explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2742: Island Storage

2023-02-27T19:02:18Z

XKCDFan: /* Table of islands */ Source for Hawaii? I'm not sure if the location is correct. Also clarify the islands that are "visible" on the map, and that this is not an exhaustive list.

{{comic
| number = 2742
| date = February 24, 2023
| title = Island Storage
| image = island_storage_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x435px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I always hate dragging around the larger archipelagos, but I appreciate how the Scandanavian peninsula flexes outward to create a snug pocket for the British Isles.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A BAD MAP PROJECTOR FIRED - Are there any other islands we've forgotten?! Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another world map vandalized{{Citation Needed}} by Randall, similarly to the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|bad map projection series]]. This time, every major island, that is not considered a continent in its own right, is relocated into similarly-sized swathes of sea partly enclosed by the outlines of adjacent continents. The caption implies it's Earth's intended "storage mode", where everything 'loose' is neatly packed away. A similar comic is found at [[1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize]].

The comic thus equates the world to a playroom in which the islands are the equivalent of scattered toys left out after playtime. It indicates that the loose islands can be properly stored away in the nooks and crannies of the larger landmasses, possibly so they can be easily located when the next person comes along to play with them.

Though much of the apparent strange distortions of relocated islands are probably due to the relative changes in length/area/angle across differing parts of the planar-stretched map of the globe (depending upon the {{w|map projection}} being used), Randall is clearly also not averse to distorting the landmasses slightly, to fit, even the 'immobile' continental masses. He mentions in the Title Text that he likes to make use of the jutting outcrop of {{w|Scandinavia}} (though misspelled as it was in [[850: World According to Americans]]) by flexing it somewhat like one might do with a spring-clip, thus gripping tightly whatever islands he forces within the gap (in this instance, the British Isles and Svalbard).

===Table of islands===
New locations of selected islands that are visible on the map:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Island(s)
! Original Location
! New Location
|-
| {{w|Kodiak Island}}
| South of mainland Alaska
| {{w|Cook Inlet}}
|-
| {{w|Vancouver Island}}
| West of mainland Canada
| {{w|Salish Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Canadian Arctic Archipelago}}
| North of mainland Canada
| {{w|Hudson Bay}}
|-
| {{w|Newfoundland (Island)|Newfoundland}}, {{w|Prince Edward Island}}, and {{w|Anticosti Island}}
| {{w|Labrador Sea|Off the eastern coast of Canada}}
| {{w|Gulf of St Lawrence}}
|-
| {{w|Greenland}}
| {{w|Greenland Sea|Northeast of Canada}}
| {{w|Gulf of Mexico}}
|-
| {{w|Hispaniola}} and {{w|Cuba}}
| {{w|Caribbean Sea}}
| Gulf of Mexico
|-
| Other Caribbean Islands
| Caribbean Sea
| {{w|Gulf of Venezuela}}
|-
| {{w|Iceland}}
| {{w|Sargasso Sea|Northern Atlantic Ocean}}
| {{w|Gulf of Lion|Coast of southern France}}
|-
| {{w|Great Britain}} and {{w|Ireland}}, {{w|Svalbard}}
| Northwest Europe
| {{w|Baltic Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Sardinia}} and {{w|Sicily}}
| {{w|Tyrrhenian Sea|Off western coast of Italy}}
| Coast of Italy
|-
| {{w|Aegean Islands}}
| {{w|Aegean Sea}}
| Coast of Greece
|-
| {{w|New Guinea}}, {{w|Sumatra}}, {{w|Java}}, {{w|Sulawesi}}
| {{w|Solomon Sea}}, {{w|Natuna Sea}}, {{w|Java Sea}}, {{w|Sulawesi Sea}}
| {{w|Mediterranean Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Philippines}}
| {{w|Philippine Sea}}
| {{w|Black Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Novaya Zemlya}}
| {{w|Pechora Sea}}
| {{w|White Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Japan}}, {{w|Sakhalin}}
| {{w|Sea of Japan}}, {{w|Sea of Okhotsk}}
| Sea of Okhotsk
|-
| {{w|Taiwan}}, {{w|Hainan}}
| {{w|South China Sea}}
| {{w|Yellow Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Madagascar}}
| {{w|Mozambique Channel}}
| {{w|Red Sea}}
|-
| {{w|Sri Lanka}}
| {{w|Laccadive Sea}}
| {{w|Persian Gulf}}
|-
| {{w|Borneo}}
| South China Sea
| {{w|Gulf of Thailand}}
|-
| {{w|New Zealand}}, {{w|Tasmania}}
| {{w|Tasman Sea|Off the coast of Australia}}
| {{w|Gulf of Carpentaria}}
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A map of Earth with the largest continents in their usual locations, and Antarctica off the map, but all of the major islands have been moved into various bays and seas. See explanation above for further details.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Reminder: If you're the last one using the Earth, please put the islands away when you're done.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:2742: Island Storage

2023-02-27T19:00:48Z

XKCDFan: /* Where is Hawaii? */ Reply.

Hey at least New Zealand made it onto this map! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.48|172.70.178.48]] 17:46, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Of course the proper storage mode involves packing the continents back to Gondwada layout and then hiding them on the far side ;-) [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:59, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

It seems worth noting that the scale was distorted to make some islands fit. Greenland has a longitudinal height of 2671 km, but has been shrunken considerably in order to be wedged into a 1725 km gap in the Gulf of Mexico. [[User:Altay|Altay]] ([[User talk:Altay|talk]]) 19:58, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:I thought it was the size of Africa. ---[[User:Theunlucky|Theunlucky]] ([[User talk:Theunlucky|talk]]) 20:35, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:Maybe he started with a cursed projection that makes Greenland smaller. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:35, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Seeing the ?? next to the British Isles, I think part of the islands there are the Danish islands squeezed aside to make space. (Okney Islans, Fair Isle, Shetland, Hebrides, Føroyar, etc. are probaly used to fill the gaps...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.95.82|162.158.95.82]] 20:54, 24 February 2023 (UTC)
:Those are all pretty small. I think it's more likely Svalbard/Spitsbergen. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.181|172.70.131.181]] 02:09, 25 February 2023 (UTC)
::There's quite a lot of Nowegian islands, some of which are fairly large. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.184|172.69.79.184]] 07:37, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

Where do we mention the typo in the title text? (Should be "Scandinavian".) --[[User:Flicky|Flicky]] ([[User talk:Flicky|talk]]) 12:30, 25 February 2023 (UTC)
:I'll see what I think works. If all else fails, I could add a Trivia section (as I'm going to add an auxilliary reference), but maybe I don't need to... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.128|172.70.86.128]] 13:15, 25 February 2023 (UTC) EDIT: Edit done. But some further tweaks planned, if no-one else improves/revises it before I get there.

I think the additional island nudged into Scandinavia with Britain and Ireland might be Tierra del Fuego at the bottom tip of South America? It sure looks like it. [[User:XKCDFan|XKCDFan]] ([[User talk:XKCDFan|talk]]) 13:45, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

No, I believe Tierra del Fuego has been relocated to St. Lawrence Bay.

Isn't it Sjaelland, turned upside down to fit, since Ireland has taken its spot? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:48, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

As one who'll remain furious about Brexit until the second they repeal the bastard, I look at this with misty-eyed hope. It's a Yes from me. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 00:20, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

What's Brexit ?? [[User:I27.O.O.I|127.0.0.1]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 02:59, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:A few years ago BRitain voted to EXIT (hence "Brexit") the European union, to remain/return to being politically etc separate after the countries of Europe united - such as adopting the Euro as a shared currency. Brexit seems a largely unpopular concept, widely considered a bad idea with mostly downsides, even before the decision was made, so not sure how the hell it passed (I'm Canadian, an outsider to this living across the ocean, so I only know these broad strokes). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:01, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
::<People who did not like the EU>: We don't like the EU! We demand to leave!
::<Prime Minister> I shall try to change things so we all like the EU...
::<EU> Yeah, maybe some of that, but definitely not the other stuff.
::<People...> Boo, hiss! We'll start our own political party! With blackjack and hookers!
::<Various other people who tried this before> Yeah, we'll join that. Down with the establishment! (Which some of us are part of.) We demand a vote on the issue.
::<PM> That's a worrying amount of people who should be supporting me, and may split my vote. Ok, we'll have a vote, to settle the issue (less risky than the Opposition getting in).
::<People... + Various...> Great. So, anyway, we promise; an XBox in every home; chocolate cake will stay just as delicious but not be fattening; and those people you don't like..? They're about to camp out in your roof-space, ''unless'' you vote to Leave. [...paraphrased/analogous, the real arguments being many and varied]
::<Others> That's... just wrong. And what about the good reasons to stay? If we leave then...
::<People... interupting> You're scaremongering. We will create a perfect idyll. But if we don't leave, everyone will end up being forced to all the time speak French or German or Italian or Spanish... or Arabic!
::<Others> But..?
::<People...> Stop trying to scare us! Beware the scary EU instead!
::[...much more of this... 'Leave' promises/threatens, 'Remain' warns and tries to explain how the status quo is Ok. Most traditional political parties have some people wanting to Leave, some wishing to Remain, and some people don't care about Brexit but don't like the Remain-leaning PM]
::[Vote happens]
::[Around a third of voters vote Remain, marginally more vote Leave, the rest don't vote]
::[Or, roughly a quarter each are Remain, Leave, Didn't vote and Couldn't vote.]
::<People...> An overwhelming landslide! Right, lets Brexit. How do we do that again?
::[Arguments range amongst Brexiteers between total international isolation and just trying to get marginally better deal. Those who disliked the Prime Minister are already happy, because he quit and left the next couple of PMs try to herd the Brexit cats, etc, over the next half dozen years... and continuing still with 'minor' issues such as how to circle the square which is Ireland (seeing as it involves Eire, Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain)...]
::...opinions about whether this is the true tone of the timeline will vary, but I contend that it is at least not ''wrong''. Maybe someone can update us on attitudes and recollections upon these matters in another decade? <s>Or when it finally gets completely and sorted in a mutually satisfactory manner, if that happens earlier.</s> ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 19:56, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:::Well your opinion on BRExit is clear. In reality, the referendum about BRExit happened because there was no referendum for Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon, which changed what the EU is about a lot and were only ratified in parliament. And majority of people viewed it as good idea ... until the terms of withdrawal became known. EU worked hard on using BRExit as an example preventing other countries from following, so the terms were quite hard. Also, lot of people were disappointed when some changes, like regarding immigration, which they hoped would be prevented by leaving EU happened anyway. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 18:33, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

Anyone else left thinking that this would severely mess up the ecology of a number of islands, particularly where species have evolved in the absence of predators found on the mainland? No? Probably just me, then.... [[User:Zoid42|Zoid42]] ([[User talk:Zoid42|talk]]) 15:21, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

== Where is Hawaii? ==

I don't see it mentioned in the list of where things were moved to. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.73|172.70.34.73]] 03:25, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:Agreed, I added it to the Incomplete tag (don't want to assume). Tiny at this scale, I suspect Gulf Of Mexico? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:01, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
:Whoever put things away took it home with them. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.152|172.70.91.152]] 09:59, 27 February 2023 (UTC)
::I'm pretty sure the original map didn't include Hawaii. There are other islands missing as well, in particular Fiji, Bermuda, etc. Perhaps the Mediterranean and its small islands is just the place for "everyone else". After all, if most of Indonesia fits there, might as well throw in all of the other islands as well. [[User:XKCDFan|XKCDFan]] ([[User talk:XKCDFan|talk]]) 19:00, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

== Forget Hawaii Where is Antarctica? ==

Did someone put it away on mars?

Talk:2742: Island Storage

2023-02-25T13:45:57Z

XKCDFan: Identifying an island.