https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=141.101.77.117&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T23:37:39ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=535:_It_Might_Be_Cool&diff=220818535: It Might Be Cool2021-11-15T10:02:07Z<p>141.101.77.117: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 535<br />
| date = January 26, 2009<br />
| title = It Might Be Cool<br />
| image = it_might_be_cool.png<br />
| titletext = 'And ovaries. Man, ovaries, huh?' [awkward pause] '... faithfully.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] (or [[Randall]]) is musing about the possibility of being a woman, to the confusion of the man next to him. His uninsightful rambling would likely be unimpressive and somewhat odd in most situations, but not odd enough on its own to prompt the second man's baffled reaction. However, the true reason for his confusion is revealed by the caption: Cueball is administering the {{w|Oath of office of the President of the United States|presidential oath}}. The oath is administered by reciting it to prompt a new president to repeat them back to him. However, he botches it completely by forgetting about his task completely and wondering aloud about an unrelated topic. Thus, the president's confused question at the beginning is not him asking for clarification; he is repeating what he at first believed to be the oath of office, but got flustered when he realized Cueball had deviated from the script. When Cueball then continues by replying that "the menstruation thing is freaky," the president is completely derailed.<br />
<br />
Cueball might be an [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Egg|egg]<br />
<br />
On January 20, 2009 the inauguration of {{w|Barack Obama}}'s first office took place. Chief Justice {{w|John Roberts}}, who was administering the oath, {{w|Oath of office of the President of the United States#Oath mishaps|made a mistake}} while reciting the words. This comic references the event and wildly exaggerates the deviation from the oath for comedic purposes.<br />
<br />
In truth, the error was rather small: the oath as prescribed in the constitution is:<br />
:I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.<br />
<br />
Due to a missed memo on the pauses planned by the Chief Justice, Obama inadvertently interrupted Roberts during the first phrase - Roberts begins by saying I, Barack Obama, do solemnly swear, and Obama repeats his name while Roberts finishes that sentence. This disturbs Roberts who was not using notes, and he rendered the next phrase as "that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully," misplacing the word ''faithfully'' and saying ''president to'' instead of ''president of''. Obama repeated, "that I will execute", then paused. Roberts attempted to correct the wording, but stumbled: "the off— faithfully the pres— the office of President of the United States." Obama then repeated Roberts' initial incorrect wording.<br />
<br />
However small the error was it was big enough that Obama did {{w|Oath of office of the President of the United States#Oath mishaps|retake the oath of office}} the day after the mistake was made.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the wondering about being a woman going on from the {{w|menstruation}} to the {{w|ovaries}}. To make sure it is clearly the oath mistake that is referenced the sentence ends with '... faithfully.' Thus mimicking the real mistake of placing this word last.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is administering the presidential oath.]<br />
:Cueball: You know, it might be cool to be a woman.<br />
:President: It... might be cool to be a woman?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, but the menstruation thing is freaky.<br />
:President: Yeah, but... the... um. What?<br />
:[Caption below the frame:]<br />
:Turns out I'm even worse at administering the presidential oath than John Roberts.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>141.101.77.117https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Meta&diff=220703Category:Meta2021-11-12T08:14:36Z<p>141.101.77.117: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{xkcdmeta}}<br />
Everything in between!<br />
(Does not relate to the Facebook-rebranding)<br />
[[Category:Root category]]</div>141.101.77.117https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1044:_Romney_Quiz&diff=220499Talk:1044: Romney Quiz2021-11-08T15:12:04Z<p>141.101.77.117: </p>
<hr />
<div>I got 4/12! I feel proud! '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:29, 21 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I remember when Herman Cain quoted the Pokémon 2000 film. Then again, did not a pro-life politician use Mewtwo's quote? [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 13:21, 16 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
After reading the explanation several times, I still don't get the joke. Is the comic meant as comment that there's something wrong with those kinds of quizzes? Or is it meant to emphasize how well the ordinary ones do line up by offering a bad one for comparison? Or is it just relying on sheer bizarreness, which is why I keep looking for an underlying satirical element that isn't there? I'm just so confused. [[User:Mel|Mel]] ([[User talk:Mel|talk]]) 12:22, 15 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Its comparing the absurd (as viewed by Democrats) statements made by Romney to famous quotes by Charlie, implying that they are equally ridiculous and fantastical.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.119|108.162.219.119]] 22:04, 3 June 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm guessing that Romney said #11, right? [[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 13:57, 12 July 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That is actually very crappy upside down text. Did you get it from [upsidedowntext.com]?<br />
<span style="color:purple;">Check Please!</span> [[User:StillNotOriginal|Still<sup>Not<sub>Original</sub></sup>]] ([[User talk:StillNotOriginal|Talk to me!]]) 23:32, 19 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Better now? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:26, 20 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Yup. (OCD Strikes back...) [[User:StillNotOriginal|S<sup>t<sup>i<sup>l<sup>l</sup></sup></sup></sup><sup>Not</sup>]][[User talk:StillNotOriginal|<sup><sub>Original</sub></sup>]] 22:52, 20 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This reminds me of when Bernd Höcke, a german far-right politician, published a book and people started comparing parts of his book with parts of A. Hitler's "Mein Kampf" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.117|141.101.77.117]] 15:12, 8 November 2021 (UTC)</div>141.101.77.117https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2503:_Memo_Spike_Connector&diff=2204402503: Memo Spike Connector2021-11-06T14:24:05Z<p>141.101.77.117: </p>
<hr />
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Erizon from erizonWeb.com</div>141.101.77.117https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2536:_Wirecutter&diff=2202322536: Wirecutter2021-11-03T13:02:48Z<p>141.101.77.117: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2536<br />
| date = November 1, 2021<br />
| title = Wirecutter<br />
| image = wirecutter.png<br />
| titletext = This was always going to be a controversial Wirecutter post, but what really got them in trouble were their 'budget' and 'upgrade' picks.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BUDGET SUBGENIUS- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
''{{w|Wirecutter (website)|Wirecutter}}'' is a product review website owned by ''The New York Times''. Randall is parodying the website by having them "review" the 70 most popular [[:Category:Religion|religion]]s. Product review websites typically make posts with the "best" X, e.g. "Best smartphones", or "Best laptops". These reviews are useful for consumers trying to choose among the wide variety of products available. <br />
<br />
There is also {{w|List of religions and spiritual traditions|a wide variety of religions}}. However, unlike electronic devices, a person does not usually choose their religion; they are taught one during childhood and most remain in that religion their entire life. Changing religions is a significant life event. More specifically, many variants of the three major {{w|Abrahamic religions}} promote {{w|Religious exclusivism|exclusivity}}, and do not recognize other religions as valid. They emphasize the importance of belief in specific creeds. Members of those religions might not recognize a reviewer as having truly "tried" their religion if their intent was always to move on to another.<br />
<br />
If it was easy to change a religion, it would have major implications for {{w|freedom of religion}} and whether religious {{w|discrimination}} exists. If changing a belief would be as easy as getting car tires changed, governments could reasonably tell citizens to change their religious affiliation in order to get admitted to military service, or to a hospital for treatment. Likewise, religious minorities could simply change their allegiance to evade persecution, and change back to being Jewish, for example, when the threat is over. Then, by definition, discrimination is when somebody is treated disadvantageously because of a circumstance somebody cannot easily change, or had no control over, like skin color or {{w|congenital defect|congenital defects}}.<br />
<br />
A post "reviewing" religions is sure to stir up controversy, as most religious followers are passionate about their religious beliefs and don't want to be compared against other religions. {{w|Religious_war|Literal wars}} have been fought over the idea one religion could be superior to another, and it is not a wound most practitioners are willing to reopen any time soon. Moreover, religions are typically chosen for more fundamental reasons -- such as by comparing the likelihood that each religion makes accurate claims, or the efficacy of each religion in promoting an ethical life, or the connection a practitioner feels to the religion's rituals, metaphors, and images, or by privileging a preexisting cultural or family connection to a particular tradition -- not by comparing gimmicky features or price. <br />
<br />
The title text mentions "budget" and "upgrade" picks, which are subcategories for reviewers - cheaper options and options that are good for upgrading your current product to a newer one. Neither of these categories are typical categories for religions {{Citation needed}} and would further anger their adherents. The association of religion and money could allude to various controversial topics such as {{w|tithe|tithing}}, {{w|indulgences}}, {{w|televangelism}}, or {{w|Prosperity theology}}; the website's potential pick of {{w|Judaism}} for the budget category would also understandably "really get them in trouble" as it would be widely regarded as {{w|economic antisemitism|antisemitic}}. The idea of a religion "upgrade" evokes the highly divisive concept of {{w|supersessionism}} among the major Abrahamic religions, which would be guaranteed to cause further outcry no matter which one of those the article would pick for the category.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A New York Times Wirecutter article. There is the NYT logo and Wirecutter logo in the top left. Also in the top of the page is a search bar, a user account icon, and 7 "header" level hyperlinks with illegible text. The article title is as follows:]<br />
:<b>The Best Religion</b><br />
:By <u>Wirecutter Staff</u><br />
<br />
:[The words "Wirecutter Staff" are followed by illegible text presumably representing the date of the article. Below are icons for Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, and save.]<br />
<br />
:[The article's image depicts Cueball shrugging in the center of the picture with many question marks floating above him. The content of the article is as follows:]<br />
<br />
:What does it all mean? Our reviewers tried out over 70 of the most popular belief systems. Here's what they found...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Religion]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>141.101.77.117https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2142:_Dangerous_Fields&diff=2200542142: Dangerous Fields2021-10-29T12:34:01Z<p>141.101.77.117: /* Fields */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2142<br />
| date = April 26, 2019<br />
| title = Dangerous Fields<br />
| image = dangerous_fields.png<br />
| titletext = Eventually, every epidemiologist becomes another statistic, a dedication to record-keeping which their colleagues sincerely appreciate.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a graph of fields of study, ordered by how likely one is to die because of something that that field studies, with mathematics being the least dangerous and gerontology being the most. Gerontology, the scientific study of old age, is shown as much more dangerous than the other fields, so it is far on the right side of the graph. The joke is in the distinction between the danger of studying the thing, and the overall death rate from the thing. Studying aging doesn't put you at much more risk of aging than the general population. However, studying volcanoes is likely to put you in dangerous environments.<br />
<br />
===Fields===<br />
*{{W|Mathematics}} is such a pure non-physical field that the probability of it being the direct cause of death is extremely low. The study of it might cause death through workplace disputes or absent-mindedly wandering in front of traffic while pondering (as in [[356: Nerd Sniping]]). Famously (though likely apocryphally) {{w|Hippasus}} was thrown overboard a ship by {{w|Pythagoras}} for demonstrating irrational numbers. {{w|Archimedes}} was killed for not following an invading soldier's command because he was wrapped up in his own thoughts trying to solve a geometry problem.<br />
<br />
*{{W|Astronomy}}, the study of stars and space. Astronomy is slightly more dangerous than mathematics though, since it studies physical objects instead of abstract concepts. In addition to meteor or asteroid impacts, astronomical phenomena that might cause death include solar flares, nearby supernovae, distant magnetar quakes, a solar nova (the likelihood of which will increase over the next billion-odd years), perturbations in earth's orbit, increased or decreased solar radiation, and alien invasion. Given that the density of magnetars and potentially hostile alien civilizations in the stellar neighborhood is completely unknown, and not all past mass extinctions are explained, this one might be misplaced a bit. Although these are all rare events, just one could kill all living and potential future astronomers. That non-astronomers would also be affected seems poor consolation. While astronomers do not study aliens, as such&mdash;that would be exobiology&mdash;some have sought evidence of alien activity.<br />
<br />
*{{W|Economics}} is the study of markets. Markets can kill you by depriving you of goods and services you need to survive. Goods can become unavailable (e.g., cartels, embargos) or unaffordable (through job loss, inflation), in depressions or recessions. The study of such markets usually does not involve great risk, unless the markets are illegal (e.g., illicit drug markets), the economy being studied has put people under great stress, or one's findings are really unpopular.<br />
<br />
*{{W|Law}} in this context refers to the rules people have to follow in society, and given the nature of laws (civil and criminal), the odds that your death is related to law is usually low. Possible causes of death more-or-less directly related would include prosecution for a capital crime, persecution under legal authority (such as being killed by an officer of the law), attack by a guard, or for lack of medical treatment, while incarcerated, or death by exposure after expulsion from one's repossessed or otherwise legally confiscated home. However, when large groups of people are dispossessed, or have the protection of law removed, casualties can be quite high. For instance, the {{w|Partition of India}} in 1947 resulted in 200,000 to 2 million deaths. The laws of the {{w|Great Leap Forward}} contributed to the starvation of tens of millions of Chinese, disproportionally many of them lawyers and law professors. Perhaps most ironically, a lawyer who committed a capital crime in a country that practices capital punishment (such as the United States, China, or Iran), and was executed for it would be directly killed by the thing s/he studies. In 2000, approximately 300,000 died from war and collective violence. ("[https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/abstract_en.pdf WHO:World report on violence and health]")<br />
<br />
*{{W|Criminology}} is very similar to law, but is the study of crime, meaning it's more dangerous than just "law." Criminologists may be directly involved with criminals in the course of their studies, increasing their exposure to potentially life-threatening behavior. There were 520,000 deaths from violence (excluding war, suicide, and accidental/incidental deaths resulting from criminal activity) in 2000. ("[https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/abstract_en.pdf WHO:World report on violence and health]") <br />
<br />
*{{W|Meteorology}} is the study of weather. Encountering powerful weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, and thunderstorms bring the distinct possibility of injury and death. Curiosity to see a storm in person, or (if working for television news) exposing yourself to the weather event in order to file a report, may expose you to lightning, wind-blown projectiles, cold, water, etc., any of which can negatively affect your survival. Less dramatic weather also kills - hot weather can lead to heatstroke and dehydration. Adverse weather events kill about 100,000 to 200,000 annually. ("[http://www.supportoursharks.com/en/Education/Shark_Attacks/Biggest_Killers.htm Support our Sharks:How many sharks have been killed]")<br />
<br />
*{{W|Chemistry}} is the study of chemicals and reactions of those chemicals. Since, under terrestrial conditions, everything is made up of chemicals (and chemists often use especially reactive or dangerous chemicals), the likelihood of a chemist's death being caused by chemistry (e.g., explosions, poisoning, chemical burns, suffocation) is not insignificant. Unintentional poisoning is identified as the cause of death for about 200,000 people a year, chemical assisted suicide kills over 300,000 yearly. ("[https://www.who.int/ipcs/poisons/en/ WHO:International Programme on Chemical Safety:Poisoning Prevention and Management]") Many other causes of death, such as snakebite (100,000), drug and alcohol disorders, some respiratory disorders, and cancers are more or less directly caused by chemicals. ("[https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death Our World In Data:Causes of Death]")<br />
<br />
*{{W|Marine biology}} is the study of ocean life. Many marine creatures are venomous, many are very large. Death could result from storms, boat accidents, drowning, diving accidents, exposure to pathogenic bacteria, toxins (such as those produced by cone snails, and "red tide" dinoflagellates), allergies to shellfish, or water pollution, in addition to such perhaps more obvious (but overwhelmingly rarer) risks as shark attacks. About 360,000 people die of drowning annually.("[https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drowning WHO Fact sheet:Drowning]") Unprovoked shark attacks kill an average of 6 people annually.("[https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/yearly-worldwide-summary/ International Shark Attack File:Yearly Worldwide Shark Attack Summary]")<br />
<br />
*{{w|Volcanology}} involves the study of {{w|volcanoes}}, {{w|lava}}, and {{w|magma}}, with obvious risks to the scientists studying them in the field. Volcanoes have killed an estimated average of 500 people per year; most deaths resulting from remote effects, such as tsunamis and climate disruption.("[https://www.foxnews.com/science/volcanoes-kill-about-540-people-a-year-scientists-say Volcanoes kill about 540 people a year, scientists say]", "[https://appliedvolc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13617-017-0067-4 Volcanic fatalities database: analysis of volcanic threat with distance and victim classification]") At least 67 scientists have been killed in volcanic eruptions, as of 2017 ("[https://cosmosmagazine.com/geoscience/volcanologists-lose-their-lives-in-pursuit-of-knowledge Volcanologists lose their lives in pursuit of knowledge]").<br />
<br />
*{{w|Gerontology}} involves the study of aging, and of growing old in general. As (to general knowledge) everyone has to this point been observed to age and eventually die{{Citation needed}}, those who study gerontology are not immune to dying of old age even if they evade all the other possible causes of death - thus making it the most likely among all shown fields. A gerontologist still can die from something else first, but without the inherent risk factors of other professions such as active volcanoes or underwater diving, they're more likely to survive to retirement and thus meet their death of old age.<br />
<br />
*The title text is about {{w|Epidemiology}}: the study of health and disease conditions in populations. In the event of an epidemic, there is a strong chance that epidemiologists in the search for the cause, transmission, and treatment will be exposed and become victims of the disease in their own right. However, the title text refers more broadly to the role of epidemiology in maintaining detailed statistical records of diseases and other causes of death, such that eventually any epidemiologist (whatever the cause of death) will become one of his/her own statistics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[A line chart is shown going from left to right with two arrows on either side. On the line are ten dots spread out unevenly from close to each end. The first four dots are clustered together on the left side. Then follows 5 more dots unevenly spaced, all to the left of center. On the far right of the line, near the end, there is one dot. Beneath each dot there goes a line down to a label written beneath each line. Above the chart there is a big title and below that an explanation. Below that again, there is a small arrow pointing to the right with a label above it.]<br />
:<big>Probability that you'll be killed by the thing you study</big><br />
:By field<br />
<br />
:[Arrow pointing right, labeled:]<br />
:More likely<br />
<br />
:[Labels for the ten dots from left to right:]<br />
:Mathematics (0 pixels from first field, 0.00% of overall range of fields)<br />
:Astronomy (9px, 1.35%)<br />
:Economics (16px, 2.40%)<br />
:Law (22px, 3.30%)<br />
:Criminology (77px, 11.56%)<br />
:Meteorology (96px, 14.41%)<br />
:Chemistry (156px, 23.42%)<br />
:Marine Biology (166px, 24.92%)<br />
:Volcanology (206px, 30.93%)<br />
:Gerontology (666px, 100.00%)<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]</div>141.101.77.117https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1212:_Interstellar_Memes&diff=220040Talk:1212: Interstellar Memes2021-10-29T07:08:51Z<p>141.101.77.117: </p>
<hr />
<div>I'm surprised ponies didn't make the list given how massively and completely they took over the Internet in recent years. Then again, xkcd hasn't made any mention of the phenomenon, which is pretty nice, I guess. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 04:35, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Given that the closest one, "I'm on a boat," predates the first episode of MLP:FiM by more than a year (the brony phenomenon by even more), it's safe to say that ponies have not reached the nearest star yet. --[[Special:Contributions/24.145.230.202|24.145.230.202]] 04:42, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:: Agreed. MLP:FIM premiered in October 2010. The show will hit the Alpha Centauri system early 2015. [[User:Frijole|Frijole]] ([[User talk:Frijole|talk]]) 16:28, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::I didn't have the date/distance chart at the time of posting, and indeed didn't realize how much time had past since some of these became popular. I feel much older with that in perspective. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 04:03, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::As of this writing, the MLP premiere would now be at Luhman 16... and this very comic would be at Proxima Centauri.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 00:17, 2 December 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It would be great to have the distances (in light years) of the stars as a fourth column. This would also provide a chronological order. --[[Special:Contributions/84.75.61.103|84.75.61.103]] 08:06, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If I look at the page source, there is no transcript this time... [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 08:41, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
anyone else notice Sirius is getting the Bellatrix one? [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 08:49, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, it was funny :D [[User:Zakator|Zakator]] ([[User talk:Zakator|talk]]) 10:55, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Should this reference be mentioned? On the one hand, it is a spoiler, but on the other hand, a) we *are* here to explain the jokes, and b) the book is almost a decade old, so I'm pretty sure there's a statute of limitations involved here. [[User:Curtmack|Curtmack]] ([[User talk:Curtmack|talk]]) 14:56, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::It's also funny that Sirius ''is'' a character in Harry Potter books/films. Double joke? --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 15:21, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::::Sorta, but it's Rowling's joke, not Randall's. The entire Black family (except for Narcissa, who was named before her family ties were established) is named after objects in the sky. Sirius is the only one in range. Of the ones I can remember, {{w|Regulus}} is 77 ly away, {{w|Bellatrix}} is roughly 250 ly away, and {{w|Andromeda Galaxy|Andromeda}} is an entirely separate galaxy. --[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 21:43, 16 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If any civilization have nothing better to do that repeating our memes, there is no need to apologize to them: they will obviously be glad they have at least something. How many people on our planet are repeating memes from other civilizations? None. (The circles in crop doesn't count, they are not send by radio.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:51, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Given that the Rick Astley one is on the same star as Portal, which came out in 2007, it's probably meant to refer to rickrolling (and thus the date should also be 2007 for that one). [[User:Zakator|Zakator]] ([[User talk:Zakator|talk]]) 10:55, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
All your base are belong to us didn't start as a meme in the 1970. I don't have precise data right now but I'm pretty sure it was 1997-99 when it first appeared on the internet. Also, what is the Sun doing? [[Special:Contributions/195.32.50.126|195.32.50.126]] 11:14, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:1998 according to knowyourmeme. And I think the Sun is probably sending out all those radio waves for the aliens to listen to, or something? But I couldn't find an accurate way to portray it, so I just left it at that. [[User:Zakator|Zakator]] ([[User talk:Zakator|talk]]) 11:18, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:: The map only shows stars, or rather star systems. We live in the sol system, where all these memes originate from, hence the sun is shown as the origin of the "radio waves". In the same fashion, these supposed aliens don't actually live on the stars themselves, but rather on planets (or maybe moons?) around the stars. --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 11:49, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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In "Take me to your leader! - No, Steve", what is the "No, Steve" part referencing? The link currently is just for the "take me to your leader" part. [[Special:Contributions/72.92.72.222|72.92.72.222]] 15:14, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:I thought that the "No, Steve" made it into an explicit reference to Newsboys album/song (Steve Taylor wrote the lyrics for it). But then, that's a song fron 1996, and it would not be consistent with distance, while 1953 makes more sense... [[Special:Contributions/195.32.50.126|195.32.50.126]] 15:49, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::"Steve" is an alien. "Take me to your leader," is a meme which "Steve" has been repeating. It helps if you read it with a somewhat exasparated inflection.--[[Special:Contributions/108.28.112.92|108.28.112.92]] 18:47, 16 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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If you order the list by distance, further stars should get memes from earlier times, but this is not always the case. I think that some of the memes deserve more investigation, namely: "Internets!", "You're the man now, dog" and "All your base are belong to us!". Sort the list by distance and it becomes immediately apparent what I mean. [[Special:Contributions/195.32.50.126|195.32.50.126]] 15:54, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:"Internets" was from George W Bush but in 2004. [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/internets internets meme]--[[Special:Contributions/145.253.244.103|145.253.244.103]] 16:08, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:"You're the man now, dog" refers to a web site launched in 2001 which fits to the approx. 12 Lj.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:29, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:"All your base are belong to us!" should also belong to 2001. I found this [http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/02/42009 wired.com] which explains that the internet meme probably began in 2001. But I am not sure.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:37, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Wouldn't "I'm on a boat!", as a popular and well-known meme known to the wider public, refer to the Old Spice commercial, rather than a song by the The Lonely Island? None of the few I spoke with had ever heard of the group, but all credited the quote to "the Old Spice guy". [[Special:Contributions/67.51.59.66|67.51.59.66]] 17:56, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:I thought about this also before. But "I'm on a boat!" is the meme published by "The Lonely Island".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:02, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:>meme<br />
:>published<br />
:pick one [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 21:36, 15 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Old Spice Guy says "<u>You're</u> on a boat", and finishes with "I'm on a <u>horse</u>"[http://lybio.net/old-spice-the-man-your-man-could-smell-like/commercials/]... "I'm on a boat" isn't quite right for OSG. --[[User:SurturZ|SurturZ]] ([[User talk:SurturZ|talk]]) 03:45, 16 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::I sit corrected. [[Special:Contributions/67.51.59.66|67.51.59.66]] 16:18, 16 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Title text: "The strongest incentive we have to develop faster-than-light travel is that it would let us apologize in advance." Is this an error by Randall? Faster-than-light would work if that travel did start at the time of transmission of those memes. Actually all messages had arrive at their targets so only Time-Travel would help. Nevertheless both ideas are impossible.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:51, 16 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:It's too late to apologize to the stars on this comic, but we could apologize to the ones farther out who have yet to be annoyed by us. --[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 21:45, 16 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
::No, it is possible. That's relativity! With faster than light travel we can still reach them. (Effect is similar as time travel!) Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.118.249|178.26.118.249]] 04:59, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::Actually, depending on the reference frame (speed and movement direction of the observer) the notion of simultaneity does not hold for objects being spaciously apart. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.45.117|178.26.45.117]] 13:14, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
:We can also apologize for newer memes. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 04:03, 17 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I guess I'm not too surprised that residents circling Beta Virginis are still doing the Spanish Inquisition schtick 7+ years later. But they got Holy Grail over two years ago. So I assume they're also pretending to be Knights Who Say Ni by now.<br />
[[User:Opusthepenguin|Opusthepenguin]] ([[User talk:Opusthepenguin|talk]]) 16:34, 14 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
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It's worth mentioning that Randall debunks this idea of an interstellar audience in http://what-if.xkcd.com/47/.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 23:53, 18 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The problem, though, with the older memes here, i.e. Gone With the Wind, Casablanca and Bugs Bunny, is that they were released to the public ''in film.'' They would have to wait until television broadcast in the '50s and '60s to be exported interstellarly. Most the other movies too, only they wouldn't have to wait so long. But we certainly wouldn't have stars 70 light-years away imitating us because that content hasn't gotten there yet.{{unsigned ip|108.162.250.223}}<br />
: A clever point, yet disputable. One can imagine that the catchphrases of those days were repeated in radio. Similarly, "The cake is a lie" will probably not be observed from space due to its occurrence in a video game but from the subsequent repetition of the phrase in ether media. [[User:Mumiemonstret|Mumiemonstret]] ([[User talk:Mumiemonstret|talk]]) 15:39, 23 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
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http://abstrusegoose.com/163 is a similar concept --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.106|199.27.133.106]] 09:55, 9 January 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Fixed the transcript. This is my first time editing. Please help my fixing any mistakes I made. Thanks.[[User:Dontknow|Dontknow]] ([[User talk:Dontknow|talk]]) 05:20, 2 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
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The first public radio broadcast in 1910 would have reached 109 Piscium not too long ago.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.42|162.158.186.42]] 02:54, 2 December 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Hi aliens from Barnard’s Star! (It’s like Hi Youtube)!<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 13:40, 30 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
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I didn't expect the spanish inquisition [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.117|141.101.77.117]] 07:08, 29 October 2021 (UTC)</div>141.101.77.117