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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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This is the first comic in the [[:Category:Substitution series|Substitution series]] where [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] has suggested substitutions that will make reading the news more fun. But there have been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]] both before and after these ones.
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There are now two sequels: [[1625: Substitutions 2]], and [[1679: Substitutions 3]]. But there have been several [[:Category:Substitutions|comics using substitutions]] both before and after these ones.
  
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This is the entire Substitutions series:
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[[Randall]] is playing off of the fact that many readers of modern news articles quickly become bored with the legal and political jargon. He suggests that by substituting certain words for others can make reading the article more interesting, albeit less accurate. Although since Randall doesn't think very  highly of the news, he's probably suggesting this chart wouldn't make them less accurate at all. (See for instance [[558: 1000 Times]] and [[932: CIA]]).
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*[[1288: Substitutions]]  
 
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*[[1625: Substitutions 2]]
 
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*[[1679: Substitutions 3]]
 
  
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Randall is playing off of the fact that many readers of modern news articles quickly become bored with the legal and political jargon. He suggests that substituting certain words for others can make reading the article more interesting, albeit less accurate. Although since Randall doesn't think very highly of the news, he's probably suggesting this chart wouldn't make them less accurate at all. (See for instance [[558: 1000 Times]] and [[932: CIA]].). For example, a sentence that reads:
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For example, a sentence that reads
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:Witnesses reported that the suspect allegedly escaped unharmed.
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would be changed to
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:These dudes I know reported that the suspect kinda probably escaped unharmed.
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This substitution does not change the meaning much, and the original sentence does not lose much of its accuracy. However, for substitutions later in the comic, a sentence may be changed as following
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:A new study finds that senators and other congressional leaders are increasingly likely to view election results on their smartphone.
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into
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:A Tumblr post finds that elf-lords and other river spirits are increasingly likely to view eating contest results on their Pokédex.
  
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{{Quote|Witnesses reported that the suspect allegedly escaped unharmed.}}
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Which is less meaningful, but more interesting.
  
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would be changed to
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The final substitution returns from the realm of the ridiculous to replacing "could not be reached for comment" with "is guilty and everyone knows it." If a journalist writes a story about an accused suspect but is unable to contact them or receives no response from them, they will write that the person "could not be reached for comment." Randall's whimsical assumption that silence implies guilt is so common that juries are instructed that they should not infer guilt if the defendant fails to testify, particularly in nations which have a right against self-incrimination.
  
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{{Quote|These dudes I know reported that the suspect kinda probably escaped unharmed.}}
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[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-substitutions/jkgogmboalmaijfgfhfepckdgjeopfhk?hl=en&gl=001 Chrome] and [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/xkcd-substitutions/?src=ss Firefox] extensions are available for applying the substitutions on webpages.
  
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This substitution does not change the meaning much, and the original sentence does not lose much of its accuracy. However, for substitutions later in the comic, a sentence may be changed as follows:
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'Spaaace' could be a reference to the Space Core from {{w|Portal 2}}, or to the way {{w|The Muppet Show}} presented [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHsr7Chmff8 Pigs in Spaaace].
  
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{{Quote|A new study finds that senators and other congressional leaders are increasingly likely to view election results on their smartphone.}}
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The {{w|Virtual Boy}} is a table-top video game console made by Nintendo released in 1995, and discontinued about the same year. It achieved true-3D graphics through the use of a large visor containing a pair of LED screens.
  
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into
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The Pokédex is a device in the {{w|Pokémon|Pokémon world}} that records the data of captured Pokémon.
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{{Quote|A Tumblr post finds that elf-lords and other river spirits are increasingly likely to view eating contest results on their Pokédex.}}
 
  
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Which is less meaningful, but more interesting. The final substitution returns from the realm of the ridiculous to replacing "could not be reached for comment" with "is guilty and everyone knows it." If a journalist writes a story about an accused suspect but is unable to contact them or receives no response from them, they will write that the person "could not be reached for comment." Randall's whimsical assumption that silence implies guilt is so common that juries are instructed that they should not infer guilt if the defendant fails to testify, particularly in nations that have a right against self-incrimination. 'Spaaace' could be a reference to the Space Core from {{w|Portal 2}}, or to the way {{w|The Muppet Show}} presented [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHsr7Chmff8 Pigs in Spaaace].
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{{w|Homestar Runner}} is the title character of a Flash-animated web cartoon series, known for being an idiot.
  
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The {{w|Virtual Boy}} is a table-top video game console made by Nintendo released in 1995 and discontinued about the same year. It achieved true-3D graphics through the use of a large visor containing a pair of LED screens, though it considered having done so incredibly poorly, while also lacking any form of ergonomic comfort and sporting several critical design flaws. As a result, it is commonly mocked as one of Nintendo's biggest failures (sometimes by Nintendo itself). The [https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9dex Pokédex] is a device in the [https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_world Pokémon world] that records the data of captured Pokémon. {{w|Homestar Runner}} is the title character of a Flash-animated web cartoon series, known for being an idiot.
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It seems generally that Randall is no fan of Google Glass, which was also shown earlier in [[1251: Anti-Glass]] and later in [[1304: Glass Trolling]]. Thus explaining why Google Glass has such a ridiculous substitution as ''Virtual Boy''. Google Glass has become a [[:Category:Google Glass|recurrent theme]] in xkcd.
  
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It seems generally that Randall is no fan of Google Glass, which was also shown earlier in [[1251: Anti-Glass]] and later in [[1304: Glass Trolling]]. Thus, explaining why Google Glass has such a ridiculous substitution as ''Virtual Boy''. Google Glass has become a [[:Category:Google Glass|recurring theme]] in xkcd. In the title text, [[Elon Musk]] is mentioned. He is (amongst other things) the CEO of {{w|Tesla Motors}}, which produces electric cars. In the title text "atomic cats" replaced the sentence "Electric cars" according to the chart of the comic. News reports about new studies ({{w|Tumblr}} posts) are further lampooned in [[1295: New Study]], a comic posted two weeks later.
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In the title text {{w|Elon Musk}} is mentioned. He is (amongst other things) the CEO of {{w|Tesla Motors}}, which produces electric cars. In the title text the sentence "Electric cars" was replaced by "atomic cats" according to the chart of the comic.
  
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News reports about new studies ({{w|Tumblr}} posts) are further lampooned in [[1295: New Study]], a comic posted two weeks later.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:'''Substitutions''' that make reading the news more fun:
 
:'''Substitutions''' that make reading the news more fun:
  
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:[A table of words/sentences on the left that changes into those on the left. Between each set of words, there is a gray arrow pointing from the right.]
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:[A table of words/sentences on the left that change in to those on the left. Between each set of words there is a gray arrow pointing from right.]
 
:{|
 
:{|
 
|-
 
|-
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| Is guilty and everyone knows it
 
| Is guilty and everyone knows it
 
|}
 
|}
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==Trivia==
 
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* This is the first xkcd comic featuring [[Elon Musk]].
 
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* There are extensions for [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xkcd-substitutions/jkgogmboalmaijfgfhfepckdgjeopfhk?hl=en&gl=001 Chrome] and [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/xkcd-substitutions/?src=ss Firefox] that apply these substitutions on webpages.
 
  
 
{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
  
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[[Category:Substitution series]]
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[[Category:Substitutions]]
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[[Category:Comics sharing name|Substitutions]]
 
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[[Category:Charts]]
 
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[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]
 
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Video games]]
 
[[Category:Video games]]
 
[[Category:Pokémon]]
 
[[Category:Pokémon]]
 
[[Category:Politics]]
 
[[Category:Politics]]
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[[Category:Cats]]
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[[Category:Charts]]
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[[Category:Comics sharing name|Substitutions]]
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[[Category:Animals]]
 
[[Category:Google Glass]]
 
[[Category:Google Glass]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]

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