 2025 (UTC)
:it makes so much sense and i hate that fact. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 04:04, 17 February 2026 (UTC)

the comic number 3125 is 5^5 [[Special:Contributions/96.77.127.105|96.77.127.105]] 18:26, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

Conclusion: we better have no snakes in the world {{unsigned ip|102.117.215.0|08:21, 8 August 2025 (UTC)}}

In the middle of the tree "wrong" examples, is the vertex leading from head to tail also a "wrong" vertex and should be coloured red? [[User:IIVQ|IIVQ]] ([[User talk:IIVQ|talk]]) 06:01, 9 August 2025 (UTC)

I suspect the squirrel fur + hamper + spark implies something electrochemical, though I haven't quite made the connection between the animal and the box. {{unsigned ip|88.129.22.189|07:46, 1 September 2025}}

I've found a length-373 snake in 10 dimensions. The previous record of 370 as listed on Wikipedia dates to 2012.

I started working on Snake-in-the-Box in August after xkcd #3125 introduced me to the problem. I'm grateful to Randall Munroe for calling it to my attention. I intend to keep working on it.

I described my results in a paper available at https://zenodo.org/records/17344872 which includes C code anyone can compile and run to validate the length-373 snake. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17344872

If you know anyone working in graph theory who can advise me on how to get my results recognized in a trusted forum (or who would even just like to compare notes about the Snake-in-the-Box problem), please let me know. My email address is
in my paper.
[[User:Tom239|Tom239]] ([[User talk:Tom239|talk]]) 19:46, 14 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3113: Fix This Sign

2026-02-16T07:12:17Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

I'm not certain, but this feels like Black Hat's doing (who's doing this for the irritation factor, not the money). [[Special:Contributions/2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:9DCE:6FD1:E813:D91B|2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:9DCE:6FD1:E813:D91B]] 20:15, 9 July 2025 (UTC)
:He could easily be doing it for both. Putting up this sign and then not fixing it when people actually pay sounds like the stunt he would pull. [[Special:Contributions/2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207|2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207]] 20:38, 9 July 2025 (UTC)
:The caption says "my," so it seems this would be Randall.--[[Special:Contributions/2600:100F:B13F:CB34:0:1E:BAC1:7001|2600:100F:B13F:CB34:0:1E:BAC1:7001]] 22:02, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

What happens when everything is bought? Does the sign just stay up? Does it reset after a while? Is it removed? [[Special:Contributions/2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207|2601:647:8500:1E09:8424:D57A:75C9:D207]] 20:40, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

the s and the i in "SIGN" are also too close to each other [[User:An user who has no account yet|An user who has no account yet]] ([[User talk:An user who has no account yet|talk]]) 22:00, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

This feels like a continuation of My Hobby, or perhaps a sequel series. Also, how do we know that the prices aren't typos? The true value could be WAY more expensive. [[User:Redacted II|Redacted II]] ([[User talk:Redacted II|talk]]) 00:18, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

This business model is reminiscent of ''their.™'' from SMBC https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/their which would suggest that once the fixes have all been bought the sign is simply replaced with a worse one. [[Special:Contributions/169.150.208.130|169.150.208.130]] 04:22, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

Where can we donate to fix the explainxkcd server? Also, those are not donations, as you get clear value for it. $1000: Change "Do(a)nate" to "Pay us". --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 05:22, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

My limited experience with the printing industry is that the graphic designers are not the object but the subject of the verb 'extorting' because they will bill you a lot for trivial changes even if it's to fix tgeir own mistakes. [[Special:Contributions/109.37.229.249|109.37.229.249]] 11:06, 10 July 2025 (UTC)
:"Tgeir"... Can I PayPal you $50? --[[Special:Contributions/174.174.4.79|174.174.4.79]] 14:06, 10 July 2025 (UTC)

Shouldn't fixing the typo be the most expensive? You don't even need to be a graphic designer, lots of ordinary people should be bothered by it. Surely it's more annoying than non-centered text. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:19, 10 July 2025 (UTC)
: Most to least annoying: Typo/column alignment (equal); text size; use of exclamation point; excessive whitespace; rotation/centring (equal); kerning. I'm also bothered by how far past the posts the sides of the sign extend. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:37, 10 July 2025 (UTC)
:: Honestly, I think Randall missed a trick - the posts are equidistant from their respective sides of the sign. Putting one post closer to its edge than the other would be yet another design annoyance that might prompt pedants such as I to pay up!

I think Randall is also trying to get pedantics upset by using the term "forward slashes" instead of just "slashes" - Just like a mouse doesn't have a "left click" button, only a "click" or "right click"
:I definitely use "left click" when talking to the less-informed users. Also, pedantic of me, but you mean "pedants", not "pedantics". [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 15:08, 12 July 2025 (UTC)
::I'm sure you've also come across situations where you've said "And now you left-click on that...", and the person you're trying to help goes "which one's Left Click?". ;)
::PS. "pedant" ''is'' the third-person present active indicative plural of the Latin singular "pedō" (to 'give feet'/'prop up'), which I think is interestng. :P [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 20:42, 12 July 2025 (UTC)
:I had some time when I have to call slash and backslash by ‘丿-slash’ and ‘乀-slash’ (See {{w|Chinese character strokes#Basic strokes}}). [[User:物灵|物灵]] ([[User talk:物灵|talk]]) 08:46, 13 July 2025 (UTC)
: Pedanticically, it doesn't have a "right click" either - it (usually) has a left button and a right button, which can be assigned to a primary click and a secondary click. If, like me, you have your mouse configured left handed, then the right button ''is'' the (primary) "click", and the left button is the secondary. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:18, 14 July 2025 (UTC)

Donate to fix mkdocstrings!!! https://mkdocstrings.github.io/insiders/ (this is just a stupid joke, mkdocstrings is AWESOME!!!)
:it's currently nonexistent. shame. sounds like it couldve been a lifesaver.--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 07:12, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/76.143.181.203|76.143.181.203]] 15:04, 28 September 2025 (UTC)

3192: Planetary Alignment

2026-02-16T07:07:01Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Transcript */ looks complete.

{{comic
| number = 3192
| date = January 9, 2026
| title = Planetary Alignment
| image = planetary_alignment_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x327px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = We're going to need to modify the surface to mount it on the test stand. Which ocean basin do you like the least?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by SLARTIBARTFAST, CARVER OF FJORDS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This is the third in a [[:Category:Home Inspections|series of comics]] about [[Ponytail]] inspecting Earth as if it were the client [[Cueball]]'s house.

[[Ponytail]] (presumably a planetary mechanic, which is not a real thing) appears to have been inspecting a planet, which seems to be the Earth, as if it were a vehicle. She is informing [[Cueball]] of the results, as if he were the owner of the planet.

According to her, the planet needs to be re-aligned, as the {{w|Earth's magnetic field|magnetic}} and {{w|Earth's rotation|rotational}} axes of the planet are 400 miles (640 km) offset from each other. She claims that this could create a number of problems with the planet, such as unbalanced magnetic fields. This is presented in the same casual manner as a car mechanic might regarding {{w|wheel alignment}}, or perhaps even the {{w|tire balance}}. Earth's magnetic alignment does change (both {{w|Geomagnetic pole#Movement|gradually drifting}} and {{w|Geomagnetic reversal|relatively sudden reversals}}), but not for any reasons that can be compared to typical vehicle maintenance issues.

Ponytail mentions radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic ocean. This is a real phenomenon, known as the {{w|South Atlantic Anomaly}}, where satellites experience increased malfunctions because solar radiation is higher than average, due to the alignment of the magnetic field, as well as {{w|Large low-shear-velocity provinces|a massive rock structure underneath Africa}}.

In the final panel, Ponytail says that they will provide a loaner planet while Earth is in the shop. This is typically done with vehicles, not planets,{{Citation needed}} but perhaps this particular shop has a [https://www.clivebanks.co.uk/THHGTTG/THHGTTGradio3.htm very large back room]. Ponytail then asks if a gas giant is okay, as they are out of solid surface planets. This is likely alluding to the practice of car dealerships offering replacements or loaner vehicles that are very different from those brought in for service, which can greatly frustrate and inconvenience the customer.

The title text continues the mechanic metaphor, stating that they (the shop) will have to modify Earth to fit it on the test stand, asking Cueball which ocean basin he likes the least, implying that they intend to remove or alter one of the Earth's oceans to mount it for adjustment and retesting.

This is the second comic in recent history with the word "Alignment" in the title, with [[3177: Chessboard Alignment]] being the first.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is approaching from off-screen, holding a clipboard and some sort of handheld apparatus. She is talking to Cueball, standing to the right.]
:Ponytail: The inspection revealed a few problems.
:Ponytail: Looks like your planet needs an alignment.
:Cueball: Oh?

:[Close up of Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Yeah, your magnetic axis is 400 miles off-center from your rotational one.
:Cueball (off-panel): Is that bad?

:[The view zooms back out, showing Ponytail holding her equipment, with Cueball holding a hand to his face, as if thinking.]
:Ponytail: The unbalanced magnetic field could cause radiation anomalies over the South Atlantic. Have you noticed any spacecraft equipment failures in that area?
:Cueball: There '''''have''''' been a few, actually.

:[The final panel shows the same as the third, apart from Cueball's gestures.]
:Ponytail: We can give you a loaner while yours is in the shop. Is a gas giant OK?
:Cueball: I'd '''''really''''' prefer a solid surface.
:Ponytail: Sorry, it's all we have. But it'll just be for a few days.

{{comic discussion}}
<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Home Inspections]]

Talk:3206: Installation

2026-02-12T03:19:58Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

This is what hiking trails should BE! [[User:Explainyourself|Explainyourself]] ([[User talk:Explainyourself|talk]]) 02:47, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

no. it would be better with [https://xkcd.com/3147/ waterslides.] (/j) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:19, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3206: Installation

2026-02-12T03:19:06Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

This is what hiking trails should BE! [[User:Explainyourself|Explainyourself]] ([[User talk:Explainyourself|talk]]) 02:47, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

no. it would be better with [xkcd.com/3147/ waterslides.] (/j) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:19, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3206: Installation

2026-02-12T03:18:48Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

This is what hiking trails should BE! [[User:Explainyourself|Explainyourself]] ([[User talk:Explainyourself|talk]]) 02:47, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

no. waterslides would be better with [xkcd.com/3147/ waterslides.] (/j) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:18, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3206: Installation

2026-02-12T03:18:21Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

This is what hiking trails should BE! [[User:Explainyourself|Explainyourself]] ([[User talk:Explainyourself|talk]]) 02:47, 12 February 2026 (UTC)
no. waterslides would be better with [xkcd.com/3147/ waterslides.] (/j) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:18, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

3206: Installation

2026-02-12T03:14:05Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3206
| date = February 11, 2026
| title = Installation
| image = installation_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x272px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Do YOU remember the skylight being this big?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a house like carpet. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic refers to wall-to-wall carpeting, which usually is carpeting that runs from wall to wall. Usually, the carpeting is on the ''inside''{{citation needed}} of the house where it is installed. However, in this example, Megan and Cueball are installing it on the ''outside'' of the house, walking the entirety of the earth's circumference until the finally finish installing it on the other side of their house. This method would be impractical{{citation needed}}, since it would both cross over oceans and use 40,008 to 40,075 kilometers of carpet, depending on where the house is and where it is facing.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:437: SUV

2026-02-11T07:07:52Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Im not sure this strip even needs an explanation [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:46, 11 July 2014 (UTC)
:yeah it did--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 07:07, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

Hey what's M, P and D stand for? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 17:43, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
:God question. The first price without a letter should be petrol/gasoline. M should be {{w|Methanol fuel|Methanol fuel}} used in some racing cars. P could be {{w|Propane|Propane}}. D must be {{w|Diesel fuel|Diesel fuel}} which is more expensive than petrol.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:24, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

:: M and P mean 89 and 91 or 92 octane. Officially, each chain has their own brand names for each grade, but they all settled on M names (Medium, Midrange, etc.) pretty quickly, and P names (Premium, Pro-Tech, etc.) beat out H names (Hi-Test) by the early 90s. So, now they can all advertise their prices with signs with M and P.

:: The D is always for diesel (and in America, there's only one kind of diesel at non-truck pumps instead of the two found in some parts of the world).

:: By the way, mid-range gas is almost entirely a scam. It sort of made sense in the 70s, when cars that needed more than 88 octane were allowed to use leader gas for a few years after cars using 87 octane. But once that exception expired, its only purpose has been idiots who think "my $50000 BMW can't possibly use the same gas as my crappy old VW, so I'd better spend a bit more". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.69|162.158.255.69]] 04:34, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

::: Actually, higher octane gasses are less susceptible to knocking. I have an older 2004 Subaru Baja manual, and 89 octane gas actually helps the car make more efficient starts. Knocking isn't good for the engine, and it occurrs more at 87. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.24|173.245.54.24]]

P is probably Premium gasoline. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.164}}

Not sure about the last bit regarding SUV and skateboard carrying capacity. That would be like saying a scooter or bicycle is a poor choice because they can't carry mattresses. I believe the point of an electric skateboard is to transport the person, not cargo. You could feasibly rent a truck for cargo. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 17:43, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

$4 gas... that's strangely nostalgic seeing that... Not that I'd want it back, of course!--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.243|108.162.237.243]] 15:19, 16 August 2016 (UTC)

User talk:Utdtutyabthsc

2026-02-11T03:15:28Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Incomplete */

==DO NOT USE AI==
Hi, and welcome. Please don't use AI in your contributions as they are often incorrect. I will go though all your contributions and fix them, but please refrain for using AI in the future, or you may end up being blocked. Thanks! [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 11:24, 29 November 2025 (UTC)
:OH - very sorry! i'll try to use normal ones from now on! --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 20:24, 2 December 2025 (UTC)
::Normal ones? [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:23, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:::i mean normal edits. sorry, haven't checked this place in a while. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 06:54, 22 December 2025 (UTC)

== Incomplete ==

Regarding {{diff|405228|this}}, they often ''don't'' give a reason, because the template is there from page creation (historically to encourage it being filled in), when ''everything'' needs doing to it (that isn't there automatically) and the BOT doesn't know what to suggest (nor should it). ... As to why they hang around, it just takes someone (like yourself) to see that it no longer needs fiddling about with any more. (Though it's very possible that the person who removes the Incomplete tag essentially 'bumps' it in the attention of someone else who now realises that it needs a whole lot more editing... It happens!) As long as it's not under a week old (or not had some recent tweaking going on, that one was last edited 27/Jan, which suggests it hadn't), feel free to just remove the tag. No need to be surprised that it's still there, it just means that nobody else has noticed it (and thought it time to be removed) before you. Of course, be a bit more cautious is if it's still rather 'active', although the Incomplete tag, these days, isn't really the "quick, it needs an edit!" thing as much as a friendly marker that anyone who checks every week or so can enjoy (because there's usually a nice inside-joke embedded in it). [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:00, 9 February 2026 (UTC)

So, the incomplete tags in something older than a week usually mean either a. it really is incomplete or b. no-one's bothered to check them, or c. they haven't been checked for quite a bit and recently they realised they needed a lot more editing? got it, thanks for the helpful info! i'll try to keep this in mind later on. (sorry for the late reply, the message was sent at 1 am where i live...) --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:21, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

:Sort of. And just choose almost any comic (back to around [[1600]] or so, at least) and look in the page history at its creation, and then (as you follow the changes from there on up) someone may well have edited the "by a BOT" bit into the joke version, along with ''or instead of'' their first manual edit (it's like a "First!" bragging rights, but more imaginative). The time it takes for the template to be removed is variable, but (if you care to run through the diffs between versions), you'll see that it probably lasts a little longer than you might expect when the Explanation is more or less bashed into shape, but then there's almost always post-Incomplete edits going on and I don't think you'll find many pages where the state of the page when the Incomplete is removed is completely unchanged from then on.
:The {{template|Incomplete transcript}}, on the other hand, is rather easier to consider resolved. Give or take minor corrections/reformattings, and the occasional ''really complicated'' (or even dynamic/evolving) comic, you can generally see when the Template section covers everything of note. Even when there's still not a good Explanation for why it's funny and/or smart. But that also gets added by the current BOT (it doesn't have a "created by a SOMETHING OTHER THAN A BOT" joke in it, which is another reason why it isn't left around longer than it more or less needs to be) with absolutely no information about what might still be incomplete about it... except for the initial "everything!", of course... [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 14:24, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

so, mostly incomplete TRANSCRIPTS don't usually have this joke, and incomplete EXPLANATIONS are sort-of like a "F1RST P0ST!!" but less annoying? And there's many edits even after a page is marked as complete, and even being marked is a bit longer than it should be, but transcripts are easier to complete? Got it! i'll try to keep this inside-joke safe in the explanations but complete the transcripts. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:15, 11 February 2026 (UTC)

User:Utdtutyabthsc

2026-02-10T06:02:39Z

Utdtutyabthsc: Created page with "What am i doing here? ----"

What am i doing here?
----

Talk:3205: Carbon Dating

2026-02-10T06:00:52Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

F10st p0st! [[Special:Contributions/185.36.194.156|185.36.194.156]] 04:45, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

First explanation! Hopefully it's fine... (also, nice TCMP reference.)--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 06:00, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3205: Carbon Dating

2026-02-10T06:00:37Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

F10st p0st! [[Special:Contributions/185.36.194.156|185.36.194.156]] 04:45, 10 February 2026 (UTC)
First explanation! Hopefully it's fine... (also, nice TCMP reference.)--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 06:00, 10 February 2026 (UTC)

3205: Carbon Dating

2026-02-10T05:59:10Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3205
| date = February 9, 2026
| title = Carbon Dating
| image = carbon_dating_2x.png
| imagesize = 250x348px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This dating is corroborated by the presence of stone tools at the site, rather than earlier and less effective helium ones.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a WOODEN PICKAXE. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
Carbon dating is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. This method is commonly used by archeologists and is invaluable in terms of predicting the time an piece of organic matter came from, like fossils.
The punchline of this omic stems from the fact that carbon in the universe was created in the first round of stars fusing elements, and thus a cosmologist wrongly{{citation needed}} assumes that the skeleton mentioned is from that era.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Ponytail, standing, is pointing at a blackboard containing a drawing of a skull and some bones/bone fragments, as well as a graph and some lines of text. She is speaking to Cueball and Megan, who are standing beside her.]
:Ponytail: The high carbon content of the skeleton indicates that the individual lived less than 13.6 billion years ago, after the first round of stellar nucleosynthesis.
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Cosmologist carbon dating

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

User talk:Utdtutyabthsc

2026-02-10T03:21:09Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Incomplete */

3197: Cost Savings

2026-02-09T09:05:15Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */ I don't know why this is still here. It doesn't give a reason that it's incomplete, and it's long and detailed enough to be considered complete.

{{comic
| number = 3197
| date = January 21, 2026
| title = Cost Savings
| image = cost_savings_2x.png
| imagesize = 303x461px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Unfortunately, my scheme to trick NASA has now taken over a decade longer than planned and has run way over budget.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic depicts a ridiculous scheme, concocted by [[Cueball]], to dupe various representatives at NASA into doing a menial task for him. Specifically, he wants them to build an ordinary shed in his yard. The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) is not associated with {{w|Spruce Goose|hobbyist carpentry}} and certainly cannot be conventionally ordered to build a shed on a needy citizen's property.{{Citation needed}} Thus, Cueball tries to circumvent the expected barriers to this outcome by masking his true intentions with a long-winded cost-cutting presentation about a proposed satellite launch. Initially, it appears he is suggesting various ways to mitigate the cost/hassle of launching a satellite into orbit. This starts with a lower orbit, which requires less fuel to reach and can bring significant savings per the rocketry equation. Lower orbits can bring challenges due to satellite crowding and (in the extreme case) atmospheric drag.

Cueball then suggests replacing the satellite with an "aerial platform" (most likely a plane that flies around with the equipment, but weather balloons, blimps, or even helicopters might count). While any atmospheric flight will require some recurring effort to steer and/or repeatedly launch the vehicle, this can cost less than a space launch and communication infrastructure needed to manage a satellite. The trade-off is that an aerial platform cannot stay up for years, like a satellite, and cannot see as much of the surface at a given time.

Cueball then suggest reducing the monitoring payload by moving some equipment to a ground location that receives data from the mobile equipment. Such a change might allow the platform to be a drone or balloon, either of which could go further with less weight. Cueball's last, unfinished sentence might be continued as "Additional savings could be achieved by reusing available property instead of buying land. In fact, I have identified a property with room for a structure which would not require any expense apart from construction." Depending on Cueball's level of focus on cost reduction, the end of this reasoning might even lead to "Ditch the satellite idea and just build a shed in my yard".

The title text expands on this theme by implying that Cueball has been attempting this scheme (which may have required extensive effort and connections for the NASA project team to even hear the initial red-herring proposal) for long enough that it mirrors the setbacks a team would experience if they were actually intending to send a satellite into orbit. The {{w|Timeline of the James Webb Space Telescope|James Webb Telescope}} is one such mission which was very delayed, as already mentioned in prior comics, notably [[2014: JWST Delays]].

By taking "over a decade longer than planned", the actual time taken to (not yet) achieve his goal is far longer than would normally be expected to just build a shed without NASA's complicity, perhaps barring some particularly intransigent {{w|Zoning in the United States|zoning laws}}. The actual delay is unknown, but must have been significant. Likewise, the personal costs incurred by Cueball (at a minimum, time and travel) have probably far exceeded what most sheds (and their construction) require, even if the end-goal is a 'free' shed, paid for entirely by NASA.

And this is only during the period that NASA ''hasn't'' signed up for the project, having probably committed no more than an hour or three of meeting time for its review board. There is a saying that "if you buy a hammer it costs 6 dollars, but if the US government buys a hammer it costs 600 dollars", highlighting the implied costs of extensive bureaucracy. If NASA was ever interested enough to assign a budget, it would presumably be delayed by steps such as shed design, environmental review, contractor selection and team reallocation, sending the construction costs and timetable even further off.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball is standing in front of a framed graph on a wall, pointing at it with a short stick. The graph is a bar graph with steadily decreasing bar heights. Hairy and Megan, seated, are looking on from behind a desk.]
:Cueball: By lowering the planned satellite orbit, we can reduce the size of the launch vehicle required.
:Cueball: We can reduce costs further by eliminating the satellite entirely in favor of an aerial platform.
:Cueball: Some equipment could be moved to a ground-based facility, reducing required aircraft time.
:Cueball: Additional savings could be...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I'm trying to get NASA to build a shed in my backyard.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Space]]

3203: Binary Star

2026-02-05T15:42:13Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3203
| date = February 4, 2026
| title = Binary Star
| image = binary_star_2x.png
| imagesize = 353x365px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The discovery of a fully typographical star system comes with a big asterisk.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Binary star|Binary star systems}}, where two stars orbit each other, are common throughout the universe. In some cases, these are different types of stars, such as a {{w|neutron star}} orbiting a {{w|Main Sequence|main sequence star}}. Here, however, the comic depicts a system consisting of a real celestial object (a main sequence star), and a star which has a stylised five-pointed shape in which stars are often drawn, called a pentagram.

Pointed stars do not actually exist as astronomical bodies.{{cn}} Stars seen in the night sky can sometimes appear as though they have spikes coming out of them, but these are just optical illusions caused by the {{w|diffraction spike}} effect.

The title text puns on the * symbol (an {{w|asterisk}} - meaning little star), which is sometimes called a star, and is often used to indicate footnotes in text. A "big asterisk" is used as a metaphor for a rather large caveat or significant reservations about the statement being made, suggesting that such qualifications would form a long footnote. This could be interpreted as meaning that the existence of the "typographical star system" is significantly doubtful. Alternatively, it could be read as meaning that the "big asterisk" is a physically very large (astronomical scale) punctuation symbol, which forms part of a system composed of other bodies in the form of typography.

Drawing a star as a {{w|pentagram}}, as shown in the comic, is referenced in [[1029: Drawing Stars]].

The orbital paths shown are anomalous. The "main sequence star" follows a path that's nearly circular, while the five-pointed star follows an elliptical path, and they're at different locations along their paths. If the two stars were the most massive objects in their system by a significant margin, approximating a two-body system, their paths should be the same shape (albeit at different sizes, if their masses differ) and their locations along those paths should be in phase. This implies that there's at least one other massive object in the system, which isn't shown. The much smaller path of the main sequence star suggests that it's in a (relatively) close orbit with the other massive object, with the five-pointed star being much less massive than either, and essentially orbiting them at a greater distance.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Graphical depiction of a binary star system. The orbits are shown with dashed lines. One star is revolving circularly close to the center of mass and is shown as a filled circle. The other has a very elliptic orbit further out. It is currently close to its furthest point from the other star. This star is depicted as a pentagram.]
:[Caption below the image:]
:Space news: astronomers have found the first known system with a main-sequence star orbited by a five-pointed one.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

3195: International Station

2026-02-04T06:37:58Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */ This looks detailed enough to be complete.

{{comic
| number = 3195
| date = January 16, 2026
| title = International Station
| image = international_station_2x.png
| imagesize = 265x250px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Welcome to the International Space Station Exclamation Point!
}}

==Explanation==

This comic plays on different meanings of the word 'space': firstly as the invisible character between words, and secondly as in the void between astronomical bodies. In this case, it is claimed that the word 'space' was never meant to be part of the name of the {{w|International Space Station}}, but was included as a word due to a transcription error.

The presumption is therefore that someone thought it necessary to say the name as "International [space] Station," perhaps to quash any misconception that the intended name might be "InternationalStation" (however capitalised). Someone else would have written this down as "International Space Station". The resulting accidental name was then accepted, due to it being apt or inconvenient to change.

The title text furthers the joke by transcribing the exclamation mark at the end of the phrase. The word 'point' can sometimes be used to refer to a specific location within a wider space, such as a {{w|Meeting point|muster point}}. The "International Space Station Exclamation Point", then, may sound like it refers to a named location in the International Space Station (the "Exclamation Point") that is specifically intended for making exclamations (such as the one in the title text). (Turning a punctuation mark into a voiced part of a statement in this way is similar to [[3143: Question Mark]]; there were also multiple examples of strings with punctuation (literal and otherwise) and spelling easy to misconvey in [[1963: Namespace Land Rush]], though none of them used either spaces or "space"s.)

Similar problems to these can occur when customers order signboards. They sometimes come with unintended quotation marks, because the customer writes the signage text with quotation marks, with the expectation that the signmaker will ignore them. Or they may give the order verbally, resulting in similar problems as seen in the comic. Or [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7702913.stm even more comprehensive failures] may occur.

While the ISS had other names during its design, such as Space Station Freedom or Alpha, it does not appear that NASA or Roscosmos literally originally referred to it as just International Station. The Russian name for it is "Международная Kосмическая Cтанция" (MKC) or "Mezhdunaródnaya Kosmícheskaya Stántsiya", which translates as "International Space Station" using the cosmic, non-punctuation meaning of "space".

ISS Expedition 74 and {{w|SpaceX Crew-11}} were in headlines from 8–15 January 2026, when NASA and SpaceX {{w|List of accidents and incidents involving the International Space Station#2026|returned some crew members to Earth}} ahead of schedule, because of an unspecified medical concern.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is talking to Cueball. They seem to be floating in a weightless environment, surrounded by a wrench, a book, two sheets of paper and some debris. Whereas Ponytail is almost depicted like she is sitting on her knees leaning forward, Cueball is floating with his head down towards her and his legs up in the air away from her.]
:Ponytail: You know, NASA and Roscosmos actually originally named it the '''''International Station''''', but a translation issue led someone to accidentally transcribe the formatting.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Language]]

964: Dorm Poster

2026-01-30T05:13:23Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */ not sure why this was still here.

{{comic
| number = 964
| date = October 14, 2011
| title = Dorm Poster
| image = dorm poster.png
| titletext = I was going to record an album with that cover under the name "PINK FTFY", so it'd come after them on the store CD rack. But at this point music stores are just rooms where CDs are set out to age before they're thrown away, so probably nobody would see it.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Cueball, as a student, moves into a dorm. There is a poster on the wall with the album artwork, by {{w|Hipgnosis}}, for {{w|Pink Floyd|Pink Floyd's}} album {{w|The Dark Side of the Moon}}. It shows a beam of light passing through a {{w|dispersive prism}} and separating into a rainbow. This is a fairly common poster to have on a wall, particularly for someone in their late teens to early twenties, and is generally seen as a cliché. After thinking a bit, the new student makes a poster that uses a lens to reverse the rainbow into another prism, likely to mess with his new roommate. This idea actually isn't very innovative, because the original backside of the album contained the reverse rainbow and prism (but not the lens). The setup with two prisms was used by Isaac Newton to prove that white light is composed of different colors of light.

In the title text, Randall makes the joke that by recording a record under the name "PINK FTFY", the name of his band would come immediately after Pink Floyd alphabetically, so the album would be to the right of Pink Floyd's album for Dark Side of the Moon, allowing for the same image seen in the back of the dorm room to be on the shelves of the record store. Since the cover of his album would be catching the light from Pink Floyd's album and forming white light once again, Randall would be "fixing" the cover of Dark Side of the Moon. However [[Randall]] makes the crack that no one would see the joke, because of the fact that most music is bought and downloaded online, which has significantly decreased the traffic to record stores in recent years - catastrophically so at the time of this comic's publication, before the popularity of vinyl rebounded in the late 2010s.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball finds his dorm room. He is standing with a paper in his hand in front of a door labeled "117".]
:Paper: 117

:[View into the dorm room. The left half is already occupied, and a roommate has filled his side with the normal accoutrements of dorm life. There is a Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" poster hanging on the far wall, offset and only on the roommate's side.]

:[Cueball has a bit of a ponder.]

:[Cueball leaves for a bit.]

:[Cueball returns with an item.]

:[View into the dorm room. Cueball is moving in, and has placed a second Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" poster modified with a lens in the rainbow's path. The poster is placed upside down on Cueball's side of the far wall to catch the rainbow, feed it back into the prism, and turn it back into a narrow stream of white light.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:3131: Cesium

2026-01-21T09:45:52Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

I think that's called a recipe for disaster. NOTE: I am also 104.225.172.143. [[Special:Contributions/138.43.101.123|138.43.101.123]] 14:36, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
: No, ''I'' am 104.225.172.143! [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:09, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
:: I'm 104.225.172.143, and so's my wife! [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 20:42, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
:::I also chose this guy's wife. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1014:B130:F85B:54C8:CB88:DB33:11D0|2600:1014:B130:F85B:54C8:CB88:DB33:11D0]]
::::I'm also. --[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 09:45, 21 January 2026 (UTC)

My best recipe comes with a Notice to Mariners [[User:Hcs|Hcs]] ([[User talk:Hcs|talk]]) 14:45, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

I added a transcript. Hopefully it's okay. [[Special:Contributions/104.225.172.143|104.225.172.143]] 14:54, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

A gram of gold runs on the order of ~$100 USD as of writing; a gram of cs-137 looks to be in the millions~billions range. --[[Special:Contributions/158.91.163.9|158.91.163.9]] 14:55, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

: Nope. [https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2024/mcs2024-cesium.pdf It's 99 dollars]. [[Special:Contributions/191.57.16.100|191.57.16.100]] 20:40, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
:: I think you're quoting the price for Caesium metal in general, which is probably almost entirely Caesium 133; Caesium 137 is a synthetic isotope which could easily be a million times more expensive than the natural stuff, gram for gram. [[Special:Contributions/80.41.70.128|80.41.70.128]] 22:37, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
::: You're right, my bad. I couldn't find a quote for Cs137, but considering it's produced from uranium, it probably is very expensive. As for the shrimp thing, I doubt anything close to a gram of Cesium ended up in the shipment. It's probably a component from a measuring device. [[Special:Contributions/177.12.48.45|177.12.48.45]] 09:57, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
:Caesium contamination usually is caused by nuclear accidents (or atmospheric nuclear weapon tests) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium-137#Environmental_contamination. It is unlikely that someone acquired pure Cs-137 and then "accidentally" contaminated the shrimp with that. --[[Special:Contributions/134.102.219.31|134.102.219.31]] 15:31, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
: Cs137 can be found for approximately 20 USD per µCi, which equals 0.0000000115g. That means 1g would cost 1,739,130,435 USD. The good news is that same gram would be worth 20 USD in another 795.7 years. Although it wouldn't be all Cs-137 anymore, nor exactly a gram. [[Special:Contributions/77.173.137.243|77.173.137.243]] 21:19, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
::So, what you're saying is... not a good investment for the future, with a 99.99999885ish% depreciation (''before'' any effects of monetary inflation), on top of me also having to become somewhere roughly around 8.5 centuries old. I suppose the latter ''might'' be a plus, if you can guarantee it, but it's not exactly a ringing endorsement for your scheme. ;) [[Special:Contributions/84.43.20.118|84.43.20.118]] 22:04, 21 August 2025 (UTC)

Bothering the NSA shouldn't be hard, just write some of their secrets on a cake (with frosting is optional) and post it online. [[Special:Contributions/212.101.26.209|212.101.26.209]] 14:57, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
: I feel like the writing on the cake is not part of its recipe. I think a more fitting way to get their attention would be "accidentally" poisoning the president with your cooking. --
[[Special:Contributions/128.31.34.92|128.31.34.92]] 22:09, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
:If it gets worse, simply expressing disagreement with a certain person could get the NSA on your case. [[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]]) 02:10, 24 August 2025 (UTC)

What would IMO do, revoke your math license? [[Special:Contributions/216.73.162.10|216.73.162.10]] 15:22, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
: They have numerous penalties at their disposal. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:27, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
: I imagined the reason the IMO would get involved would be because the recipe created some interesting mathematical problem that could be used for the next competition. For example, something like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct3lCfgJV_A this video], where a grocery order taken too literally creates a seemingly harmless Diophantine equation whose smallest positive solutions are on the order of 10^80. [[Special:Contributions/137.25.230.78|137.25.230.78]] 15:56, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
: A cook on Air Force 1 "accidentally" contaminates Trump's fast food with cesium. The assassination attempt fails and US retaliates by invading Canada/Panama/Greenland (roll 1d3). IMO bans the US team, like they banned Russia in 2022. Thus a single cooking "accident" can get the attention of IAEA, IATA, IMO, and NSA. --[[Special:Contributions/128.31.34.92|128.31.34.92]] 22:21, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

Maybe The IATA could get involved if your ruined recipe caused food poisoning on a commercial airliner that then resulted in an in-air emergency (whole flight deck passed out). {{unsigned ip|170.85.70.249|17:32, 20 August 2025 (UTC)}}
:Or if you create a column of dense toxic fumes that spreads over a wide area (on the level of a volcano eruption). On the other hand, I wonder what could bring the attention of the IMO when Terryology seemingly couldn't.--[[Special:Contributions/94.73.52.245|94.73.52.245]] 18:56, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

The criticality accident in 1999 at the Tokaimura nuclear facility seems like a good example of messing up a recipe in a way that draws considerable attention. {{w|Tokaimura nuclear accidents}} [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:1B|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:1B]] 19:11, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

1. Randall creates a new way to cook airplane food that is either cheap enough or expensive enough to significantly affect airline ticket pricing. 2. Randall's recipe poisons a Math Olympiad team. 3. The coach of the team turns out to be an undercover spy. [[Special:Contributions/24.53.184.90|24.53.184.90]] 23:47, 20 August 2025 (UTC)

{{w|IATA}} is an international trade association for airlines. It's not particularly involved in air safety, except as a sideline; the {{w|International Civil Aviation Organization}} is much more involved that way. However, IATA used to be directly concerned with recipes. In the 1950s, the IATA airlines agreed on international standards for meals, under which economy class passengers would only be provided with sandwiches. However, airlines such as SAS and Swissair provided their passengers with more and better sandwiches than U.S. airlines such as Pan Am and TWA were willing to provide. Eventually IATA issued a rule that sandwiches were to be cold, simple, unadorned, and inexpensive, feature “a substantial and visible” chunk of bread, and could not include materials normally regarded as expensive or luxurious, such as smoked salmon, oysters, caviar, lobster, game, asparagus, or pate de foie gras. Providing better sandwiches than those IATA allowed could result in a fine. (The rule was later revoked to allow economy class passengers to receive hot meals.) So at one point, it was possible to mess up a sandwich recipe by adding expensive ingredients that would incur the wrath of IATA. --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 00:43, 21 August 2025 (UTC)

The explanation "... if the recipe is used in major airports, and the recipe is contaminated with a drug, the pilots that eat could experience vision loss or other problems, and if this recipe is widely used and normal people won't notice much besides minor side effects, then this could attract the attention of of the IATA" does not make sense. If a recipe caused vision loss when pilots ate the food, it would also cause vision loss for non-pilots. --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 00:49, 21 August 2025 (UTC)

The phrase "messing up a recipe" means whatever Randall intended it to mean. The fact that some people may use the phrase to mean to make something at home does not mean that such a definition was intended by Randall. I don't think I have ever heard "messing up a recipe" mean anything other than ruining the preparation of the food. [[User:Inquirer|Inquirer]] ([[User talk:Inquirer|talk]]) 02:55, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
:Someone who ''creates'' recipes could make a mistake, publish a bad recipe, and cause problems. If a recipe left food unsafe, for example: not cooked enough to kill bacteria, left at room temperature for an unsafe time, etc. Tell people to find wild mushrooms, and that the red mushrooms with white spots are extra tasty. :-) [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:37, 21 August 2025 (UTC)

:If Randall ever made a recipe for lava cake, one of the problems would how you keep it from melting the plate. [[Special:Contributions/107.77.205.64|107.77.205.64]] 18:23, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Is it possible this comic was inspired by the [https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm recent FDA recall on certain Indonesian frozen shrimp]? [[Special:Contributions/174.21.93.112|174.21.93.112]] 03:33, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
:That's noted, with that specific link, in the second sentence of the Explanation here. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 03:41, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
::Ack, apologies. I may be a little stupid. [[Special:Contributions/174.21.93.112|174.21.93.112]]

68 Bq/kg of Cs-137 is about 93 billions Cs-137 atoms in 1 kg of shrimp, that is about 1,5 picomole or 213 picograms. On the other hand one BED (banana equivalent dose) is ~15 Bq per piece, so eating a half pound package of this shrimp will irradiate you in the same amount as eating one banana, in terms of number of decays, but much less in terms of biological dose: potassium-40 in bananas emit beta radiation which is much more harmful when coming from ingested material than beta and gamma, roughly equally emitted by Cs-137. So this recall is on the level of emptying a reservoir after two guys pissed into it. Security theater. -- [[Special:Contributions/2620:1F7:2C04:7C44:0:0:31:3A|2620:1F7:2C04:7C44:0:0:31:3A]] 14:12, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
: Or the Dutch boy at the [deleted] dike. With the assault by Our ([https://www.dude-n-dude.com/2025/08/06/amoebas-lorica-meme-ories-68-introducing-humility/ USNA]) Government on such business-insensitive excesses as food safety, we should be grateful that the FDA is, at least for now, still capable of functioning at this level. [[Special:Contributions/2605:59C8:160:DB08:5C9D:407E:3E50:C822|2605:59C8:160:DB08:5C9D:407E:3E50:C822]] 15:08, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
:The advisory does say that the danger is very low. I think this is one of those "abundance of caution" things. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:35, 22 August 2025 (UTC)
:: I mean, you can't assume each individual shrimp was mixed with the same amount of cesium. Maybe some of it got a super dose and is actually harmful. Since the general public doesn't carry around geiger counters to restaurants, I say the recall is warranted.
::: Reminds me of the tale of [https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/n3sfi6/til_in_1911_physicist_george_de_hevesy_suspected/ George de Hevesy] who effectively ''did'' take a geiger counter to the (boarding house) dining table... But, then, he was suspecting that something would be found. Different times! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.60|82.132.236.60]] 15:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)
:: I think the fact that there is any cs137 in the shrimp at all is concerning. Where is it coming from? Did someone dump spent nuclear fuel near a fishery? How much and for how long? [[Special:Contributions/177.12.48.45|177.12.48.45]] 14:45, 23 August 2025 (UTC)
::: Not read the incident report, maybe it says there. But it's quite possible that some stage of processing uses a radiation source to scan the load of shrimp for unwanted debris (pass it under the emitter, if any significant bits of metal/dirt is in the supply, it'll cause a notable fluctuation in the detector beneath), ''or'' perhaps to asses the mass distribution (if the water content is enough to moderate the source-to-detector signal in a relatable manner, it could accurately estimate the quantity of shrimp passing by continuously, where weighing is less practical/accurate given the volume and continuous movement; ''or'' it might even track the average ''size'' of shrimp, for grading purposes). They do use small amounts of isotopes for that kind of thing. Amerecium is famouspy used in smoke-detectors/alarms, and other radionuclides (chosen for their particular mix of alpha/beta/gamma radiation, availability and sufficient half-life to match the product use-span.
::: Now imagine what if, perhaps ironically, the emitter capsule vibrated loose (or was dropped, in the midst of a swap-out of an 'old' one, and for some reason the person wldoing it didn't feel the need to emergency-stop the line) and got into the supply chain, either fragmenting or leaching out (as heat and cold, and perhaps mechanical pressures, further prepared the shrimp-load, now with added debris). [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.60|82.132.236.60]] 15:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)

Mooseberry fudge cake batter could very easily get the attention of the International Air Transport Association and possibly the NSA. As well as the Pottsylvania espionage community. [[User:Lordpishky|Lordpishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 06:27, 23 August 2025 (UTC)

Currently the explanation seems kind of centered on the idea that recipe only means a cooking recipe. "Recipe" used to mean to take, as in a prescription - a physician's instructions to a pharmacist/chemist. (This wiki entry recently said that recipe outside of cookery was a metaphor/extension - it isn't.) Recipe as cookery came later. If you look up recipe in the dictionary, cookery is just a special case.[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recipe Merriam Webster - recipe]

"Recipe - 1580s, "medical prescription, a formula for the composing of a remedy written by a physician," from French récipé (15c.), from Latin recipe "take!" (this or that ingredient), ... It was the word written by physicians at the head of prescriptions. Figurative meaning "a prescribed formula" is from 1640s. Meaning "instructions for preparing a particular food" is recorded by 1716." Rx is a holdover from Recipe.
[https://www.etymonline.com/word/recipe etymonline - recipe]

Cookery is only some of the every-day chemistry we do. Mixing chlorine bleach and various substances (ammonia, acids like vinegar, alcohol) can have nasty results.

Messing up a prescription, a chemical formula or chemical/nuclear ingredients is well within the literal definition of messing up a recipe, and gives more latitude for coming up with things that might draw attention from those organizations. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:98|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:98]] 18:10, 26 August 2025 (UTC)

Sqround or tricylinder-shaped cakes or bread can attract the IMO's attention. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C11:B800:34F9:178:1B57:97B3|2001:4C4E:1C11:B800:34F9:178:1B57:97B3]] 08:26, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

Talk:2857: Rebuttals

2026-01-19T07:10:49Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Ok, so...
#"...new evidence" (yes, possibly we can start with "...evidence", but let's start with the first contrarianism).
#"...inconvenient..." (so there's something we're saying is ''wrong'' with that new evidence?)
#"...led researchers to ignore..." (maybe could fold in with the inconvenience, but arguably ''ignoring'' is a 'third way' step in sidelining it, not even disagreeing)
#"...the prevailing consensus..." (another layer of implied position-taking where there ''is'' something to disagree with)
#"...the backlash against..." (to which others firmly took up the contrary)
#"It's become conventional wisdom that..." (and this is a counter-contrary perspective)
#"However..." ("...and ''I'', for one, think that they're wrong about the whole thing!")
...well, by a very quick and dirty deconstruction. But, then again, I fully expect to be shown wrong in my delayering! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.25|162.158.74.25]] 00:31, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
:Wouldn't the inconvenient new evidence be the justification for the backlash against the prevailing concensus, not the reason why the new evidence is ignored? I'm not going to try to explain this comic, I'm lost already. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:46, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
::It was the backlash that ignored the new evidence. The new evidence wasn't adopted by the 'backlashers', as I read it, so couldn't be their justification. (Or at least that's how the conventional wisdom interprets it, which of course could be wrong!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.23|162.158.34.23]] 00:56, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
:::I agree, and the first couple of paragraphs of the explanation are currently wrong in suggesting that the "prevailing consensus" is the one to which the researchers ignoring evidence ascribe. Instead we have a position that most scientists accept to be true and have done for some time ("prevailing consensus"), but this has inspired a revolt that is implied to be more emotively-driven than facts-based ("backlash") leading to revolt-inspired research ("has led researchers") uncovering evidence ("new evidence") which did not fit the revolting researchers' preconceived ideas ("inconvenient") and has therefore not been properly taken into account ("ignored"); however, this description of the situation is one that is generally assumed to be true, without critical thought or despite proof to the contrary ("conventional wisdom"), and Cueball is about to tell us why ("however..."). In truth, Cueball could be about to rebut any one of those things, but it is heavily implied to be the "conventional wisdom" that is in his view wrong, so there may actually be no prevailing consensus, or no real backlash, or no real research done because of that backlash, or no new evidence, or proof that that evidence could actually be useful to counter the prevailing consensus, or (and this again is most likely IMHO) it is wrong for people to assume that that the evidence was ever ignored. Therefore Cueball is about to support the revolting researchers, but only in rebutting the mainstream rebuttal accusing the rebutting researchers of failing to rebut contradictory evidence...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.223.169|172.69.223.169]] 10:05, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

I impressed myself by correctly remembering that the author of "Structure of Scientific Revolution" was Thomas Kuhn. It was assigned reading in a philosophy of science class I took over 40 years ago, but I haven't had to think about it much since then. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:43, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

[[File:The more rematic mainvisionist dogstream.png|thumb|ChatGPT: "Here is an image depicting the concept of a 'more rematic mainvisionist dogstream.'"]]
...why is there a file of a chatgpt image of "ematic mainvisionist dogstream"?--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 07:10, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Looking for a way to depict the Title Text: "The mainstream dogma sparked a wave of dogmatic revisionism, and this revisionist mainstream dogmatism has now given way to a more rematic mainvisionist dogstream." Too garish? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.142|172.69.79.142]] 00:52, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
:I'm not typing color codes, but I figured it would make more sense to coordinate the color by compound word, not roots. So "dogma" would be one color, "mainstream" would be another, etc. And then "dogstream" would be two-tone. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.11|172.70.178.11]] 09:47, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
::On that topic, I think the description for "rematic" should be changed to more clearly reflect the combination of "revisionist" and "dogmatic"; I don't think it implies any relation to "remake", "remix", "refurbish" or "recycle", even if the ultimate meaning is similar (and I'm not sure that's the case anyway). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.161|162.158.90.161]] 17:27, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

A simple explanation of "rematic mainvisionist dogstream" is that they are created by taking "re" from revisionist and replacing the "dog" from dogmatic which replaces the "main" from mainstream which then replaces the "re" of revisionist. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:25, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

That's an excellent explanation, yet I'm still not sure I understand the comic. There may be just too many layers of meta. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:22, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Unclothed evidence would certainly be inconvenient, to say no more, in the puritanical Church of Scientific Dogma. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.40|172.70.210.40]] 17:39, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2857: Rebuttals

2026-01-19T07:10:00Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

Ok, so...
#"...new evidence" (yes, possibly we can start with "...evidence", but let's start with the first contrarianism).
#"...inconvenient..." (so there's something we're saying is ''wrong'' with that new evidence?)
#"...led researchers to ignore..." (maybe could fold in with the inconvenience, but arguably ''ignoring'' is a 'third way' step in sidelining it, not even disagreeing)
#"...the prevailing consensus..." (another layer of implied position-taking where there ''is'' something to disagree with)
#"...the backlash against..." (to which others firmly took up the contrary)
#"It's become conventional wisdom that..." (and this is a counter-contrary perspective)
#"However..." ("...and ''I'', for one, think that they're wrong about the whole thing!")
...well, by a very quick and dirty deconstruction. But, then again, I fully expect to be shown wrong in my delayering! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.25|162.158.74.25]] 00:31, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
:Wouldn't the inconvenient new evidence be the justification for the backlash against the prevailing concensus, not the reason why the new evidence is ignored? I'm not going to try to explain this comic, I'm lost already. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:46, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
::It was the backlash that ignored the new evidence. The new evidence wasn't adopted by the 'backlashers', as I read it, so couldn't be their justification. (Or at least that's how the conventional wisdom interprets it, which of course could be wrong!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.23|162.158.34.23]] 00:56, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
:::I agree, and the first couple of paragraphs of the explanation are currently wrong in suggesting that the "prevailing consensus" is the one to which the researchers ignoring evidence ascribe. Instead we have a position that most scientists accept to be true and have done for some time ("prevailing consensus"), but this has inspired a revolt that is implied to be more emotively-driven than facts-based ("backlash") leading to revolt-inspired research ("has led researchers") uncovering evidence ("new evidence") which did not fit the revolting researchers' preconceived ideas ("inconvenient") and has therefore not been properly taken into account ("ignored"); however, this description of the situation is one that is generally assumed to be true, without critical thought or despite proof to the contrary ("conventional wisdom"), and Cueball is about to tell us why ("however..."). In truth, Cueball could be about to rebut any one of those things, but it is heavily implied to be the "conventional wisdom" that is in his view wrong, so there may actually be no prevailing consensus, or no real backlash, or no real research done because of that backlash, or no new evidence, or proof that that evidence could actually be useful to counter the prevailing consensus, or (and this again is most likely IMHO) it is wrong for people to assume that that the evidence was ever ignored. Therefore Cueball is about to support the revolting researchers, but only in rebutting the mainstream rebuttal accusing the rebutting researchers of failing to rebut contradictory evidence...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.223.169|172.69.223.169]] 10:05, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

I impressed myself by correctly remembering that the author of "Structure of Scientific Revolution" was Thomas Kuhn. It was assigned reading in a philosophy of science class I took over 40 years ago, but I haven't had to think about it much since then. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:43, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

[[File:The more rematic mainvisionist dogstream.png|thumb|ChatGPT: "Here is an image depicting the concept of a 'more rematic mainvisionist dogstream.'"]]
...why?--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 07:10, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Looking for a way to depict the Title Text: "The mainstream dogma sparked a wave of dogmatic revisionism, and this revisionist mainstream dogmatism has now given way to a more rematic mainvisionist dogstream." Too garish? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.142|172.69.79.142]] 00:52, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
:I'm not typing color codes, but I figured it would make more sense to coordinate the color by compound word, not roots. So "dogma" would be one color, "mainstream" would be another, etc. And then "dogstream" would be two-tone. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.11|172.70.178.11]] 09:47, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
::On that topic, I think the description for "rematic" should be changed to more clearly reflect the combination of "revisionist" and "dogmatic"; I don't think it implies any relation to "remake", "remix", "refurbish" or "recycle", even if the ultimate meaning is similar (and I'm not sure that's the case anyway). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.161|162.158.90.161]] 17:27, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

A simple explanation of "rematic mainvisionist dogstream" is that they are created by taking "re" from revisionist and replacing the "dog" from dogmatic which replaces the "main" from mainstream which then replaces the "re" of revisionist. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:25, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

That's an excellent explanation, yet I'm still not sure I understand the comic. There may be just too many layers of meta. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:22, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Unclothed evidence would certainly be inconvenient, to say no more, in the puritanical Church of Scientific Dogma. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.40|172.70.210.40]] 17:39, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

3181: Jumping Frog Radius

2026-01-19T07:07:02Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */ This looks detailed enough to be complete.

{{comic
| number = 3181
| date = December 15, 2025
| title = Jumping Frog Radius
| image = jumping_frog_radius_2x.png
| imagesize = 339x243px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Earth's r_jf is approximately 1.5 light-days, leading to general relativity's successful prediction that all the frogs in the Solar System should be found collected on the surface of the Earth.
}}

==Explanation==

The {{w|Schwarzschild radius}} is essentially the size of a {{w|black hole}} -- the maximum distance from the center where gravity is so strong that light can't escape. It is part of a solution to {{w|Einstein's field equations}}. It is usually calculated as
:''r''s = (2*''G*M'') / ''c''2
where ''G'' is the {{w|gravitational constant}}, ''M'' is the mass of the object, and ''c'' is the {{w|speed of light}}.
If ''M'' were the mass of the {{w|Earth}}, it would give the Schwarzschild radius for the Earth, which is about 9 mm. (If all of Earth's mass were compressed into a sphere of a bit less than 2 cm in diameter, it would become a black hole.)

The comic suggests a more useful radius: the ''Jumping Frog radius'' ''r''jf, which is the size of a "planet" such that its gravity keeps a champion {{w|Frog jumping contest|jumping}} {{w|The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County|frog}} from being able to achieve {{w|escape velocity}}. Thus [[Randall]] has instead of ''c'', the 299,792,458 m/s speed of light, used a much smaller value of 4.5 m/s, to represent the maximum speed of a jumping frog. It is possible that Randall got that value from [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5661154_Explosive_Jumping_Extreme_Morphological_and_Physiological_Specializations_of_Australian_Rocket_Frogs_Litoria_nasuta this paper], which on page 179 puts an upper limit on the maximum velocity of adult Australian {{w|striped rocket frog}}s at 4.52 m/s. (The frog is shown making a "ribbit" sound, which is made by {{w|Pacific tree frog}}s and their relatives in North America and not by rocket frogs, but it's [https://www.imdb.com/list/ls052470723/ widely attributed to frogs all over the world].)

The drawing to the right of the formula shows a planet with exactly the radius ''r''jf. Thus the frog can jump really high compared to the planet's size (in this case about as high as the planet's radius), before it falls back down. This implies that the frog is jumping at somewhat less than the 4.5 m/s needed to escape.

The title text points out that the ''r''jf of the Earth is about 1.5 light days, which is about 7 times the distance to {{w|Pluto}} (compare to the 9 mm Schwarzschild radius). Since Earth's radius is much smaller than this, no frogs will be able to escape, so all frogs that stray into Earth's gravitational well would collect here on Earth. As far as we know, all the frogs in the Solar System are on Earth{{Citation needed}}, so the data apparently matches the theory. However, the reasoning is incorrect, as many other astronomical bodies in our solar system also have ''r''jf greater than their physical radius. If a frog were to be on any of those other bodies, it wouldn't be able to jump away to fall to Earth. A flawed argument neither supports nor refutes the conclusion, although it is true as far as we know that all frogs in the solar system do live on Earth.

If you were to take a frog off the earth and put it in a tiny frog space suit, which somehow did not unduly inhibit its movement, it could jump off any number of the smaller bodies in the solar system. However, few of these bodies are small/low-mass enough for a frog to escape them, ''and'' large enough and close enough for us to observe them and accurately estimate their escape velocities. (The diameter of asteroid {{w|4942 Munroe}} is known to be about 3.45 km, but its shape and mass are unknown. Its surface has an [https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2004942 exceptionally high albedo of 0.936], which suggests that the surface is mostly some kind of ice. If we assume that asteroid Munroe is spherical and entirely composed of water ice, with a density close to 1 g/cm3, its mass is 2.16 × 1010 kg, and its escape velocity is 0.041 m/s. If instead it's a solid sphere of meteoric iron/nickel with a density of about 8 g/cm3, its mass is 1.72 × 1011 kg, and its escape velocity is 0.115 m/s. In either case, Space Frog would have no trouble jumping away from Munroe.) Some examples:

{| class="wikitable"
!Celestial Body!!Escape Velocity (m/s)!!Frog Escape?!!Notes
|-
|Deimos||5.6||X||The smaller of Mars's two moons
|-
|Ersa||ca. 1||✓||Minor moon of Jupiter
|-
|Halley's Comet||ca. 2||✓||Notable comet, orbiting the sun every 76 years
|}

==Transcript==
:[The panel shows a large formula to the left and a small drawing to the right. The formula's right side is drawn above and below the division line:]
:''r''jf = 2''GM'' / (4.5 m/s)2

:[The drawing to the right shows a very small planet with the radius indicated with a labeled dotted arrow pointing from the center straight up to the edge of the planet. A frog is shown jumping on the surface. This is indicated with a parabolic dotted line going from a frog sitting on the surface near the top of the planet, up to the frog shown soaring through the air with its limbs stretched out about as high above the surface as the planet's radius. At this point the frog is making a sound. Then the dotted line goes down to about a quarter of the way around the planet where the frog lands making a noise, with lines around the frog representing the impact.]
:Arrow label: ''r''jf
:Frog: Ribbit
:Landing: Plop

:[Caption below the panel:]
:More practically useful than the Schwarzschild radius, the '''''Jumping Frog Radius''''' is the radius at which an object's gravitational pull is so strong that even a champion jumping frog can't escape.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:3182: Telescope Types

2026-01-19T03:11:42Z

Utdtutyabthsc:

no vampire jokes 🥀 ([[1791]]) [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 00:08, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Got down some preliminary descriptions of each telescope type used [[Special:Contributions/185.132.133.218|185.132.133.218]] 01:44, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

insert that one mickey mouse meme with the caption "what a fucking narcissist"
[[User:Yaokuan ITB|Yaokuan ITB]] ([[User talk:Yaokuan ITB|talk]]) 02:33, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

abnormally low joke-to-real ratio for this format of comic! [[Special:Contributions/2601:241:8002:3E0:C0A2:9DA:ED39:D13F|2601:241:8002:3E0:C0A2:9DA:ED39:D13F]] 03:21, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:I noticed that... I think this might've originally been 'look at all these cool telescope types', but then he realized he had to put some sort of joke somewhere. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 03:27, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Can someone make a category for The Core (2003)? It's been mentioned often enough. [[Special:Contributions/83.245.251.49|83.245.251.49]] 09:22, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:Can you list 4 more comics then I will make the category. I think that is about the limit for when to make a new category. I know there are a few more but is it only 2-3more? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:00, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
::All I can think of is [[673: The Sun]]. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 15:09, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:::Also mentioned in the title text of [[2858: Thanksgiving Arguments]]. --[[Special:Contributions/208.59.176.206|208.59.176.206]] 15:24, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:: The [[:Category: The Core|The Core]] category was already created, nearly two years ago. This comic is the 7th reference --[[User:Deebster|Deebster]] ([[User talk:Deebster|talk]]) 23:54, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

> This would not […] end well for the drinker.

Would it though? ''Drinking'' elemental mercury, while not great on nutritional value, should be mostly safe (and I'm using that word quite loosely). The most danger would be while drinking and expelling it, when there's a danger of inhaling mercury vapors, right? --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 10:29, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
: ... Agreed. Elemental mercury is dangerous when inhaled, not when drinked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning [[Special:Contributions/109.81.171.81|109.81.171.81]] 21:12, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:: (it's ''..when drunk.'') ;) [[Special:Contributions/88.65.244.212|88.65.244.212]] 00:42, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
It wouldn't take much work to make the "Real?" column all contain only "yes" [[Special:Contributions/136.32.133.124|136.32.133.124]] 12:05, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

As all others are refractors or reflectors, can cardboard tube be considered a diffractor? As it is the only thing that it does.--[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 15:43, 18 December 2025 (UTC)
:Well, all the others do it as well. Even more so, as they have more objects in the light path. --[[Special:Contributions/88.65.244.212|88.65.244.212]] 00:42, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
> Children may sometimes use tubes [...]

It's not just children. I've seen "viewing tubes" in at least a couple of places, hard-mounted metal tubes that point at particular points of interest. I'm not finding any good references, but here's a photo showing some at the top of a nearby mountain: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wwnYJ1zEQEXzjyJS8 [[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 18:07, 18 December 2025 (UTC)

Is the joke with "Geological" that it's looking at something 'far away' from actual Geology? {{unsigned ip|64.203.66.182|17:14, 19 December 2025}}

I flunked out of freshman physics, so apologies in advance if this is very stupid, but looking at the designs, and the “reflector” and “refractor” columns, I was wondering if it might make sense to combine the two, have a telescope with a refracting lens at one end and a concave mirror at the other (and presumably a secondary mirror) that would allow for a shorter overall length tube for the telescope. [[User:John|John]] ([[User talk:John|talk]]) 04:42, 27 December 2025 (UTC)
:Various designs mix lenses and mirrors (if only at the eyepiece end, as a final adjustable focusing element). But very large lenses have their own issues, e.g.:
:* they tend to produce spectral abberations that require careful relensing to mitigate;
:* the lens-material will absorb some small amounts of light during passage, especially for rays passing through the considerably thicker bits (whether concave, convex or meniscus) ...any absorption by a chosen material of mirror surface is constant;
:*shaping/polishing has to be done equally well on both sides, and can't easily be re-additive of material (only continually grinding it down, as needed);
:* it can't be physically supported (or even flexed, to adjust) all across one side, like a mirror;
:* necessarily huge chunks of optically-refractive material are ''heavy'', compared to many kinds of similarly proportioned mirrors;
:...and a few other issues that you might imagine. You can mitigate/mix these in all kinds of ways, but "a huge primary mirror" at the back end often has various advantages over "a huge (pre-?)primary lens" at the front end, varying a bit depending upon actual intended configuration and use. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.239.191|82.132.239.191]] 15:30, 27 December 2025 (UTC)
:One important bit about huge lenses: convex lenses (which you would need for a really big primary reflector) would be *very* thick which causes all kinds of problems when you cast them and then cool them down. The resulting stress makes it impossible to manufacture good lenses above a certain size. There are really big lenses, e.g. for lighthouses but those don't need good image quality so Fresnel lenses can be used to make them much thinner. Good quality composite lenses are at the very least much harder (not confident enough to say "impossible") to produce than composite mirrors. [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 12:12, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

i do not have any idea what the title text means.--[[User:Utdtutyabthsc|Utdtutyabthsc]] ([[User talk:Utdtutyabthsc|talk]]) 03:11, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

3191: Superstition

2026-01-16T04:11:22Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */ It is long and detailed enough to be complete

{{comic
| number = 3191
| date = January 7, 2026
| title = Superstition
| image = superstition_2x.png
| imagesize = 275x393px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's important to teach yourself to feel responsible for random events, because with great responsibility comes great power. That's what my wise Uncle Ben told me right before he died; he might still be alive today if only I'd said rabbit rabbit that year!
}}

==Explanation==

This comic references the {{w|superstition}}, which is known to have existed as far back as 1909, of saying "{{w|rabbit rabbit rabbit|rabbit rabbit}}" on the first day of a month in order to have good luck. There are many superstitions about actions that either cause bad luck (e.g. "step on a crack, break your mother's back", walking under a {{w|Ladder#Society and culture|ladder}}, breaking a {{w|List of bad luck signs|mirror}}, letting a {{w|Black cat#Superstition, folklore, bringer of good or bad luck|black cat}} cross your path) or protect against bad luck (e.g. carrying a {{w|rabbit's foot}}, {{w|Spilling salt|throwing salt over your shoulder}} after spilling some, {{w|knocking on wood}} after saying something).

When asked to explain what a superstition is, [[Cueball]] replies that they're "a way to train yourself to feel like any bad thing that happens is your fault". This suggests that, not only does [[Cueball]] not actually believe in the power of superstitions, but sees them as psychologically harmful. After all, believing that bad fortune can be prevented by taking certain actions implies that any bad outcome might have been prevented if you'd taken the right actions. Logically, of course, there's no connection between taking superstitious actions and bad things (or for that matter, good things) that subsequently happen, but superstitions condition us to believe that there is a connection. What's worse, there are so many different superstitions, across so many different cultures, that even keeping track of them, let alone following all of them, is wildly unrealistic, so there's always something you did, or failed to do, on which you can blame any bad outcome. The danger is that a person might personally blame themselves for things that they had no actual control over at all.

The title text refers to the {{w|Spider-Man}} mythology, in which (in most versions) Peter Parker's "{{w|Uncle Ben}}" famously tells him that "with great power comes great responsibility". Peter initially takes this lesson to heart, as he receives his superpowers but fails to stop a criminal when he has the chance, and his Uncle Ben dies as a result.

This text flips that message, claiming that Uncle Ben instead told him that "with responsibility comes great power". This inverts the actual lesson, and suggests that, by simply taking responsibility (even for things over which you have no control), you'll gain power over the outcomes. This is a pretty good summary of what superstitions teach, but can't really be justified rationally. Nonetheless, Cueball appears to believe this lesson, claiming that his uncle died after he failed to say "rabbit rabbit", and implied that {{w|Post hoc ergo propter hoc|the death, therefore, could have been prevented if he'd followed the superstition.}} In this version of the story, it's not clear whether Peter actually had no opportunity to prevent his uncle's death, and is effectively looking for ways to blame himself, or whether he ''could'' have taken real action, but chooses to focus on superstition, rather than ways in which he could have made a real difference.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[Blondie, Cueball and a child (Hairy) are walking from left to right. The child is turning towards Cueball.]
:Cueball: Oops, I forgot to say "rabbit rabbit" on January first!
:Hairy: Why do you do that?
:Cueball: Just a superstition.
:Hairy: What's a superstition?
:Cueball: It's a way to train yourself to feel like any bad thing that happens is your fault.

==Trivia==

* On January 7th, 2026, both the 1x and 2x version of this comic had no anti-aliasing applied (1-bit black and white). It was fixed later that day.
* Mentioning "rabbits" is also considered ''bad'' luck {{w|Isle of Portland#Rabbits|in some traditions}}.
* The [[header text]] briefly disappeared when this comic was released.
* Coincidentally, the day this comic was released, Minecraft, a video game Randall has played, released new textures and animations for rabbits and baby rabbits. These updates make them look almost as cute as Randall thinks they are!
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]

1212: Interstellar Memes

2026-01-15T04:58:10Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1212
| date = May 15, 2013
| title = Interstellar Memes
| image = interstellar memes.png
| titletext = The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance.
}}
A [http://xkcd.com/1212/large/ larger version] of this picture can be found by clicking the comic on xkcd.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Need to add the missing explanations for memes.}}

[[Randall]] highlights various memes from popular culture. A {{w|meme}} is a phenomenon, often in this scenario in the form of a movie quote, a musical reference, a catchphrase or other notable saying that spreads quickly by word-of-mouth. Memes become popular because people hear about them and repeat them to others. Randall points out that if the assumed intelligent life from other star systems were listening to the things we said, then they would just now be hearing and popularizing memes started years ago on earth. The delay is due to the time that it takes for expressions of the meme to travel (presumably via radio waves) to distant star systems.

Our solar system, from where the electromagnetic waves are emitted, is located just left of the center of the picture. The other star systems are arranged roughly according to their distance from the sun, while their size corresponds to the size of the star compared with that of the Sun. The meme for Sirius is a pun; it refers to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius Black. Radio waves travel at the {{w|speed of light}}. The title text jokes that these memes are so annoying that it would give us further incentive to develop the technology to travel {{w|faster than light}}, just simply to be able to outrun the radio waves, reach a distant star system, and apologize in advance to the "residents" about the memes, before the memes arrive.

In [https://what-if.xkcd.com/47/ What If #47: Alien Astronomers], Randall points out that Earth entertainment television and radio signals were never broadcast with sufficient intensity to be detectable at the majority of interstellar distances making it unlikely that aliens are picking up our memes and links back to this comic.

===Table with memes===
The table below lists all the memes described, and the star at which the comics states those memes should be heard by the time when the comic was released in 2013. The year of the meme plus the number of light years to the star should end up close to 2013.

Most end up within the range 2011-2013 which may indicate the meme became popular one or two years later (on Earth or at the distant star system.) Two memes reach the targets in 2014. Some of those errors may be caused by the inaccuracy of the distances.

The ''The Spanish Inquisition'' from Monty Python would have reached its destination in 2006. Because they're still watching ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' in 2013 it must be very popular or maybe it took seven years to decipher that {{w|British humour}}.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Meme !! Star !! Origin !! Year !! Distance to star !! Sum year !! Explanation
|-
| Yabba dabba doo! || {{w|Castor (star)|Castor}} || ''{{w|The Flintstones}}'' || 1960 || 51 ± 3 ly || 2011 ± 3 ||The catchphrase used by ''{{W|Fred Flintstone}}'' in the series ''{{W|The Flintstones}}'' whenever something good happens (like a work shift ending).
|-
| You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" || {{w|Lambda Aurigae}} || ''{{w|Dirty Harry}}'' || 1971 || 41.2 ± 0.1 ly || 2012 || The famous line from the scene in ''Dirty Harry'' where the titular Harry forces a criminal to surrender by threatening him with an empty gun.
|-
| {{w|Where's the beef|Where's the beef?}} || {{w|HR 1614}} || Slogan for {{w|Wendy's}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || Catchy slogan used in many Wendy's commercials that caught on and became a meme in its own right.
|-
| And now for something completely different. || {{w|Capella (star)|Capella}}|| ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1969 || 42 ly || 2011 || "And now for something completely different" was previously used in U.K. magazine shows like ''Tonight'', but its use in Monty Python's material means it has come to be associated with them.
|-
| Here's lookin' at you, kid. || {{w|Kappa Reticuli}} || ''{{w|Casablanca (film)|Casablanca}}'' || 1942 || 70 ly || 2012 || "Here's looking at you, kid" is a line spoken by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 film Casablanca.
|-
| My spoon is too big! || {{w|Kapteyn's Star}} || ''{{w|Rejected}}'' || 2000 || 12 ly || 2012 || The first line of Don Hertzfeldt's surreal animation ''Rejected'', released in 2000. In the story of ''Rejected'', this was meant to be an ad bumper for an educational channel.
|-
| May the force be with you. || {{w|Delta Trianguli}} || ''{{w|Star Wars}}''|| 1977 || 35 ly || 2012 || This is a phrase used a lot in the Star Wars franchise. It is a benediction used to bid a hopeful farewell, mostly by/to/between those who are aligned to the {{w|Jedi}} creed.
|-
| Peanut butter jelly time! || {{w|Luyten's Star}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/peanut-butter-jelly-time an Internet meme] || 2002 || 12 ly || 2014 || "Peanut Butter & Jelly" was the only single by the Buckwheat Boyz, which became popular as a meme when paired with an animated dancing banana.
|-
| Rosebud. || {{w|Alpha Hydri}} || ''{{w|Citizen Kane}}'' || 1941 || 71 ly || 2012 || In the opening scene of Citizen Kane, the eponymous Mr. Kane dies, saying "Rosebud" as his last words. The rest of the movie focuses on the people in his life trying to determine what the meaning of this word was.
|-
| Oh my god, {{w|They killed Kenny|they killed Kenny!}} – You bastards! || {{w|AD Leonis}} || ''{{w|South Park}}'' || 1997 || 15.9 ± 0.2 ly || 2013 || This is usually said whenever the character Kenny from South Park is killed. This is a recurring reference, as Kenny dies in every episode of South Park. In its most referenced form, another of the child characters then swears at the antagonists, fate and/or {{tvtropes|BreakingTheFourthWall|the writer's of the show}}, whichever party may be responsible, but this may be toned down in later depictions.
|-
| ...God kills a kitten! – A what? || {{w|Procyon}} || {{w|Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten|an Internet meme}} || 2002 || 11.5 ly || 2013 || The full catchphrase is "Every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten". The reply for this meme notes that kittens aren't on any other planets{{Citation needed}}, so the other person is confused about what a kitten is.
|-
| I ''still'' can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it. || {{w|Sirius}} || ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' ({{w|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|book 5}}) || 2003 || 8.6 ly || 2012 || In the Battle of the {{w|Ministry of Magic|Department of Mysteries}}, {{w|Bellatrix Lestrange}} fires a spell at {{w|Sirius Black}}, {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry's}} {{w|Godparent|godfather}}. This spell knocks Sirius backward through an archway which is a physical doorway into the {{w|Afterlife|afterlife}} such that, when Sirius fell through it, he left the realm of the living and died. The star Sirius is obviously upset about this, as Sirius Black was named after him.
|-
| Ninjas fight ''all the time!'' || {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|The Official Ninja Webpage}} || 2002 || 10 ly || 2012 || {{w|Ninja}} is the Japanese word for {{w|spy}}. In the 16th century, Japanese spycraft was codified into a profession, and spies had a significant influence on feudal intrigue during the {{w|Sengoku period|Japanese warring states period}}. These spies inspired a lot of literature, some fantastical, which over time developed into a popular stock character and a rich array of associated tropes. The Official Ninja Webpage is a satire website written from the perspective of a teenage American boy who is obsessed with the stock character and its associated tropes. One of these tropes, as written on the front page of the website, is that "Ninjas fight ALL the time."
|-
| {{w|D'oh!}} || {{w|HR 753}} || ''{{w|The Simpsons}}'' || 1989 || 23 ly || 2012 || This is what {{w|Homer Simpson| Homer Simpson}}, the father figure of {{w|The Simpsons}}The Simpsons, exclaims whenever he's annoyed.
|-
| {{w|The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|''Nobody'' expects the Spanish Inquisition!}} || {{w|Beta Virginis}} || ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1970 || 35,6 ly || 2006 || Monty Python was an absurdist sketch show. In a particular episode, a character in a scene (a meeting between a mill-owner and his workers) complained about being asked some questions by saying they "did not expect a {{w|Spanish Inquisition}}", a superlative that was common at the time the sketch aired. At this point, several characters dressed in the uniforms of the Spanish Inquisition burst into the scene declaring that "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition", diverting the original sketch's direction. At the very end of the episode, a different character in a different (courtroom) sketch says that they "didn't expected the Spanish Inquisition" and everyone turns towards the door in expectation. The remainder of the episode follows the Spanish Inquisition rushing to the scene, and barely starting to 'surprise' everyone there before time runs out.
|-
| {{w|All your base are belong to us}}. || {{w|Tau Ceti}} || ''{{w|Zero Wing}}'' || 2001 || 11.9 ly || 2013 || This is a meme resulting from a mistranslated line in the game ''Zero Wing''. The correct translation was "We have taken all of your bases."
|-
| Take me to your leader! – No, Steve. || {{w|Beta Cassiopeiae|Caph}} || {{w|Take me to your leader (phrase)}} || 1957 || 55 ly || 2012 || "Take me to your leader" is a stock phrase attributed to aliens in 1950s science fiction during first contact. The first recorded instance is a New Yorker cartoon where aliens ask this question to a horse, illustrating the weirdness of aliens being able to communicate the phrase but not understanding the structure of society. Later usage was more sincere, with both humans and aliens asking each other to take them to their leaders. Since people near Caph would be aliens, one could ask them to take you to their leader. However, because the aliens on Caph are saying the meme to each other, the second speaker is personally familiar with the one making the request, apparently named Steve, which makes the request pointless. So the second speaker refuses the request because it is not important.
|-
| Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He ''waits.'' || {{w|Wolf 359}} || {{w|Chuck Norris facts}} || 2005 || 7.8 ly || 2013 || {{w|Chuck Norris}} is an American movie star, typically taking on roles where he would perform implausible feats of physical prowess. People online started making lists of many other implausible or impossible feats that Chuck Norris was supposedly capable of, including this one. Normal humans have a physiological need for {{w|sleep}}, with sleep deprivation having many negative health effects. That Chuck Norris does not sleep but instead waits implies a superhuman resistance to insomnia, while simultaneously explaining his inaction as a form of {{w|theodicy}}.
|-
| ♬ Numa numa ♪ || {{w|Lalande 21185}} || {{w|Dragostea Din Tei|Numa Numa song}} || 2004 || 8.3 ly || 2012 || "Numa numa" is part of the lyrics of the chorus of a Romanian-language europop song {{w|Dragostea Din Tei}}. A webcam recording of {{w|Gary Brolsma}} enthousiastically singing along with the song was uploaded to youtube and widely shared.
|-
| I can haz? || {{w|WISE 1049-5319|Luhman 16}} || {{w|Lolcats}} || 2006 || 6.6 ± 0.5 ly || 2013 || An early image macro meme format was captioning pictures of cats, as alluded to in xkcd [[262]]. One popular image featured an overweight Scottish Fold cat with the caption "I can haz cheezburger?", implying the cat is overweight because it likes eating cheeseburgers.
|-
| ''Internets!'' || {{w|Luyten 726-8|Gliese 65}} || {{w|George W. Bush}} [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/internets Internet meme] || 2004 || 8.7 || 2013|| The word 'Internets' is an incorrect pluralisation of the word, popularised by former US president George Bush, in his response to a question asked by an audience member about the moral state of media in the US, during a debate at Washington University in 2000. His response is as follows: "''[…] We can have filters on Internets where public money is spent […] so if kids get on the Internet, there is not going to be pornography or violence coming in.''" This was majorly overlooked until he made the same mistake during the presidential debate against US Senator John Kerry in 2004. He repeated this as follows: "''I hear there's rumors on the, uh, Internets [pause] that we're going to have a draft. We're not going to have a draft, period.''"
|-
| Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals! || {{w|Gliese 1}} || {{w|Hampster Dance}} and/or {{w|Dancing Baby}} || 1998 || 14 ly || 2012 || Hampster Dance was a website featuring a set of tiled animated {{w|GIF}}s of cartoon hamsters dancing. The Dancing Baby is an animated GIF of a computer generated human baby dancing in a {{w|cha-cha}} style. Gliese 1 is not familiar with hamsters and human species, but since they are both mammals it refers to one or both as "tiny dancing Earth mammals". It is unclear how Gliese 1 knows that they are mammals, or what mammals are.
|-
| ''Wasssuup!?!'' || {{w|Van Maanen's star}} || {{w|Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser Beer}} advertising campaign || 1999 || 14 ly || 2013 || A compounded way of saying "What's up", a common greeting, with the compounded version being more common in 1990s' African American Vernacular English. In the commercial, two friends are lounging and watching a sports game, calling each other using an analog wired telephone. Using these telephones, multiple people in the same household could pick up phones connected to the same in-home telephone network and all participate in the conversation. Several other friends use this function to join the call and say "Wassuupp!?!" at each other in an escalatingly large group and then hang up to go back to doing their own thing.
|-
| Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker. || {{w|Beta Hydri}} || ''{{w|Die Hard}}'' || 1988 || 24 ly || 2012 || This line gained notoriety for being censored in subsequent releases as "Yippie-ki-yay, Mr. Falcon".
|-
| I pity the fool! || {{w|Groombridge 1830}} || ''{{w|Rocky III}}'' ({{w|Mr. T}}) || 1982 || 30 ly || 2012 || In Rocky III, the main antagonist Clubber Lang expresses pity towards protagonist Rocky Balboa, who is foolish enough to compete with him in a boxing match. The implication being that Lang is obviously going to win and cause Balboa a lot of unnecessary pain. The actor playing Clubber Lang, Mr. T, adopted this as his catchphrase, using it in different media.
|-
| The cake is a lie! || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'' || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a phrase that appears scrawled on a wall in the video game Portal foreshadowing the ending where, despite being promised cake, the player character is not given it and is almost killed by the antagonist.
|-
| ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫ || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || {{w|Rickrolling}} || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a reference to an act of tricking someone to watch/listen to the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" involuntarily.
|-
| I'm on a boat! || {{w|Proxima Centauri}} || ''{{w|I'm on a Boat}}'' || 2009 || 4.243 ± 0.002 ly || 2013 || The hook of a satirical hip-hop single with the same name, by {{w|The Lonely Island}} and {{w|T-Pain}}. The song is about winning a free boat ride and then being ridiculously proud of being on a boat.
|-
| ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫ || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Tay Zonday}}: {{w|Chocolate Rain}} video || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || Chocolate Rain is a song uploaded to youtube by Tay Zonday, with video of him recording the voice track. "Chocolate rain" is the {{w|hook (music)|hook}} of the song that recurs every other line, and in the lyrics chocolate rain serves as an analogy for systemic racism.
|-
| Leave Britney alone! || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Cara Cunningham}}: [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/leave-britney-alone LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!] || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || {{w|Britney Spears}} is an American singer and pop star, who was ridiculed by the press and popular discourse for drama in her personal life. A highly watched early youtube video featured Cara filming herself in a highly emotional state, begging people to "leave Britney alone" because she had it hard enough.
|-
| You're the man now, dog! || {{w|Epsilon Indi}} || {{w|YTMND}} || 2001 || 11.8 || 2013 ||
|-
| {{w|More cowbell|More cowbell!}} || {{w|Kruger 60}} || ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'' || 2000 || 13 ly || 2013 || Saturday Night Live is a famous show that creates comedy sketchs every Saturday night. One of these sketches was the "More cowbell" sketch. This sketch was about the recording of "{{w|(Don't Fear) The Reaper}}", a song by the {{w|Blue Öyster Cult}}. In this skit, Gene Frenkle (a fictional character, played by {{w|Will Ferrell}}) was playing the {{w| Cowbell (instrument)|cowbell}}. However, because the cowbell was so distracting, the band stops playing and tells him to stop. This upsets Frenkel, who starts playing more and more annoyingly as the sketch goes on. {{w|Bruce Dickinson}}, played by {{w|Christopher Walken}}, encourages Frenkel to play the cowbell louder saying the iconic line, "Guess what! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!".
Christopher Walken later said that the sketch "ruined his life", because of how popular it became.
|-
| Hasta la vista, baby. || {{w|Gliese 892}} || ''{{w|Terminator 2}}'' || 1991 || 21 ly || 2012 || This line originates from the Terminator, said before attempting to destroy an enemy. It has since {{w|Hasta la vista, baby|been quoted in other works}}.
|-
| Let's get ready to ruuumble! || {{w|Zeta Tucanae}} || {{w|Michael Buffer}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || This meme originated from the main catchphrase of ring announcer Michael Buffer, which he has used since 1984. The catchphrase has also made an appearance in the 1996 Disney movie ''{{w|Space Jam}}''.
|-
| You talkin' to ''me?'' || {{w|Arcturus}} || ''{{w|Taxi Driver}}'' || 1976 || 36.7 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Did ''I'' do that? || {{w|Xi Boötis|Boötis}} || ''{{w|Family Matters}}'' ({{w|Steve Urkel}}) || 1989 || 21.89 ± 0.07 ly || 2011 || This is the catchphrase of Steve Urkel, a breakout character from Family Matters.
|-
| Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know. || {{w|70 Ophiuchi}} || {{w|Good Burger}} slogan || 1997 || 16.58 ± 0.07 ly || 2014 ||
|-
| Badger badger badger badger || {{w|Ross 154}} || {{w|Badger Badger Badger}} || 2003 || 9.7 ly || 2013 || One of the most popular videos created by Mr. Weebl, consisting of badgers (and a mushroom and snake) appearing when those words are said.
|-
| {{w|Vulcan salute|Live long and prosper.}} – OK. || {{w|HD 211415}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' || 1967 || 44 ly || 2011 || Said mostly by the Vulcans of Star Trek as a greeting and gesture of good will, most notably Spock during the run of the original series.
|-
| Name's Bond. James Bond. || {{w|51 Pegasi}} || ''{{w|Dr. No (film)|Dr. No}}'' ({{w|James Bond}}) || 1962 || 50.9 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 || James Bond is the protagonist of a series of spy fiction, who has a habit of introducing himself with this exact phrase.
|-
| Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. || {{w|Alpha Serpentis}} || ''{{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}'' || 1939 || 74.0 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 || "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" is the signature catchphrase from the 1939 movie ''{{w|Gone With The Wind (film)|Gone With The Wind}}'', which starred {{w|Clark Gable}} and {{w|Vivien Leigh}}. The phrase is spoken by Gable's character {{w|Rhett Butler}} as his last line, in answer to {{w|Scarlett O'Hara}} (Leigh) asking "Where shall I go? What shall I do?"
|-
| Mr. T ate my balls! || {{w|Altair}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ate-my-balls an Internet meme] || 1996 || 16.7 ly || 2013 || One of the oldest memes on the Web, with the original website by student Nehal Patel (which consisted of a bunch of Mr. T comic images recaptioned to have him saying he likes eating balls) first appearing in 1996.
|-
| I want the truth. – ''You can't handle the truth!'' || {{w|Delta Pavonis}} || ''{{w|A Few Good Men}}'' || 1992 || 20 ly || 2012 || These lines are given during a climactic testimony near the end of the film. They are versatile enough to be quoted in many situations.
|-
| I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. || {{w|Beta Trianguli Australis}} || ''{{w|The Godfather}}'' || 1972 || 40 ly || 2012 || Don Vito Corleone, the eponymous Godfather, uses this phrase when he intends to secure someone's cooperation via by threatening them with violence.
|-
| {{w|Resistance is futile|Resistance is futile.}} || {{w|Vega}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' ({{w|Borg (Star Trek)|Borg}}) || 1988 || 25 ly || 2013 || The Borg are a fictional hypercollectivist superpower in the Milky Way galaxy depicted in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg expand by violently conquering the hundreds of species that exist in the galaxy, using cyborg implants to force conquered people to work for their collective in body and mind. When a Borg spaceship encounters resistance, it sends out a standard message explaining its intent to add the to-be-conquered people's biological and cultural distinctiveness to their own, and that resistance is futile.
|-
| Oh... My... Gaawd || {{w|Sigma Draconis}} || ''{{w|Friends}}'' ({{w|Janice Goralnik}}) || 1994 || 18.8 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Ehh, what's up, Doc? || {{w|Epsilon Cygni|Gienah}} || {{w|Bugs Bunny}} || 1940 || 73 ly || 2013 || This is the main catchphrase of Bugs Bunny, one of the main characters in ''{{w|Looney Tunes}}''.
|-
| ''EXTERMINATE!'' || {{w|Alpha Cephei|Alderamin}} || ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' ({{w|Dalek|The Daleks}}) || 1963 || 49 ly || 2012 || The main catchphrase of the Daleks of Doctor Who, used when they fire their gunsticks resulting in the extermination of whatever was hit. It wasn't actually used in this context in the TV series until Power of the Daleks, three years after {{w|The Daleks|their debut}}, though some of the very first scenes had them discussing amongst themselves the "extermination" of their newly rediscovered (and, at that time, mostly oblivious) enemies.
|}

==Transcript==
:[On a black background yellow circles and white bubbles are shown. Caption above the picture:]
:If other star systems are listening in on our pop culture, given the speed-of-light delay, these are the jokes and catchphrases they just learned about and are currently repeating way too much:

:[On a black background a map of star systems in relation to the Sun, which is roughly in the center, sending out radio waves is shown. Each star is a yellow circle of differing sizes, with a speech bubble (or more). The list is ordered from closest to furthest.]
:Proxima Centauri: I'm on a boat!
:Alpha Centauri A B: The cake is a lie! – ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫
:Luhman 16: I can haz?
:Barnard's star: Leave Britney alone! – ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫
:Wolf 359: Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits.
:Lalande 21185: ♬ Numa numa ♪
:Sirius: I still can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it.
:Gliese 65: INTERNETS!
:Epsilon Eridani: Ninjas fight all the time!
:Procyon: ...God kills a kitten! – A what?
:Epsilon Indi: You're the man now, dog!
:Tau Ceti: All your base are belong to us.
:Luyten's Star: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
:Kapteyn's star: My spoon is too big!
:Kruger 60: MORE COWBELL!
:Gliese 1: Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals!
:Van Maanen's star: WASSSUUP!?!
:Ad Leonis: Oh my God, they killed Kenny! – You bastards!
:70 Ophiuchi: Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know.
:Altair: Mr. T ate my balls!
:Sigma Draconis: Oh ... my ... gaawd.
:Delta Pavonis: I want the truth. – You can't handle the truth!
:Gliese 892: Hasta la vista, baby.
:Xi Boötis: Did I do that?
:HR 753: D'oh!
:Beta Hydri: Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.
:Vega: Resistance is futile.
:Zeta Tucanae: Let's get ready to ruuumble!
:HR 1614: Where's the beef?
:Groombridge 1830: I pity the fool!
:Delta Trianguli: May the Force be with you.
:Beta Virginis: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
:Arcturus: You talkin' to me ?
:Beta Trianguli Australis: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
:Lamda Aurigae: You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'
:Capella: And now for something completely different.
:HD 211415: Live long and prosper. – Ok.
:Alderamin: EXTERMINATE!
:51 Pegasi: Name's bond. James Bond.
:Caph: Take me to your leader! – No, Steve.
:Kappa Reticuli: Here's lookin' at you, kid.
:Alpha Hydri: Rosebud.
:Gienah: Ehh, what's up doc?
:Alpha Serpentis: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Rickrolling]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Terminator]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]

1212: Interstellar Memes

2026-01-15T04:55:21Z

Utdtutyabthsc: /* Table with memes */

{{comic
| number = 1212
| date = May 15, 2013
| title = Interstellar Memes
| image = interstellar memes.png
| titletext = The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance.
}}
A [http://xkcd.com/1212/large/ larger version] of this picture can be found by clicking the comic on xkcd.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Need to add the missing explanations for memes.}}

[[Randall]] highlights various memes from popular culture. A {{w|meme}} is a phenomenon, often in this scenario in the form of a movie quote, a musical reference, a catchphrase or other notable saying that spreads quickly by word-of-mouth. Memes become popular because people hear about them and repeat them to others. Randall points out that if the assumed intelligent life from other star systems were listening to the things we said, then they would just now be hearing and popularizing memes started years ago on earth. The delay is due to the time that it takes for expressions of the meme to travel (presumably via radio waves) to distant star systems.

Our solar system, from where the electromagnetic waves are emitted, is located just left of the center of the picture. The other star systems are arranged roughly according to their distance from the sun, while their size corresponds to the size of the star compared with that of the Sun. The meme for Sirius is a pun; it refers to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius Black. Radio waves travel at the {{w|speed of light}}. The title text jokes that these memes are so annoying that it would give us further incentive to develop the technology to travel {{w|faster than light}}, just simply to be able to outrun the radio waves, reach a distant star system, and apologize in advance to the "residents" about the memes, before the memes arrive.

In [https://what-if.xkcd.com/47/ What If #47: Alien Astronomers], Randall points out that Earth entertainment television and radio signals were never broadcast with sufficient intensity to be detectable at the majority of interstellar distances making it unlikely that aliens are picking up our memes and links back to this comic.

===Table with memes===
The table below lists all the memes described, and the star at which the comics states those memes should be heard by the time when the comic was released in 2013. The year of the meme plus the number of light years to the star should end up close to 2013.

Most end up within the range 2011-2013 which may indicate the meme became popular one or two years later (on Earth or at the distant star system.) Two memes reach the targets in 2014. Some of those errors may be caused by the inaccuracy of the distances.

The ''The Spanish Inquisition'' from Monty Python would have reached its destination in 2006. Because they're still watching ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' in 2013 it must be very popular or maybe it took seven years to decipher that {{w|British humour}}.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Meme !! Star !! Origin !! Year !! Distance to star !! Sum year !! Explanation
|-
| Yabba dabba doo! || {{w|Castor (star)|Castor}} || ''{{w|The Flintstones}}'' || 1960 || 51 ± 3 ly || 2011 ± 3 ||The catchphrase used by ''{{W|Fred Flintstone}}'' in the series ''{{W|The Flintstones}}'' whenever something good happens (like a work shift ending).
|-
| You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" || {{w|Lambda Aurigae}} || ''{{w|Dirty Harry}}'' || 1971 || 41.2 ± 0.1 ly || 2012 || The famous line from the scene in ''Dirty Harry'' where the titular Harry forces a criminal to surrender by threatening him with an empty gun.
|-
| {{w|Where's the beef|Where's the beef?}} || {{w|HR 1614}} || Slogan for {{w|Wendy's}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || Catchy slogan used in many Wendy's commercials that caught on and became a meme in its own right.
|-
| And now for something completely different. || {{w|Capella (star)|Capella}}|| ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1969 || 42 ly || 2011 || "And now for something completely different" was previously used in U.K. magazine shows like ''Tonight'', but its use in Monty Python's material means it has come to be associated with them.
|-
| Here's lookin' at you, kid. || {{w|Kappa Reticuli}} || ''{{w|Casablanca (film)|Casablanca}}'' || 1942 || 70 ly || 2012 || "Here's looking at you, kid" is a line spoken by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 film Casablanca.
|-
| My spoon is too big! || {{w|Kapteyn's Star}} || ''{{w|Rejected}}'' || 2000 || 12 ly || 2012 || The first line of Don Hertzfeldt's surreal animation ''Rejected'', released in 2000. In the story of ''Rejected'', this was meant to be an ad bumper for an educational channel.
|-
| May the force be with you. || {{w|Delta Trianguli}} || ''{{w|Star Wars}}''|| 1977 || 35 ly || 2012 || This is a phrase used a lot in the Star Wars franchise. It is a benediction used to bid a hopeful farewell, mostly by/to/between those who are aligned to the {{w|Jedi}} creed.
|-
| Peanut butter jelly time! || {{w|Luyten's Star}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/peanut-butter-jelly-time an Internet meme] || 2002 || 12 ly || 2014 || "Peanut Butter & Jelly" was the only single by the Buckwheat Boyz, which became popular as a meme when paired with an animated dancing banana.
|-
| Rosebud. || {{w|Alpha Hydri}} || ''{{w|Citizen Kane}}'' || 1941 || 71 ly || 2012 || In the opening scene of Citizen Kane, the eponymous Mr. Kane dies, saying "Rosebud" as his last words. The rest of the movie focuses on the people in his life trying to determine what the meaning of this word was.
|-
| Oh my god, {{w|They killed Kenny|they killed Kenny!}} – You bastards! || {{w|AD Leonis}} || ''{{w|South Park}}'' || 1997 || 15.9 ± 0.2 ly || 2013 || This is usually said whenever the character Kenny from South Park is killed. This is a recurring reference, as Kenny dies in every episode of South Park. In its most referenced form, another of the child characters then swears at the antagonists, fate and/or {{tvtropes|BreakingTheFourthWall|the writer's of the show}}, whichever party may be responsible, but this may be toned down in later depictions.
|-
| ...God kills a kitten! – A what? || {{w|Procyon}} || {{w|Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten|an Internet meme}} || 2002 || 11.5 ly || 2013 || The full catchphrase is "Every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten". The reply for this meme notes that kittens aren't on any other planets{{Citation needed}}, so the other person is confused about what a kitten is.
|-
| I ''still'' can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it. || {{w|Sirius}} || ''{{w|Harry Potter}}'' ({{w|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix|book 5}}) || 2003 || 8.6 ly || 2012 || In the Battle of the {{w|Ministry of Magic|Department of Mysteries}}, {{w|Bellatrix Lestrange}} fires a spell at {{w|Sirius Black}}, {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry's}} {{w|Godparent|godfather}}. This spell knocks Sirius backward through an archway which is a physical doorway into the {{w|Afterlife|afterlife}} such that, when Sirius fell through it, he left the realm of the living and died. The star Sirius is obviously upset about this, as Sirius Black was named after him.
|-
| Ninjas fight ''all the time!'' || {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|The Official Ninja Webpage}} || 2002 || 10 ly || 2012 || {{w|Ninja}} is the Japanese word for {{w|spy}}. In the 16th century, Japanese spycraft was codified into a profession, and spies had a significant influence on feudal intrigue during the {{w|Sengoku period|Japanese warring states period}}. These spies inspired a lot of literature, some fantastical, which over time developed into a popular stock character and a rich array of associated tropes. The Official Ninja Webpage is a satire website written from the perspective of a teenage American boy who is obsessed with the stock character and its associated tropes. One of these tropes, as written on the front page of the website, is that "Ninjas fight ALL the time."
|-
| {{w|D'oh!}} || {{w|HR 753}} || ''{{w|The Simpsons}}'' || 1989 || 23 ly || 2012 || This is what {{w|Homer Simpson| Homer Simpson}}, the father figure of {{w|The Simpsons}}The Simpsons, exclaims whenever he's annoyed.
|-
| {{w|The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)|''Nobody'' expects the Spanish Inquisition!}} || {{w|Beta Virginis}} || ''{{w|Monty Python's Flying Circus}}'' || 1970 || 35,6 ly || 2006 || Monty Python was an absurdist sketch show. In a particular episode, a character in a scene (a meeting between a mill-owner and his workers) complained about being asked some questions by saying they "did not expect a {{w|Spanish Inquisition}}", a superlative that was common at the time the sketch aired. At this point, several characters dressed in the uniforms of the Spanish Inquisition burst into the scene declaring that "nobody expects the Spanish inquisition", diverting the original sketch's direction. At the very end of the episode, a different character in a different (courtroom) sketch says that they "didn't expected the Spanish Inquisition" and everyone turns towards the door in expectation. The remainder of the episode follows the Spanish Inquisition rushing to the scene, and barely starting to 'surprise' everyone there before time runs out.
|-
| {{w|All your base are belong to us}}. || {{w|Tau Ceti}} || ''{{w|Zero Wing}}'' || 2001 || 11.9 ly || 2013 || This is a meme resulting from a mistranslated line in the game ''Zero Wing''. The correct translation was "We have taken all of your bases."
|-
| Take me to your leader! – No, Steve. || {{w|Beta Cassiopeiae|Caph}} || {{w|Take me to your leader (phrase)}} || 1957 || 55 ly || 2012 || "Take me to your leader" is a stock phrase attributed to aliens in 1950s science fiction during first contact. The first recorded instance is a New Yorker cartoon where aliens ask this question to a horse, illustrating the weirdness of aliens being able to communicate the phrase but not understanding the structure of society. Later usage was more sincere, with both humans and aliens asking each other to take them to their leaders. Since people near Caph would be aliens, one could ask them to take you to their leader. However, because the aliens on Caph are saying the meme to each other, the second speaker is personally familiar with the one making the request, apparently named Steve, which makes the request pointless. So the second speaker refuses the request because it is not important.
|-
| Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He ''waits.'' || {{w|Wolf 359}} || {{w|Chuck Norris facts}} || 2005 || 7.8 ly || 2013 || {{w|Chuck Norris}} is an American movie star, typically taking on roles where he would perform implausible feats of physical prowess. People online started making lists of many other implausible or impossible feats that Chuck Norris was supposedly capable of, including this one. Normal humans have a physiological need for {{w|sleep}}, with sleep deprivation having many negative health effects. That Chuck Norris does not sleep but instead waits implies a superhuman resistance to insomnia, while simultaneously explaining his inaction as a form of {{w|theodicy}}.
|-
| ♬ Numa numa ♪ || {{w|Lalande 21185}} || {{w|Dragostea Din Tei|Numa Numa song}} || 2004 || 8.3 ly || 2012 || "Numa numa" is part of the lyrics of the chorus of a Romanian-language europop song {{w|Dragostea Din Tei}}. A webcam recording of {{w|Gary Brolsma}} enthousiastically singing along with the song was uploaded to youtube and widely shared.
|-
| I can haz? || {{w|WISE 1049-5319|Luhman 16}} || {{w|Lolcats}} || 2006 || 6.6 ± 0.5 ly || 2013 || An early image macro meme format was captioning pictures of cats, as alluded to in xkcd [[262]]. One popular image featured an overweight Scottish Fold cat with the caption "I can haz cheezburger?", implying the cat is overweight because it likes eating cheeseburgers.
|-
| ''Internets!'' || {{w|Luyten 726-8|Gliese 65}} || {{w|George W. Bush}} [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/internets Internet meme] || 2004 || 8.7 || 2013|| The word 'Internets' is an incorrect pluralisation of the word, popularised by former US president George Bush, in his response to a question asked by an audience member about the moral state of media in the US, during a debate at Washington University in 2000. His response is as follows: "''[…] We can have filters on Internets where public money is spent […] so if kids get on the Internet, there is not going to be pornography or violence coming in.''" This was majorly overlooked until he made the same mistake during the presidential debate against US Senator John Kerry in 2004. He repeated this as follows: "''I hear there's rumors on the, uh, Internets [pause] that we're going to have a draft. We're not going to have a draft, period.''"
|-
| Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals! || {{w|Gliese 1}} || {{w|Hampster Dance}} and/or {{w|Dancing Baby}} || 1998 || 14 ly || 2012 || Hampster Dance was a website featuring a set of tiled animated {{w|GIF}}s of cartoon hamsters dancing. The Dancing Baby is an animated GIF of a computer generated human baby dancing in a {{w|cha-cha}} style. Gliese 1 is not familiar with hamsters and human species, but since they are both mammals it refers to one or both as "tiny dancing Earth mammals". It is unclear how Gliese 1 knows that they are mammals, or what mammals are.
|-
| ''Wasssuup!?!'' || {{w|Van Maanen's star}} || {{w|Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser Beer}} advertising campaign || 1999 || 14 ly || 2013 || A compounded way of saying "What's up", a common greeting, with the compounded version being more common in 1990s' African American Vernacular English. In the commercial, two friends are lounging and watching a sports game, calling each other using an analog wired telephone. Using these telephones, multiple people in the same household could pick up phones connected to the same in-home telephone network and all participate in the conversation. Several other friends use this function to join the call and say "Wassuupp!?!" at each other in an escalatingly large group and then hang up to go back to doing their own thing.
|-
| Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker. || {{w|Beta Hydri}} || ''{{w|Die Hard}}'' || 1988 || 24 ly || 2012 || This line gained notoriety for being censored in subsequent releases as "Yippie-ki-yay, Mr. Falcon".
|-
| I pity the fool! || {{w|Groombridge 1830}} || ''{{w|Rocky III}}'' ({{w|Mr. T}}) || 1982 || 30 ly || 2012 || In Rocky III, the main antagonist Clubber Lang expresses pity towards protagonist Rocky Balboa, who is foolish enough to compete with him in a boxing match. The implication being that Lang is obviously going to win and cause Balboa a lot of unnecessary pain. The actor playing Clubber Lang, Mr. T, adopted this as his catchphrase, using it in different media.
|-
| The cake is a lie! || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || ''{{w|Portal (video game)|Portal}}'' || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a phrase that appears scrawled on a wall in the video game Portal foreshadowing the ending where, despite being promised cake, the player character is not given it and is almost killed by the antagonist.
|-
| ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫ || {{w|Alpha Centauri|Alpha Centauri A/B}} || {{w|Rickrolling}} || 2007 || 4.3 ly || 2011 || This is a reference to an act of tricking someone to watch/listen to the song "Never Gonna Give You Up" involuntarily.
|-
| I'm on a boat! || {{w|Proxima Centauri}} || ''{{w|I'm on a Boat}}'' || 2009 || 4.243 ± 0.002 ly || 2013 || The hook of a satirical hip-hop single with the same name, by {{w|The Lonely Island}} and {{w|T-Pain}}. The song is about winning a free boat ride and then being ridiculously proud of being on a boat.
|-
| ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫ || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Tay Zonday}}: {{w|Chocolate Rain}} video || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || Chocolate Rain is a song uploaded to youtube by Tay Zonday, with video of him recording the voice track. "Chocolate rain" is the {{w|hook (music)|hook}} of the song that recurs every other line, and in the lyrics chocolate rain serves as an analogy for systemic racism.
|-
| Leave Britney alone! || {{w|Barnard's Star}} || {{w|Cara Cunningham}}: [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/leave-britney-alone LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!] || 2007 || 6 ly || 2013 || {{w|Britney Spears}} is an American singer and pop star, who was ridiculed by the press and popular discourse for drama in her personal life. A highly watched early youtube video featured Cara filming herself in a highly emotional state, begging people to "leave Britney alone" because she had it hard enough.
|-
| You're the man now, dog! || {{w|Epsilon Indi}} || {{w|YTMND}} || 2001 || 11.8 || 2013 ||
|-
| {{w|More cowbell|More cowbell!}} || {{w|Kruger 60}} || ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'' || 2000 || 13 ly || 2013 || Saturday Night Live is a famous show that creates comedy sketchs every Saturday night. One of these sketches was the "More cowbell" sketch. This sketch was about the recording of "{{w|(Don't Fear) The Reaper}}", a song by the {{w|Blue Öyster Cult}}. In this skit, Gene Frenkle (a fictional character, played by {{w|Will Ferrell}}) was playing the {{w| Cowbell (instrument)|cowbell}}. However, because the cowbell was so distracting, the band stops playing and tells him to stop. This upsets Frenkel, who starts playing more and more annoyingly as the sketch goes on. {{w|Bruce Dickinson}}, played by {{w|Christopher Walken}}, encourages Frenkel to play the cowbell louder saying the iconic line, "Guess what! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!".
Christopher Walken later said that the sketch "ruined his life", because of how popular it became.
|-
| Hasta la vista, baby. || {{w|Gliese 892}} || ''{{w|Terminator 2}}'' || 1991 || 21 ly || 2012 || This line originates from the Terminator, said before attempting to destroy an enemy. It has since {{w|Hasta la vista, baby|been quoted in other works}}.
|-
| Let's get ready to ruuumble! || {{w|Zeta Tucanae}} || {{w|Michael Buffer}} || 1984 || 28 ly || 2012 || This meme originated from the main catchphrase of ring announcer Michael Buffer, which he has used since 1984. The catchphrase has also made an appearance in the 1996 Disney movie ''{{w|Space Jam}}''.
|-
| You talkin' to ''me?'' || {{w|Arcturus}} || ''{{w|Taxi Driver}}'' || 1976 || 36.7 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Did ''I'' do that? || {{w|Xi Boötis|Boötis}} || ''{{w|Family Matters}}'' ({{w|Steve Urkel}}) || 1989 || 21.89 ± 0.07 ly || 2011 || This is the catchphrase of Steve Urkel, a breakout character from Family Matters.
|-
| Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know. || {{w|70 Ophiuchi}} || {{w|Good Burger}} slogan || 1997 || 16.58 ± 0.07 ly || 2014 ||
|-
| Badger badger badger badger || {{w|Ross 154}} || {{w|Badger Badger Badger}} || 2003 || 9.7 ly || 2013 || One of the most popular videos created by Mr. Weebl, consisting of badgers (and a mushroom and snake) appearing when those words are said.
|-
| {{w|Vulcan salute|Live long and prosper.}} – OK. || {{w|HD 211415}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' || 1967 || 44 ly || 2011 || Said mostly by the Vulcans of Star Trek as a greeting and gesture of good will, most notably Spock during the run of the original series.
|-
| Name's Bond. James Bond. || {{w|51 Pegasi}} || ''{{w|Dr. No (film)|Dr. No}}'' ({{w|James Bond}}) || 1962 || 50.9 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 || James Bond is the protagonist of a series of spy fiction, who has a habit of introducing himself with this exact phrase.
|-
| Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. || {{w|Alpha Serpentis}} || ''{{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}'' || 1939 || 74.0 ± 0.3 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Mr. T ate my balls! || {{w|Altair}} || [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ate-my-balls an Internet meme] || 1996 || 16.7 ly || 2013 || One of the oldest memes on the Web, with the original website by student Nehal Patel (which consisted of a bunch of Mr. T comic images recaptioned to have him saying he likes eating balls) first appearing in 1996.
|-
| I want the truth. – ''You can't handle the truth!'' || {{w|Delta Pavonis}} || ''{{w|A Few Good Men}}'' || 1992 || 20 ly || 2012 || These lines are given during a climactic testimony near the end of the film. They are versatile enough to be quoted in many situations.
|-
| I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. || {{w|Beta Trianguli Australis}} || ''{{w|The Godfather}}'' || 1972 || 40 ly || 2012 || Don Vito Corleone, the eponymous Godfather, uses this phrase when he intends to secure someone's cooperation via by threatening them with violence.
|-
| {{w|Resistance is futile|Resistance is futile.}} || {{w|Vega}} || ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' ({{w|Borg (Star Trek)|Borg}}) || 1988 || 25 ly || 2013 || The Borg are a fictional hypercollectivist superpower in the Milky Way galaxy depicted in the Star Trek franchise. The Borg expand by violently conquering the hundreds of species that exist in the galaxy, using cyborg implants to force conquered people to work for their collective in body and mind. When a Borg spaceship encounters resistance, it sends out a standard message explaining its intent to add the to-be-conquered people's biological and cultural distinctiveness to their own, and that resistance is futile.
|-
| Oh... My... Gaawd || {{w|Sigma Draconis}} || ''{{w|Friends}}'' ({{w|Janice Goralnik}}) || 1994 || 18.8 ly || 2013 ||
|-
| Ehh, what's up, Doc? || {{w|Epsilon Cygni|Gienah}} || {{w|Bugs Bunny}} || 1940 || 73 ly || 2013 || This is the main catchphrase of Bugs Bunny, one of the main characters in ''{{w|Looney Tunes}}''.
|-
| ''EXTERMINATE!'' || {{w|Alpha Cephei|Alderamin}} || ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' ({{w|Dalek|The Daleks}}) || 1963 || 49 ly || 2012 || The main catchphrase of the Daleks of Doctor Who, used when they fire their gunsticks resulting in the extermination of whatever was hit. It wasn't actually used in this context in the TV series until Power of the Daleks, three years after {{w|The Daleks|their debut}}, though some of the very first scenes had them discussing amongst themselves the "extermination" of their newly rediscovered (and, at that time, mostly oblivious) enemies.
|}

==Transcript==
:[On a black background yellow circles and white bubbles are shown. Caption above the picture:]
:If other star systems are listening in on our pop culture, given the speed-of-light delay, these are the jokes and catchphrases they just learned about and are currently repeating way too much:

:[On a black background a map of star systems in relation to the Sun, which is roughly in the center, sending out radio waves is shown. Each star is a yellow circle of differing sizes, with a speech bubble (or more). The list is ordered from closest to furthest.]
:Proxima Centauri: I'm on a boat!
:Alpha Centauri A B: The cake is a lie! – ♪ Never gonna give you up ♫
:Luhman 16: I can haz?
:Barnard's star: Leave Britney alone! – ♫ Chocolate Raaaiiin ♫
:Wolf 359: Chuck Norris doesn't sleep. He waits.
:Lalande 21185: ♬ Numa numa ♪
:Sirius: I still can't believe Bellatrix– – Dude, get over it.
:Gliese 65: INTERNETS!
:Epsilon Eridani: Ninjas fight all the time!
:Procyon: ...God kills a kitten! – A what?
:Epsilon Indi: You're the man now, dog!
:Tau Ceti: All your base are belong to us.
:Luyten's Star: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!
:Kapteyn's star: My spoon is too big!
:Kruger 60: MORE COWBELL!
:Gliese 1: Look at the tiny dancing Earth mammals!
:Van Maanen's star: WASSSUUP!?!
:Ad Leonis: Oh my God, they killed Kenny! – You bastards!
:70 Ophiuchi: Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger. – What's a burger? – I don't know.
:Altair: Mr. T ate my balls!
:Sigma Draconis: Oh ... my ... gaawd.
:Delta Pavonis: I want the truth. – You can't handle the truth!
:Gliese 892: Hasta la vista, baby.
:Xi Boötis: Did I do that?
:HR 753: D'oh!
:Beta Hydri: Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker.
:Vega: Resistance is futile.
:Zeta Tucanae: Let's get ready to ruuumble!
:HR 1614: Where's the beef?
:Groombridge 1830: I pity the fool!
:Delta Trianguli: May the Force be with you.
:Beta Virginis: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
:Arcturus: You talkin' to me ?
:Beta Trianguli Australis: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
:Lamda Aurigae: You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'
:Capella: And now for something completely different.
:HD 211415: Live long and prosper. – Ok.
:Alderamin: EXTERMINATE!
:51 Pegasi: Name's bond. James Bond.
:Caph: Take me to your leader! – No, Steve.
:Kappa Reticuli: Here's lookin' at you, kid.
:Alpha Hydri: Rosebud.
:Gienah: Ehh, what's up doc?
:Alpha Serpentis: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

{{comic discussion}}

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