https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.85.141&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T05:18:30ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1738:_Moon_Shapes&diff=127784Talk:1738: Moon Shapes2016-09-26T15:41:45Z<p>162.158.85.141: </p>
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I fixed part of the explanation by mentioning the title text. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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It's a reflection of the nuclear war on [[1626|the sun's surface]]. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 08:08, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I can't find any photoshopped Moon that looks like the last image. Somebody has to make one. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.207|162.158.92.207]] 13:22, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Randall uncharacteristically missed an opportunity for pointing out additional errors that people make: It's interesting to note that you can get a decent estimate of the artist's latitude by looking at how they draw a crescent moon. In equatorial cultures, the crescent looks like a cup or a boat - and they interpret it like that. But if you look at most english language children's books, the crescent looks like a letter 'C' or a 'D' with a human face - suggesting that they were probably made in the tradition of northern Europe. When I first moved from the UK (more or less a 'C'-shaped crescent moon) to the southern USA (more like Randall's depiction of the correctly-drawn crescent with the points at a roughly 45 degree angle to the horizon) - I subconsciously felt that the moon "looked wrong" - it was only much later that I understood the reason.<br />
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: Furthermore, this rotation of the moon relative to the observer also explains why "The man in the moon" is a common trope caused by the pareidolia interpretation of the cratering patterns of the moon in northern cultures. But in southern cultures, people tend to see a rabbit in those full-moon patterns - and that has become the source of many of their stories.<br />
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: Now that I'm more acutely aware of this - it's interesting to note how many movies get the orientation of the moon wrong for the location that their story is supposedly set in! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Not quite sure how to add this but Gibbon is the author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - or a type of Ape. It is not a phase of the moon. Also I think the moon depicted is Waning. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.113|141.101.98.113]] 14:02, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: Yes, the one he says is correct has me thinking: "OMG, the moon is drunk and has fallen over on its ass." No self-respecting moon lies on its back like that.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 14:17, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Link to the DreamWorks logo image please? There seem to be multiple versions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.216|108.162.237.216]] 15:16, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: I'm surprised Randall missed the chance to include a joke about guys with fishing rods. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.141|162.158.85.141]] 15:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1738:_Moon_Shapes&diff=127783Talk:1738: Moon Shapes2016-09-26T15:40:32Z<p>162.158.85.141: No DreamWorks joke?</p>
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I fixed part of the explanation by mentioning the title text. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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It's a reflection of the nuclear war on [[1626|the sun's surface]]. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 08:08, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I can't find any photoshopped Moon that looks like the last image. Somebody has to make one. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.207|162.158.92.207]] 13:22, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Randall uncharacteristically missed an opportunity for pointing out additional errors that people make: It's interesting to note that you can get a decent estimate of the artist's latitude by looking at how they draw a crescent moon. In equatorial cultures, the crescent looks like a cup or a boat - and they interpret it like that. But if you look at most english language children's books, the crescent looks like a letter 'C' or a 'D' with a human face - suggesting that they were probably made in the tradition of northern Europe. When I first moved from the UK (more or less a 'C'-shaped crescent moon) to the southern USA (more like Randall's depiction of the correctly-drawn crescent with the points at a roughly 45 degree angle to the horizon) - I subconsciously felt that the moon "looked wrong" - it was only much later that I understood the reason.<br />
<br />
: Furthermore, this rotation of the moon relative to the observer also explains why "The man in the moon" is a common trope caused by the pareidolia interpretation of the cratering patterns of the moon in northern cultures. But in southern cultures, people tend to see a rabbit in those full-moon patterns - and that has become the source of many of their stories.<br />
<br />
: Now that I'm more acutely aware of this - it's interesting to note how many movies get the orientation of the moon wrong for the location that their story is supposedly set in! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:41, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Not quite sure how to add this but Gibbon is the author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - or a type of Ape. It is not a phase of the moon. Also I think the moon depicted is Waning. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.113|141.101.98.113]] 14:02, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: Yes, the one he says is correct has me thinking: "OMG, the moon is drunk and has fallen over on its ass." No self-respecting moon lies on its back like that.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 14:17, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Link to the DreamWorks logo image please? There seem to be multiple versions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.216|108.162.237.216]] 15:16, 26 September 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: I'm surprised Randall missed the chance to include a joke about guys with fishing rods.</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1738:_Moon_Shapes&diff=1277821738: Moon Shapes2016-09-26T15:37:29Z<p>162.158.85.141: link to DreamWorks's Wikipedia entry</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1738<br />
| date = September 26, 2016<br />
| title = Moon Shapes<br />
| image = moon_shapes.png<br />
| titletext = Whenever I see a picture of the moon where the points go more than halfway around, I assume it's being eclipsed by one of those Independence Day ships and interpret the rest of the image in light of that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Table needs pictures. Needs overall more detail.}}<br />
The phases of the moon are created by sunlight reflecting off the moon's surface. This means that the bright side of the moon always needs to be facing towards the sun. However, the moon often appears in works of art in ways that are very dramatic, but violate this rule. This comic lists some of the some common mistakes. In some cases, a depiction may be unrealistic in multiple ways - for example, the {{w|Flag of Tunisia}} has both unrealistic horns and a star visible between the horns, while {{w|File:Moon tarot charles6.jpg|the Charles VI tarot}} shows a moon with over-long horns pointing towards the horizon. In the title text, Randall is referring to the movie "Independence Day" and how one of the alien's ships (in the movie) 'eclipses' part of the moon. He says that if the points go halfway or longer around the moon, then he focuses on that and sees the image as that scene.<br />
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{| class="wikitable"<br />
|+Explanation of individual items in the list<br />
!Image<br />
!Explanation<br />
!Example<br />
|-<br />
|Full moon|| Normal || -<br />
|-<br />
|Gibbous moon||Normal || -<br />
|-<br />
| Crescent moon with points away from horizon || Normal || -<br />
|-<br />
|Crescent moon with points towards horizon || This can only happen when the sun is above the horizon. This isn't necessarily ''only'' during a solar eclipse, but since a crescent moon means that the Sun and Moon are relatively close in the sky, it's hard to see at other times. || Van Gogh, {{w|File:Van Gogh - Passeio ao Crepúsculo.jpg|Landscape with Couple Walking and Crescent Moon}}<br />
|-<br />
|Crescent-like moon where the black area doesn't touch the poles || The moon is a nearly-perfect sphere, so when it's lit from one side, the dark side will always cover precisely 50% of its surface, and the dark area should begin and end on the moon's axis. If the moon looks like this, the shadows are in the wrong place. This is only possible during a partial solar eclipse, the start of an annular eclipse, or if the Earth is casting an extra shadow on the moon, a lunar eclipse. Randall labels the lunar eclipse "dubious", since the shadow during would be much fuzzier than shown here. || Van Gogh, {{w|File:Van Gogh - Starry Night - Google Art Project.jpg|Starry Night}}<br />
|-<br />
| Crescent-like moon where the horns extend well past the poles || Again, the shadow should just touch the poles. This situation is even harder to create than the previous one - the Earth's shadow is too big to cover the moon but leave an edge like this - a huge ''Independence Day'' spaceship (as per the Title text) might be the right size. It does however resemble a partial {{w|annular eclipse}} if you imagine that the black area is the moon covering up the white sun. || {{w|File:AlcoholicBluesCoverVonTilze.jpg|Alcoholic Blues}}<br />
|-<br />
|Crescent moon blocking stars|| Normal || -<br />
|-<br />
|Crescent moon with stars between horns || As the moon is a huge ball, it should block the stars behind it. Many people seem to forget this[http://imgur.com/S30fuOj][https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a7/7d/4a/a77d4ae9e3549e36edd350246d33700c.jpg]. If stars are visible, there are either one or more holes, or a light-source on the moon. As the {{w|Star and Crescent}}, the image is sometimes considered a symbol of Islam, although it's relatively recent and there's no traditional basis for putting the star ''between'' the horns - as originally used on the Flag of Turkey, the star appears in a realistic position. || Edwin Blashfield, {{w|File:Edwin Blashfield - Spring Scattering Stars.jpg|Spring Scattering Stars}}, the {{w|DreamWorks Animation}} logo<br />
|}<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption above the panel:]<br />
:'''Interpreting the shape of the moon in art'''<br />
:[The left part of the panel shows a two column chart is shown with labels above the columns. The left side shows the moons shape as white on a black square. These types of moons could be seen in certain art pieces. The right side saying whether this is normal or not as indicated with a green check mark or a red X. Right of the second column there are explanations of why the specific type of moon is marked as it is and what it could be called or how it could be possible even with the red X. The upper three moons have one common explanation as indicated with a bracket that covers all three with the text on the middle part of the bracket. Similarly moon five and six also have a bracket and only one explanation.]<br />
:Shape Normal?<br />
<br />
:[Shape #1-3 shows a white circle (full moon), a more than half full moon (Gibbon) and a thin seal at the bottom right of the square.] <br />
:<big><font color="green">✓</font></big><br />
:<big><font color="green">✓</font></big> "Full" or "Quater" or "Harvest" or "Wax Gibbon" or whatever<br />
:<big><font color="green">✓</font></big><br />
<br />
:[Shape #4 same as #3 but with the seal in the upper part of the square.] <br />
:<big><font color="red">✗</font></big> Only possible during a solar eclipse<br />
<br />
:[Shape #5-6 shows a full moon with a circular section taken out of the right side and a seal that goes almost all the way around the circumference of the moon with almost a full circle taken out of the top left part of the moon.]<br />
:<big><font color="red">✗</font></big><br />
:<big><font color="red">✗</font></big> Only possible during a lunar eclipse (#1 only, dubious) or a solar eclipse (bright part is the Sun)<br />
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:[Shape #7 same as #3 but with the seal a little smaller and more to the top and less to the left. Around the moon there are several starts represented with 29 small white dots. In the center of the black square there is a black circle, coinciding with the outer rim of the seal. Within this circle (the dark side of the moon) there are no stars!]<br />
:<big><font color="green">✓</font></big> Looks OK<br />
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:[Shape #8 same as #7 but apart from the 29 small white dots from before there are now also 6 more dots inside the dark circle with no stars in #7.] <br />
:<big><font color="red">✗</font></big> There's either a hole in the Moon or a nuclear war on its surface.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Fiction]] <!-- title text --><br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1676:_Full-Width_Justification&diff=124377Talk:1676: Full-Width Justification2016-07-29T14:29:36Z<p>162.158.85.141: /* Letter Spacing in German */ new section</p>
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I added the emoji snake. Is emoji snake the same as a Unicode snake would be? [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 05:46, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:I assumed Unicode snakes would use three different characters: a head, a body segment, and a tail. Your solution is good, but objectively not perfect compared to what's shown in the comic.<br />
:So what ''would'' be the optimal snake transcription method here? A parenthetical aside saying "''A drawing of a snake stretches to the right end of the line.''"? Or should we just blackmail the Unicode consortium again? <span style="background:#0064de;font-size:12px;padding:4px 12px;border-radius:8px;">[[User talk:AgentMuffin|<span style="color:#f0faff;">~AgentMuffin</span>]]</span><br />
::The correct solution is obviously to include a 16 Mpixel image of a snake.[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 07:41, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::Emoji full snake is already in Unicode as Azule knows. &amp;#x1f40d = &#x1f40d;<br />
:::Segmented snake needs at least three characteres: head, e.g. °, body e.g ~ and tail, e.g. ◝. <br />
:::Three segment snake °~◝<br />
:::Four segment snake: °~~◝<br />
:::[[User:Demro|Demro]] ([[User talk:Demro|talk]]) 12:45, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Could the title text also be a reference to the snake in umwelt? [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 05:46, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Amazon is notorious for being bad at this. Here's a somewhat related [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzdugwr4Fgk Computerphile video]. [[User:Eno|Eno]] ([[User talk:Eno|talk]]) 06:32, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Also, funnily enough, the filler text and the snakes were used in medieval (hand-written) manuscripts. Although it's not a snake but usually a nondescript wriggle that could only pass as a snake when you're squinting really hard. For filler text it's usually low-content words like "truly", "verily", "indeed", "without fail", "in truth" or stuff like that. So it's really an old problem with no satisfactory solution developed in hundreds of years... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.93|162.158.85.93]] 08:19, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:This practice of filling the line with a dingbat carried on into the days of handset letterpress (i.e. up until the early 1900's), although it gradually became more whimsical and so less frequent in serious works.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.123|108.162.241.123]] 12:28, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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In practice you reformulate. Not necessarily insert filler words, but just reorder the sentence enough that justification works. That is assuming the automated justification doesn't work, which will try a combination of multiple methods like word-spacing, letter-spacing and hyphenation. Imagine hyphenating at "de-" instead, but adding a little bit extra letter space in "between", and almost double normal word space between "between" and "de-".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 08:20, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Reformulating can only be done with the (tacit or explicit) permission of the author. There are situations where rewording would not be allowed.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.123|108.162.241.123]] 12:28, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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While the arabic part is interesting, I don't feel it to be very relevant here. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.156|108.162.249.156]] 09:11, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:It is relevant because is yet another solution (useful only in Arabic). [[User:Demro|Demro]] ([[User talk:Demro|talk]]) 12:47, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Sorry- how do add a [citation needed] in superscript? [[User:Transuranium|Transuranium]] ([[User talk:Transuranium|talk]])Transuranium<br />
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The "snake" option is actually less out there than the current explanation indicates. Snakes proper were not necessarily the go-to, but the same general strategy (decorative filling) was used heavily in illuminated manuscripts in the medieval period.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.217|162.158.214.217]] 14:36, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Came here just to say that. The current explanation needs reworking because that's actually one of the oldest ways of dealing with text justification. Check for example [https://nelabligh.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/book-of-kells-1.jpg the Book of Kells] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.141|162.158.203.141]] 20:15, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:Modified the explanation accordingly.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.217|162.158.214.217]] 21:44, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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"the Unicode consortium is very specific about which characters are added[citation needed], and always require a good reason[citation needed] before adding a character or set of characters to the standard." Seriously? Then what are all the emoji pages added for? U+1F459 (Bikini) 👙, for example... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.98|108.162.221.98]] 04:05, 5 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:Emoji were added because Japanese cellphones had introduced them with wild success. A stable standard was badly needed, and the Unicode Consortium, whose job it is to make such standards, complied, after some hesitation.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.10|108.162.219.10]] 17:55, 9 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:In case of bikini, I would suspect the gender of Unicode consortium members is the reason ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 17:52, 5 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I suspect that U+13192 (EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH I009A) is actually a "snake building" character in the sense that it is a horned viper coming out of a building. I do not however have easy access to a copy of the original source reference (Gardiner’s "Supplement to the Catalogue of the Egyptian Hieroglyphic Printing Type Showing Acquisitions to December 1953") that was the basis for adding this character in Unicode 5.2. [[User:Poslfit|Poslfit]] ([[User talk:Poslfit|talk]]) 20:19, 10 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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: Found a [https://mjn.host.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/egyptian/unicode/tablemain.html list online] and have updated the main text accordingly. [[User:Poslfit|Poslfit]] ([[User talk:Poslfit|talk]]) 20:53, 10 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I changed "'''Hyphenation''' is also confusing as it often leaves two partial non-words" with "'''Hyphenation''' is confusing in English because its spelling requires full-word recognition". In many (if not most) languages two partial non-words can be easily read. The hyphenation problem is probably unique to English. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 13:06, 5 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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:In most languages, the cases where the hyphenation will be confusing will be rare. In English, the cases where the hyphenation will NOT be confusing will be rare. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 17:52, 5 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
:: On the contrary, it will generally result in non-words (and hence difficulty reading) regardless of which language you're writing in. Unless maybe you're dealing with logographs, e.g. in written Chinese languages. [[User:Flipping Mackerel|Flipping Mackerel]] ([[User talk:Flipping Mackerel|talk]]) 03:32, 6 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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For hyphenation would it make sens to also talk about the case where it create new words which can be offensives ? Ex therapist -> the-rapist [[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.137|108.162.228.137]] 22:37, 9 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== Letter Spacing in German ==<br />
<br />
Hi there...<br />
<br />
I guess the statement concerning letter spacing being not available in German isn't (wasn't ever) entirely accurate.<br />
<br />
Letter spacing has since the demise of black letter typing become obsolete and is nowadays merely used to emphasise surnames or city names in administrative paperwork. But even in ancient times of German black letter usage, letter spacing wa salso used to achieve justification. If something was to be emphasised in such a line, the spaces would've been even larger, maintaining a certain ratio between regular letter spaces and emphasised letter spaces.<br />
<br />
However, since letter spacing is as uncommon in German typing as black letters are, it may be used for justification without any concern. In order to emphasise certain words, italic, bold or underlined text is the means of choice.<br />
<br />
Personally, I prefer letter spacing and hyphenation combined, although snakes seem to be the real deal![[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.141|162.158.85.141]] 14:29, 29 July 2016 (UTC)</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1713:_50_ccs&diff=124341Talk:1713: 50 ccs2016-07-29T05:41:42Z<p>162.158.85.141: </p>
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<div>I don't fully get this joke but I do get that people do all sorts of strange things to cure hiccups so I think it has to do with that but I don't understand the title text at all<br />
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[[User:MrEnder|MrEnder]] ([[User talk:MrEnder|talk]]) 05:26, 29 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Thinking more CCs is a measurement of medicine usually referring to pain killers. Maybe people are coming in with the hiccups and the doctor is going to hand out pain killers (or just sugar pills) saying they are a hiccup vaccine and is annoyed at having to do so.<br />
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So this could be a joke about placebo drugs.<br />
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[[User:MrEnder|MrEnder]] ([[User talk:MrEnder|talk]]) 05:33, 29 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
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− <br />
50cc is a volume measurement typically used to measure injectible dosages. A metric measure meaning "cubic centimetre" it is equivalent to 1 millilitre. Thus, the title is referring to volume of injection. However, the words hiccup and vaccine both include the letter combination "cc", hence writing them down 25 times each will be a total of 50 "cc" words. This is supported by the additional "cc" words in the mouseover text<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.78|141.101.98.78]] 05:36, 29 July 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Folks, it's a matter of spelling: it takes 50 pieces of the letters "cc" to write "hiccup vaccine" 25 times</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1688:_Map_Age_Guide&diff=121100Talk:1688: Map Age Guide2016-06-01T14:49:58Z<p>162.158.85.141: Eritrea independence 1993</p>
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Well, I have no clue how to upload the image, it just displays the title text.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.91|108.162.216.91]] 12:47, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Done. Guess the bot failed because there is a larger one when you click the image on xkcd? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:08, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
::The BOT didn't fail. The was an 404 error, the picture wasn't available at the first time. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:03, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
I feel like the title seriously lacks the word "political", there's all sorts of nice things with dating non-modern world maps. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.104|141.101.104.104]] 13:34, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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It doesn't just cover political maps -- there is a section on telling when you are with physical maps via the presence or absence of bodies of water. In fact, there are four or five main branches: fictional maps, topographical maps, not a map, and political maps (which have two branches, based on the naming of Istanbul (was Constantinople) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.174|108.162.237.174]] 13:42, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I like how that this flow chart also describes what I've drawn[[Special:Contributions/162.158.26.220|162.158.26.220]] 14:05, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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The 1992-1996 range (top right corner) could be narrowed down further with the independence of Eritrea 1993. Am I getting something wrong or did Randall actually overlook this? :-) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.141|162.158.85.141]] 14:49, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
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----<br />
Noone else has started work on this and I'm bored so... (feel free to reorder and/or add more detail where appropriate)<br />
Relevant Events <br />
<br />
'''Is there a big lake in Southern California? (Created by Mistake)''' <br />
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sea Salton Sea] A previously dry lakebed accidentally flooded in 1905 while attempting to increase irrigation to the area from the Colorado River<br />
<br />
'''How far East do the American Prairies reach?'''<br />
The Northwest Territory was incorporated in pieces ~1820s, there may be something more relavent to draw the line at Indiana though.<br />
<br />
'''Is there a big lake in the middle of Ghana? (Created on Purpose)'''<br />
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Volta Lake Volta]<br />
<br />
'''The US's southern border looks'''<br />
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase Gadsden Purchase]<br />
<br />
<br />
'''"Buda" and "Pest" or "Budapest"''' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest#Etymology Buda and Pest] were originally two different cities<br />
<br />
'''Does Russia Border the Sea of Japan?''' Russia currently borders the sea of Japan so the 1867 upper limit is because of Tokyo not existing higher in the chain. The 1858 limit is to do with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Aigun Treaty of Aigun]<br />
<br />
'''Rhodesia?''' The dates down the chain suggest this is about [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia_(region) Rhodesia the Region] not [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesia Rhodesia the Unrecognized state] nor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia] the British Colony<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
Should the relevant links above be added directly to the transcript, or to a separate section? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.29.127|172.68.29.127]] 14:29, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey! (It's Ankara) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.131|162.158.86.131]] 14:41, 1 June 2016 (UTC)<br />
----<br />
<br />
Maybe a better way of organizing this is chronologically, i.e., show the state of the world each year.<br />
<br />
That being said, is every year accounted for? For example, 1857 appears to be missing.</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1678:_Recent_Searches&diff=1195801678: Recent Searches2016-05-09T16:02:46Z<p>162.158.85.141: GIFs cannot store "highly compressed video" - on the contrary, the compression ratio of GIF for actual video material is laughable, just as the quality is. Using them for video is a misuse in itself.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1678<br />
| date = May 9, 2016<br />
| title = Recent Searches<br />
| image = recent_searches.png<br />
| titletext = autoexec code posted by verified twitter users<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Needs an explanation for the individual queries.}}<br />
<br />
The comic refers to the practice of finding answers to computer problems using {{w|Google}}. It shows a list of search queries, each of which suggests the author is perversely misusuing or overextending some computer technology or technologies. The overall impression is of someone technically sophisticated enough to shoot themselves in the foot, and who does not learn any larger lessons despite doing so repeatedly. It is unlikely any of the searches would give useful answers, because no two people would be perverse in these extremely specific ways. The title text is another possible entry in this list.<br />
<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="border-collapse: collapse;"<br />
|-<br />
! width=20% | Search<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Google translate syntax highlighting<br />
| {{w|Syntax highlighting}} can be used when editing source code to make the code more readable and easier to understand. {{w|Google Translate}} is used to translate text from one spoken/written language to another. The joke here is that syntax highlighting doesn't make sense in the context of translating spoken/written languages.<br />
|-<br />
| Autodetect mixed bash zsh<br />
| {{w|bash}} and {{w|Z_shell|zsh}} are two {{w|Command-line_interface|command line interfaces}} for {{w|Linux}}. The way to execute commands are almost identical, making detecting a script that contains a mixed syntax nearly impossible.<br />
|-<br />
| CPU temperature sensor limits<br />
| The CPU's temperature sensors exist to tell you when your CPU is becoming dangerously overheated (presumably as a result of overuse). Someone who searches for information about the limits of those sensors is presumably expecting to misuse their CPU.<br />
|-<br />
| GIF to XLS<br />
| .GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is a file extension used to store images and sequences of images to be displayed as an animation. .XLS is the file extension for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The joke is that the complete difference between the two types of file makes any kind of conversion all but impossible, so the search is useless.<br />
|-<br />
| Clock speed jumper sample rate<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Clean reinstall keybinding<br />
| This refers to keybinding, the practice of mapping a certain key to a certain function (e.g., pressing PRTSC will take a screenshot). Creating a keybinding for an task usually implies that the task is repeated often. A "clean reinstall" is however not generally something that should be repeated often.<br />
|-<br />
| Cron job to update crontab<br />
| {{w|Cron}} is a utility that allows you to schedule commands or scripts to be run periodically. These scheduled jobs are read from a ''crontab'' file. A job that updates the crontab (therefore creating new jobs, removing old ones or editing existing ones) is highly unusual and unlikely to be what you actually want to do.<br />
|-<br />
| fsck Chrome extension<br />
| fsck is a low level tool that would require a lot of effort to run through a browser with no gain.<br />
|-<br />
| Recursive font<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Regex matching valid EBNF<br />
| EBNF refers to {{w|Extended Backus–Naur Form}}, which is used to define {{w|Formal Language|formal languages}}. It is far too complex for a {{w|Regular_Expression|regular expression}} to determine whether it is valid or not. There is some irony in using regex to test the validity of something which ''defines'' the validity of things like regex.<br />
|-<br />
| Hardlinks Turing complete<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| Opposite of safe mode<br />
| {{w|Safe mode}} is a diagnostic mode of an operating system or application which allows the user to troubleshoot problems by disabling unnecessary functionality. The "opposite of safe mode" implies a "dangerous" mode where the purpose is to cause problems rather than fix them.<br />
|-<br />
| Predictive touchpad<br />
| {{w|Predictive text}} is a feature of many smartphone keyboards that predicts the most likely word the user wishes to type, and then gives the user the option to place the word in the sentence without typing the whole word. A {{w|touchpad}} is a computer pointing device, similar to a {{w|computer mouse}}. The idea of a "predictive touchpad" seems absurd because, as opposed to typed words, there are not a limited number of swipe combinations that are possible on a touchpad. A "predictive touchpad" implies that a computer could predict where the use was going to move the mouse or click, which is clearly unreasonable<br />
|-<br />
| Google docs from bootloader<br />
| Google docs relies on programs and libraries much more complex than a bootloader could run.<br />
|-<br />
| Hardware acceleration red channel only<br />
| {{w|Hardware acceleration}} means that certain calculations are not performed by the computer's {{w|CPU}} but by a "specialized" processor, e.g. a {{w|GPU}} which is part of the graphics adapter. This speeds up output, especially if complex 3D calculations are required and reduces CPU load. To use this function only on a single color channel seems pretty useless.<br />
|-<br />
| autoexec code posted by verified twitter users<br />
| Automatically executing code from the internet is generally a terrible idea, because it could be written by someone with malicious intent and harm your computer. The joke here is that the code would only be executed if written by someone who has been "verified" on Twitter. Twitter's verification service only serves to show that a user is who they claim to be, not whether or not their code can be trusted, so this would provide little protection.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Coloured and styled as the logo]<br />
:Google<br />
<br />
:[Drop down box, implying recent searches]<br />
:Google translate syntax highlighting<br />
:Autodetect mixed bash zsh<br />
:CPU temperature sensor limits<br />
:GIF to XLS<br />
:Clock speed jumper sample rate<br />
:Clean reinstall keybinding<br />
:Cron job to update crontab<br />
:fsck Chrome extension<br />
:Recursive font<br />
:Regex matching valid EBNF<br />
:Hardlinks Turing complete<br />
:Opposite of safe mode<br />
:Predictive touchpad<br />
:Google docs from bootloader<br />
:Hardware acceleration red channel only<br />
<br />
:[Bold, below page outline]<br />
:I have no idea why my computers are always broken<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>162.158.85.141https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1663:_Garden&diff=1164051663: Garden2016-04-05T11:50:28Z<p>162.158.85.141: /* Explanation */ brightness has less influence than expected.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1663<br />
| date = April 4, 2016<br />
| title = Garden<br />
| image = garden.png <!--This is the starting point and should be used here. Other images need to go in the explanation --><br />
| titletext = Relax. <br />
}}<br />
*'''Note''' this is an interactive comic. Go to xkcd to try it out.<br />
*'''Post new images''' etc. in this page [[1663: Garden/Images]]!<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Include a table with all possible items as [[1663:_Garden/Images#Images_of_items|listed here]] with image, linnk, explanations and link to a garden or image of a garden where it "grows". "Permalinks" (i.e. the url which is not really permanent see the explanation) can be [[1663:_Garden/Images#Permalinks|posted here]] for now to show that the items can actually be found growing in the garden. And there is also the page for [[1663: Garden/Images|screen shots]] etc.}}<br />
This is this year's [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] in celebration of {{w|April Fools' Day}}. Due to technical problems (or to make fools of his fans?) the comic did not go live until Sunday evening (after midnight) so there was no Friday release, and this may be the Monday release instead of the planned comic (as to not take attention from this.) So in this way there were only two comics last week, the first time since xkcd went live on xkcd.com.<br />
<br />
If you leave the lights on and wait (or relax) then the plants in your '''garden''' start to grow slowly. The plants appear one at a time slowly, but only a few of them actually grow. There is a large tree that does, but most other plants just appear. Some of the plants sway in the breeze.<br />
<br />
Also animals and characters including [[Megan]], [[Ponytail]] and [[Cueball]] may appear. See examples here [[1663: Garden/Images]].<br />
<br />
Every so often the image will refresh. You can change the number of lights, their position, direction, beam width and the color temperature from red to yellow to white to blue. How much this affects the growth is hard to say, but there seems to be some correlation. It appears that areas under lights set to the blue end of the spectrum develop plants and animals with an aquatic theme, while areas under lights set to the red end of the specturm develop a desert theme. Nothing will grow only in complete darkness or extreme light (lamp(s) very close to the ground).<br />
<br />
If this comic is scientifically accurate, that correlation will be based on {{w|photosynthetically active radiation}}<br />
===Functionality===<br />
*The lamp(s)<br />
**It can be moved and turned. <br />
**The light's color can be changed from yellow to red and back to blue.<br />
***Change is achieved by rotating the smaller dot around the selected light.<br />
****The colours of light seem to range through Cyan to Yellow to Magenta, rather than Blue, Green and Red<br />
**The light's focus can be altered to a narrow beam by dragging the triangle away from the bulb, <br />
*The icons:<br />
**By clicking the icon with a lamp and a + in the top right corner a new lamp is added.<br />
***Up to two more lamps can be added for three in total.<br />
***When there are three the icon becomes faded out.<br />
**By clicking the large X icon something may be deleted<br />
***When anything is selected the X becomes red. For instance when a lamp is selected.<br />
***By clicking the icon the selected lamp can be deleted.<br />
***The same can be done for any item appearing (growing or otherwise) by selecting the item and clicking the X.<br />
****An item selected gets a red circle around it<br />
***The X has the same effect as pushing the delete button on the keyboard.<br />
***Some items (the large tree) can be deleted in minor parts taking a branch or a section with leaves off without deleting the entire tree.<br />
*Saving images.<br />
**The image as seen with the light, but without the lamps themselves and the two icons can be saved by right clicking in the image.<br />
***At least for Edge, Firefox and Chrome, but not for all IE versions.<br />
**Ther are no ''[[1350#Permalink|permalink button]]'' as in the last two years April fool's comics.<br />
***But the URL is dynamic, so a kind of {{w|permalink}} can be obtained by copying the URL.<br />
***This is also written on top of xkcd, (see the [[#Trivia|trivia section]]), where it is explained that these links are static.<br />
***However, this seems to only mean that the lamps etc. cannot be moved from the garden. Because the garden itself seems to develop further from the time when the url was copied. So it is thus '''not a permalink!'''<br />
****See this [http://www.xkcd.com/1663/#0d11a2c8-fa8f-11e5-8001-42010a8e000e example]<br />
****Which originally result in the scenario shown in this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7f/1663_garden_tree_turtle_birdbath.png screenshot].<br />
****But the next day the same url resulted in a garden looking much different [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1663_garden_Flying_birds_deer_gate_with_cactus_turtles_snake_etc.png like this].<br />
****It is obviously the same garden that has developed. The position of the lamps, the tree one turtle and the weed is the same but now there is much much more.<br />
****The two versions was made on April 4th and on April 5th.<br />
****Still needs to be looked into this in more details.<br />
<br />
===Bugs===<br />
*There have been several bugs mentioned already after the first day. Please include any spotted here:<br />
**Also some problems that may now be fixed.<br />
*May not run on some tablets or smart phones (i.e. touch-screen only devices).<br />
*There are some browser versions of Chrome and Firefox where it doesn't run.<br />
*The whole page used to refresh at random intervals and lose the whole progress.<br />
*Some lamps jumped back to their starting position after a few minutes. <br />
*For a few hours after its apparition, the loading didn't seem to stop for some people, making them think that the rotating tree was the whole joke, with people expected to "relax" while looking at it.<br />
*Occasionally invisible objects are added. They can be deleted, and they have bounding boxes in the debugger. [http://xkcd.com/1663/?debug#d12a0932-faaa-11e5-8012-42010a8e0006]<br />
*Doesn't work over https, you have to use http instead.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[There is a web applet with up to three adjustable lights over a patch of dirt. Two buttons in the top right corner let you add another light, or remove objects. If you wait, something (a plant, an animal, ...) will grow.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
On Friday, April 1st, 2016, the website [http://web.archive.org/web/20160401204749/https://xkcd.com/ began displaying] a message where "XKCD updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday" usually is:<br />
<br />
The xkcd April 1st comic is currently experiencing technical<br />
difficulties.<br />
Please stand by! <br />
<br />
The next day, the following message [http://web.archive.org/web/20160402144823/http://xkcd.com was displayed]:<br />
<br />
The xkcd April 1st comic is currently experiencing technical<br />
difficulties.<br />
Status update: Please stand by.<br />
Status update: This is fine. Everything is fine.<br />
Status update: Everything is on fire.<br />
Status update: Searching for calendar systems in which Saturday is April 1st.<br />
<br />
On April 3rd, the message [http://web.archive.org/web/20160403234504/https://xkcd.com/ changed] to:<br />
<br />
The Friday xkcd comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties<br />
[Editor's note: Everything is on fire] and has been delayed until<br />
Sunday night.<br />
<br />
On April 4th, the message [http://web.archive.org/web/20160404185353/http://www.xkcd.com/#96d6515a-fa96-11e5-8001-42010a8e000f changed] to:<br />
'''Protip:''' If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to<br />
prune it.<br />
You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it<br />
will be view-only. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]<br />
[[Category:Interactive comics]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with animation]] <!-- The trees and plants wave in the breeze --><br />
[[Category:April fools' comics]] <!-- This was delayed but if not directly an April fool's comic then the comments leading up to it was, and this is the only comic to list as April fools' this year --><br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] <!-- Only include characters if you an back it up with an image or permalink url. So please include those for Cueball and Ponytail before adding them. Megan is already shown in a screen shots. --><br />
[[Category:Animals]] <!-- Several --></div>162.158.85.141