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| − | < | + | <font size=5px>''Welcome to the '''explain [[xkcd]]''' wiki!''</font><br> |
| − | We | + | <span style="font size:210%;">We have an explanation for all [[List of all comics (full)|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:All comics|R}}}}''' xkcd comics]], and only {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} ({{#expr: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} / {{LATESTCOMIC}} * 100 round 1}}%) are incomplete. [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|Help us finish them!]]</span><!-- Note: the -1 in the calculation above has been removed (it was there to discount "comic" 404, but we've categorized it to be a comic and so has Randall.) --> |
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| + | <!-- Go to this explanation button --><span style="position: absolute; right:0; padding-top:1.4em; font-size: 100%;"><span class="no-link-underline">[[{{LATESTCOMIC}}| </span>'''Go to this explanation''']]</span> | ||
| − | + | =Latest comic= | |
| + | <div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#f6f6f6; padding:1.5em;"> | ||
| + | {{:{{LATESTCOMIC}}}} | ||
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| − | < | + | <span style="position: absolute; left:0; padding-top:1.35em; font-size: 105%;"><span class="no-link-underline"> [[File:new topic.png|21x21px|link={{LATESTCOMIC}}#Discussion]][[{{LATESTCOMIC}}#Discussion| </span>'''View comic discussion''']]</span><br><br></div> |
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== New here? == | == New here? == | ||
| − | Feel free to | + | <div style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em">{{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}<div style="font-size:0.85em; width:28em; font-style:italic">[[Special:ContributionScores|Lots of people]] contribute to make this wiki a success. Many of the recent contributors above have [{{fullurl:Special:Contributions|contribs=newbie}} just joined]. You can do it too! Create your account [[Special:UserLogin/signup|here]].</div></div> |
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| + | You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at [[explain xkcd]]. Feel free to [[Special:UserLogin/signup|create an account]] and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|comics]], [[:Category:Characters|characters]], [[What If? chapters|''What If?'' articles]], and [[:Category:xkcd|everything in between]]. If it is referenced in an [[xkcd]] comic, it should be here. | ||
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| + | * If you're new to wiki editing, see the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ]] for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on [[mw:Help:Editing pages|how to edit wiki pages]]. There's also a handy {{w|Help:Cheatsheet|wikicode cheatsheet}}. | ||
| − | * | + | * Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the [[explain xkcd:Community portal|Community portal]]. |
| − | * | + | * You can browse the comics from the [[List of all comics (full)|list of all comics]] or by navigating the category tree at [[:Category:Comics]]. |
| − | * [[ | + | * The incomplete explanations are listed [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|here]]. Feel free to help out by expanding them! |
== Rules == | == Rules == | ||
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| − | + | Don't be a jerk! | |
| − | + | There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic. | |
| − | If you | + | If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page. |
| − | + | Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked. | |
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[[Category:Root category]] | [[Category:Root category]] | ||
Latest revision as of 19:52, 31 July 2025
Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3185 xkcd comics, and only 52 (1.6%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!
Latest comic
| Inverted Catenaries |
 Title text: Some tires are marketed as 'all-shape tires,' but if driven in a climate with both inverted catenary falls and triangle falls, they wear out really fast. |
Explanation
During the winter, in snowy areas, people need to replace their typical, all-season tires with snow tires made specifically for the slick environment. In this comic, instead of snow, rounded shapes called inverted catenary curves fall from the skies. On a plane covered in inverted catenaries all the same size, square wheels whose side length matches the arc length of the catenary are capable of rolling smoothly, contrary to how they would act on a normal road. Regular wheels would cause a significantly bumpier ride on this terrain, so Cueball plans to swap them out with square wheels to better suit the season.
Mathematicians have found what types of roads would suit weird wheels the most, and inverted catenary curves are best suited for a square wheel. People have made real tracks demonstrating this.
Note however, this assumes the catenaries are arranged periodically with no spacing between them, fully cover the surface, and are consistent in shape and orientation. The orientation also would restrict the direction of travel, effectively meaning your vehicle would be travelling on rails. Changes in direction could be managed using catenaries whose arc length was consistent but whose segment length varied, with the variations in vertical size being accommodated by vehicles' suspension systems, but letting the direction changes be controlled by drivers (e.g. branching roads) would require complex 3D road surface shapes.
The title text mentions all-shape tires (as a play on all-terrain tire), which is advertised to supposedly fit any shape road. However, different shapes would require very different wheels; for example, falling triangles would form a sawtooth road, for which one would optimally require wheels pasted together from pieces of an equiangular spiral. Any hypothetical all-shape wheel would wear out very quickly on most surfaces.
Transcript
- [Megan and Cueball are walking together as inverted catenary curves fall from the sky. A few have landed in a regular formation, all flat-side down and evenly spaced, with some touching each other.]
- Cueball: Oh wow, the first inverted catenary fall of the year!
- Cueball: Time to swap out my all-season tires for square ones.
View comic discussionNew here?
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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.
- If you're new to wiki editing, see the explain xkcd:Editor FAQ for a specific guidance to this wiki and the more general help on how to edit wiki pages. There's also a handy wikicode cheatsheet.
- Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the Community portal.
- You can browse the comics from the list of all comics or by navigating the category tree at Category:Comics.
- The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!
Rules
Don't be a jerk!
There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.
If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.
Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.
If you need assistance from an admin, post a message to the Admin requests board.
