https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.241.34&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T21:23:09ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1445:_Efficiency&diff=1469771445: Efficiency2017-10-23T03:53:56Z<p>108.162.241.34: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1445<br />
| date = November 10, 2014<br />
| title = Efficiency<br />
| image = efficiency.png<br />
| titletext = I need an extension for my research project because I spent all month trying to figure out whether learning Dvorak would help me type it faster.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
There are often multiple ways in which to deal with a problem or task. There may be a ''most efficient'' method, though sometimes the differences in efficiency between methods is only slight. People often try to save unnecessary work by first determining which is the "best" method - either the easiest or the most efficient. This can be a good approach, particularly where the savings prove to be significant. But it can also prove to be more time-consuming than just doing the task using one of the most obvious methods. The comic humorously exaggerates this.<br />
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One method of trying to determine the best way of performing a task is to perform {{w|A/B testing}} where a trial is performed where the two strategies, A and B, are implemented and compared. Often the two strategies are simple to implement (for instance, two versions of a web page with different text and colours to determine which provides the better rate of click through) and therefore the amount of time required to implement the strategies (the "time cost") could easily be considerably less than the time to determine if the results are statistically significant.<br />
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The title text references a supposed incident in which [[Randall]] did not commence writing a research paper because he spent the entire assignment period deciding whether to learn an entirely different keyboard layout just to potentially be slightly more efficient in his typing speed. It refers to the {{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} keyboard layout, an alternative to the most commonly accepted {{w|QWERTY}} layout. Some believe the Dvorak keyboard offers greater typing efficiency. Efficiency of the Dvorak keyboard layout was mentioned in the title text of [[561: Well]], where it was stated that it was not more effective, and by now it has become a [[:Category:Dvorak|recurrent theme]] on xkcd.<br />
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Other comics about spending too many resources on decisions that ultimately might not matter include [[309: Shopping Teams]] and [[1801: Decision Paralysis]]. Several other comics address similarly wasted time due to bad time management; see for instance [[1205: Is It Worth the Time?]] or the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Time_management Time management category].<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[A bar chart is shown below its title:]<br />
:<big>'''Time Cost'''</big><br />
<br />
:[The chart consist of a dividing line, with three labels to the left, and the three black bars to the right. The first two bars are short, the second slightly longer than the first. The last bar is much longer, about 13 time as long as the first shortest bar.]<br />
:Strategy A<br />
:Strategy B<br />
:Analyzing whether strategy A or B is more efficient<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:The reason I am so inefficient<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Bar chart}}<br />
[[Category:Time management]]<br />
[[Category:Dvorak]]</div>108.162.241.34https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1866:_Russell%27s_Teapot&diff=143051Talk:1866: Russell's Teapot2017-07-21T17:48:29Z<p>108.162.241.34: Comment about the teapot's hypertext capabilities</p>
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<div>Hopefully it will support HTCPCP-TEA. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.34|108.162.241.34]] 17:48, 21 July 2017 (UTC)<br />
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In this case, nesting the teapot in a catapult/cannon which is launched by another catapult/cannon might perhaps be sufficient to get past NASA regulations. (Catapults/cannons only launching the payload and not themselves...) <sub>--[[User:Nialpxe|<span style="color: #000; text-decoration: none;">Nialpxe</span>]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|<span style="color: #000; text-decoration: none;">(Arguments welcome)</span>]]</sub><br />
:But make sure it is a moblie cannon, otherwise it would not quilify as a launch '''vehicle'''. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.19|162.158.89.19]] 11:32, 21 July 2017 (UTC)<br />
::I immediately thought "railgun". And the payload can still be a rocket; once it's not touching the ground it's accelerating, not launching. (Also Russell failed to account for female barbers. Honestly, people!) {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.4}}<br />
::: One such company did exist, Quicklaunch had the idea of launching via a space gun. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicklaunch<br />
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Only if you assume that females who are barbers don't shave their legs, armpits, or their various lady parts. This only further confuses the paradox. {{unsigned|Mjm87}}<br />
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When I first saw this comic I immediately thought of the Utah Teapot, it's a model used in computer graphics because it's simple and has both convex and concave surfaces. Both teapots, I would assume, (I've only just heard of Russel's Teapot so I could be wrong) are well known to different parts of the nerd community?</div>108.162.241.34https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1775:_Things_You_Learn&diff=132809Talk:1775: Things You Learn2016-12-21T22:06:42Z<p>108.162.241.34: </p>
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<div>But if you don't clean the lint trap then you did start the fire.<br />
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Sorry, I'll get my coat.<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.183|141.101.98.183]] 16:20, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Unfortunately, we put your coat in the dryer, and it was lost in the fire we didn't start. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.17|108.162.238.17]] 17:05, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
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<!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~--><br />
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This explains why my dryer keeps bursting into flames. <br />
And why no insurance agencies will even consider letting me get homeowner's.[[User:Fox Holmes|While most people have mass on Saturday, I have mine relative to my inertia]] ([[User talk:Fox Holmes|talk]]) 16:36, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Minor objection with the comic, but in my experience, it's easier to grow up without knowing about taxes than stop, drop and roll. My 5 year old has learned stop, drop and roll in kindergarten, but nothing about taxes. I have a similar recollection of my childhood. It wasn't until my first job as a teenager that I paid any attention to it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.94|162.158.214.94]] 17:12, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
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* Your 5-year-old hasn't finished growing up, and arguably when you got your first job "as a teenager" you hadn't finished growing up either. The question is whether it's harder to reach adulthood without encountering the concept of "stop, drop and roll" or without encountering the concept that "you have to pay taxes". (Which would include sales taxes.) I could easily see people who are homeschooled not being exposed to "stop, drop and roll", but if they're not exposed to taxes, then after failing to file they'll learn! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.34|108.162.241.34]] 22:06, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
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<blockquote>"Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay, '''or at least file''', their taxes annually"</blockquote><br />
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This note is quite US centric, as I don't believe this is true of most countries. At the very least, this is certainly not the case in most of Europe - taxes are not filed manually if you're a standard employee and not the owner of your own business, in which case it would be perfectly possible to grow up without ever learning how to do this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.64|162.158.38.64]] 17:18, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Indeed in countries that use such PAYE systems, it's not that harmful to not know either. You just get paid less than you might have thought if you just looked at the gross salary [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.132|141.101.98.132]] 18:59, 21 December 2016 (UTC)<br />
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More of an informational comment....I'm a veterinarian, and I know of at least two colleagues who have been exposed to rabies via litters of kittens, only a few weeks old. If you are bitten by a dog or cat which is not vaccinated, then the standard around here (legal requirement) is that the critter be kept under quarantine at an animal hospital or government shelter with a vet on premises every day, for ten days, being examined for any sign of rabies at the start and end of the quarantine period. A dog or cat can be transmitting rabies before they show definite signs, but if they were at the time of the bite, they'll be showing signs by the end of the ten days. The only other way to be sure they weren't rabid is to microscopically examine their brain, and that can only be done if they're not using it any more (note that freezing makes it untestable). In other words, I'm very glad that the kitten is fine, and I really really hope that it continues to do fine for another ten days, and that the doc who saw Randall knew what needs to be done. [[User:CritterKeeper|CritterKeeper]] ([[User talk:CritterKeeper|talk]]) 19:58, 21 December 2016 (UTC)</div>108.162.241.34https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1775:_Things_You_Learn&diff=1328081775: Things You Learn2016-12-21T22:01:23Z<p>108.162.241.34: /* Explanation */ Deleting Scrubs reference because the "two thumbs" joke predates it. (TVTropes has cites from the 90's.)</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1775<br />
| date = December 21, 2016<br />
| title = Things You Learn<br />
| image = things_you_learn.png<br />
| titletext = Guess who has two thumbs and spent the night in an ER after trying to rescue a kitten that ran under his car at a stoplight and climbed up into the engine compartment? And, thanks to antibiotics, will continue having two thumbs? THIS GUY. (P.S. kitten is safe!)<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Title text, fill table.}}<br />
This graph shows various items of information plotted by two criteria: a horizontal "How Bad Is It If You Don't Know [THING]" axis and a vertical "How Easy It Is To Grow Up Without Learning [THING]" axis.<br />
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The title text describes an encounter Randall had the night before writing this comic where a cat climbed into the engine compartment or his car. It probably serves as an explanation for the seemingly out of place point on the graph about how serious cat bites are.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Ignorance is Bad !! Ignorance is Easy !! Information !! Comments<br />
|-<br />
| not bad || (very, very) easy || 100 digits of {{w|pi}} || Most people don't know more than a few digits of pi, and don't need to.<br />
|-<br />
| not bad || (very) easy || Lyrics to "{{w|We Didn't Start the Fire}}" || "We Didn't Start the Fire" is a 1987 hit song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between 1949, the year of Joel's birth, and 1989. While the chorus is memorable, the verses of the song are just a list of people, events and random things from popular culture. The average person is somewhat more likely to know the lyrics to Billy Joel's 1987 hit song than 100 digits of pi, but not knowing them doesn't really have any serious consequences. <br />
|-<br />
| (very) bad || (very) easy || That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you need to wash the bite and call a doctor immediately || Most people assume that a cat bite is just a minor injury. In fact, it carries a fairly high risk of infection, which can be dangerous if not treated (by cleaning the bite to reduce the risk, and having a doctor examine the bite victim and apply additional treatments such as antibiotics if needed).<br />
|-<br />
| (very) bad || (very) easy || The red flags for an abusive relationship || It is fairly easy for someone to fall into a pattern of accepting abuse (particularly if the abuser is skilled at emotional manipulation) without realizing it, and the consequences can be mentally and physically devastating.<br />
|-<br />
| (very, very) bad || easy || The {{w|Stroke#Signs_and_symptoms|signs of a stroke}} || The symptoms of a {{w|stroke}} are somewhat variable, including facial drooping, arm weakness and slurred speech, depending on what areas of the brain are affected, and can be mistaken for other conditions. Identifying a stroke quickly and seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent impairment.<br />
|-<br />
| bad || easy || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organisations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc)<br />
|-<br />
| not (too) bad || hard || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States, learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, it would generally not be terrible to not learn this skill.<br />
|-<br />
| not bad (at all) || hard || How to escape movie {{w|quicksand}} || Quicksand in movies is a common trope, and while its physics often differ from real quicksand, escaping from it is commonly done using similar methods (eg, not struggling, which increases the quicksand's viscosity). Knowing how to escape from quicksand is important if you sink into it, which is a situation most people are very unlikely to encounter.<br />
|-<br />
| not bad (at all) || (very) hard || Lyrics to "{{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|12 Days of Christmas}}" || Hearing the same Christmas songs over and over each year makes it hard not to learn the lyrics over time. However, the consequences of not doing so are minimal; at most, ignorance of popular culture may leave your friends [[1769|a bit surprised and dismayed]].<br />
|-<br />
| not bad (at all) || (very, very) hard || {{w|Theme music|TV theme songs}} || Most children in developed countries grow up watching at least some television. Many of these television shows play the same theme song before the show starts, and many of these have catchy lyrics. Therefore, by repetition, most children will learn at least one of these growing up, and often many.<br />
|-<br />
| bad || hard || That you have to empty the dryer lint trap || In the US and Canada, people usually dry their clothes in a {{w|clothes dryer}} instead of hanging them on a rope to dry (which is common in Europe). (Dedicated clothes dryers are almost unheard of in many parts of Europe). A clothes dryer resembles a washing machine, it uses hot air to heat the clothes so that the water evaporates more quickly. This uses much energy and is environmentally wasteful. <br />
The dryer's air exhaust and air filter are getting gradually covered with lint (= a kind of dust composed mainly of fiber) and must be cleaned regularly. Failing to remove the lint can cause the dryer to stop working effectively, introduce lint back onto your clothes, or (in extreme cases) start a fire.<br />
|-<br />
| (very) bad || (very) hard || {{w|Stop, drop and roll}} || This is a technique to extinguish a fire on one's own clothing, and is frequently taught to children for safety. Not knowing it (or forgetting it in a panic when the situation arises) can result in severe burns that could have been avoided by following the recommendation.<br />
|-<br />
| (very) bad || (very) hard || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay taxes to their government. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. Fortunately, it is something that children hear about quite a bit so it is very difficult to grow up without learning that it must be done.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
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==Rankings==<br />
<br />
100% not bad: not bad at all . . . 100%>not-badness≥50%: not bad . . . 50%>not-badness≥0%: not too bad<br />
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100% very bad: very, very bad . . . 100%>very badness≥50%: very bad . . . 50%>very badness>0%: bad<br />
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100% hard: very, very hard . . . 100%>hardness≥50%: very hard . . . 50%>hardness>0%: hard<br />
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100% easy: very, very easy . . . 100%>easiness≥50%: very easy . . . 50%>easiness≥0%: easy<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
[A simple x and y graph, with the X labeled "how bad it is if you don't know {thing}", and you labeled "how easy it is to grow up without learning {thing}] <br />
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Points on graph from top to bottom on the left side of the x axis:<br />
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> 100 digits of pi<br />
> Lyrics to ''We Didn't Start the Fire''<br />
> How to ride a bike<br />
> How to escape movie quicksand<br />
> Lyrics to ''12 Days of Christmas''<br />
> TV theme songs<br />
<br />
Points on graph from top to bottom on the right side of the y axis:<br />
<br />
> That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you should wash the bite and call a doctor immediately<br />
> Red flags for an abusive relationship<br />
> Signs for a stroke<br />
> Cough into your elbow, not your hand<br />
> That you have to empty the dryer lint trap<br />
> Stop, drop, and roll<br />
> That you have to pay taxes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.241.34https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1567:_Kitchen_Tips&diff=102691Talk:1567: Kitchen Tips2015-10-01T16:22:58Z<p>108.162.241.34: </p>
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<div>Does the title text refer to Cueball never ripping a sheet of toilet paper off, just putting the end of the roll in the toilet and flushing, making it unroll? [[User:Thomasa88|Thomasa88]] ([[User talk:Thomasa88|talk]]) 05:16, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:-Not quite, I think. I got the impression that cueball wiped with the ''whole roll,'' then simply shoved the entire thing down the toilet. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.72|199.27.128.72]] 05:49, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:: That option didn't even occur to me. In my defence, it just wasn't where the comic panels seemed to be heading. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.155|108.162.249.155]] 23:25, 22 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Is Cueball really hosting a show here? I would think of this comic as a series of commercials or a vlog series rather than a TV show. Just my opinion. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.156|199.27.133.156]] 05:37, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe it's also meant to mock the so-called kitchen-hacks articles. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.56|108.162.225.56]] 07:01, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:I'm pretty sure it's aimed at [such-and-such]-hack listicles, articles, and videos. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.96|173.245.54.96]] 12:40, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The implication is that the the first tip: "If you want to know the temperature of something, use a thermometer designed to measure its temperature", is as obvious as the other four ridiculous 'tips'.[[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 07:42, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:Zeimusu's comment goes to what i think is the real point of this comic. I came here since i wanted to know '''''why'''''. It is a commentary on the stupidity of not using the obvious and sane methods of household activities. There are a lot of really ''odd'' tips for households, including "unspooling two ply toilet paper to have each roll last twice as long" of which the "whole roll" usage is a parody. [[User:Harodotus|Harodotus]] ([[User talk:Harodotus|talk]]) 10:45, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
::I 2nd Zeimusu's comment. I think Randall is saying that meat thermometers should be used more often. I don't see how you could say each panel builds up from practical to impractical. Throwing away dishes is probably less practical that cooking directly on a stove. So it goes: Obvious tip (thermometer), Obvious tip (dishes), Obvious tip (stove), Really crazy obvious tip (hose in freezer, punchline), Further grossout title text (TP waste). I don't agree with Randall's cooking advice myself (I think a meat thermometer is bothersome, and cooking to a certain number for safety is not always the point of cooking) but if you follow his "scientific" perspective then it should be "obvious" you use a thermometer to measure internal meat temperature instead of the typical (scientifically unreliable) methods of basing it on timing or other folk wisdom indicators of meat being done.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.164|108.162.216.164]] 07:41, 24 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::Actually throwing away dishes is not less practical than cooking on a stove if you consider that paper/plastic plates, plastic cups and plastic utensils can also be purchased and thrown away after every meal. Thus, the panel can be saying not to throw away ''glassware'' or to stop buying and throwing away ''plasticware'' and instead invest in dishes that can be cleaned and reused. In a way, this panel is the bridge between the realistic and the absurd since it can be taken either way IMHO. --[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:07, 24 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:::: A lack of meat thermometers isn't 'stupid' and you're only 'guessing' if meat is done if you are a child or an alien with no cultural context. Recipes will say 'Until the juices run clear' or 'until pink in the middle' for a reason. Because that means it's cooked. And the result is that thermometers are just superfluous for most home cooking. They get used in commercial kitchens because in most countries you are required by law to heat meat to a set temperature before you can serve it. You don't just heat it until the temperature reaches a set point and call it cooked, you cook until it's right for the recipe, then double check it with a thermometer to comply with health regulations. When equipment is mandated by law then it shows up a lot, but I worked in kitchens for years and I never met a chef who used one at home. Why? Because knowing the temperature isn't that helpful for a lot of things. When you are cooking a big turkey or barbecuing chicken from raw then they can potentially be useful but using them correctly (which involves totally disinfecting the probe after every time you use it, and for meat with bones or different thicknesses you need to test a couple of times on each piece) is extremely time consuming. If you ever fail to properly wash the probe then you'll contaminate your cooked meat with uncooked bacteria. Also, if you only wait for the temperature to reach the legal limit and take it off you might kill the bacteria but you won't necessarily properly cook the meat. If you are cooking steak at home you really don't want to use a meat thermometer unless you want to cook it well done. Steaks are supposed to be unevenly cooked to make them tender and juicy and depending on thickness you can either ruin a steak waiting for the temperature in the middle, or serve it very rare. That's why commercial chefs cook for colour or texture then probe once before it hits the plate. Almost every other kind of meat you are going to cook until it's evenly cooked through and you don't need a thermometer to see if that's happened. Thermometers just aren't helping most of these processes. They are taking up time to tell you something you already know; they are a way to standardize something for the commercial industry that you'd never do at home, just like I'm sure you don't put out a wet floor sign when you mop at home. In theory a thermometer can make your cooking safer but our whole lives are about acceptable levels of risk. It's safer to never step out of your house, to never see the sun light or inhale unfiltered air. But just like with meat, the risks there are very small and having a happy, convenient life has to trump some abstract idea of safety at some point. You can make that call for yourself where the line is for you but don't call other people stupid for just cooking a damn steak how they like it. [[User:LostAlone|LostAlone]] ([[User talk:LostAlone|talk]]) 16:56, 24 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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The last tip would result in the freezer door being very hard to open as it becomes jammed with ice. Try it! [[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.11|188.114.102.11]] 08:20, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
: That's not the tip. The tip is that there's a better way. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.155|108.162.249.155]] 23:19, 22 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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i don't find it surprising that randall doesn't read viz. http://viz.co.uk/category/top-tips/ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.34|141.101.98.34]] 11:38, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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But what is his better of way of making ice? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.85.241|141.101.85.241]] 14:13, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Presumably installing a faucet ''inside'' the freezer. {{unsigned ip|141.101.88.224}}<br />
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Can we be sure that the title text is also from Cueball? [[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 14:19, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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My first inclination was that this was a meta joke on Randall's [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:My_Hobby My Hobby] series. The more I looked at it the more I think it is a progression from Practical to Impractical (Y-axis) and Plausible to Implausible (X-axis). It is both practical and plausible to check meat without a meat thermometer making the comment a true tip. However, assuming the title text is the implied ''last panel'', it is both impractical and implausible to stuff a whole roll of toilet paper down a toilet drain making the comment an imperative. --[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:43, 21 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I felt this was maybe a take on the whole "life-hacks" thing, most lifehacks are simple, and one would think, obvious. Some are a little less so, and some are just ridiculous.<br />
We've become a society which has lost it's ability to solve things by thinking, and presumably the ability to pass on basic knowledge that has been known for years, instead we need to google, luckily there are people out there who will tell us what we need to know. [[User:6328915234|6328915234]] ([[User talk:6328915234|talk]]) 15:31, 24 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:You could have left it at the first paragraph, but no, you had to throw in a "Modern society is dumb, bluh bluh bleh" complaint. Neglecting the fact that it was the previous itineration of society that dropped the ball on passing down basic knowledge if anyone did, and apparently acting like checking Google is somehow inferior to older ways of finding out things. Go and Google how to get down off your high horse. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 03:11, 26 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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This XKCD seems very similar to this recent episode of "The New Screensavers" in which Patrick Norton has a quick tip session about using a meat thermometer: https://youtu.be/AvN-9pOsnP8?t=1h9m47s Perhaps Randall watches the show? --[[User:Bkuhns|Bkuhns]] ([[User talk:Bkuhns|talk]]) 16:17, 25 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Could 'easier on your plumbing' be interpreted as meaning that it's physically easier to wipe with sheets than a whole roll of paper? Just saying . . . {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.49}}<br />
:Nope. Plumbing in this case probably refers to the regular usage of the word. I don't think Randall would try to imply an alternative meaning to the word so subtly where the normal meaning of the word fits so naturally. "It's much easier to use single sheets on your butt than it is to use a whole roll" vs "it's much easier for your toilet to handle single sheets than it is for it to handle a whole roll" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.34|108.162.241.34]] 16:22, 1 October 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I really don't think the last bit in the explanation about Greece is really necessary as it doesn't really add anything to the explanation. Does anyone second? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.170|108.162.216.170]] 14:33, 31 August 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Agreed. I can't really be sure why somebody thought it was important to include. I mean, I can somewhat see why it's relevant, but the way it was introduced is very jarring. You might say "This is economically impractical, and is prone to clogging the toilet and the plumbing, especially in Greece, where narrow-bore outflows from the toilet are used, and the user is required to dump the used toilet paper in a trashcan adjacent to the toilet instead of flushing it." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.34|108.162.241.34]] 16:22, 1 October 2015 (UTC)</div>108.162.241.34