https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.250.166&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T14:32:27ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1587:_Food_Rule&diff=1030491587: Food Rule2015-10-08T03:11:32Z<p>108.162.250.166: Grammar — Changed octopuses to octopi</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1587<br />
| date = October 7, 2015<br />
| title = Food Rule<br />
| image = food_rule.png<br />
| titletext = I won't eat invertebrates, because I can fight a skeleton, but I have no idea what kind of spooky warrior a squid leaves behind.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
There are various {{w|Vegetarianism|vegetarian}} diets which restrict certain foods for ethical concerns. A {{w|Pescetarianism|pescatarian}} diet omits most sources of meat, but still allows for fish. One rationale for this choice is that fish have a less complex nervous system, and thus experience a narrower range of suffering when farmed. An {{w|Ovo-lacto_vegetarianism|ovo-lacto vegetarian}} will not eat meat, but may consume animal byproducts such as milk, egg, cheese, and honey. A {{w|Veganism|vegan}} diet excludes all animal products entirely. Some vegetarians choose to summarize their eating habits in one sentence, like eating "nothing that once had a heartbeat", "nothing that can have children", "nothing with eyes" or "[https://www.google.dk/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=%22nothing+with+a+face%22&hl=da&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_daDK541DK548&q=%22nothing+with+a+face%22&gs_l=hp...0i22i10i30j0i22i30l4.0.0.1.642912...........0.VML4AzjfqPA#hl=da&q=don%27t+eat+anything+with+a+face nothing with a face]" - this last example being the subject of the comic.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] presents two rules about what can be eaten (one in caption below the frame comic and one in the title text). He also presents a list of allowed and forbidden foods but not all of the forbidden foods matches both rules.<br />
<br />
Randall is willing to eat food disregarding if it once had a {{w|face}} or not. But his rule in the caption states that he will not eat any food if he needs to use Google to figure out whether it came from something who had a face or not. While it's clear, at least to Randall, that a cow has a face and an apple does not, some beings are harder to classify into one of these categories. For example, the {{w|squid}} has eyes and mouth, but it would be hard to tell whether that counts as a face. This would be a problem for the vegetarian standard rule of "nothing with a face" and thus openly mocks the vegetarian rule of "nothing with a face". However, {{w|oysters}} definitely have no faces, so the rule can not explain why he does not eat these. And he would not need Google to check this. Also he does know what a squid and a {{w|shrimp}} is, so he would also not need Google to investigate these. Of course it may be discussed on-line if a squid has a face or nor... He could find such a discussion using Google. So the first rule cannot explain Oysters at all and may also not explain the other two forbidden items.<br />
<br />
The three omissions are explained by the rule given in the title text. This rule is about not eating {{w|Invertebrate|invertebrates}}. The first four items on the list are meat from four different animals of the type {{w|Vertebrate|vertebrates}} and the last three items are from {{w|Plant|plants}}. These are all OK to eat. But the middle three items are three different animals of the type invertebrates. Randall does not eat these! Specifically they all fit under the term {{w|shellfish}}, which {{w|Jews}} are {{w|Jewish dietary laws|not allowed to eat}}. However, since {{w|pork}} is also not allowed for Jews, this list is not useful for them.<br />
<br />
These animals do not have any skeleton. Randall is joking about how the animals he eats might come back to haunt him, and in the case of a cow or fish (or any other vertebrates - with skeletons), he imagines that they would come back as an animated skeletal structure. Any undead creature that returns as a skeleton he believes he will be able to fight. But since he has no idea how an undead squid or oyster (or any other invertebrate) would look, he feels unprepared to fight such a spooky creature and thus declines from eating them. This may be an excuse for not eating certain invertebrate, or a mocking comment on several games where the protagonist is required to fight several animated human skeletons.<br />
<br />
Randall has previously mentioned his dislike of certain foods (namely lobster) in [[1268: Alternate Universe]].<br />
<br />
===Items on the list===<br />
Here is a list with explanation for each item:<br />
*{{w|Red meat}}, includes meat from most adult {{w|mammals}}, but many people will probably think of {{w|beefsteak}} from {{w|cattle}}. <br />
*{{w|Pork}}, is meat from from {{w|Domestic pig|pigs}}. As this is actually a type of red meat this supports that Randall was thinking of beef, when mentioning red meat above.<br />
*{{w|Poultry}} are domesticated birds, most people will think of {{w| Chicken (food)|chicken}}.<br />
*{{w|Fish}} covers a very large group of animals, most of them are not eaten on a regular basis, but a large group of fish are {{w| Fish as food|used as food}}.<br />
*{{w|Shrimp}} is used to refer to {{w|Decapoda|ten-footed}} {{w|Crustacean}} and some of these are {{w|Shrimp (food)|used for food}}. (In the UK they often go under the name {{w|Prawns}}).<br />
*{{w|Oysters}} refers to a family of {{w|mollusca}} within the class {{w|bivalvia}} (i.e. body enclosed in shells consisting of two hinged parts). Most people will probably think of the {{w|Ostreidae|true oysters}} specifically the {{w|Ostrea edulis|edible oyster}}. Note that {{w| Pearl oyster}} is not a true oyster.<br />
*{{w|Squid}} are {{w|cephalopods}} (also of the mollusca family ) with eight arms arranged in pairs and two longer tentacles. They are related to {{w|cuttlefish}} and {{w|octopi}}.<br />
*{{w|Fruit}} is a part of a flowering plant. Common fruits are {{w|apples}}, {{w|oranges}}, {{w|bananas}} and {{w|pear|pears}}. But in principle anything that comes from a flower is a fruit, including grains. Although in a culinary sense there is a distinction between vegetables and fruit, any part of a flower is actually a vegetable. See below and also see [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]].<br />
*{{w|Vegetables}} are any kind of plant. But in everyday it refers to any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a {{w|Umami|savoury}} meal. Thus excluding both fruit, {{w|Nut (fruit)|nuts}} and cereal grains. For instance a {{w|tomato}} would be seen as a vegetable due to its taste and as a fruit botanically – see the Venn diagram {{w|Fruit#Botanic fruit and culinary fruit|here}}.<br />
*{{w|Grain|Grains}} are small, hard, dry {{w|seeds}}. Usually when mentioning these people will think of breakfast {{w|cereal}} grains. Typical grains are {{w|corn}}, {{w|rice}} and {{w|wheat}}. As mentioned above grains are botanically a fruit.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[There is a caption above a list of food with indication whether it is OK or not to eat. Below is another caption.]<br />
<br />
:My food rule:<br />
:{| class="wikitable" style="border: 0px;"<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Red meat<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Pork<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Poultry<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Fish<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Shrimp<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Oysters<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Squid<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:red;" | X<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Fruit<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Vegetables<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|-<br />
| style="border: 0px; text-align: right" | Grains<br />
| style="border: 0px; color:green;" | ✓<br />
|}<br />
:I won't eat something<br />
:if I have to Google <br />
:to figure out whether <br />
:or not it has a face.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>108.162.250.166https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1554:_Spice_Girls&diff=981571554: Spice Girls2015-07-22T04:36:05Z<p>108.162.250.166: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1554<br />
| date = July 22, 2015<br />
| title = Spice Girls<br />
| image = spice_girls.png<br />
| titletext = The Earth's five major mass extinctions were the Posh Extinction, the Sporty Extinction, the Scary Extinction, the Ginger Extinction, and the Baby Extinction.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
:Cueball: Your turn: Can you name all of the spice girls?<br />
:Megan: Hmm... Hearing spice, vision spice, smell spice, touch spice, taste spice?<br />
:Cueball: That's senses.<br />
:Megan: Denial spice, anger spice, bargaining spice, depression spice, acceptance spice.<br />
:Cueball: Stages of grief.<br />
:Megan: War spice, famine spice, plague spice, death spice?<br />
:Cueball: You're not even trying.<br />
:Megan: No, wait, I can get this for real. Uhh... <br />
:Megan: Pog spice, story spice, sarah spice, gender spice, baleen spice?<br />
:Cueball: ...Close enough.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.250.166https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1554:_Spice_Girls&diff=981561554: Spice Girls2015-07-22T04:33:28Z<p>108.162.250.166: Indented</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1554<br />
| date = July 22, 2015<br />
| title = Spice Girls<br />
| image = spice_girls.png<br />
| titletext = The Earth's five major mass extinctions were the Posh Extinction, the Sporty Extinction, the Scary Extinction, the Ginger Extinction, and the Baby Extinction.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
:Cueball: Your turn: Can you name all of the spice girls?<br />
:Megan: Hmm... Hearing spice, vision spice, smell spice, touch spice, taste spice?<br />
:Cueball: That's senses.<br />
:Megan: Denial spice, anger spice, bargaining spice, depression spice, acceptance spice.<br />
:Cueball: Stages of grief.<br />
:Megan: War spice, famine spice, plague spice, death spice?<br />
:Cueball: You're not even trying.<br />
:Megan: No, wait, I can get this for real. Uhh... Pog spice, story spice, sarah spice, gender spice, baleen spice?<br />
:Cueball: ...Close enough.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.250.166https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1524:_Dimensions&diff=931871524: Dimensions2015-05-13T07:43:37Z<p>108.162.250.166: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1524<br />
| date = May 13, 2015<br />
| title = Dimensions<br />
| image = dimensions.png<br />
| titletext = I would say time is definitely one of my top three favorite dimensions.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|First version of explanation: revised}}<br />
Our world is {{w|Dimension|3-dimensional}} (like in a box; length, width and height.) But in modern {{w|physics}}, {{w|space}} and {{w|time}} are unified in a four-dimensional continuum called {{w|Spacetime|spacetime}} where time becomes the fourth dimension. <br />
<br />
It is to this 4-dimensional spacetime that [[Cueball]] refers in his monologue to [[Megan]], while he is philosophizing about his life in these four dimensions. <br />
<br />
What Cueball comments on is that whereas we can, to some extent, determine in which direction we wish to move (at least on the surface of the Earth) in the three dimensions of space (up-down, left-right, forward-backward), we cannot help but being pushed ''inexorably forward'' through time. So it is quite lucky for Cueball that he thinks this is OK.<br />
<br />
Being pushed in one of the other directions could be lethal, if you where pushed hard enough against a rock, over a cliff or in front of a truck...<br />
<br />
In the title text he then continues to muse about his favorite dimensions and places time in his top three dimensions. This means that one of the three space dimensions would be his least favorite. But in space, there is no difference between the three dimensions. It is only in a fixed reference system that you can assign any difference to these three directions (like on Earth). So this doesn't make any sense. Either time should be his favorite or his least favorite dimension. So if it is in the top three out of four, it must be number one... Either that, or Randall was making a joke.<br />
<br />
However in {{W|M-theory}}, a theory that unifies all consistent versions of {{w|superstring theory}}, spacetime is eleven-dimensional, which would make a place in the top three a somewhat more interesting position. However, these extra dimensions are not currently detectable.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting up against a tree, Megan lies with her hands behind her neck in front him under the foliage of the tree.]<br />
:Cueball: Of the four dimensions I could have spent my life being pushed inexorably forward through, I guess "time" isn't the worst.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line. --><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Time]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>108.162.250.166https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1524:_Dimensions&diff=931841524: Dimensions2015-05-13T07:38:46Z<p>108.162.250.166: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1524<br />
| date = May 13, 2015<br />
| title = Dimensions<br />
| image = dimensions.png<br />
| titletext = I would say time is definitely one of my top three favorite dimensions.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|First version of explanation}}<br />
{{incomplete|First version of explanation}}<br />
Our world is {{w|Dimension|3-dimensional}} (like in a box; length, width and height.) But in modern {{w|physics}}, {{w|space}} and {{w|time}} are unified in a four-dimensional continuum called {{w|Spacetime|spacetime}} where time becomes the fourth dimension. <br />
<br />
It is to this 4-dimensional spacetime that [[Cueball]] refers in his monologue to [[Megan]], while he is philosophizing about his life in these four dimensions. <br />
<br />
What Cueball comments on is that whereas we can, to some extent, determine in which direction we wish to move (at least on the surface of the Earth) in the three dimensions of space (up-down, left-right, forward-backward), we cannot help but being pushed ''inexorably forward'' through time. So it is quite lucky for Cueball that he thinks this is OK.<br />
<br />
Being pushed in one of the other directions could be lethal, if you where pushed hard enough against a rock, over a cliff or in front of a truck...<br />
<br />
In the title text he then continues to muse about his favorite dimensions and places time in his top three dimensions. This means that one of the three space dimensions would be his least favorite. But in space, there is no difference between the three dimensions. It is only in a fixed reference system that you can assign any difference to these three directions (like on Earth). So this of course doesn't make sense. Either time should be his favorite or his least favorite dimension. So if it is in the top three out of four, it should be number one...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting up against a tree, Megan lies with her hands behind her neck in front him under the foliage of the tree.]<br />
:Cueball: Of the four dimensions I could have spent my life being pushed inexorably forward through, I guess "time" isn't the worst.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line. --><br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Time]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Time travel]]</div>108.162.250.166