https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.52.190&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T08:13:48ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1496:_Art_Project&diff=858991496: Art Project2015-03-09T19:47:32Z<p>173.245.52.190: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1496<br />
| date = March 9, 2015<br />
| title = Art Project<br />
| image = art project.png<br />
| titletext = It's my most ambitious project yet, judging by the amount of guacamole.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic appears to be satirizing {{w|art}} in two different ways. From one perspective [[Randall]] is describing various art forms in unusual ways (e.g. a portrait by [[Cueball]], a video for [[Megan]], and perhaps live performance by [[Ponytail]]). From another perspective, Randall might be making fun of {{w|Time-lapse photography|time-lapse photography}} movies. {{w|YouTube}} has a robust collection of videos taken from stitching together pictures or short video clips taken every day or every week; in the {{w|87th Academy Awards|2015 Academy Awards}}, one of the Best Picture nominees, {{w|Boyhood (film)|Boyhood}}, used a similar method, filming short sequences annually over the course of a decade and a half. <br />
<br />
In each case, the art described would be useless. A picture of oneself "every hundred years" will only happen once; a "picture every 1/24th of a second" is the standard {{w|frame rate}} for most small cameras for video, and "watching my face age in real time" is just life...<br />
<br />
Then finally the girl with the long hair (not a character named yet) pokes fun at all of them by simply watching their attempts at "art" while she eats a {{w|burrito}}. Randall may also be referencing the many perspectives on art by leaving this comic open to several interpretations. The use of a burrito as a punchline representing someone who is grounded in reality instead of engaging in esoteric pursuits has been seen before in [[1269: Privacy Opinions]].<br />
<br />
The title text is just more snark, claiming that it's Megan's most ambitious project ever if the sole criterion for ambition is the amount of {{w|guacamole}} used.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:Cueball: I'm doing an art project where I take a picture of myself every hundred years.<br />
<br />
:Girl with short hair: I'm doing an art project where I take a picture of myself every 1/24th of a second.<br />
<br />
:Ponytail: I'm doing an art project where you can come to my house and watch my actual face age in real time.<br />
<br />
:Megan: I'm doing an art project where you all do those things while I eat a burrito.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1291:_Shoot_for_the_Moon&diff=856541291: Shoot for the Moon2015-03-04T22:01:55Z<p>173.245.52.190: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1291<br />
| date = November 15, 2013<br />
| title = Shoot for the Moon<br />
| image = shoot_for_the_moon.png<br />
| titletext = Shoot for the Moon. If you miss, you'll end up co-orbiting the Sun alongside Earth, living out your days alone in the void within sight of the lush, welcoming home you left behind.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The comic and the title text both parody the motivational quote attributed to {{w|Les Brown (speaker)|Leslie Brown}}, which originally says, "Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."<br />
<br />
In the original form, the phrase "Shoot for the moon" is figurative, meant to inspire people to pursue ambitious goals, reasoning that even if they fail to achieve them, they may still accomplish other great things while trying. The comic and title text, on the other hand, is literally referring to the moon, and using the word "shoot" not in the sense of "aspire" but to mean "fire a weapon at." The comic further explores the humorous motivations for "shooting the moon"; Megan wants to destroy and kill the moon in order to humble it, feeling taunted by its orbiting merrily over her head, and so she inspires her students to physically attempt to destroy the moon whenever possible, only to become sheepish when she realizes the moon is right behind her, as if it were a person who could become offended by what she is saying. This is, of course, a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RightBehindMe common comedy trope].<br />
<br />
The [[title text]] invokes another literal interpretation of the phrase - if a space vehicle aims at the Moon and misses, it will end up in a new orbit, possibly (depending on its velocity) escaping from the Earth-Moon system and following a separate but nearby orbit around the Sun. A solar orbit is very hard, very fuel-intensive, and very lengthy to return from, despite physically meaning you will remain very close to Earth, even close enough to see it with some optical magnification. Thus, as a hypothetical space explorer's life support gradually ran out because his craft could not make it back to Earth in time, he would be taunted by Earth remaining close to him.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan stands at a podium.]<br />
:Megan: Students, shoot for the moon. If you miss,<br />
<br />
:[A surprisingly lunar-like object is starting to edge into the frame.]<br />
:Megan: '''''SHOOT AGAIN'''''. Keep shooting and never stop.<br />
<br />
:[The moon is now almost entirely in-frame.]<br />
:Megan: Someday, one of us will destroy that stupid skycircle. And— ...What? What are you all—<br />
<br />
:[The moon is now in frame, lurking ominously in the background.]<br />
:Megan: ...it's right behind me, isn't it? '''''Shit'''''. Everyone act casual.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*This comic is referenced in the What if? [http://what-if.xkcd.com/109/ Into the Blue] - see the title text at the third picture.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1493:_Meeting&diff=856531493: Meeting2015-03-04T21:56:38Z<p>173.245.52.190: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1493<br />
| date = March 2, 2015<br />
| title = Meeting<br />
| image = meeting.png<br />
| titletext = Here at CompanyName.website, our three main strengths are our web-facing chairs, our huge collection of white papers, and the fact that we physically cannot die.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Beret Guy]]'s business, as previously seen in [[1032: Networking]] and [[1293: Job Interview]], is going well, although it is unclear why. The common theme in these three comics is that Beret Guy misuses common business cliches. The following are examples and phrases that [[Randall]] is likely making a joke about:<br />
<br />
* "If you're reading this, the webserver was installed correctly." When a web server is installed automatically (like apache using apt-get), it typically comes with a minimal configuration meant to deliver a single page saying all is working fine. Usually, a company will then configure the web server to provide actual meaningful content. It appears that in this case Beret Guy's company kept the page as is, but also trademarked the sentence as the company's motto, and proudly displays it under the company logo.<br />
<br />
* "CompanyName.website": Companies are usually given descriptive or evocative names; Beret Guy's company, meanwhile, has been given a generic placeholder name that explains nothing about the company or website except that it is a company with a website.<br />
<br />
* "Welcome to a meeting!" The usual way to start a meeting is to welcome the participants by telling them in which meeting they are (e.g. "Welcome to the meeting on ..."). Here, the complete lack of specifics in this sentence is an indication that the meeting has, in fact, no purpose at all, except to be just "A meeting". It could also mean that Beret Guy does not know the proper way to welcome people to a meeting.<br />
<br />
* "I'm almost out of words so I'll keep this short." A common theme in the busy world of business is lack of time, so "I'm almost out of time" would be a valid reason for keeping a meeting short, rather than a finite quantity of words. Aside from the fictional movie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thousand_Words_%28film%29 A Thousand Words] or people taking a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vow_of_silence Vow of Silence], people usually don't have a particular quota on the number of words they have or can use.<br />
<br />
* "Just wanna touch bases." Often business professions will contact a customer to "touch base," meaning to check in for a status update. The use of the plural "bases" suggests Beret Guy does not know what this means. This could also be a word play on the expression "Cover some bases".<br />
<br />
* "Self-driving car project" Google has been working on self-driving cars, which usually shouldn't be lost track of and found by the police. The fact that it was launched "by accident" is concerning (implying the car was turned on by mistake and then left unattended, or perhaps that a driver of one of their cars fell asleep or otherwise stopped controlling the vehicle), and the involvement of the police during carpool hours implies that the car crashed or otherwise obstructed traffic. What's especially ironic is the implication that the employees were carpooling (sharing a single vehicle for their commute, for reasons of efficiency/economy) in the self-driving car, and yet this carpool activity ended with the car setting off with nobody in it at all.<br />
<br />
* "Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?" In the real world, when companies want to find out "who [their] customers are", they are talking about learning more about their existing customers in order to more closely match these customers' needs, and to discover ways to attract more of them. Here, Beret Guy and [[Ponytail]] apparently use the phrase literally -- they have no records of making any sales. In a normal enterprise money doesn't usually appear from nowhere, and most businesses would be very unsettled if their cash flow was from an unknown source. <br />
<br />
* "Cool red beetle in the hallway" Beret Guy might be referring to seeing an insect. But given his continually surreal world, he might have instead seen a red Volkswagen Beetle, meaning there is an actual car in the hallway. This also matches with the "self-driving car project", potentially explaining why the car is inside the building. Randall's all-caps lettering hides the "beetle" versus "Beetle" distinction.<br />
<br />
* "Bug tracker" usually refers to systems used to track discovery, analysis, and fixing of software bugs (errors and problems), not the location of physical objects (be they insects or Volkswagen Beetles which are nicknamed "bugs").<br />
<br />
* "Web-facing" (title text) usually refers to software or a server that is connected to the internet using a web interface. However, in this case the term is applied to chairs placed in front of a computer with internet browsing capability.<br />
<br />
* "White papers" (title text) are usually policy recommendations, but here Beret Guy is likely talking about actual (near-worthless) blank white pieces of paper.<br />
<br />
* "Main strengths" (title text) typically refer to one's skills, but "we physically cannot die" refers to the fact that incorporated companies are in a sense anthropomorphised—they're legally treated as "persons", with the ability to sue and be sued in civil courts. Or that Beret Guy is literally immortal, in which case that would indeed be a great asset which could be used in a variety of ways, from things like making a one man army (though he could still be captured by using a huge net for example) to investing for a long long time. On that note, if Beret Guy IS immortal, perhaps many (many) years ago (before his mind got wonky?) he might have invested a lot of money in mutual funds and the like and is finally noticing the large amount of interest that has accrued. This would partly explain why there is lots of money coming in without any customers.<br />
<br />
There is an alternative explanation for the company portrayed: it is run by computers. This explains the misinterpretations of language, the empty chair, the non-traceable money (perhaps from other computers) and the self-driving car project.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
"CompanyName.website" is actually a domain name that was registered on 2014-11-20 and [http://companyname.website which redirects to xkcd.com]. Presumably, it is owned by Randall, for the same reason as in [[305]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Beret Guy is shown in silhouette. Above Beret Guy there is a black sign with white (and grey) text. Above this is his address to those in the meeting:]<br />
:Beret Guy: Welcome to a meeting! I'm almost out of words, so I'll keep this short. Just wanna touch bases.<br />
:[White text in the black sign (''.website'' in grey):]<br />
:CompanyName.website<br />
:''If you're reading this, the web''<br />
:''server was installed correctly.''<sup>TM</sup><br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy stands in front of an office chair and a table talking]<br />
:Beret Guy: First, a few updates. We've learned from the state police that the self-driving car project we launched by accident during this morning's carpool has come to an end about 90 miles outside of town. Very exciting!<br />
<br />
:[Pony tail sits at the table.]<br />
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Profits are up. Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?<br />
:Ponytail: Nope. Money keeps appearing, but we have no idea how or why.<br />
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Great!<br />
<br />
:[Back to the situation from frame two]<br />
:Beret Guy: Oh, and one last thing— I saw a cool red beetle in the hall. Can someone add it to the bug tracker?<br />
:[person off-panel]: Just did!<br />
:Beret Guy: Thanks!<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1492:_Dress_Color&diff=853501492: Dress Color2015-02-27T21:09:41Z<p>173.245.52.190: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1492<br />
| date = February 27, 2015<br />
| title = Dress Color<br />
| image = dress_color.png<br />
| titletext = This white-balance illusion hit so hard because it felt like someone had been playing through the Monty Hall scenario and opened their chosen door, only to find there was unexpectedly disagreement over whether the thing they'd revealed was a goat or a car.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic shows two drawings of [[Megan]] wearing the same dress, but with different background colors. The two drawings are split with a narrow vertical portion of an image from the web.<br />
<br />
The comic strip refers to a dress whose image went viral on [http://swiked.tumblr.com/post/112174461490/officialunitedstates-unclefather Tumblr] the day before the strip was posted and soon showed up also on [http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2xaprc/eli5why_does_this_dress_appear_whitegold_to_some/ Reddit], [https://twitter.com/hashtag/thedress?src=hash Twitter], [http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/ Wired] and on [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/28/business/a-simple-question-about-a-dress-and-the-world-weighs-in.html The New York Times].<br />
<br />
Due to the dress' particular color scheme and the exposure of the photo, it forms an {{w|optical illusion}} causing viewers to disagree on what color the dress actually seems to be. The xkcd strip sandwiches a cropped segment of the photographed dress between two drawings which use the colors from the image against different backgrounds, leading the eye to interpret the white balance differently, demonstrating how the dress can appear different colors depending on context and the viewer's previous experiences.<br />
<br />
Both dresses have exactly the same colors actually:<br />
* RGB 113, 94, 58 (orange) <div style="display:inline-block; height:1em; width:1em; background-color: #715E3A"></div><br />
* RGB 135, 154, 189 (blue) <div style="display:inline-block; height:1em; width:1em; background-color: #879ABD"></div><br />
<br />
Below is an illustration demonstrating that the "colors" of the dresses are the same by connecting them with two lines with the above mentioned colors (all the way!):<br />
:[[File:dress.png|400px]]<br />
<br />
Similar types of illusions can be seen at Wikipedias {{w|Optical illusion#Color_and_brightness_constancies|optical illusion page}} and for instance here at [http://www.echalk.co.uk/amusements/OpticalIllusions/colourPerception/colourPerception.html echalk] (the latter page requires Flash®player).<br />
<br />
Since the color of the dress seems immediately "obvious", to any given viewer of it, many feel it is very weird (even uncomfortable) that other people cannot see it their way. This results in the many arguments now to be found on-line. The uproar probably stems from the fact that generally people do not know much about these kind of optical illusions. And when this picture went viral it was noticed be many of these people.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the game show ''{{w|Let's Make a Deal}}'', hosted by Monty Hall, which was famous for having contestants pick among several doors which either had a real prize (for example, a car) or a joke prize (for example, a goat). [[Randall]] states that people find the dress color issue just as baffling as if upon opening the chosen door no one can agree if the item behind the door is a car or a goat. This just shows how ridiculous this outrage people feel about the color is. This is a typical kind of prank that Randall enjoys. <br />
<br />
''Let's Make a Deal'' previously appeared in [[1282: Monty Hall]], where [[Beret Guy]] decides to take the goat.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Two images of Megan in a dress on each side of an image of a close up of a real dress with the same colors. On the left, she is coloured blue on a dark blue background, while on the right, she is yellow against a buttercup background. Her dress is the same colour in each panel - the same as the real one in-between.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1484:_Apollo_Speeches&diff=846311484: Apollo Speeches2015-02-17T12:47:53Z<p>173.245.52.190: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1484<br />
| date = February 9, 2015<br />
| title = Apollo Speeches<br />
| image = apollo_speeches.png<br />
| titletext = While our commitment to recycling initiatives has been unwavering, this is not a cost any of us should be expected to pay.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|The framework is laid out. Needs a much more in-depth explanation, however.}}<br />
As explained in the comic, {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} staffer {{w|William Safire}} wrote [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/11/in-event-of-moon-disaster.html two speeches] for the United States President to deliver, depending on whether or not the {{w|Apollo 11}} return launch was successful. When the outcome of an event (moon landing, military actions, etc.) can't be predicted with sufficient certainty, it is a common practice for "[http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/events/centennials/nixon/exhibit/nixon-online-exhibit-disaster.html contingency speeches]" to be prepared.<br />
<br />
The rest of the comic runs with this theme, making the false claim that Safire had written several other such contingency speeches for increasingly unlikely possibilities. First listed are a couple pages from the real contingency speech to be delivered in the event that the astronauts were left stranded on the Moon. Lying on top of that is a speech to be delivered in the case that the spacecraft went missing altogether, which was relatively unlikely. The speeches after that deal with the following highly unlikely or impossible contingencies:<br />
*The astronauts had stolen the ship and piloted it towards Mars, which was clearly not feasible: while the crew could have redirected the ship while sending insulting messages to Earth, the spacecraft lacked the power to fly to Mars within any reasonable period of time by several orders of magnitude or the supplies for the astronauts to survive such an extended trip.<br />
**At the time of production for this strip in 2015, several governments and private companies have designs on Martian colonization.<br />
*More astronauts than expected were found in the recovered ship;<br />
**The appearance of three additional astronauts ventures into the realm of possibility normally reserved for science fiction and Twilight Zone episodes.<br />
*The ship had hit the {{w|USS Hornet (CV-12)|USS ''Hornet''}} and crushed Nixon;<br />
**The U.S.S. Hornet was the ship that recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts after they completed their return mission by landing their command module in the Pacific Ocean; President Nixon himself was on board to greet them upon their return. Apollo 11 famously landed in the Pacific Ocean, and the single ship tasked with its recovery would be a very small target to hit for the technology even if that had been the intent, which it was of course not. Spiro Agnew was, in 1969, Vice President of the United States, and thus next in line for the presidency. This joke plays off the extreme improbability of the ship, and indeed President, being hit and triggering a succession, causing "President Agnew" to address the world. <br />
*The re-entry craft had been sold for scrap and crushed along with the astronauts inside.<br />
**Apollo 11 observed a strict quarantine procedure after landing. This possibility requires extraordinary incompetence and unholy zeal for recycling programs. The command module was historically recovered, examined, and is now on permanent display in the {{w|National Air and Space Museum}}. Obviously, the astronauts were allowed to leave the craft before it was put on display.<br />
<br />
The title text builds upon this last contingency speech, delving into the pathos of the horror of the spacecraft's recycling and its passengers' resulting deaths despite the U.S.'s commitment to recycling initiatives.<br />
<br />
Shortly after this comic was released, in that weeks ''What if?'', ''those speeches'' are referenced with a link to this comic. (see [[http://what-if.xkcd.com/129/ Black Hole Moon]]).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Commentary above the speeches.]<br />
:In 1969, Nixon staffer William Safire wrote a speech for the president to deliver if the Apollo 11 return launch failed, stranding the doomed astronauts on the Moon.<br />
:Uncovered in 1999, it is often called the greatest speech never given.<br />
:Today, the ''full'' set of Safire's contingency speeches has been found.<br />
<br />
:'''In event astronauts stranded on Moon'''<br />
:Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.<br />
:[Here, several lines from the original speech are cut.]<br />
:In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.<br />
:Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the Moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft goes missing'''<br />
:Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins went to the Moon as ambassadors of peace for all mankind, and all mankind prays that they may yet return safely home.<br />
:We are separated from the Moon by a vast gulf of space, against which their tiny vessel appeared as but a drifting speck. For a few brief seconds, we took our eye off them, and despite days of desperate searching, never again was their vessel sighted from Earth.<br />
:While these men are lost, they are not forgotten, and their sacrifice will not<br />
<br />
:'''In even astronauts abscond with spacecraft'''<br />
:We do not know what led Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to betray the trust we placed in them, abandon their mission, and steer their vessel toward Mars. Nor do we know what compelled them to transmit such hurtful messages back to Earth, heaping contempt on their onetime home.<br />
:But whatever the cause of their dereliction, I call upon the United States to commit itself, before this year is out, to launching a mission to chase down Apollo 11 and return its crew to earth to face justice. We must not rest until<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft returns with extra astronauts'''<br />
:While there is much we do not understand, tonight all of earth is united in celebrating the safe return of our brave explorers.<br />
:We of course have many questions, and in the days and weeks to come we will demand answers. How many souls were truly aboard Apollo 11 when it launched? Who are the six men now in quarantine aboard the USS Hornet? What happened<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft hits U.S.S. Hornet, crushing Nixon'''<br />
:'''President Agnew''': Tonight, we have experienced a great national triumph and a great national loss. We take joy in the safe return from the Moon of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins, but that joy is tempered with sorrow as we mourn our president’s tragic death beneath their wayward capsule.<br />
:Richard Nixon wholeheartedly supported our courageous astronauts as they carried the hopes and prayers of Earth to the heavens, and in the moment of their homecoming, he himself has departed on that ultimate voyage. As we grieve, we must rededicate ourselves to the cause for which our president<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft accidentally sold for scrap and crushed with astronauts inside'''<br />
:My fellow Americans, I am as shocked and appalled as you at this stunning and<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1484:_Apollo_Speeches&diff=842991484: Apollo Speeches2015-02-10T08:31:22Z<p>173.245.52.190: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1484<br />
| date = February 9, 2015<br />
| title = Apollo Speeches<br />
| image = apollo_speeches.png<br />
| titletext = While our commitment to recycling initiatives has been unwavering, this is not a cost any of us should be expected to pay.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|The framework is laid out. Needs a much more in-depth explanation, however.}}<br />
As explained in the comic, {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} staffer {{w|William Safire}} wrote [http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/11/in-event-of-moon-disaster.html two speeches] for the United States President to deliver, depending on whether or not the {{w|Apollo 11}} return launch was successful. When the outcome of an event (moon landing, military actions, etc.) can't be predicted with sufficient certainty, it is a common practice for "[http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/events/centennials/nixon/exhibit/nixon-online-exhibit-disaster.html contingency speeches]" to be prepared.<br />
<br />
The rest of the comic runs with this theme, making the false claim that Safire had written several other such contingency speeches for increasingly unlikely possibilities. First listed are a couple pages from the real contingency speech to be delivered in the event that the astronauts were left stranded on the Moon. Lying on top of that is a speech to be delivered in the case that the spacecraft went missing altogether, which was relatively unlikely. The speeches after that deal with the following highly unlikely or impossible contingencies:<br />
* The astronauts had stolen the ship and piloted it towards Mars, which was clearly not feasible: while the crew could have redirected the ship while sending insulting messages to Earth, the spacecraft lacked the power to fly to Mars within any reasonable period of time by several orders of magnitude or the supplies for the astronauts to survive such an extended trip.<br />
** At the time of production for this strip in 2015, several governments and private companies have designs on Martian colonization.<br />
* Upon landing, more astronauts than expected were found in the ship;<br />
** Given that there only three humans in space during the entire duration of the Apollo 11 Mission, and that NASA maintained contact throughout and indeed televised some of the mission, the sudden appearance of three additional astronauts upon landing ventures into the realm of possibility only available via science fiction and Twilight Zone episodes.<br />
* The ship had hit the {{w|USS Hornet (CV-12)|USS ''Hornet''}} and crushed Nixon;<br />
** The U.S.S. Hornet was the ship that recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts after they completed their return mission by landing their command module in the Pacific Ocean; President Nixon himself was on board to greet them upon their return. Apollo 11 famously landed in the Pacific Ocean, making the single ship tasked with its recovery an impossibly specific target to hit for the technology.Spiro Agnew was, in 1969, Vice President of the United States, and thus next in line for the presidency. This joke plays off the irony of the ship, and indeed President, being hit and triggering a succession, causing "President Agnew" to address the world. <br />
* The re-entry craft had been sold for scrap and crushed along with the astronauts inside.<br />
** Apollo 11 observed a strict quarantine procedure after landing. This possibility required excessive negligence and unholy zeal for recycling programs. The command module was historically recovered, examined, and is now on permanent display in the National Air and Space Museum.<br />
<br />
The title text builds upon this last contingency speech, delving into the bathos of the horror of the spacecraft's recycling and its passengers' resulting deaths despite the U.S.'s commitment to recycling initiatives.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Commentary above the speeches]<br />
:In 1969, Nixon staffer William Safire wrote a speech for the president to deliver if the Apollo 11 return launch failed, stranding the doomed astronauts on the Moon.<br />
:Uncovered in 1999, it is often called the greatest speech never given.<br />
:Today, the ''full'' set of Safire's contingency speeches has been found.<br />
<br />
:'''In event astronauts stranded on Moon'''<br />
:Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.<br />
:[Here, several lines from the original speech are cut]<br />
:In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.<br />
:Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts. For every human being who looks up at the Moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft goes missing'''<br />
:Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins went to the Moon as ambassadors of peace for all mankind, and all mankind prays that they may yet return safely home.<br />
:We are separated from the Moon by a vast gulf of space, against which their tiny vessel appeared as but a drifting speck. For a few brief seconds, we took our eye off them, and despite days of desperate searching, never again was their vessel sighted from Earth.<br />
:While these men are lost, they are not forgotten, and their sacrifice will not<br />
<br />
:'''In even astronauts abscond with spacecraft'''<br />
:We do not know what led Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to betray the trust we placed in them, abandon their mission, and steer their vessel toward Mars. Nor do we know what compelled them to transmit such hurtful messages back to Earth, heaping contempt on their onetime home. <br />
:But whatever the cause of their dereliction, I call upon the United States to commit itself, before this year is out, to launching a mission to chase down Apollo 11 and return its crew to earth to face justice. We must not rest until<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft returns with extra astronauts'''<br />
:While there is much we do not understand, tonight all of earth is united in celebrating the safe return of our brave explorers.<br />
:We of course have many questions, and in the days and weeks to come we will demand answers. How many souls were truly aboard Apollo 11 when it launched? Who are the six men now in quarantine aboard the USS Hornet? What happened<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft hits U.S.S. Hornet, crushing Nixon'''<br />
:'''President Agnew''': Tonight, we have experienced a great national triumph and a great national loss. We take joy in the safe return from the Moon of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins, but that joy is tempered with sorrow as we mourn our president’s tragic death beneath their wayward capsule.<br />
:Richard Nixon wholeheartedly supported our courageous astronauts as they carried the hopes and prayers of Earth to the heavens, and in the moment of their homecoming, he himself has departed on that ultimate voyage. As we grieve, we must rededicate ourselves to the cause for which our president<br />
<br />
:'''In event spacecraft accidentally sold for scrap and crushed with astronauts inside'''<br />
:My fellow Americans, I am as shocked and appalled as you at this stunning and<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=764:_One_Two&diff=56789764: One Two2014-01-06T22:28:19Z<p>173.245.52.190: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 764<br />
| date = July 9, 2010<br />
| title = One Two<br />
| image = one two.png<br />
| titletext = Cue letters from anthropology majors complaining that this view of numerolinguistic development perpetuates a widespread myth. They get to write letters like that because when you're not getting a real science degree you have a lot of free time. Zing!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
The comic parodies {{w|Sesame Street}}, an American children's TV show. The Count is a character in Sesame Street who teaches counting to viewers. The Count usually laughs after counting numbers, an innocent version of the sinister laugh that is a stereotype of old Hollywood horror films. In the book {{w|One, Two, Three, Infinity}}, the writer describes African tribes that only have words for numbers up to three and their inability to distinguish or comprehend larger numbers.<br />
<br />
It is also a reference to the Indo-European language-family, which the oldest members of have three grammatical numbering systems, singular, one, dual, two, and plural, many.<br />
<br />
The title text mocks anthropology majors for what is considered a widespread myth among current anthropology majors about primitive tribes and their ability to count. Randall makes a jab at the anthropologists saying they would have time to write letters to complain about things because they don't have to spend time doing real science and thus real research.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A television set with The Count from 'Sesame Street'.]<br />
:The Count: One! Ah ah ah... Two! Ah ah ah... ...Many! ah ah ah...<br />
:Primitive cultures develop Sesame Street.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>173.245.52.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:764:_One_Two&diff=56788Talk:764: One Two2014-01-06T22:24:27Z<p>173.245.52.190: </p>
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<div>I think this is a reference to how many ancient cultures have three versions of grammatical, besides singular and plural, most early languages have dual as well, normally. <br />
<br />
I believe this is also a reference to the discworld universe, where the trolls have a base three number system which is mistaken to be primitive by most (basically one, two, many, many-one, many-two, many-many and so on)[[Special:Contributions/85.164.251.29|85.164.251.29]] 09:03, 25 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
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You are correct, Discworld gets the one two three reference from the one two three infinity by George Gamow. The line the Count uses in the comic is almost a direct quote in the first chapter about the primitive Hottentots tribe. The one other thing I failed to mention in my original creation of this page was the myth about vampires and OCD. That dropping seeds while fleeing vampires was a way to escape because they were forced to compulsively count the seeds. However I wasn't sure how many would remember the myth. Thank you for looking at this. [[User:Understudy|Understudy]] ([[User talk:Understudy|talk]]) 19:23, 25 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Actually, the Discworld trolls have a base four number system, not three. [[User:Sciepsilon|Sciepsilon]] ([[User talk:Sciepsilon|talk]]) 02:19, 29 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Excellent, I have not read the series in many many years. Thank you for the information. [[User:Understudy|Understudy]] ([[User talk:Understudy|talk]]) 22:09, 30 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
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