https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=141.101.98.165&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T17:43:00ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1757:_November_2016&diff=130475Talk:1757: November 20162016-11-09T16:02:10Z<p>141.101.98.165: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~--><br />
<br />
Actually Randal may be wrong with some of those entries at the current moment. Let's say that somebody is 19 years old, but their 20th birthday is on the 10th of November. The entry for their age is the Nintendo Wii which came 9 years, 11 months and 20 days ago (as of November 9), which is not more than half of the subject's age. I think this occurs on quite a few of those entries, so either the chart is intended to be addressed only to people during their birthdays, or one can make fun of any geek who parades this list for not being rigorous with their maths. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.35|108.162.246.35]] 15:38, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: That's pretty pedantic. We're so close to the end of the year that we can reasonably assume it means "people who turned X years old in 2016" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.165|141.101.98.165]]<br />
<br />
Ok transcript hopefully complete, but please check it over, as I did it while tired and staying up late waiting for the election results. [[User:Wyrme|Wyrme]] ([[User talk:Wyrme|talk]]) 05:43, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The main idea of the comic is stated in the first sentences "If they're [age], you say: "Did you know [thing] has been around for the majority of your life?"<br />
The majority of your life means "more than half your life". For each of the age stated in the comic, something that happened more than half the age ago is stated.<br />
As an example for the first two:<br />
Grand Theft Auto IV was released in 2008, which is 8 years ago. More than 8 years is at the same time more than half of 16 years, which means "the majority of a 16 year old's life"<br />
The next one goes for Rickrolling, which is "a prank and an Internet meme involving an unexpected appearance of the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. The meme is a type of bait and switch using a disguised hyperlink." according to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling wikipedia]. Even if the first reference is from 2007, the same Wiki page says that 'By May 2008, the practice had spread beyond 4chan and became an Internet phenomenon'. May 2008 is more than 8 and a half years ago which is more than half of 17 years.<br />
It goes on and on, with "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters" which is a 2007 American Flash animated surreal comedy film", which again is more than 9 years ago and so on.<br />
Sorry if I'm not clear enough but I hope you got it.<br />
[[User:Anarhistu|Anarhistu]] ([[User talk:Anarhistu|talk]]) 11:19, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Yeah, the "majority part" is a bit confusing. I looked up 35 and saw "The Matrix" and I was like "wait, that didn't come out 35 years ago?!". Well, it didn't and that's not what the comic implys. However, it has been around for a MAJORITY (= more than half) of my life. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.141|162.158.202.141]] 12:37, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm only 32, but saddened at the entry for 40. C&H was (and still is) one of my favorites. I say we all just take off today and play some Calvinball. Who's with me? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.100|162.158.69.100]] 12:48, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There is this last thing "over 41, we don't care" which I cannot really explain. Maybe the 40+ year olds seen all of these later in their life but why stop at this point? (which is around 1996, according to the "rules")? The internet has been around since way before that and if we take the first popular browser this was about 1993 or so. That would take us to 46. Is there any specific event which might be a reason to stop at 41? [[User:Anarhistu|Anarhistu]] ([[User talk:Anarhistu|talk]]) 13:12, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
: No, people above 40 already feel old, no need for a chart --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.204|162.158.88.204]] 13:18, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
::Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Hood Men In Tights [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.100|162.158.69.100]] 13:21, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
But if I look in x years, then the entry at current age + x will have been there for (current age +x)/2 + x years, so if I look at it again after my age has doubled, the thing has been there for my entire life.<br />
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.204|162.158.88.204]] 13:17, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Heh. Randall isn't always prompt in posting new comics early on M/W/F, but this one went up promptly at 12:01am. He deserves to be embarrassed after the communist comic he posted on Monday. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.55.83|172.68.55.83]] 13:31, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I don't understand how this is supposed to work. If I wanted to make someone feel old, I would pick an event that they think is fairly ancient and tell them: "do you realize you're *more* than twice as old as this?" Here, Randall does the opposite, he says: "did you know you're *less* than twice as old as this", so what? E.g. "Twitter has been around for a majority of your life" is true of anyone who is 0 to 20, so how is it supposed to make a 20-year-old feel old? Did Randall get his comic backwards or am I missing something?<br />
Zetfr 14:26, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The explanation says "The titletext points out that the same chart can be used for the same person much later in their life. However, the major event shifts earlier and earlier into their life; when their age has doubled, the event in the chart has happend in the year of their birth."<br/>This makes no mathematical sense - the major event would shift earlier ''into their life'', but not ''in time'', and would remain the same distance from their birth year. What is probably intended is that now ''the chart itself'' will be around for a majority of their life (though I agree with the above commenter that it would probably make one feel young, not old). --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.90|172.68.10.90]] 14:54, 9 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I fixed the rest of the blank explanations, such as Gmail, Nintendo Wii, and others. Please fill in the 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force', as I was not able to find information about it anywhere and I have not seen that show, nor the movie itself, so I cannot answer. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:14, 9 November 2016 (UTC)</div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1757:_November_2016&diff=1304741757: November 20162016-11-09T15:57:25Z<p>141.101.98.165: /* Table */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1757<br />
| date = November 9, 2016<br />
| title = November 2016<br />
| image = november_2016.png<br />
| titletext = Once you've done this, make a note of how old they were. Then, when their age reaches double that, show them this chart again.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Need individual explanations.}}<br />
This is yet another comic designed to [[Feel old|make you feel old]]. It lists ages between 16 and 41, and a major event that happened a little over half their life ago. So, for an age of 16 (people born in 2000), it lists the release of GTA IV, which happened in 2008. Thus, GTA IV has been around for the majority of their life. The joke at the end is that people over 41 don't need anything to make them feel old, because they are in fact old and thus already feel so.<br />
<br />
The titletext points out that the same chart can be used for the same person much later in their life. However, the major event shifts earlier and earlier into their life; when their age has doubled, the event in the chart has been around for 3/4 of their life, and the chart itself a majority.<br />
year of event(age) = 2016 - age/2<br />
year of event(2*age) = 2016 - (2* age)/2 = 2016-age = year of birth<br />
<br />
===Table===<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Age<br />
! Birthyear<br />
! Event date<br />
! Thing<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| 16<br />
| 2000<br />
| April 29, 2008<br />
| ''{{w|Grand Theft Auto IV}}''<br />
| Popular video game published by {{w|Rockstar Games}}; the 11th title in the ''{{w|Grand Theft Auto}}'' series<br />
|-<br />
| 17<br />
| 1999<br />
| May 2007<br />
| {{w|Rickrolling}}<br />
| A prank and internet meme involving an unexpected appearance of the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song "{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}". A type of bait and switch.<br />
|-<br />
| 18<br />
| 1998<br />
| April 13, 2007<br />
| ''{{w|Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Colon Movie Film for Theaters}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 19<br />
| 1997<br />
| November 19, 2006<br />
| The {{w|Nintendo Wii}}<br />
| From 2006 onwards is the time when the Nintendo Wii brand (Wii - Wii U) was released, with the Wii dominating 2006-2012 and the Wii U being *a small* part of 2012-2016.<br />
|-<br />
| 20<br />
| 1996<br />
| March 2006<br />
| {{w|Twitter}}<br />
| 2006 was a big year, in that it lead to the creation of Twitter, a social networking service that is still used to this day.<br />
|-<br />
| 21<br />
| 1995<br />
| November 22, 2005 (Xbox), September 2005 (xkcd)<br />
| The {{w|Xbox 360}}, {{w|xkcd}}<br />
| 2005 led to the creation of the Xbox 360, another successful console. Randall Munroe also decided to throw in a 'reference joke', referring to the fact that XKCD was also created in 2005 and fits the criteria of the comic.<br />
|-<br />
| 22<br />
| 1994<br />
|<br />
| {{w|Chuck Norris Facts}}<br />
| Satirical factoids about martial artist and actor {{w|Chuck Norris}}<br />
|-<br />
| 23<br />
| 1993<br />
| January 25, 2004<br />
| {{w|Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity}}'s Mars Exploration<br />
| {{w|Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity}} is a Mars rover that landed on Mars on January 25, 2004<br />
|-<br />
| 24<br />
| 1992<br />
| February 4, 2004<br />
| {{w|Facebook}}<br />
| Facebook was a social networking service created in 2004 as a competitor to Myspace and quickly dominated as the #1 most used social networking service of all time.<br />
|-<br />
| 25<br />
| 1991<br />
| April 1, 2004 (Gmail), July 9, 2003 (Pirates of the Caribbean)<br />
| Gmail, ''Pirates of the Caribbean''<br />
| Gmail is an email service created by Google as a replacement to Hotmail. Pirates of the Caribbean, a popular movie franchise, had its' first movie (Curse of the Black Pearl) debut in 2003.<br />
|-<br />
| 26<br />
| 1990<br />
| January 7, 2003<br />
| {{w|In da Club}}<br />
| Rap song by {{w|50 Cent}}<br />
|-<br />
| 27<br />
| 1989<br />
| September 20, 2002<br />
| ''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}''<br />
| ''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}'' is a space western drama TV series created by Joss Whedon, that became a cult classic<br />
|-<br />
| 28<br />
| 1988<br />
| October 7, 2001<br />
| The War in Afghanistan<br />
| The United States of America invaded Afghanistan shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, in an effort to eliminate the terrorist group al-Qaeda.<br />
|-<br />
| 29<br />
| 1987<br />
| 2001<br />
| The iPod<br />
| The iPod was a music playing device created by Apple in 2001 as a replacement for MP3 players.<br />
|-<br />
| 30<br />
| 1986<br />
| May 18, 2001 (Shrek), January 15, 2001 (Wikipedia)<br />
| Shrek, Wikipedia<br />
| Shrek is a popular parody film about fairy tales based on the book of the same name. It quickly gained a cult following and became a mega-hit, earning it 3 sequels and a franchise. Wikipedia is a website with articles dedicated for looking up information based on specific tops, created in 2001.<br />
|-<br />
| 31<br />
| 1985<br />
| July 14, 2000<br />
| Those X-Men movies<br />
| The X-Men series (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand)<br />
|-<br />
| 32<br />
| 1984<br />
| February 4, 2000<br />
| The Sims<br />
| The Sims is a video game created by Maxis in 2000 as a simulation game where you build homes, cities, and families. It was an immediate success upon launch.<br />
|-<br />
| 33<br />
| 1983<br />
|<br />
| Autotuned hit songs<br />
| 1983 was the time period when people realized the capabilties of autotuning songs.<br />
|-<br />
| 34<br />
| 1982<br />
| May 19, 1999<br />
| The Star Wars Prequels<br />
| The Star Wars prequel trilogy (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith)<br />
|-<br />
| 35<br />
| 1981<br />
| March 31, 1999<br />
| The Matrix<br />
| Science action film created by the Wachowskis<br />
|-<br />
| 36<br />
| 1980<br />
| 1998 (outside Japan)<br />
| Pokemon Red & Blue<br />
| A popular childrens' video game franchise<br />
|-<br />
| 37<br />
| 1979<br />
| April 29, 1997 (Netflix), June 26, 1997 (Harry Potter), September 15, 1997 (Google)<br />
| Netflix, Harry Potter, Google<br />
| "Harry Potter" refers to the original publishing date of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''. Google refers to the date that the Google domain name was registered.<br />
|-<br />
| 38<br />
| 1978<br />
| May 11, 1997<br />
| Deep Blue's Victory<br />
| Deep Blue was a chess computer, who defeated Garry Kasparov, the reigning chess champion, in 1997. It was the first chess computer to defeat a world champion under tournament conditions.<br />
|-<br />
| 39<br />
| 1977<br />
| September 13, 1996<br />
| Tupac's Death<br />
| Tupac Shakur was an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in 1996.<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| 1976<br />
| December 31, 1995<br />
| The last Calvin and Hobbes strip<br />
| Calvin and Hobbes is a comic strip by Bill Watterson that ran from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995<br />
|-<br />
| 41<br />
| 1975<br />
| November 22, 1995<br />
| Toy Story<br />
| The Pixar animated film ''Toy Story''<br />
|-<br />
| >41<br />
| Before 1975<br />
| n/a<br />
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]<br />
| This jokes that people legitimately old already feel old.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
The November 2016<br />
Guide to making people<br />
feel old<br />
<br />
[In rectangle]<br />
If they're [age], you say:<br />
"Did you know <u> [thing] </u> has been around for the majority of your life?"<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! <u>Age</u><br />
! <u>Thing</u><br />
|-<br />
| 16<br />
| Grand Theft Auto IV<br />
|-<br />
| 17<br />
| Rickrolling<br />
|-<br />
| 18<br />
| <i>Aqua Teen Hunger Force <br> Colon Movie Film for Theaters</i><br />
|-<br />
| 19<br />
| The Nintendo Wii<br />
|-<br />
| 20<br />
| Twitter<br />
|-<br />
| 21<br />
| The Xbox 360, xkcd<br />
|-<br />
| 22<br />
| Chuck Norris Facts<br />
|-<br />
| 23<br />
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration<br />
|-<br />
| 24<br />
| Facebook<br />
|-<br />
| 25<br />
| Gmail, <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i><br />
|-<br />
| 26<br />
| In da Club<br />
|-<br />
| 27<br />
| <i>Firefly</i><br />
|-<br />
| 28<br />
| The War in Afghanistan<br />
|-<br />
| 29<br />
| The iPod<br />
|-<br />
| 30<br />
| <i>Shrek</i>, Wikipedia<br />
|-<br />
| 31<br />
| Those X-Men movies<br />
|-<br />
| 32<br />
| <i>The Sims</i><br />
|-<br />
| 33<br />
| Autotuned hit songs<br />
|-<br />
| 34<br />
| The <i>Star Wars</i> Prequels<br />
|-<br />
| 35<br />
| <i>The Matrix</i><br />
|-<br />
| 36<br />
| <i>Pok&eacute;mon Red & Blue</i><br />
|-<br />
| 37<br />
| Netflix, <i>Harry Potter</i>, Google<br />
|-<br />
| 38<br />
| Deep Blue's Victory<br />
|-<br />
| 39<br />
| Tupac's Death<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| The last <i>Calvin and Hobbes</i> strip<br />
|-<br />
| 41<br />
| <i>Toy Story</i><br />
|-<br />
| >41<br />
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]<br />
|}<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]</div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1757:_November_2016&diff=1304261757: November 20162016-11-09T11:49:55Z<p>141.101.98.165: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1757<br />
| date = November 9, 2016<br />
| title = November 2016<br />
| image = november_2016.png<br />
| titletext = Once you've done this, make a note of how old they were. Then, when their age reaches double that, show them this chart again.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Need individual explanations.}}<br />
This is yet another comic designed to [[Feel old|make you feel old]]. It lists ages between 16 and 41, and a major event that happened a little over half their life ago. So, for an age of 16 (people born in 2000), it lists the release of GTA IV, which happened in 2008. Thus, GTA IV has been around for the majority of their life.<br />
<br />
The titletext says that the same chart can be used for the same person much later in their life.<br />
<br />
===Table===<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Age<br />
! Birthyear<br />
! Thing<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| 16<br />
| 2000<br />
| Grand Theft Auto IV<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 17<br />
| 1999<br />
| Rickrolling<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 18<br />
| 1998<br />
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Colon Movie Film for Theaters<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 19<br />
| 1997<br />
| The Nintendo Wii<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 20<br />
| 1996<br />
| Twitter<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 21<br />
| 1995<br />
| The Xbox 360, xkcd<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 22<br />
| 1994<br />
| Chuck Norris Facts<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 23<br />
| 1993<br />
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 24<br />
| 1992<br />
| Facebook<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 25<br />
| 1991<br />
| Gmail, Pirates of the Caribbean<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 26<br />
| 1990<br />
| In da Club<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 27<br />
| 1989<br />
| Firefly<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 28<br />
| 1988<br />
| The War in Afghanistan<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 29<br />
| 1987<br />
| The iPod<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 30<br />
| 1986<br />
| Shrek, Wikipedia<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 31<br />
| 1985<br />
| Those X-Men movies<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 32<br />
| 1984<br />
| The Sims<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 33<br />
| 1983<br />
| Autotuned hit songs<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 34<br />
| 1982<br />
| The Star Wars Prequels<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 35<br />
| 1981<br />
| The Matrix<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 36<br />
| 1980<br />
| Pok&eacute;mon Red & Blue<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 37<br />
| 1979<br />
| Netflix, Harry Potter, Google<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 38<br />
| 1978<br />
| Deep Blue's Victory<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 39<br />
| 1977<br />
| Tupac's Death<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| 1976<br />
| The last Calvin and Hobbes strip<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 41<br />
| 1977<br />
| Toy Story<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| >41<br />
| Before 1977<br />
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
The November 2016<br />
Guide to making people<br />
feel old<br />
<br />
[In rectangle]<br />
If they're [age], you say:<br />
"Did you know <u> [thing] </u> has been around for the majority of your life?"<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! <u>Age</u><br />
! <u>Thing</u><br />
|-<br />
| 16<br />
| Grand Theft Auto IV<br />
|-<br />
| 17<br />
| Rickrolling<br />
|-<br />
| 18<br />
| <i>Aqua Teen Hunger Force <br> Colon Movie Film for Theaters</i><br />
|-<br />
| 19<br />
| The Nintendo Wii<br />
|-<br />
| 20<br />
| Twitter<br />
|-<br />
| 21<br />
| The Xbox 360, xkcd<br />
|-<br />
| 22<br />
| Chuck Norris Facts<br />
|-<br />
| 23<br />
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration<br />
|-<br />
| 24<br />
| Facebook<br />
|-<br />
| 25<br />
| Gmail, <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i><br />
|-<br />
| 26<br />
| In da Club<br />
|-<br />
| 27<br />
| <i>Firefly</i><br />
|-<br />
| 28<br />
| The War in Afghanistan<br />
|-<br />
| 29<br />
| The iPod<br />
|-<br />
| 30<br />
| <i>Shrek</i>, Wikipedia<br />
|-<br />
| 31<br />
| Those X-Men movies<br />
|-<br />
| 32<br />
| <i>The Sims</i><br />
|-<br />
| 33<br />
| Autotuned hit songs<br />
|-<br />
| 34<br />
| The <i>Star Wars</i> Prequels<br />
|-<br />
| 35<br />
| <i>The Matrix</i><br />
|-<br />
| 36<br />
| <i>Pok&eacute;mon Red & Blue</i><br />
|-<br />
| 37<br />
| Netflix, <i>Harry Potter</i>, Google<br />
|-<br />
| 38<br />
| Deep Blue's Victory<br />
|-<br />
| 39<br />
| Tupac's Death<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| The last <i>Calvin and Hobbes</i> strip<br />
|-<br />
| 41<br />
| <i>Toy Story</i><br />
|-<br />
| >41<br />
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]<br />
|}<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]</div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1757:_November_2016&diff=1304251757: November 20162016-11-09T11:48:09Z<p>141.101.98.165: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1757<br />
| date = November 9, 2016<br />
| title = November 2016<br />
| image = november_2016.png<br />
| titletext = Once you've done this, make a note of how old they were. Then, when their age reaches double that, show them this chart again.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Need individual explanations.}}<br />
This is yet another comic designed to [[Feel old|make you feel old]]. It lists ages between 16 and 41, and a major event that happened a little over half their life ago.<br />
The titletext says that the same chart can be used for the same person much later in their life.<br />
<br />
===Table===<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Age<br />
! Birthyear<br />
! Thing<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| 16<br />
| 2000<br />
| Grand Theft Auto IV<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 17<br />
| 1999<br />
| Rickrolling<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 18<br />
| 1998<br />
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Colon Movie Film for Theaters<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 19<br />
| 1997<br />
| The Nintendo Wii<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 20<br />
| 1996<br />
| Twitter<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 21<br />
| 1995<br />
| The Xbox 360, xkcd<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 22<br />
| 1994<br />
| Chuck Norris Facts<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 23<br />
| 1993<br />
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 24<br />
| 1992<br />
| Facebook<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 25<br />
| 1991<br />
| Gmail, Pirates of the Caribbean<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 26<br />
| 1990<br />
| In da Club<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 27<br />
| 1989<br />
| Firefly<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 28<br />
| 1988<br />
| The War in Afghanistan<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 29<br />
| 1987<br />
| The iPod<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 30<br />
| 1986<br />
| Shrek, Wikipedia<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 31<br />
| 1985<br />
| Those X-Men movies<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 32<br />
| 1984<br />
| The Sims<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 33<br />
| 1983<br />
| Autotuned hit songs<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 34<br />
| 1982<br />
| The Star Wars Prequels<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 35<br />
| 1981<br />
| The Matrix<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 36<br />
| 1980<br />
| Pok&eacute;mon Red & Blue<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 37<br />
| 1979<br />
| Netflix, Harry Potter, Google<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 38<br />
| 1978<br />
| Deep Blue's Victory<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 39<br />
| 1977<br />
| Tupac's Death<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| 1976<br />
| The last Calvin and Hobbes strip<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 41<br />
| 1977<br />
| Toy Story<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| >41<br />
| Before 1977<br />
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
The November 2016<br />
Guide to making people<br />
feel old<br />
<br />
[In rectangle]<br />
If they're [age], you say:<br />
"Did you know <u> [thing] </u> has been around for the majority of your life?"<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! <u>Age</u><br />
! <u>Thing</u><br />
|-<br />
| 16<br />
| Grand Theft Auto IV<br />
|-<br />
| 17<br />
| Rickrolling<br />
|-<br />
| 18<br />
| <i>Aqua Teen Hunger Force <br> Colon Movie Film for Theaters</i><br />
|-<br />
| 19<br />
| The Nintendo Wii<br />
|-<br />
| 20<br />
| Twitter<br />
|-<br />
| 21<br />
| The Xbox 360, xkcd<br />
|-<br />
| 22<br />
| Chuck Norris Facts<br />
|-<br />
| 23<br />
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration<br />
|-<br />
| 24<br />
| Facebook<br />
|-<br />
| 25<br />
| Gmail, <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i><br />
|-<br />
| 26<br />
| In da Club<br />
|-<br />
| 27<br />
| <i>Firefly</i><br />
|-<br />
| 28<br />
| The War in Afghanistan<br />
|-<br />
| 29<br />
| The iPod<br />
|-<br />
| 30<br />
| <i>Shrek</i>, Wikipedia<br />
|-<br />
| 31<br />
| Those X-Men movies<br />
|-<br />
| 32<br />
| <i>The Sims</i><br />
|-<br />
| 33<br />
| Autotuned hit songs<br />
|-<br />
| 34<br />
| The <i>Star Wars</i> Prequels<br />
|-<br />
| 35<br />
| <i>The Matrix</i><br />
|-<br />
| 36<br />
| <i>Pok&eacute;mon Red & Blue</i><br />
|-<br />
| 37<br />
| Netflix, <i>Harry Potter</i>, Google<br />
|-<br />
| 38<br />
| Deep Blue's Victory<br />
|-<br />
| 39<br />
| Tupac's Death<br />
|-<br />
| 40<br />
| The last <i>Calvin and Hobbes</i> strip<br />
|-<br />
| 41<br />
| <i>Toy Story</i><br />
|-<br />
| >41<br />
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]<br />
|}<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]</div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1748:_Future_Archaeology&diff=1300871748: Future Archaeology2016-11-07T16:14:14Z<p>141.101.98.165: Undo revision 129734 by Kynde (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1748<br />
| date = October 19, 2016<br />
| title = Future Archaeology<br />
| image = future_archaeology.png<br />
| titletext = "The only link we've found between the two documents is that a fragment of the Noah one mentions Aaron's brother Moses parting an ocean. Is that right?" "... yes. Yes, exactly."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This Wednesday comic is a direct continuation of the previous comic [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] from Monday about a {{w|time travel|time-traveler}} (the black floating energy Sphere) who has come back from far in to the future to see {{w|spiders}} (only known from {{w|fossils}} in their time). See [[1747: Spider Paleontology]] for a more complete explanation of this part of the joke. This series ended with this comic. Both comic in this series have titles of a noun followed by a field of research. It was a so far unused release schedule and it was the first time in six years two related comics were released in the same week. See more under the [[:Category:Time traveling Sphere|Time traveling Sphere]] series.<br />
<br />
Since [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] now have access to the Sphere from the future they ask if it knows who will win the election. This is a reference to the {{w|United States elections, 2016}} where the ''very'' controversial {{w|Donald Trump}} was up against former United States first lady {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, who also had several {{w|Hillary_Clinton#Email_controversy|controversies}} going on. This comic was released about three weeks before election day. It is likely one of the most discussed elections ever, especially in the rest of the world outside the US, where especially Europe leaders have made it clear that they are against Trump. That was mainly earlier on, before they realized he might actually stand a chance. Of course anyone interested in any election would be interested to hear from the future how it went, but this particular election may interest a larger proportion of the world population than any prior election.<br />
<br />
Sadly for Megan and Cueball, the sphere has come back from so far in to the future, that even spiders have gone extinct. (Whether humans also have is unclear, see discussion about this in [[1747: Spider Paleontology]]). The Sphere makes this clear by stating that its civilization hardly know anything about our era and they know little about our history and culture. (And by the way it only came back for the spiders, anyway). <br />
<br />
The idea is that history is filtered in similar fashion to fossils. What is contemporaneously important, like a {{w|spider web|spider's web}}, {{w|Feathered dinosaur|dinosaur feathers}} (see previous comic), or the United States presidential election may not survive. The Sphere tells them that only two written accounts have been reconstructed (note that they are not found in their entirety). And they do not know if they even represents real events or myths. One of the two is indeed a myth, as it is about a man building a boat to survive a great flood. Megan recognizes this as being about {{w|Noah}} and his famous {{w|Noah's Ark|Ark}} from the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}}, as Cueball refers to. The other is a reference to a popular pop song.<br />
<br />
The joke is that, in the future, the 2000 {{w|Aaron Carter}} hip hop song "{{w|That's How I Beat Shaq}}" ([http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/aaroncarter/thatshowibeatshaq.html lyrics] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfhhWA9GF0M video]) is considered as valuable a historical document when researching humans as parts of the {{w|Bible}}.<br />
<br />
While secular historians consider the story of the Flood to be mythical, they still use it to infer facts about the early history of the Middle East, simply because there are a fairly small number of texts surviving from that era. "That's How I Beat Shaq" is, likewise, a fictional story including some true elements; it's just that as long as there are abundant sources documenting life in the year 2000, there's no reason to consult the song in any historical context. Yet it is the latter story that the time traveler assumes to be a clearly religious one, while seeing the former as a relatively straightforward survival story. A further layer of humor is that "That's How I Beat Shaq" is an archetypal {{w|David and Goliath}} story&mdash;the story of David and Goliath of course being a Biblical one as well. <br />
<br />
In fact the Spheres civilization believes Shaq ({{w|Shaquille O'Neal}} a professional basketball player 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) tall) to refer to a God, which was then defeated by Aaron, a 14 year old (and rather small kid) at the time of the release of his single in 2001. He beats Shaq on the basketball court one on one, so although this is a David vs. Goliath story it is not a fight till death. But to Aaron and his basketball fan friends, Shaq is probably seen as kind of God. Megan comments that the pop song may have been mangled by the {{w|Aeon|eons}}.<br />
<br />
The title text expands on the joke by letting the Sphere explain that the only connection they have found between their two historical documents is via the biblical story of {{w|Moses}}. As Moses is also one of God's chosen prophets and leaders, like Noah and {{w|Abraham}} before him, these two stories appear close together in the Bible, though not close together chronologically, and it would be likely that their document with the Flood story also has some parts about Moses. Moses had an older biological brother named {{w|Aaron}} and the Sphere's civilization has hastily concluded that Moses' brother and Aaron Carter are one and the same. According to the Bible, God {{w|parting of the Red Sea|parted the Red Sea}} for Moses and the {{w|Israelites}}. This is often referred to, either erroneously or out of simplification, as Moses having parted the Red Sea. Along with Noah's Flood, this is one of the two major times in the Bible that God effects grand change on a body or bodies of water. <br />
<br />
The Sphere asks Megan and Cueball if it is true that Aaron (Carter's) brother Moses did part an ocean. Megan decides to refrain from trying to explain this, having already in the previous comic realized how hard it is to explain spiders to someone who is a fan, but has never heard of spider web, and thus just states yes, yes exactly. Of course according to the bible she can say yes to the question about Moses parting the water, as long as she do not say anything about the connection with Aaron Carter.<br />
<br />
There appears to be a major flaw in the comic on the fact that the Sphere speaks perfect English, and understands Megan and Cueball. If they only have two written accounts from our time, why do they then speak English? Especially since they seem to come from another planet and are thus likely not humans (see discussion of the sphere in the previous comic). Of course if they are humans and have come from Earth (maybe traveled away), they may just have retained the English language. But given the fact that more young people today probably would not understand their own grandparents grandparents, and that the Sphere is from so long into the future that Megan calls it eons, spiders are extinct, and only two text have survived, it should be impossible for the language to have stayed the same. Alternatively they have also recovered some video clips, but then it would be strange the Sphere did not mention this. A final solution is that the Sphere's civilization is so advanced that it can learn the language instantly by just being in the room with other beings, simply reading it from their mind. Given the fact that it seems the Sphere has come to Earth from another planet, and has the ability to travel in time, this last option may not even be so far fetched.<br />
<br />
This comic was published the day after the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}}'', thus referring indirectly to a new possible flood history. It was the first what if? post in almost three months, the longest break between two post during 2016 (and third longest of all time at the time of its release), and it thus seems realistic that there should be some kind of connection between that and this comic. A later comic ([[1750: Life Goals]]) also referenced this what if? post more or less directly.<br />
<br />
In this comic Randall manages to combine no less than four of his favorite recurring subjects with [[:Category:Time travel|time travel]], [[:Category:Spiders|spiders]], [[:Category:Politics|politics]] and [[:Category:Religion|religion]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The Sphere, a time-traveler depicted as a solid floating black energy sphere surrounded by six outwardly-curved segments (first seen in the previous comic), is floating in front of Megan and Cueball who is walking after it towards the right part of the panel. The Sphere looks like this in all panels, but in the zoom in from panel two more details can be seen. A voice emanates from the Sphere.]<br />
:Megan: Since you're from the future, do you know who wins the election?<br />
:Sphere: Haven't the faintest idea. Hardly any text has been recovered from your era, so we know little about your history and culture.<br />
:Sphere: <small>We're mostly here for the spiders, anyway. </small><br />
<br />
:[A close-up of the Sphere, still depicted as a black sphere, but not perfectly round at this zoom level and also clearly with some white dots in the dark area. It is still surrounded by six narrow rays with irregular dots between the rays.]<br />
:Sphere: There are only two written accounts we've reconstructed.<br />
:Sphere: We don't know whether they describe real events or myths.<br />
<br />
:[The Sphere is now on the left side of Megan and Cueball who has stopped walking and has turned to look at the Sphere.]<br />
:Sphere: One is a story about a man who built a boat to survive a great flood.<br />
:Megan: Oh yeah. Noah.<br />
:Cueball: We do like our flood narratives.<br />
<br />
:[The Sphere has drifted further away from Megan and Cueball.]<br />
:Sphere: The other is an account of how a man named Aaron Carter defeated a god named Shaq.<br />
:Megan: That one may have been mangled a bit by the eons.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Time traveling Sphere]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!-- Arron and Shaq --><br />
[[Category:Time travel]]<br />
[[Category:Spiders]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]<br />
[[Category:Religion]]<br />
[[Category:Basketball]] <!-- Shaq --><br />
[[Category:Songs]] <!-- Arron --></div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1749:_Mushrooms&diff=1300861749: Mushrooms2016-11-07T16:09:46Z<p>141.101.98.165: Undo revision 129745 by Kynde (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1749<br />
| date = October 21, 2016<br />
| title = Mushrooms<br />
| image = mushrooms.png<br />
| titletext = Evolutionarily speaking, mushrooms are technically a type of ghost.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is looking at a {{w|mushroom}}, contemplating how weird they are, when [[Megan]] adds another layer to their weirdness by supplying the trivia that {{w|evolutionary|evolutionarily}}, mushrooms (which are basidiomycete {{w|fungi}}) are closer to the {{w|animal|animal kingdom}} than to {{w|plants}} on the {{w|Tree of life (biology)|tree of life}}. (Note that, technically, mushrooms themselves are only the fruiting bodies of the fungi. A mushroom is only part of a fungus, in the same way an apple is only part of a tree. The majority of the fungus grows beneath the soil, in a part of the fungus called the mycelium, which is composed of root-like structures called hyphae.)<br />
<br />
Both animals and fungi are part of the {{w|opisthokont}} group of eukaryotic organisms, while plants are in the {{w|archaeplastida}} group of eukaryotic organisms with the green and red {{w|algae}}. This surprises Cueball, as he, like many people, is likely to think of mushrooms as plants, as they are "grown" just like other crops. Even scientists, before the 1960s, considered fungi to be 'plants'; it took DNA-based studies in the 1990s and 2000s to 'seal the deal' and place the fungi with the animals, and not the plants. But fungi do not perform {{w|photosynthesis}}, and therefore do not need sunlight to grow. Instead, they get their energy from other living matter, either live (parasitic mushrooms) or dead (e.g. manure; saprobic mushrooms). Edible mushrooms like {{w|Agaricus bisporus}} (or white mushroom) are saprobes, [http://www.gardenguides.com/129125-growing-mushrooms-cave.html farmed] in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhKqaobi3Q caves]. The body plans of fungi are also utterly unlike those of plants. There are a few plants that don't do photosynthesis, such as the parasitic flowering plant {{w|Monotropa uniflora}}. But these plants otherwise look like, and are built like, plants, and don't look or grow at all like fungi. Ironically, many plants, both photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic, depend on root-associated (mycorrhizal) fungi for their survival and growth.<br />
<br />
Megan then walks away, and Cueball, after pondering the mushroom a while further, gets up and walks away too. But as soon as Cueball has his back turned the mushroom growls after him. Cueball spins around to look back at the now again silent mushroom. This is a bit of absurdist humor; while mushrooms are ''technically'' more animal-like than plant-like, they are still so far removed from animals they wouldn't have any of the body parts needed to growl. For that matter, most animals lack the parts needed to growl. Cueball's shock and astonishment is quite justified, and maybe it was just his imagination running wild after Megan's trivia. The reader is left to wonder what Cueball's next move will be - especially, those readers who have ever felt, or indulged, the urge to stomp mushrooms.<br />
<br />
Another interpretation of the mushroom's growling is that mushrooms might be "fake" animals disguising as plants. The mushroom seems to be a plant, and acts very plantlike until Cueball looks away. The mushroom might have growled because it was planning on killing Cueball in a sort of "kill the witnesses" action. This comic might be hinting that mushrooms are evil and plotting the downfall of humanity under the disguise of "harmless" plants.<br />
<br />
The title text takes this further, by stating that mushrooms are technically a type of {{w|ghost}}. Maybe because they arise from decaying remains. The title text may also refer to [[1240: Quantum Mechanics]] or [[1475: Technically]], suggesting caution when dealing with a statement preceded by "technically."<br />
<br />
The title text might also refer to the behavior of ghosts (called Boos) in the {{w|Super Mario}} series, in that they only act or move when the player is facing away, as does the growling mushroom.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is squatting in front of a group of four mushrooms (two tiny, one small and one large), touching the top of the nearest and largest mushroom with a finger. This mushroom has several small dots, which becomes more visible in later panels. The other three mushrooms do not appear to have these dots. Megan is standing behind him looking on.]<br />
:Cueball: Mushrooms are ''so weird.''<br />
:Megan: You know, evolutionarily, they're closer to being animals than to plants.<br />
<br />
:[Megan starts walking away as Cueball now leans on the ground with the hand he touched the mushroom with. Only the large mushroom is visible in this and the rest of the panels.]<br />
:Cueball: ...Really?<br />
:Megan: Yup!<br />
<br />
:[In a frame-less panel Cueball still squats in front of the mushroom, now resting his hand on his knees.]<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands up looking down at the mushroom.] <br />
<br />
:[Cueball is walking away as the mushroom makes a sound indicated with several small lines emanating from the top of the mushroom along with a regular speech line.]<br />
:Mushroom: ''Grrrr''<br />
<br />
:[Cueball snaps around to look at the mushroom again, standing in a prepared state arms slightly out and legs spread out as well.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]] <!--Mentioning that mushrooms are closer to animals than plants--></div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1750:_Life_Goals&diff=1300851750: Life Goals2016-11-07T16:06:56Z<p>141.101.98.165: Undo revision 129733 by Kynde (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1750<br />
| date = October 24, 2016<br />
| title = Life Goals<br />
| image = life_goals.png<br />
| titletext = I got to check off 'Make something called xkcd' early.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The first eight goals on this to-do list feature one or more strange words containing an excess of the last three letters of the alphabet (X, Y and Z), often using several of them in the same words, even several of the same rare letter in a row. (See [[#Table of life goals|Table of life goals]] below). <br />
<br />
All of these words can be looked up in the English version of Wikipedia, but only a few are {{w|common noun}}s, three of them weird animal names, the rest being {{w|proper nouns}}, i.e. persons names (fictional or artist) or obscure names for places or video games. The first goal is the one with fewest of these letters, only using two x's, and only the first word is strange, {{w|Skrillex}} being the artist name of a musician. All later entries have at least three of these letters, which are most often used in very strange, often unpronounceable, words.<br />
<br />
The punchline, in the final and ninth goal, expresses that the writer of this list often uses these unexpected and bizarre words in {{w|Scrabble}} games, which exasperates his opponents to such a great extent that he has yet to finish a game without getting punched. All of these words would theoretically earn a player many points in Scrabble, but usually it is not allowed to use proper nouns (see [[#Scrabble points|Scrabble points]] below).<br />
<br />
In the title text, a reference is made to the fact that none of these goals have been checked off yet. It also turns out that it is indeed [[Randall|Randall's]] list, since the writer of the list did (at least) manage to check of the goal ''Make something called xkcd'' early. Sadly there are neither y's nor z's nor even more than one x in that four letter combo.<br />
<br />
This comic was published the week after the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}}'', which referred directly to the city {{w|Zzyzx}} in one of the pictures. It's the second comic in that week after the what if? post that references it more or less directly, the previous one being [[1748: Future Archaeology]]. It seems likely that Randall created this comic after doing research for this what if? post, and came across the city Zzyzx as the shortest way to dig a channel to flood Death Valley.<br />
<br />
===Table of life goals===<br />
*The number of letters X, Y and Z is in the entire sentence.<br />
*The total is the total number of these three letters in the entire sentence.<br />
{|class="wikitable sortable" <br />
! Goal<br />
! Explanation<br />
! #X<br />
! #Y<br />
! #Z<br />
! Total<br />
|-<br />
| Meet Skrillex in Phoenix || Randall's goal is to meet the musician using the artist name {{w|Skrillex}} in the city of {{w|Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix}}. Not that Skrillex has any specific connection to that city. || 2|| 0|| 0|| 2<br />
|-<br />
| Study zymurgy || Randall's goal is to study {{w|fermentation}}. {{w|Zymurgy}} (or zymology) is an applied science which studies the biochemical process of fermentation.|| 0|| 3|| 1|| 4<br />
|-<br />
| Get a pet axolotl named Hexxus || Randall's goal is to obtain a pet salamander (an {{w|axolotl}}) and name it after the malevolent Hexxus from the animated film {{w|FernGully: The Last Rainforest}}. The axolotl is a critically endangered species in nature, but are relatively popular in captivity, with well established captive breeding populations. || 3|| 0|| 0|| 3<br />
|-<br />
| Observe a syzygy from Zzyzx, California || Randall's goal is to observe an astronomical event in which three celestial bodies form a straight line (known as a {{w|Syzygy (astronomy)|syzygy}}), from the Californian city of {{w|Zzyzx, California|Zzyzx}}. That city was just mentioned in the last [[what if?]] ''{{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}}'' released less than a week before this comic. || 1|| 4|| 4|| 9<br />
|-<br />
| Port the games Zzyzzyxx and Xexyz to Xbox || Randall's goal is to {{w|porting|port}} (i.e. adapting software from one platform so it can be used on another platform) two old video games so they can be used on the modern video game platform {{w|Xbox}}. The first game is {{w|Zzyzzyxx}}, a 1982 {{w|arcade video game}} about navigating a labyrinth, and the second is {{w|Xexyz}}, a 1988 game for the {{w|Nintendo Entertainment System}} with platform and shoot-em-up game-play. [http://xbmcxbox.blogspot.com/2013/03/complete-list-of-emulators-for-original.html Multiple emulators already exist] that can run both of these titles, although an actual native port would be a lot more difficult. || 5|| 3|| 5|| 13<br />
|-<br />
| Publish a Zzzax/Mister Mxyzptlk crossover || A {{w|Crossover (fiction)|crossover}} means that two different stories (often comics) are mixed together, mixing either characters from the two, or the world of one and the characters of another story. In this case Randall's goal is to make a cross over of {{w|Zzzax}}, a {{w|Marvel comic}} book villain, with that of {{w|Mister Mxyzptlk}}, a {{w|DC Comics}} villain. Since Zzzax and Mxyzptlk come from different companies, a crossover story involving them both might run into license problems, though the two companies have come together on several occasions for similar projects. || 2|| 1|| 4|| 7<br />
|-<br />
| Bike from Xhafzotaj, Albania to Qazaxbəyli, Azerbaijan || Randall's goal is to bike from {{w|Xhafzotaj}}, a village in {{w|Albania}} in eastern {{w|Europe}}, to {{w|Qazaxbəyli}}, a village in {{w|Azerbaijan}} in the {{w|Caucasus}}. The distance between [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Xhafzotaj,+Albanien/@41.3420999,19.538176,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x134fd7eb6257dec7:0xc0c17ea9f1d4ef05!8m2!3d41.3442157!4d19.547883 Xhafzotaj] and [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gazakhbayly,+Aserbaidschan/@41.1604329,45.3040337,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x4041307bb83f5793:0x30f6c3728844806e!8m2!3d41.1606486!4d45.3147936 Qazaxbəyli] is about 2800 km (1700 miles). Doing this trip by bike would be challenging, but possible.<br />
<br />
Note: the Azerbaijani village is misspelled as Qazaxbəylı (QAZAXBƏYLI) in the comic with a dotless ı at the end; a dotted i would have its dot even in the uppercase version in Turkish and Azerbaijani, i.e. QAZAXBƏYLİ.<br />
| 2|| 1|| 3|| 7<br />
|-<br />
| Paint an archaeopteryx fighting a muzquizopteryx || Randall's goal is to make a painting of two {{w|Ornithodiran}}s fighting. Unfortunately the {{w|Archaeopteryx}}, a famous small feathered dinosaur, and {{w|Muzquizopteryx}}, a {{w|pterosaur}} (the famous flying "dinosaurs"), lived in different time periods, so such a fight (most likely) could not have ever taken place, therefore a painted picture of it would require a fair amount of {{w|artistic license}}. The feathered dinosaur was only about half a meter long, but with clear feathers. It is a clear candidate for a {{w|transitional fossil}} between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. It lived in the {{w|late Jurassic}} epoch around 150 million years ago. The pterosaur had a wingspan of about 2 m, was one of the first (and smallest) of this type of pterosaur, and lived in the {{w|Coniacian}} age about 86-90 million years ago. This means the two ornithodirans live as far apart in time as we live apart from the last of the dinosaurs. Since only the bigger one could fly, it seems most likely that the pterosaur would have won such a fight. Randall has previously made several comments on the feathers of dinosaurs, as recently as the comic released a week before this one [[1747: Spider Paleontology]]; see more there.|| 2|| 2|| 2|| 6<br />
|-<br />
| Finish a game of Scrabble without getting punched || Randall's final goal is to avoid getting punched during a {{w|Scrabble}} game. As he uses these unexpected and bizarre words mentioned in his other goals when playing Scrabble games, he exasperates his opponents to such a great extent that he has yet to finish a game without getting punched. This sentence is the only one with zero of the four letters. || 0|| 0|| 0|| 0<br />
|-<br />
| Make something called xkcd || '''Title text''': Here it is made clear that it is Randall's list, as this is his only xyz goal that he has succeeded, and quite early, as he has celebrated 10 years anniversary with {{xkcd}} see [[1581: Birthday]]. || 1|| 0|| 0|| 1<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Scrabble points===<br />
All of these strange words would theoretically earn a player the prize of many points in Scrabble (Go to the [[#Table of words|table of words]] below). However, most of them would not be found in {{w|SOWPODS}} (the combined list of all words valid in either British or North American Scrabble tournaments). Also, many include too many X's, Y's or Z's (there's 1 X, 2 Y's, 1 Z in a standard set), meaning at least one would have to be substituted for a blank (which is not worth any points). Some words would also be very difficult to play in reality, since there are only 7 letters in a Scrabble hand, so they could only be played in extremely rare circumstances (there are only a couple of ways to play MUZQUIZOPTERYX: for instance, from MU and OPTER; or MU, QUIZ and ER; or an astonishingly unlikely set of crossing letters). Many are long enough that, in theory, they could net the player the additional 50 point bonus for using all seven letters in a hand if played right.<br />
<br />
====Table of words====<br />
*Explanation of the columns:<br />
**Word: With xyz<br />
**Definition: Of the word<br />
**Notes: Part of speech (noun or proper noun) and origin of the word<br />
**In SOWPODS?: Is the word a valid Scrabble word.<br />
**Enough tiles (...): Are there enough tiles in the standards English version of Scrabble to write the word?<br />
**Score: What would the maximum possible score in Scrabble be for this word. (Without any bonuses.)<br />
**Score (with blanks): What would the maximum possible score in Scrabble be for this word, taking into account the fact that some words need extra blank tiles, which aren't worth points.<br />
**50 points possible?: Is it possible to use all seven letters writing the word? If so it will give 50 points extra.<br />
{|class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Word !! Definition !! Notes !! In SOWPODS? !! Enough tiles ({{w|Scrabble letter distributions|in English version}})? !! Score !! Score (with blanks) !! 50 points possible?<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Skrillex}} || A dubstep musician || Proper noun, stage name || No || Yes || 19 || 19 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix}} || A city in Arizona (or the {{w|Phoenix (mythology)|mythological bird}}) || Proper noun (but noun for the bird) || Yes (but only because of the bird) || Yes || 19 || 19 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Zymology|Zymurgy}} || The study of fermentation. || Noun || Yes || Yes || 25 || 25 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Axolotl}} || A kind of water-breathing salamander which lives on the bottom of lakes. || Noun, name of animal species || Yes || Yes|| 14 || 14 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| [http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Hexxus Hexxus] || An evil spirit from the animated movie {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} || Proper noun, fictional name || No || Yes, with a blank as X || 23 || 15 || No<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Syzygy (astronomy)|Syzygy}} || An astronomical event where three celestial bodies form a straight line. || Noun || Yes || Yes, with a blank as Y || 25 || 21 || No <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Zzyzx, California|Zzyzx}} || An unincorporated community in California || Proper noun, name of city. || No || Yes, with both blanks as Z || 42 || 22 || No<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Zzyzzyxx}} || A 1982 arcade video game about navigating a labyrinth || Proper noun, name of game || No || No || 64 || 26 (assuming four blanks) || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Xexyz}} || A 1988 game for the Nintendo Entertainment System with platformer and shoot-em-up gameplay. || Proper noun, name of game || No || Yes, with a blank as X || 31 || 23 || No <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Xbox}} || A series of home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. || Proper noun, name of game console || No || Yes, with a blank as X || 20 || 12 || No <br />
|- <br />
| {{w|Zzzax}} || A Marvel comic book villain. || Proper noun, fictional name || No || Yes, with both blanks as Z || 39 || 19 || No <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Mister Mxyzptlk}} || A DC Comics villain. || Proper noun, fictional name || No || Yes || 42 (8 for Mister, 35 for Mxyzptlk) || 42 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Xhafzotaj}} || A village in Albania || Proper noun, name of city || No || Yes || 38 || 38 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Qazaxbəyli}} || A village in Azerbaijan || Proper noun, name of city || No || No, because it's spelled with a {{w|schwa}} (ə, upper case Ə) and a Turkic {{w|dotted i}} (i, upper case İ), this word would be impossible to spell in English-language Scrabble, although you could put an E tile down upside down (Ǝ) for the schwa and an I for the İ or use blanks. It can alternatively be spelled "Kazakhbeyli". || 38 (at least, unclear) <br/>36 for Kazakhbeyli || 39 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Azerbaijan}} || A country in the Caucasus || Proper noun, name of country || No || Yes || 28 || 28 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Archaeopteryx}} || A famous small feathered dinosaur || Noun, name of animal species || Yes || Yes || 30 || 30 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Muzquizopteryx}} || A pterosaur || Noun, name of animal species || No || Yes, with a blank as Z || 55 || 45 || Yes <br />
|-<br />
| {{w|xkcd}} || From title text. See [[207: What xkcd Means]]. || Proper noun, name of web comic || No || Yes || 18 || 18 || No <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A to-do list with a caption above:]<br />
::<big><u>Life Goals</u></big><br />
:☐ Meet Skrillex in Phoenix<br />
:☐ Study zymurgy<br />
:☐ Get a pet axolotl named Hexxus<br />
:☐ Observe a syzygy from Zzyzx, California<br />
:☐ Port the games Zzyzzyxx and Xexyz to Xbox<br />
:☐ Publish a Zzzax/Mister Mxyzptlk crossover<br />
:☐ Bike from Xhafzotaj, Albania to Qazaxbəyli, Azerbaijan<br />
:☐ Paint an archaeopteryx fighting a muzquizopteryx<br />
:☐ Finish a game of Scrabble without getting punched<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!--Skrillex--><br />
[[Category:Animals]] <!--axolotl--><br />
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]<br />
[[Category:Fiction]]</div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1086:_Eyelash_Wish_Log&diff=71200Talk:1086: Eyelash Wish Log2014-07-08T21:16:54Z<p>141.101.98.165: </p>
<hr />
<div>This is one of my favorite xkcd comics ever. I can't stop laughing. #TEBOWTIME 17:14, 17 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
: i know right?? feb. 27th is by far the best... [[User:Douglasadams472|Douglasadams472]] ([[User talk:Douglasadams472|talk]]) 03:12, 16 December 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: It seems to me that February 6th's wish implies that, as a result of the previous day's wish, he now has an absurdly large number of eyelashes. Opinions? [[User:Bobidou23|Bobidou23]] ([[User talk:Bobidou23|talk]]) 02:58, 26 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel that each wish should be thoroughly explained, or at least briefly mentioned. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.193}}<br />
: +1, Marking this 'incomplete' [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:09, 7 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
March 15 may reference a painting of M.C. Escher so named "House of Stairs" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.79|199.27.128.79]] 08:19, 8 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What did "zero wishes" mean? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.86|173.245.48.86]] 18:16, 2 April 2014 (UTC) <br />
:Often when configuring software (especially regarding limits) 0 is taken to mean infinite, for example in a mail server's config file there may be an entry that looks like "Max number of connections: (enter 0 for unlimited)" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.170|141.101.98.170]] 19:24, 7 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:My take on "zero wishes", is that it is a bit of black hattery. He wants to abuse any system he finds, by asking for zero wishes he wants to cause the eyelash wish system to crash in some way. Its not an attempt to gain more wishes, its an attempt to bring the wish system down.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.165|141.101.98.165]] 21:16, 8 July 2014 (UTC)</div>141.101.98.165https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1388:_Subduction_License&diff=706391388: Subduction License2014-06-30T19:19:47Z<p>141.101.98.165: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1388<br />
| date = June 30, 2014<br />
| title = Subduction License<br />
| image = subduction_license.png<br />
| titletext = 'Dude, why can't you just be a normal roommate?' 'Because I'm coming TOWARD you!'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
In {{w|structural geology}}, {{w|subduction}} is the mechanism by which one {{w|tectonic plate}} disappears under another. This process usually creates a {{w|mountain range}} on the second tectonic plate as sediments and fragmented blocks of continental crust are compressed, folded and lifted between the converging plates, and melting of the subducted plate provides magma to volcanoes. <br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] is very happy because he has just received his ''subduction license''. His roommate [[Cueball]] very reasonably asks him: ''Your what?''. But instead of answering him, Beret Guy begins to move towards him in their small room. It turns out that the license has literally enabled him to initiate subduction: As he moves towards Cueball, he slowly sinks under the floorboards of the room, and in this process he creates a small mountain range on the floor. In the end, much to Cueball's consternation, these mountains turn his desk and chair over. Cueball actually falls out of the frame in the final panel, where Beret Guy is already halfway down beneath the floor.<br />
<br />
The title text plays on the double meaning of the word "normal", which Cueball means in the sense of "like most people, not strange," but which Beret Guy interprets in the geological sense. While subduction occurs when two plates crash into each other, a {{w|normal fault}} occurs when two plates are moving away from each other. Here, "normal" is used in the sense of "perpendicular," as the result of a normal fault is often that part of the crust moves vertically downward, forming a {{w|graben}}. <br />
<br />
There appears to also be a play on the word 'seduction. The title texts texts refers to coming TOWARD you which is a play on coming ONTO you or to attempt to seduce someone.<br />
<br />
A similarly atypical license was mentioned previously in [[410: Math Paper]]. Puns on geological terms (including types of faults) were previously made in [[1082: Geology]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Beret Guy is looking at some mail he has received while Cueball is at his computer desk at the other side of the room.]<br />
:Beret Guy: Sweet! I finally got my subduction license!<br />
:Cueball: Your what?<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy starts sinking into the ground, causing it to ripple.]<br />
:Cueball: ...What are you doing?<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy sinks further, forming a miniature mountain range in front of him. Cueball is frantically trying to keep his computer steady as his desk tilts.]<br />
:Cueball: ''Stop it! Stop it!''<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy is waist-deep, and snow caps have formed on the mountains. Cueball is falling backwards from his desk, and the monitor unplugs itself from his computer.]<br />
:Cueball: ''AUGH!''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>141.101.98.165