2848: Breaker Box - Revision history

207.195.86.104: /* Explanation */

2025-12-29T22:03:09Z

‎Explanation

TheusafBOT: Reverted edit 387708 by Anonymous1279358478 to 384360

2025-09-30T02:10:10Z

Reverted edit 387708 by Anonymous1279358478 to 384360

Anonymous1279358478 at 01:51, 30 September 2025

2025-09-30T01:51:34Z

82.132.237.169: Undo revision 384354 by 2001:4450:813D:C800:3D62:5962:E748:B3F9 (talk) Incomplete incomplete tag; what's incomplete?

2025-08-17T10:14:58Z

Undo revision 384354 by 2001:4450:813D:C800:3D62:5962:E748:B3F9 (talk) Incomplete incomplete tag; what's incomplete?

2001:4450:813D:C800:3D62:5962:E748:B3F9 at 08:17, 17 August 2025

2025-08-17T08:17:59Z

FaviFake: /* Title text */

2025-07-27T21:48:11Z

‎Title text

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2025-07-27T21:47:43Z

‎Explanation

FaviFake: /* Table of the breaker labels */

2025-07-27T21:47:04Z

‎Table of the breaker labels

Show changes

172.71.178.10: /* Transcript / Missed the point. Evoking specific writable surfaces on the 'industrial'/'metal and plastic' breaker cabinet itself. But try writing that* shorter... (Please do, if you can.)

2025-04-04T06:06:32Z

‎Transcript: Missed the point. Evoking specific writable surfaces on the 'industrial'/'metal and plastic' breaker cabinet itself. But try writing *that* shorter... (Please do, if you can.)

172.70.174.79: Fixed and completed the transcript.

2025-04-04T01:05:15Z

Fixed and completed the transcript.

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 ; Regular water heater
-: The heater for regular water. In context with the switch above, this label presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke). Alternatively, if we assume that a ''hot water heater'' is for ''making'' hot water, this heater must be for making “regular water”, whatever temperature that may mean.  Further still, the difference in these labels may be speaking to the nature of the heaters themselves - it could be the case that one of the heaters is abnormally hot to the touch, where the other is a "regular" temperature, but are otherwise both capable of heating water just fine.
+: The heater for regular water. In context with the switch above, this label presumes it's for a heater for heating water that is not yet hot (usually called a "hot water heater", hence the joke). Alternatively, if we assume that a ''hot water heater'' is for ''making'' hot water, this heater must be for making “regular water”, whatever temperature that may mean.  Further still, the difference in these labels may be speaking to the nature of the heaters themselves - it could be the case that one of the heaters is abnormally hot to the touch, where the other is a "regular" temperature, but are otherwise both capable of heating water just fine. Another possibility is that this "regular water heater" simply keeps water from dropping to a temperature below freezing; this can be useful in houses placed close enough to the poles that your pipes freezing is a risk, but also speaks to the state of the plumbing itself (as most houses will not have issue keeping the water above freezing as long as the ''house itself'' is kept warm).
 ; Outlets in rooms that it's normal to eat pizza in

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ; Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere
-: The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet. It is not uncommon for the power supplies to bathrooms (and other rooms with water connections) to be on a separate circuit.  This is because water can potentially cause a short circuit, resulting in the breaker opening, and separate circuits minimize the impact and makes the problem easier to locate. These are called "GFCI" or "GFI" (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter [https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/099_0.pdf]) circuits.
+: The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet. It is not uncommon for the power supplies to bathrooms (and other rooms with water connections) to be on a separate circuit. This is because water can potentially cause a short circuit, resulting in the breaker opening, and separate circuits minimize the impact and makes the problem easier to locate. These are called "GFCI" or "GFI" (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter [https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/099_0.pdf]) circuits.
 : It is a standard to connect a bathroom outlet with another outlet also requiring a GFCI, such as basement or outdoors. Another option is that an electrician (or homeowner), having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, may – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit. This may make sense (for example, an outlet near a non-bathroom sink or some other water source could reasonably be grouped with the bathroom), or it may simply be out of convenience from how long the wires needed to run (such as an outlet in the room adjacent to the bathroom). In either case, future residents and installers may not be informed of this, and therefore wouldn't realize that the outlet is grouped with that circuit.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ; Bathroom lights and one surprise mystery outlet somewhere
-: The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet. It is not uncommon for the power supplies to bathrooms (and other rooms with water connections) to be on a separate circuit. This is because water can potentially cause a short circuit, resulting in the breaker opening, and separate circuits minimize the impact and makes the problem easier to locate. These are called "GFCI" or "GFI" (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter [https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/099_0.pdf]) circuits.
+: The lights in the bathroom, but also a random outlet. It is not uncommon for the power supplies to bathrooms (and other rooms with water connections) to be on a separate circuit.  This is because water can potentially cause a short circuit, resulting in the breaker opening, and separate circuits minimize the impact and makes the problem easier to locate. These are called "GFCI" or "GFI" (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter [https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/099_0.pdf]) circuits.
 : It is a standard to connect a bathroom outlet with another outlet also requiring a GFCI, such as basement or outdoors. Another option is that an electrician (or homeowner), having initially reserved an output from the box for such a limited use, may – while adding wiring – chooses to wire seemingly unrelated things into the same circuit. This may make sense (for example, an outlet near a non-bathroom sink or some other water source could reasonably be grouped with the bathroom), or it may simply be out of convenience from how long the wires needed to run (such as an outlet in the room adjacent to the bathroom). In either case, future residents and installers may not be informed of this, and therefore wouldn't realize that the outlet is grouped with that circuit.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 {{TOC}}
 ==Explanation==
 A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall, usually in some maintenance area, containing multiple {{w|circuit breakers}} that distribute electricity to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever, which disconnects the circuit from the power source when opened. These breakers are designed to automatically open if too much electrical current flows through them. This is a safety measure to reduce the risk of damage and fire in the event of a short circuit or an overloaded line. These breakers can also be opened manually, deactivating the circuit to allow electrical work to be done.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 {{TOC}}
 ==Explanation==
 A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall, usually in some maintenance area, containing multiple {{w|circuit breakers}} that distribute electricity to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever, which disconnects the circuit from the power source when opened. These breakers are designed to automatically open if too much electrical current flows through them. This is a safety measure to reduce the risk of damage and fire in the event of a short circuit or an overloaded line. These breakers can also be opened manually, deactivating the circuit to allow electrical work to be done.

@@ Line 137: / Line 137: @@
 ===Title text===
-The title text is about {{w|causality}} and how to use this (unseen, located elsewhere) breaker along with the last shown switch that (de)powers the illustrated box.
+The title text is about {{w|causality}} and how to use this (unseen, located elsewhere) breaker along with the last shown switch that (de)powers the illustrated box. Causality, in its simplest form, is the process of cause and effect, meaning that everything that happens only happens because something caused it to happen - in other words, every event is an effect caused by another event. For example, a bag of chips can't just fall onto the floor for ''literally'' no reason - it has to be caused by some other event, such as someone smacking it or a gust of wind blowing it down.
-Causality, in its simplest form, is the process of cause and effect, meaning that everything that happens only happens because something caused it to happen - in other words, every event is an effect caused by another event. For example, a bag of chips can't just fall onto the floor for ''literally'' no reason - it has to be caused by some other event, such as someone smacking it or a gust of wind blowing it down.
+Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKERS switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street. Turning the CAUSALITY switch from OFF back to ON might be unlikely to do anything if the circuit breakers upstream of it have been fully deactivated. The separation of cause and effect would ostensibly take precedence over the current switch setting. Turning off CAUSALITY first would prevent either the loop or the permanent disabling of circuit breakers, but would also have many other side effects, including letting switches potentially serve power even if there is no power being served ''to them'', or even spontaneously switching (on or off) without any intervention or reason.
-Turning off the circuit breaker using the CIRCUIT BREAKERS switch may lead to a loop, if the disabled breaker can no longer disable itself, leading to it turning back on, etc. Alternatively, turning off the CIRCUIT BREAKER switch might be a one-way street.
+The 'warning', from an electrician, could even be to locate the nominally ''off'' CAUSALITY switch in order to turn it ''on'', or else all other intended effects will possibly not end up being actually actioned. Either way, whether or not turning on/off causality would change the state of causality (at one stage or other being rendered ineffectual) is an exercise left for the reader.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 }}
 ==Explanation==
 A {{w|distribution board}}, referred to as a "breaker box" here and also commonly referred to as a "fuse box", "breaker panel", "DB box", and many other names, is a metal box attached to a wall, usually in some maintenance area, containing multiple {{w|circuit breakers}} that distribute electricity to various parts of the building. A circuit breaker is an electrical switch, usually in the form of a small lever, which disconnects the circuit from the power source when opened. These breakers are designed to automatically open if too much electrical current flows through them. This is a safety measure to reduce the risk of damage and fire in the event of a short circuit or an overloaded line. These breakers can also be opened manually, deactivating the circuit to allow electrical work to be done.
-In breaker boxes, each individual breaker is typically labeled to let the operator know what that breaker controls. Typically, the circuit controlled by each breaker will feed an intuitive set of connections: a certain room, or set of rooms, or possibly a set of related services (like overhead lights, or all the outlets on one floor). Some large appliances will have a dedicated circuit and breaker.
+In breaker boxes, each individual breaker is typically labeled to let the operator know what that breaker controls. Typically, the circuit controlled by each breaker will feed an intuitive set of connections: a certain room, or set of rooms, or possibly a set of related services (like overhead lights, or all the outlets on one floor). Some large appliances will have a dedicated circuit and breaker. However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or were poorly wired the first time), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.
-However, in houses that have been rewired multiple times (or were poorly wired the first time), this can quickly become overcomplicated with seemingly random connections. Randall lives in Boston where much of the housing stock is from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and he is likely to live in a house with non-ideal wiring, which may have inspired this comic.
+The comic satirizes these complex wiring setups, with multiple breakers "controlling" arbitrary things, including some that – in the classic style of xkcd – are puns on the word "breaker" or may be impossible to hook a breaker up to, getting progressively more absurd to the point of nullifying laws and "breaking" certain laws of physics. Typically, switches in a breaker-box have the same orientation of "on" and "off" direction. This particular setup appears to adopt the convention that all switches are on (or, possibly, that all are ''off'') when flipped towards the centre of the panel. Exactly which direction the switches are installed would be more obvious from coloration, markings or even relief details that would be manufactured into the switch subunits but which are not so fully depicted in the comic.
 ===Left column of switches===

@@ Line 174: / Line 174: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label. The labels are all in white boxes.]
+:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label. The labels are all white, contrasting with various dark shades of the breaker box and switches.]
 :Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was running until now
 :Living room lights / Dishwasher

@@ Line 173: / Line 173: @@
 ==Transcript==
-{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
-:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label.]
+:[An open breaker box is shown. There are 26 labelled breakers, all of which are on, paired back to back in thirteen rows as a label, switch, switch and label. The labels are all in white boxes.]
-:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was on until now
+:Kitchen lights / A whirring fan you didn't realize was running until now
 :Living room lights / Dishwasher
 :Porch lights / Dishes