explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1757: November 2016

2016-11-09T05:55:19Z

Wyrme: Added category Comics to make one feel old

{{comic
| number = 1757
| date = November 9, 2016
| title = November 2016
| image = november_2016.png
| titletext = Once you've done this, make a note of how old they were. Then, when their age reaches double that, show them this chart again.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==

The November 2016
Guide to making people
feel old

[In rectangle]
If they're [age], you say:
"Did you know [thing] has been around for the majority of your life?"

{| class = "wikitable"
! Age
! Thing
|-
| 16
| Grand Theft Auto IV
|-
| 17
| Rickrolling
|-
| 18
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
|-
| 19
| The Nintendo Wii
|-
| 20
| Twitter
|-
| 21
| The Xbox 360, xkcd
|-
| 22
| Chuck Norris Facts
|-
| 23
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration
|-
| 24
| Facebook
|-
| 25
| Gmail, Pirates of the Caribbean
|-
| 26
| In da Club
|-
| 27
| Firefly
|-
| 28
| The War in Afghanistan
|-
| 29
| The iPod
|-
| 30
| Shrek, Wikipedia
|-
| 31
| Those X-Men movies
|-
| 32
| The Sims
|-
| 33
| Autotuned hit songs
|-
| 34
| The Star Wars Prequels
|-
| 35
| The Matrix
|-
| 36
| Pokémon Red & Blue
|-
| 37
| Netflix, Harry Potter, Google
|-
| 38
| Deep Blue's Victory
|-
| 39
| Tupac's Death
|-
| 40
| The last Calvin and Hobbes strip
|-
| 41
| Toy Story
|-
| >41
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]
|}
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

Talk:1757: November 2016

2016-11-09T05:43:20Z

Wyrme:

Ok transcript hopefully complete, but please check it over, as I did it while tired and staying up late waiting for the election results. [[User:Wyrme|Wyrme]] ([[User talk:Wyrme|talk]]) 05:43, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

1757: November 2016

2016-11-09T05:42:08Z

Wyrme: /* Transcript */ Hopefully complete now, please do check it over

1757: November 2016

2016-11-09T05:31:48Z

Wyrme: Incomplete edit

Talk:1701: Speed and Danger

2016-07-02T03:22:21Z

Wyrme:

;Worst Comic
I think this might be a strong contender for worst comic on xkcd. Although [[1384: Krypton]] definitely makes for stiff competition. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.102|108.162.216.102]] 14:28, 1 July 2016 (UTC)
:Perhaps "in worst taste" might be a better term than simply "worst". Certainly the fatality '''rate''' (in fatalities/crash) for rocket crashes is higher, but placing motor sports crashes to the extreme end of the safety-danger axis is a bit suspect in light of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_deaths_in_motorsport . [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.242|108.162.237.242]] 02:25, 2 July 2016 (UTC)

Is there something this is referencing? [[User:Saklad5|Saklad5]] ([[User talk:Saklad5|talk]]) 14:41, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

The worst? Have you looked at the first few hundred? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 15:09, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

I think this comic is actually enlightening on a certain (albeit narrow level). People frequently lack a proper sense of perspective, and this comic illustrates this fact. While we might say "Wow, that Indy car is really moving fast!", it pales in comparison to other vehicles that some fortunate few travel in. {{unsigned|BobTheMad}}
:And I totally wanted to learn that from a '''comic''' that's supposed to be humorous... --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 16:50, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

[[1699]] and [[1680]] would like to have a word with you. Also [[1675]].
Actually, all of the last 25 or so comics would. I really don't know how the xkcd forums put up with being 500x smarter than all the comics they praise every day. [[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 17:18, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

;Sarcasm
Is sarcasm to be encouraged in explanations? “Here, Randall makes the '''truly astounding''' observation that the danger of a crash is directly proportional to its speed….” [Emphasis mine.] ''— [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 15:29, 1 July 2016 (UTC)''
:In this case it's definitely warranted...Jesus Randall, this wouldn't exactly have been hard to make funny/interesting. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 15:51, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

Well a rocket to achieve orbit hits about 18,000 MPH http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/launch.html
Where as NASCAR is only ~200 MPH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_car_racing
Formula 1 is only ~257 MPH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_car#Top_speeds
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.71|162.158.68.71]] 16:51, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

I'm kinda shocked Randall didn't reference Star Trek for this comic, considering the number. - Michael C. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.85|141.101.98.85]] 17:00, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

;Why only 4 examples?

Why not put things like biking, driving a regular car, WWI planes, WW2 planes, supersonic jets, satellites, Apollo, New Horizons... {{unsigned ip|108.162.244.67}}

;Sports or Sports Cars?
I don't think the comic intended to say "Normal Sports CARS," as the explanation currently says, I think it means what it says, "Normal SPORTS" like foot ball, or hockey. On the linear scale of 0-to-rocket, running or walking is close to race car speed, compared to how fast a rocket is, and the graph illustrates that. Also, crashing a normal sports CAR is far more dangerous than crashing a professional race car because of all the safety equipment, so a sports car would be more toward the dangerous side. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.81}}
:Agreed. I was assuming the reference was to various contact sports such as football, hockey, and quidditch where collisions between players regularly happen. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.132|108.162.237.132]] 20:52, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

;What is the point of this comic and where is the fun

I don't know, I feel like people is missing the point of the comic, where is the funny on it.

I think finding Formula one on the slow an secure quadrant of the chart is surprising, so near to regular sports, until you understand that it is only compared to a rocket launch. People sure think of F1 as fast and dangerous, so this comic plays with our expectations.

Not exactly hilarious, but neither the worst XKCD comic.

[[User:Inconexo|Inconexo]] ([[User talk:Inconexo|talk]]) 20:19, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

<hr>
One thing I think it might be interesting to indicate is how this is the first one of these plots where everything is in only two quadrants. There is no slow but dangerous crash nor fast but safe crash. Usually at least one these quadrants would have an entry, and probably a facetious one.

I also think the part about scale could be expanded to more than just the "relative to the speed of light." Something like "While we tend to speak of race cars as going fast, they are slow compared to rockets." --[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 22:27, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

Fatality rate is not 100% as shown by [[wikipedia:List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents#Non-fatal_incidents_during_spaceflight|Non-fatal incidents during spaceflight]] [[User:Wyrme|Wyrme]] ([[User talk:Wyrme|talk]]) 03:22, 2 July 2016 (UTC)

935: Missed Connections

2016-06-24T20:02:36Z

Wyrme: /* Explanation */ Fixed Wienermobile incidents Wikipedia link

{{comic
| number = 935
| date = August 8, 2011
| title = Missed Connections
| image = missed_connections.png
| titletext = The Street View van isn't going to find out anything Google won't already know from reading my email.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Missed Connections}} is a page on {{w|Craigslist}} in which people who saw each other briefly and want to reconnect attempt to find each other again. In the case of missed connections, one person describes themselves "Me" and describes the other person "You" in order that the second person would recognize themself and try to reconnect.

The first one appears to be a goofy joke, although there have been many {{w|Wienermobile #Notable incidents|Wienermobile incidents}} in the past. Given the timing of this comic, one can't help but wonder if it might also be a pun referencing the then recent resignation of Rep. {{w|Anthony Weiner}} over tweeting pictures of his, well, wiener with his mobile device.

Oddly enough, the second entry could possibly be a reference to [http://fairlyoddparents.wikia.com/wiki/Wishing_Well this] episode of {{w|The Fairly OddParents}}.

The third one is a reference to networking. UDP stands for {{w|User Datagram Protocol}}. UDP packets don't use handshaking to verify they have contacted the correct host, so they can get lost or confused. The Cisco router location is just a reference to a block of IP addresses. {{w|Cisco}} is a company that makes networking equipment. This is a play on a missed connection for someone who was lost and asked for directions.

The fourth one is a reference to [http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/08/fox-blasts-obamas-hip-hop-bbq-for-failing-to-create-jobs/243183/ two] [http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/hannity/transcript/should-controversial-rapper-common-have-been-invited-white-house events] in 2011 in which President {{w|Barack Obama}} invited rappers--among other people--to the White House. After each event, right-wing commentators blasted the event as a party unbecoming of the dignity of the White House. {{w|Nancy Pelosi}} is the Democratic Leader of the {{w|US House of Representatives}}. The acronym (D-CA) is a common notation for politicians which notates party (D for Democrat) and state (CA for California). Pelosi would have also been invited to these events, and the missed connections listing is a reference to what the commentators imagined the event would have been like. A "{{w|juggalo}}" is a term referring to a fan of the rap group {{w|Insane Clown Posse}} (which includes rapper {{w|Violent J}}), which is notorious for having wild, misogynistic and violent fanbase.

The fifth is a straightforward joke. One of the two people getting married was so distracted by their phone they have no clue where their spouse is now, or even who they are. Alternatively, it could be that the second party deserted the wedding because they were frustrated by their partner being distracted by their cell phone during the wedding, and the first partner is now hoping to convince them to return.

The sixth is a reference to how the {{w|Google Street View}} car was not only recording photos of the street in 360 degrees, it was also collecting data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. The comic takes this to the next level, that the Google Street View van also scans what we have in our pockets and does a retinal scan. In this case, the social security number referenced is [http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/misused.html the most used SSN of all time.] The retinal scan takes this even further, indicating that Google's cameras are collecting fine enough images to identify people by {{w|Retinal scan}}.

The last suggests that {{w|Babe Ruth}}, the American baseball slugger of 1914-1935, is actually a {{w|Time Lord}}. Time Lord is a reference to the popular sci-fi series {{w|Doctor Who}} in which The Doctor, who is a Time Lord, uses a {{w|TARDIS}}, which is a time travel machine. Possibly because he was a baseball player "ahead of his time".

The title text is a reference to privacy concerns surrounding Google Street View, to which Google responded by claiming that the street view camera wouldn't capture anything that someone walking by wouldn't be able to see.

==Transcript==
:[The page is set up like the missed connections area of Craigslist, with a list of messages from an individual to a person they weren't able to communicate with at the time.]
:Personals > Missed Connections

:You: Clinging to hood of your stolen wienermobile, trying to reach into engine to unstick throttle
:Me: Screaming, diving out of the way

:You: Vaguely human silhouette
:Me: At bottom of wishing well with harpoon gun

:You: Confused UDP packet
:Me: Cisco router in 45.170/16 block

:You: Baddest fuckin' Juggalo at Violent J's party
:Me: Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca)

:You: Getting married to me
:Me: Also getting married, but distracted by my phone

:You: Cute boy on corner of 4th & Main, 5'11, 169lbs, social security number 078-05-1120, pockets contained $2.09 in change, keys, and a condom. Retinal scan attached
:Me: Driving street view van

:You: George Herman "Babe" Ruth
:Me: Fellow Time Lord. Saw your Tardis on third moon of

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]