https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.55.62&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T19:15:10ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=A_Smarter_Planet&diff=71250A Smarter Planet2014-07-09T12:13:57Z<p>173.245.55.62: /* Explanation */ the word doctor was there twice, I removed one</p>
<hr />
<div>{{ExtraComic<br />
| title = A Smarter Planet<br />
| custom = [[file:conservation.png]]<br />[[file:prescriptions.png]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|I found [http://xkcd.com/asmarterplanet/ this bonus comic] but it's not mentioned anywhere on the wiki. I wasn't sure how to put multiple images in the comic template.}}<br />
<br />
These comics were created as a special request for the blog [http://asmarterplanet.com/ A Smarter Planet], rather than the regular three-a-week schedule for xkcd's home site.<br />
<br />
The first of these two strips references a commonly-cited statistic usually used to draw attention to deforestation, but Cueball misunderstands its true importance, (possibly deliberately) announcing his development of the Aerial Squirrel Transit Pod: An aircraft, presumably unmanned, designed to allow the modern squirrel the same range of not having to touch the ground. This is yet another instance of people announcing odd things or elaborately setting up a pun at conferences, a recurring theme in xkcd.<br />
<br />
The second strip is a reference to the stereotype of doctors' handwriting being illegible, which is a very bad thing when you need a very specific medication and your pharmacy clerk can't read the numbers. Cueball is eager for his doctor to start signing his prescription digitally, as it means less paperwork and faster response time, but his enthusiasm fades when the doctor somehow manages to ''type'' in illegible handwriting. This could theoretically be done with a bad handwriting font, though most computerized forms don't allow you to change their font.<br />
The prescription number is given as "{{w|THX1138}}", the first film directed by {{w|George Lucas}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
===Conservation===<br />
:They say that 400 years ago a squirrel could go from the Atlantic to the Mississippi without touching the ground.<br />
:[Cueball speaking to an audience, under a banner labeled "Conservation Society".]<br />
:Cueball [pointing to a diagram of a helicopter-like device carrying a squirrel]: Which is why I've developed the aerial squirrel transit pod.<br />
:Audience member: Okay, back up.<br />
<br />
===Prescriptions===<br />
:Good news: Doctors are finally learning to use modern security tools.<br />
:Doctor: No need for phone verification. I've digitally signed it.<br />
:Bad news: They've somehow learned to ''type'' with terrible handwriting.<br />
:[The document given to the patient by the doctor]: Prescription THX1138 RSA fingerprint: [unintelligible characters]<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>173.245.55.62https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1086:_Eyelash_Wish_Log&diff=710941086: Eyelash Wish Log2014-07-07T13:37:31Z<p>173.245.55.62: /* Explanation */ Added explanation for title text.</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1086<br />
| date = July 25, 2012<br />
| title = Eyelash Wish Log<br />
| image = eyelash wish log.png<br />
| titletext = Ooh, another one. Uh... the ability to alter any coefficients of friction at will during sporting events.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is based on the situation that when someone's eyelash falls out, that person can make a wish on it. This comic appears to be a page from the fictitious Wish Bureau in charge of granting said wishes. And of course the Wisher is [[Black Hat]] and he has quite a few wishes, most of them based on the previous wish. A common trope in fiction is that wishing for more wishes is prohibited and for many of his wishes [[Black Hat]] attempts to circumvent that.<br />
<br />
February 12's wish seems to be a reference to the unlimited {{w|breadsticks}} offered at {{w|Olive Garden}}.<br />
<br />
February 27's wish relates to a common practice especially in tweets or other short length media where full length specific HTML addresses such as www.somewhere.com/articles/specificdate/the page.html would not be feasible. So a more compressed but often less sensical string of seemingly random characters is used which links to a link of the full text address. This creates some problems for people who are security or privacy conscious and prefer to be informed beforehand where they will be traveling on the Internet. It is analogous to a twisting set of watersides. Some water parks label where they end up and what style of ride it is (the doom tunnel vs the kiddy kicker). Imagine however you're wanting a nice ride ending in shallow water. You could not readily predict the unlabelled ride as it twists out of sight if the label is gibberish. You might end up thinking your attempt to go down the Bay Watch slide might end you up in Pamela's porn pool, which could be well over your head.<br />
<br />
March 7's wish is a reference to {{w|Nate Silver}}, who is a former writer for {{w|Baseball Prospectus}} working on predicting baseball players' stats and now writes for {{w|Five Thirty Eight}} in which he predicts the outcome of elections based on polling data.<br />
<br />
March 15th's wish refers to the lithograph {{w|Relativity_(M._C._Escher)|Relativity}} by M. C. Escher.<br />
<br />
And April 22's wish is a reference to the cartoon and video game series {{w|Pokémon}}. A Pokéball can be thrown at a Pokémon (or in this case, a pet that the Pokéball thrower finds either annoying or cute) to capture/contain it and/or achieve ownership of it. In most cases, Pokéballs cannot be used on Pokémon owned by other people.<br />
<br />
The title text is a reference to how people often want a ball to either go in or out in a sporting event they are not a part of. Normally, spectators of a game are not actually in the game, but always think that they can somehow influence the game superstitiously, such as perhaps yelling out jinx whenever the opposing team makes a shot, even though if you are watching the game from a television, that would have no effect. By wishing for power over friction, a spectator would have control over what transpires during a sporting match, as, for example in baseball, if the spectator's team of choice was up to bat, friction could be set to zero after the ball was hit, thus insuring a much easier home run. Or set to a much higher value when the opposing team is up.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{|<br />
! align="left" colspan="2" |<font size="+1">Eyelash Wish Log</font><br />
|-style="color: gray;"<br />
|<br />
|align="right"|Wish bureau ID#:<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
|align="right"|21118378<br />
|-style="color: gray;"<br />
|<br />
|align="right"|Date range:<br />
|-<br />
!scope="row" style="color: gray;"|Wisher<br />
|align="right"|Jan-Apr 2012<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
{|<br />
!align="left" width="50px"|Date<br />
!align="left"|Wish<br />
|-<br />
|Jan 09<br />
|That wishing on eyelashes worked<br />
|-<br />
|Jan 12<br />
|A pony<br />
|-<br />
|Jan 15<br />
|Unlimited wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Jan 19<br />
|Revocation of rules prohibiting unlimited wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Jan 20<br />
|A finite but arbitrarily large number of wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Jan 28<br />
|The power to dictate the rules governing wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 05<br />
|Unlimited eyelashes<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 06<br />
|That wish-granting entities be required to interpret wishes in<br>accordance with the intent of the wisher<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 08<br />
|That wish-granting entities be incapable of impatience<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 12<br />
|Unlimited breadsticks<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 12<br />
|Veto power over others' wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 19<br />
|Veto power over others' wishes and all congressional legislation<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 23<br />
|The power to override any veto<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 27<br />
|The power to see where any shortened URL goes without clicking<br />
|-<br />
|Feb 29<br />
|The power to control the direction news anchors are looking while they talk<br />
|-<br />
|Mar 07<br />
|The power to introduce arbitrary error into Nate Silver's predictions<br />
|-<br />
|Mar 15<br />
|A house of stairs<br />
|-<br />
|Mar 23<br />
|A universe which is a replica of this one sans rules against meta-wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Mar 29<br />
|Free transportation to and from that universe<br />
|-<br />
|Apr 02<br />
|A clear explanation of how wish rules are structured and enforced<br />
|-<br />
|Apr 07<br />
|The power to banish people into the TV show they're talking about<br />
|-<br />
|Apr 08<br />
|Zero wishes<br />
|-<br />
|Apr 15<br />
|Veto power over clocks<br />
|-<br />
|Apr 22<br />
|A Pokéball that works on strangers' pets<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{Comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Pokémon]]</div>173.245.55.62https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1366:_Train&diff=67015Talk:1366: Train2014-05-09T14:58:36Z<p>173.245.55.62: </p>
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<div>I just did an explanation from scratch for the first time, please could you tell me how I could improve it? Thanks :) [[User:Cheeselord99|Cheeselord99]] ([[User talk:Cheeselord99|talk]]) 07:02, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Am I the only one who gets [[Inflation]] when going to xkcd.com (without the www)? This comic shows at www.xkcd.com and m.xkcd.com however. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.5|108.162.221.5]] 07:11, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:I created an account. The 108.162.221.5 ip address today is me, along with 108.162.221.53 today. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 07:16, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I thought today's comic was late. http://www.xkcd.com/1366/ kept on displaying "Web-page not available" (browser thing, not server-thing), then I checked here. So. Oh, http://www.xkcd.com/ also... Hmmm... That's not right. Oh, "Ping request could not find host www.xkcd.com. Please check the name and try again." DNS errors? Only those trying via cached details get anything? Things are not working for xkcd.com or m.xkcd.com either. So, DNS poisoning or human error of some kind? Not the place to discuss this, I know, sorry... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.211|141.101.89.211]] 10:05, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Explanation is good, but there are certainly related comics or maybe what-if ... I've found [http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ Orbital Speed], but I think there were something mentioning how fast sun goes relatively to galaxy ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:14, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Found two related comics - any other? [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 11:33, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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It sounds like the dark matter engine in Futurama:http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_matter_engine<br />
<br />
I think the last paragraph, considering the situation from the point of view of multiple trains, is not relevant. The whole concept of what makes this idea funny and interesting is that you MUST view the situation from the point of view of a single train (or elevator). --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 13:24, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
: Second-last paragraph - my comment was written at the same time as another paragraph was added. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 13:26, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I do not understand what the last paragraph is suggesting as it seems to violate the 3rd Newtonian law of motion.<br />
<br />
The last paragraph is not correct, the Earth would also experience an acceleration (albeit a small one).--[[User:Sturmonium|Sturmonium]] ([[User talk:Sturmonium|talk]]) 13:54, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This line:<br />
"The logic of the comic also fails when taking acceleration into account. Whether the train or earth is moving can be determined by which one experiences a force due to acceleration or deacceleration when the train starts."<br />
is incorrect, according to the principle of General Relativity. You cannot experimentally distinguish between your own acceleration against a fixed universe, and your position remaining fixed against an accelerating universe. This applies for rotation as well; if you fix the reference frame of the train rider, the acceleration of the universe creates gravity waves that cause any rider on the train to experience what feels like an acceleration. Therefore, the logic of the comic is indeed correct, even for accelerating trains. I will correct this edit.--[[User:JB Gnome|JB Gnome]] ([[User talk:JB Gnome|talk]]) 14:12, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
: But the comic doesn't say that the train accelerates the universe: rather, it just accelerates the Earth. Does that make a difference? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.225|141.101.89.225]] 14:34, 9 May 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Does anyone have an idea where "train guy" is heading? He's saying "almost", like he's almost there but wasn't sure if there was something more. Maybe he's timing when he needs to jump off the train? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.62|173.245.55.62]] 14:58, 9 May 2014 (UTC)Pat</div>173.245.55.62https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1350:_Lorenz&diff=648841350: Lorenz2014-04-08T14:31:32Z<p>173.245.55.62: /* Trivia */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1350<br />
| date = April 1, 2014<br />
| title = Lorenz<br />
| image = lorenz.png<br />
| titletext = Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''NOTE: The above is the first panel of an interactive comic.'''<br />
<br />
{{incomplete|All images has not been described under themes (and may never be if Randall creates new)}}<br />
<br />
For a collection of images that appear in this comic, see [[1350: Lorenz/Images]]. These will also be described below under themes.<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is an interactive and dynamic comic with a possible first picture shown on top of this page. The picture is always the same but the order of the sentences A/B/C/D is done by random. The result of all the interactions by the people would lead to a {{w|Crowdsourcing|crowd-sourced content}}. In honor of {{w|April Fools' Day}} the comic was posted a day early, on Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday. This also means that if anyone feels this comic is too silly... Randall can call ''April fool''.<br />
<br />
The title 'Lorenz' is referring to {{w|Edward Norton Lorenz}} who among other subjects was famous for {{w|Chaos theory}} and the {{w|Butterfly effect}}. <br />
<br />
The title text is a reference to that the story line of this comic does include all of the user submitted dialogue and updates over time based on statistics of users clicks and hence will in nature be chaotic. In this manner it is a reference to the butterfly effect, a phrase coined by Edward Lorenz to describe how a small initial change can lead to wide variations in outcome in a chaotic system.<br />
<br />
This comic is an example of a {{w|Choose Your Own Adventure}} story as mentioned in the title text.<br />
<br />
===Functionality and bugs===<br />
The reader is initially presented with only one panel where Knit Cap Girl (Megan?) is sitting in front of her computer. The reader is given multiple choices concerning what exactly Knit Cap Girl (Megan?) is thinking. Upon choosing any option, a second panel appears, to give continuity to the story. Each new panel may have a new set of options or just the button "Continue" to see the next panel without making any choice in particular. Eventually, one may reach a dead end in which the story is interrupted and reader is presented with a text box to suggest how it should continue. Some of the suggestions given should eventually become available as new options.<br />
<br />
It appears that new panels may be generated by Randall in near real time as user suggestions to dialog is submitted. The dialogue options are likely based on click-through rates and hence will change over day based on which choices are clicked most using {{w|A/B_testing|A/B measurement techniques}}. This will mean that the most popular choices for dialogue line will prevail as the statistics build up. In some cases, dialogue line options do not depend on the continuity of the storyline followed, suggesting that some parts of the story are planned. For example, do several of the storylines involve one of the two main characters waking up and for instance telling the other character, “I had the strangest dream…” or even reliving the dream again. This may be due to common submissions across storylines as well.<br />
<br />
Normally, there is a total of 4 options to make: a/b/c/d. Their order changes constantly. Sometimes, there are 3 or fewer options, with the text box to suggest an alternative option. Sometimes, a given panel actually has 5 or more available options, although even in this case only 4 options appear at a time. Refreshing the comic changes randomly which of the available options are visible and which are hidden. As of April 2nd 2014, the existence of 5 or more options seems to occur only in a few rare cases, including the first panel itself.<br />
<br />
Each panel has a "permalink" button which generates a unique URL for all the choices made by the reader — so a reader can save the chosen choices to compare them to other ways going through the selections. On the final panel the reader can enter an own statement, which is shown on screen but can't be saved by a permalink. The reader has to do a screen shot by himself.<br />
<br />
{{w|HTTP cookie|Cookies}} and {{w|Javascript}} are required to see this page properly. Without cookies, the next panel will not render; attempting to load the page in the UNIXKCD terminal or loading the page without Javascript you just will get the [[1349|previous comic]].<br />
<br />
====Buttons====<br />
Instead of clicking with the mouse you can move more quickly through the panels using the keyboard:<br />
* Up/Down - navigate options<br />
* Enter/Right - choose option after navigating with Up/Down<br />
* Left - go back one panel<br />
* a/b/c/d - choose any option directly<br />
<br />
====Bugs====<br />
Since this interactive comic relies on many servers in the background to provide the response to the reader's actions there are some problems reported here:<br />
*In the worst case the entire comic doesn't render at all as expected — it just shows the previous comic [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]].<br />
*When selecting a sentence A/B/C/D the server does not respond on that selection.<br />
*The servers responsible to provide the pictures are down.<br />
*In the first week after the comic was released, if a response lead to a panel where two characters speak at the same time, it was impossible to proceed past the first speech bubble. This was subsequently fixed.<br />
As a consequence of these bugs many readers do not understand how this interactive comic works.<br />
__notoc__<br />
<br />
===Themes===<br />
====Computer====<br />
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |<br />
! To see/hide images click here:<br />
! Description of images<br />
|-<br />
! The beginning<br>[[Image:lorenz - computer.png]]<br />
| Knit Cap Girl sits at her laptop saying/thinking something. You choose what from four options and thus starts the interactive and dynamic comic. Originally on April the 1st there where only four choices, but this has increased since. But you always have four to choose from when you begin.<br />
|-<br />
! Computer problems<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 1.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 2.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 3.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 4.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 5.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 6.png]]<br />
| Knit Cap Girl's laptop has an unspecified problem. Hairy walks in and they attempt to fix it by connecting his laptop with hers. There are two outcomes possible:<br />
* He fails so badly that they end up randomly floating in the ocean (with or without circling sharks - a reference to [[349: Success]] see below.)<br />
* It doesn't work so now Knit Cap Girl tries to write something on Hairy's laptop from a paper (a manual?) she holds in her hand. This also fails and the story continues with a blowtorch scene - see below:<br />
|-<br />
! Blowtorch<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 7.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 8.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 9.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 10.png]]<br>[[Image:lorenz - laptop 11.png]]<br />
| Knit Cap Girl becomes so upset with her laptop that she decides to melt it using a blowtorch - a clear reference to the comic from the day before this one: [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]]. After this they walk out of the building.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Political debate====<br />
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |<br />
! To see/hide images click here:<br />
! Description of images<br />
|-<br />
! Debate<br>[[image:lorenz - debate laptop.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - debate 1.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - debate 2.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - debate 5.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - debate 4.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - debate 3.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - visit.png]]<br />
| Knit Cap Girl uses har laptop to watch a debate online between the Politician 1 (on the left) and the Politician 2 ([[Cueball]], on the right), the subject and the actual conversation of which varies according to the storyline. Eventually one of two things can happen:<br />
* They fight each other, the Politician 2 using a lightsaber and the Politician 1 using his bare fists<br />
* Politician 1 is going down on one knee - either to pray or as in a suggestion to ask the other to marry him...<br />
Subjects debated could be user suggestions but below are one of those from April the 1st:<br />
*Politician 1 accuses Politician 2 of having never liked Firefly.<br />
*Politician 1 vows to end the "war on Christmas" if elected.<br />
*Politician 1 praises his adversary and supports his economic plan.<br />
*Politician 1 questions Politician 2's project of tying multiple birds to a car as fuel replacement, which would require some method to make the birds take off in unison. The solutions mentioned for this topic are given here as an example:<br />
**Opening and closing an umbrella near them (a reference to {{W|Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade}}).<br />
**Using a predatory bird to the car to scare them<br />
**Putting resources in the hands of bird educators for the purpose of training them<br />
**Employing fiscal hawks. <br />
If the Politician 1 points out some problem with the reasoning, often the solution proposed by the Politician 2 would be doing the same in a larger scale or saying he completely agrees with everything the other says...<br />
In the end, Hairy walks in to Knit Cap Girl and points out something happening near which may or may not involve birds (or what ever was the subject) which could be a direct result of Politician 2's project. Again all this could be user input!<br />
The last image where Hairy walks in have been used also in other story lines<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Miscellaneous====<br />
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |<br />
! To see/hide images click here:<br />
! Description of images<br />
|-<br />
! Walking out of the building<br>[[image:lorenz - away.png]]<br />
| They may just walk away to new events or they encounter either:<br />
*A rocket<br />
*A hole in the ground<br />
See below.<br />
|-<br />
! Space rocket<br>[[Image:lorenz - rocket 1.png]]<br />
| There is a rocket on the ground just outside of the building. The rocket either:<br />
*Fails to launch and the two characters comes out again<br />
*Takes off (with a screenshot from Kerbal Space Program) as it goes off into space - see below<br />
|-<br />
! Relativistic encounter <br> [[Image:lorenz - rocket 16.png]]<br />
| The space rocket meets another space rocket that asks a question about relativity, the same one that appeared in [[Choices: Part 2]]. The other space rocket will shoot and destroy the main rocket if the question isn't answered satisfactory. Otherwise the two rockets fly past each other.<br />
|-<br />
! Space planet<br>[[image:lorenz - rocket 21.png]]<br />
| Eventually the space rocket meets a guy on a very tiny planet which most likely is a reference to {{w|The Little Prince}}. This could also be a reference to the asteroid 4942 Munroe, then it would be Randall on the rock.<br />
|-<br />
! Dreams<br>[[File:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]<br />
| Sometimes, Knit Cap Guy or Hairy find themselves waking from a dream, suggesting that all prior events were just part of they dreaming. This may happen after either:<br />
*They fall in the big hole outside Knit Cap Guy's house<br />
*The rocket is shot down by the other spacecraft.<br />
*Knit Cap Guy also wakes up after watching the debate. <br />
Often, the dream loops upon itself, as a character wakes up multiple times in the same storyline.<br />
When Knit Cap Guy wakes it is with the head to the left and the cap lying on the end of the bed. Hairy has his head to the right.<br />
|-<br />
! Salesman<br>[[image:lorenz - sale 1.png]]<br />
| Hairy meets [[White Hat]], a salesman with a small stand. Often this happens after waking from a dream.<br />
|-<br />
! Arguing<br>[[image:lorenz - discuss.png]]<br />
| The two characters argue with each other<br />
|-<br />
! Thinking<br>[[image:lorenz - thinking.png]]<br />
| One of the characters take a panel or two to think about something.<br />
|-<br />
! Dinosaur Comics<br>[[image:lorenz - dinosaur 1.png]]<br />
| The green T-rex from {{w|Dinosaur Comics}} (a clip-art-based webcomic that uses the same artwork with different captions for every strip.) interrupts the story and proceeds to talk about his tiny arms or other subjects. In the end, he stamps on the house the main characters are in. Often, the characters wake up from a dream.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Geography====<br />
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |<br />
! To see/hide images click here:<br />
! Description of images<br />
|-<br />
! Ocean<br>[[image:lorenz - shark zero.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - shark one.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - sharks.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - squids.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - blood.png]]<br />
| Knit Cap Girl and Hairy are floating in the ocean, with or without sharks. A clear reference to [[349: Success]]. Sharks have been the subject of several other comics. <br />
Three giant squids appear and a lone shark seems disturbed. Maybe the squids killed the sharks leaving the blood in the last of these images?<br />
|-<br />
! Beach<br>[[image:lorenz - hairy swims away.png]]<br>[[image:lorenz - beach.png]]<br />
|Knit Cap Girl and Hairy starts to swim out of the shark free ocean and finally reaches a beach - see [[349: Success]].<br />
|-<br />
! Hole in the ground<br>[[Image:lorenz - gap.png]]<br />
| Hairy spots a hole in the ground and leans over it to make a comment<br />
|-<br />
! Huge hole on the lawn<br>[[image:lorenz - hole.png]]<br />
| There is a huge hole in the ground just outside of the building. The two characters always end up falling into it and awakening from a dream.<br />
|-<br />
! Tree<br>[[image:lorenz - tree.png]]<br />
| The characters walk past a tree.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Boomerang====<br />
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |<br />
! To see/hide images click here:<br />
! Description of images<br />
|-<br />
! Boomerang<br>[[image:lorenz - boomerang 1.png]]<br />
| Knit Cap Girl finds a boomerang on the ground and throws it. <br />
This part of the story ends with either:<br />
*The boomerang crashing into something off panel - someone may shout back - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:fc34f46a-ba98-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd this example].<br />
*Hitting the space rocket from another story branch - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].<br />
*Knit Cap Girl getting hit in the face with the boomerang rebound<br />
*Knit Cap Girl fails to catch the boomerang and the rebound hit Hairy in the face off screen and he then enters the frame in the next image<br />
*Knit Cap Girl putting the boomerang down on the ground and walking away<br />
Boomerangs are also featured in: [[445]], [[475]], [[939]]<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Pokémon====<br />
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |<br />
! To see/hide images click here:<br />
! Description of images<br />
|-<br />
! Pokémon<br>[[File:lorenz - pikachu theft.png]]<br />
| Some of the storylines involve Pokémon battles featuring Pikachu, a very popular Pokémon. The battles are drawn in the style of the video games. (A trainer in the left-bottom corner facing the foe in the right-top corner, with a narration box below the scene and the trainer's Pokéballs visible, although some elements are missing, such as the level, gender and HP bar.) <br />
<br />
Pikachu uses a number of different moves, though these are mostly made up and are not from the Pokémon games. Pikachu's moves are almost invariably remarked by the narrator as "It's not very effective...", but "It's super effective!" is also possible to appear. In the video games, a move is "not very effective" when the opponent's type resists the attacking move's type and "super effective" when the opponent's type is weak to the attacking move's type. Normally after a few failed attempts, there is an uncomfortable silence as the Pikachu says "Um..." and Knit Cap Girl and Hairy walk away. Pikachu is left in the grass and has time to make his final remarks as the two leave him. Rarely, a suggested move knocks Pikachu out. <br />
<br />
One narration line is "Where's Twitch when I need help?", a reference to {{w|Twitch Plays Pokémon}} which was also covered by comic [[1333: First Date]]. <br />
<br />
Another narration line is: "Google Maps didn't warn me of this.", a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMD6xELI_k Google Maps: Pokémon Challenge].<br />
<br />
Pikachu's moves:<br />
* Abandonment - Pikachu disappears completely.<br />
* Anguish - Pikachu is sad.<br />
* Ant Colony - Pikachu is covered in ants.<br />
* Cute Face<br />
* Crowdsource<br />
* The Discrete Metric<br />
* Ethylene Dichloride - Nothing seems to happen, but Ethylene Dichloride is a toxic chemical, so there may be future consequences for the characters. After using it, ("not very effective") Pikachu remarks about the move:<br />
** I used to be better at chemistry.<br />
** This is still better than all the lightning crap.<br />
* Extrude - Pikachu's head moves away from his body as his neck becomes long and malleable.<br />
* Faceless - Pikachu's face disappears.<br />
* Friendship - Pikachu is on Knit Cap Girl's head, signifying they are now friends. Friendship, though not a move, is a game mechanic in the video games.<br />
* Granite - Pikachu is atop a block of granite.<br />
* Graph Theory<br />
* Ink Cloud - Pikachu is covered in ink. In the storyline Pikachu uses it, there is the option to "gather" the ink.<br />
* Radicality - Pikachu is on a skateboard.<br />
* Struggle - In one storyline, after Pikachu uses a number of moves, it says: "Now I only have Struggle left. Tie?" In the Pokémon games, when a Pokémon runs out of PP (Power Points, the energy required to use each of its moves) for all its moves, it may only use Struggle, a weak move, indefinitely reusable, that harms not only the opponent but the user as well.<br />
* Theft - Pikachu wears Knit Cap Girl's hat. Pikachu seems to be using "Thief", a similarly-named actual move from the games, that is used to steal the foe's item and use it as its own.<br />
* Uplift - Pikachu's head goes upward, separated from its body, showing a long, thick cable still connecting the head and the body.<br />
<br />
Other remarks from Pikachu or about Pikachu:<br />
* http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e8cf1df0-bbd4-11e3-802e-002590d77bdd<br />
** Pikachu: Aren't you going to catch me? It's not difficult, I promise... Please? [Knit Cap Girl and Hairy ignore him and go away)<br />
*** Please! Jigglypuff keeps on drawing on my face!<br />
*** You were walking in tall grass! You asked for it!<br />
*** Please... Tame me! I want to party on days other than Thursday.<br />
**** [Hairy remarks] Y'know, if we catch a Pikachu, we would never [sic] to pay our electric bills again.<br />
<br />
Pokémon mentioned other than Pikachu:<br />
* Charizard (In one storyline, "Go Charizard" is one usable move in battle)<br />
* Jigglypuff<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The comic starts with a single panel presenting four options by random order among these below.]<br />
<br />
:*These stupid tiles... I'll just play one more game.<br />
:*Oh. Hey. There's some kind of political thing going on. <br />
:*Refresh... No new email... Refresh... No new tweets... Refresh...<br />
:*Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays.<br />
:*Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook.<br />
:*Gravity. Lots of it.<br />
<br />
:[The reader can choose an option and the text appears at the panel.]<br />
<br />
:[The next panels are shown after each selection until it comes to an end where the reader can suggest the last line spoken.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Although impossible to finish it has been tried to make a complete '''[[1350: Lorenz/Transcript|interactive transcript]]'''.<br />
*'''The all time longest comics by panel - top three'''. <br />
**Please only include clearly different storylines:<br />
*# [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - Space, dream, dinosaur, boomerang, and exploding rocket.<br />
*# [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:84eb4738-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 73 panels] - Space, dream, dinosaur and boomerang.<br />
*# [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] - Politics, dream and boomerang.<br />
*# [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd 30 panels] - Space travel to Little Prince.<br />
**There may be now upper boundary! <br />
**But this is then the list of the longest comics with most panels as found so far.<br />
**If you beat a record please post the '''permalink''' here.<br />
**Please note themes included in comic. <br />
**Please move beaten records down and delete the fourth.<br />
*'''Longest by themes''' - click to expand:<br />
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%"><br />
*Include only more than one if the story is clearly different from from the record.<br />
*#Space: <br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - double dream etc.<br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd 30 panels] - reaching the Little Prince:<br />
*#Multiple dreams:<br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - Two dreams one by each charachter,after space and dinosaur attack.<br />
*##? - Two dreams - same characters/same dream<br />
*##? - More than two dreams<br />
*#Boomerang:<br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - double dream etc.<br />
*##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] - Starting with politic debate in a dream.<br />
*#Dinosaur:<br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - double dream etc.<br />
*#Political debate:<br />
*##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] but also dream and boomerang.<br />
*#Pokémon: <br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 26 panels] - blowtorch moving past pokémon twice<br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd 22 panels] - moving past Pokémon.<br />
*#Sharks<br />
*##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 13 panels] - reaching beach<br />
</div><br />
*'''Longest by starting point''' - click to expand:<br />
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%"><br />
*#These stupid tiles... I'll just play one more game: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels]<br />
*#Oh. Hey. There's some kind of political thing going on: [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels]<br />
*#Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6f59d766-ba95-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 19 panels]<br />
*#Refresh... No new email... Refresh... No new tweets... Refresh...: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6427a624-ba05-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd 14 panels]<br />
*#Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2f544ea2-bc12-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd 10 panels]<br />
*#Gravity. Lots of it: ?<br />
</div><br />
*In one [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:lorenz_-_wake_up_7.png panel] Hairry is drawn in bed ''without'' his hair.<br />
<br />
==Where's the discussion block?==<br />
It was getting large, so the discussion block has been moved. You can still discuss this comic here: [[Talk:1350: Lorenz]]<br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]<br />
[[Category:April fool's comics]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Interactive comics]]</div>173.245.55.62https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1333:_First_Date&diff=62023Talk:1333: First Date2014-03-06T18:42:53Z<p>173.245.55.62: </p>
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<div>PRAISE THE HELIX, ahh TPP is just so fun to watch [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.20|141.101.99.20]] 21:02, 2 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
HAIL HELIX {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.74}}<br />
<br />
Should this be put into the Pokémon category? The comic has nothing to do with Pokémon itself, but the subject matter does. [[User:Blitzer|Blitzer]] ([[User talk:Blitzer|talk]]) 07:37, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Kill me for being a stupid nerd, but when I first read the title "First Date" I thought it was going to be a strip about the Unix Epoch. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.201|173.245.53.201]] 10:30, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
::I think that was a very cool deducton, Monica. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.138|173.245.53.138]] 15:47, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Thats nothing. Ive actually nerd sniped myself with an xkcd comic before. thinking that the one about DNE referred to the concept of an undefined value (ie 1/0) [[User:BruceJohnJennerLawso|BruceJohnJennerLawso]] ([[User talk:BruceJohnJennerLawso|talk]]) 19:00, 22 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is the first strip for a while that I had no idea what was going on. Thanks, explainxkcd! BTW I do think the Pokémon category is probably relevant enough. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 11:02, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Ah, ditto. Cheers for the explanation (not sure whether I'm happy or not that I'm so disassociated from apparently popular culture though). I actually thought "Twitch" was some sort of "random Twitter feed" thing, though, so (to some degree) I suppose I was also ''almost'' on the right track. <!-- While I'm here, I'm hoping for something special in comic 1337. Don't know what, but it would surely be a wasted opportunity. --> [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.145|141.101.99.145]] 17:31, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Anyone else notice that between panels 2 and 3, Cueball drinks most of his wine? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.145|141.101.99.145]] 17:51, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, I was intrigued by that! At least, his glass gets emptier — it seems plausible that Megan might have drunk or spilled it too. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.23|108.162.218.23]] 18:48, 21 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Seems like the amount of wine in his glass is constantly decreasing from panel 1-4. Also, the helix will guide us! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.185|173.245.53.185]] 12:48, 22 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Praise the Helix! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.106|108.162.254.106]] 16:21, 24 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I took my 4-year-old out to lunch at a restaurant last week. Randall, was that you, sitting at the next booth, taking notes? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.62|173.245.55.62]] 18:42, 6 March 2014 (UTC)</div>173.245.55.62https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1326:_Sharks&diff=59443Talk:1326: Sharks2014-02-05T13:51:10Z<p>173.245.55.62: </p>
<hr />
<div>Um... Are the sharks the prisoners? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.227|108.162.222.227]] 11:00, 5 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, it's awfully quiet... looks like nobody gets this one? :) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.179|108.162.254.179]] 12:05, 5 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
No - a real prisoner escapes - and then the evil guy has a reason to release the sharks. And as the sharks are just happy to be free, they escape instead of going for the prisoner. So he can release more sharks ad ifinitum - except that his hang-man can see the problem with the plan - to release sharks into an ocean - that humans are emptying of sharks to use only their fin... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:50, 5 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Makes me wonder if Randall recently watched Despicable Me 1 and/or 2... [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 13:01, 5 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, or a Sean Connery-era James Bond film... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.62|173.245.55.62]] 13:51, 5 February 2014 (UTC)Pat</div>173.245.55.62