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Recent comments: {{Special:RecentChanges|namespace=1}}

Latest revision as of 09:33, 16 March 2026

Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3265 xkcd comics, and only 44 (1.4%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!

 Go to this explanation

Latest comic[edit]

Nostalgia Content
Gen-Z got a chunk of the Carboniferous, and now all their memes are about how pathetic and small today's dragonflies are.
Title text: Gen-Z got a chunk of the Carboniferous, and now all their memes are about how pathetic and small today's dragonflies are.

Explanation[edit]

Ambox warning blue construction.png This is incomplete:
This page was created by a Parataxtite. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!

This comic is a joke about nostalgia content. In it, a database for creating nostalgia content has accidentally included some Early Devonian features in it. These features, while certainly being old, are far too long ago for anyone to be alive at the time, let alone remember it, hence defying the purpose.

Prototaxites (here, Parataxites) were huge fungi that lived during the Devonian. The armoured fish Cueball speaks of are from an ancient class known as Placodermi, which appeared during the Silurian and Devonian. Placoderms were among the first jawed fish, and the first fish clade to have pectoral fins. Devonian placoderms include Dunkleosteus, Titanichthys, Bothriolepis and Rhamphodopsis. Silurian placoderms include Xiushanosteus, Anglaspis, and Poraspis. There was also Sacabambaspis from the Ordovician.

The title text shows another example of nostalgia content warped by the accident, where Gen Z memes got a chunk of the Cretacious in their nostalgia database.

Transcript[edit]

Ambox warning green construction.png This is one of 26 incomplete transcripts:
Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page!
[Cueball is standing, with his arms out, in front of a Prototaxite (incorrectly referred to in this comic as a "Parataxite") towering over a mossy landscape. To his right, a Tamagotchi, and milk-caps (referred to in this comic as "pogs"), appear.]
Cueball: Who else remembers pogs? Tamagotchis? Vast forests of Parataxites towering over the mossy landscape as armored fish stir in the deep?
[Caption below the panel:]
Due to a database error, millennial nostalgia now includes a portion of the early Devonian.

Trivia[edit]

Cueball has incorrectly refered to the huge fungi as Parataxites. They are actually called prototaxites.


comment.png  Add comment      new topic.png  Create topic (use sparingly)     refresh discuss.png  Refresh 

Discussion

Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.


This is a test. PoolloverNathan[stalk the blue seas] 20:48, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

This is not. —While False (museum | talk | contributions | logs | rights | printable version | page information | what links there | related changes | Google search | current time: 16:45) 18:38, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
A foreign student asked me to help fight against his math teacher. That was unusual. He was in that class for just a couple of weeks. The teacher's phone number was sent to me. The student asked me to spam-call the teacher. 172.71.155.55 22:58, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

here i'm just messing around in html, ignore this

furhhfghure guyrburgryhuyvfr "rvhru"

interesting way of writing quotations xd

hmmm this one of putting "<p>" in a line break will come in handy for when i want it to start at the same place than the first line

Please beware that <p> on mediawiki also disables automatic paragraph breaks, so you need a closing </p> or you'll break automatic paragraph formatting for the rest of the page. Zmatt (talk) 22:06, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

edit: da hek did that "</div>" come from An user who has no account yet (talk) 14:14, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

hi uh its hard to get here. is this a reference to undocumented feature??? hmm... this is interesting.
108.162.241.216 02:05, 23 November 2023 (UTC)

Tomato soup.jpg Soup


Tomato soup.jpg Soup


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Tomato soup.jpg Soup


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Tomato soup.jpg Soup


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Tomato soup.jpg Soup


Tomato soup.jpg Soup


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Tomato soup.jpg Soup


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yum yum [citation needed]

Hiuiedeixgeyceiyedhcdiedcve {{trout}}

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<a href=" [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab] "Cancel the meeting! Our cover is blown."> More testing: hello ​ does​this​work (yes​it​does) This isn't a good name (talk) 22:44, 28 January 2026 (UTC)

‮hi 164.58.172.158 14:21, 23 February 2026 (UTC)

What is this?????????????????????? King Pando (talk) 04:25, 10 March 2026 (UTC)‭

Hello 107.1.219.44 19:29, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
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New here?[edit]

Last 30 days (Top 10)

Lots of people contribute to make this wiki a success. Many of the recent contributors above have just joined. You can do it too! Create your account here.

You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, What If? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.

  • The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!

Rules[edit]

Be a jerk!

There are a lot of comics that have set-in-stone explanations; only put one interpretation in the wiki page for each comic.

If you want to talk about a specific comic, don’t.

Please only submit material directly unrelated to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that cannot legally be posted or freely edited. On-topic or other appropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked. Get good.

If you need assistance from an admin, post a message to the Admin requests board.

Recent comments:

9 June 2026

N    16:06 

Talk:3256: Nostalgia Content‎‎ (12 changes | history) . . (+2,645). . [Logalex8369‎; Blagae‎; TheusafBOT‎; RadiantRainwing‎; GSLikesCats307‎; 82.132.239.2‎; 2a10:d586:3e93:0:6485:4264:afe9:80ff‎; Clarkexckd8‎ (5×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+215). . 2a10:d586:3e93:0:6485:4264:afe9:80ff (talk) (Nostalgia...)

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+113). . TheusafBOT (talk | contribs) (Created by theusafBOT: talk page for 3256)

     15:13  Talk:Five-Minute Comics: Part 4‎ (diff | hist) . . (+749). . 82.132.239.2 (talk)
     12:33  Talk:Main Page‎ (diff | hist) . . (+226). . 188.143.49.44 (talk) (Discussion of latest comic)

8 June 2026

     21:09 

Talk:3255: Planetary Science‎‎ (4 changes | history) . . (+878). . [50.45.232.78‎; 135.84.57.36‎; 130.76.187.47‎ (2×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+421). . 50.45.232.78 (talk) (responded to user:Barmar)

     

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     03:52  Talk:3253: Sunbeam‎ (diff | hist) . . (+324). . 2601:642:4c00:2191:4b6c:bdbe:918f:b29b (talk) (ugh)
     03:21  Talk:3237: Husband and Wife‎ (diff | hist) . . (+124). . 47.28.76.207 (talk)

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Talk:Five-Minute Comics: Part 4‎‎ (2 changes | history) . . (+174). . [47.141.37.161‎ (2×)]

     

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7 June 2026

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Talk:3253: Sunbeam‎‎ (2 changes | history) . . (+1,973). . [89.135.99.233‎; 81.179.199.253‎]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+79). . 89.135.99.233 (talk)

     01:22  Talk:3255: Planetary Science‎ (diff | hist) . . (+205). . RG (talk | contribs)

6 June 2026

     23:03 

Talk:725: Literally‎‎ (3 changes | history) . . (+134). . [81.179.199.253‎; 2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:dcf7:d1e6:4002:1a3‎ (2×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+74). . 81.179.199.253 (talk) (You know I have absolutely no idea what that should be spelling. "Meter but dead"? "Mentor bit dud?" Anyway, I'll let someone else work out what on earth that's about.)

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+23). . 2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:dcf7:d1e6:4002:1a3 (talk)

     

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     22:51  Talk:3140: Biology Department‎ (diff | hist) . . (+179). . 2605:59c8:22e3:3e14:dcf7:d1e6:4002:1a3 (talk)

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Talk:3253: Sunbeam‎‎ (6 changes | history) . . (+4,923). . [Velocifyer‎; Alexei Kopylov‎; 81.179.199.253‎; 82.132.239.79‎ (3×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+232). . Velocifyer (talk | contribs)

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+241). . Alexei Kopylov (talk | contribs)

     12:57  Talk:3099: Neighbor-Source Heat Pump‎ (diff | hist) . . (+421). . 149.40.62.4 (talk) (Dave Barry made this joke in The Taming of the Screw)
     11:32  Talk:1032: Networking‎ (diff | hist) . . (+174). . Scs (talk | contribs) (Zippy?)
     07:00  Talk:1185: Ineffective Sorts‎ (diff | hist) . . (+393). . Dúthomhas (talk | contribs)

5 June 2026

N    22:49 

Talk:3255: Planetary Science‎‎ (7 changes | history) . . (+1,387). . [Kirinhatchi‎; TheusafBOT‎; Barmar‎; 2001:4091:a241:81dc:e857:f66b:684e:c4fd‎; 130.76.187.47‎; PRR‎ (2×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+113). . TheusafBOT (talk | contribs) (Created by theusafBOT: talk page for 3255)

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Talk:1093: Forget‎‎ (3 changes | history) . . (+35). . [2001:4c4e:1c16:4500:28e2:521c:6e38:389f‎ (3×)]

     

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(cur | prev) . . (-2). . 2001:4c4e:1c16:4500:28e2:521c:6e38:389f (talk) (both were released in 2006, even if one was recorded in 2005)

     

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(cur | prev) . . (+13). . 2001:4c4e:1c16:4500:28e2:521c:6e38:389f (talk) (1 wrong year)

     

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