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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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The first of two [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comics]] in a row, as it was followed by [[1621: Fixion]].
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{{incomplete|May need improvement. Should there be two versions of why they cannot remember?}}
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[[Ponytail]] is showing [[Megan]] around in her facility, and as the comic begins they enter a new room (''over here we have'') where she has the ''Universe Control Panel''.
  
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In this comic [[Ponytail]] is showing [[Megan]] around a facility where they are now reaching the "Universe Control Panel", and Ponytail points out the first panel and tells that these dials control {{w|Christmas}}.
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A "Universe Control Panel" would be a set of dials to control the universe, and anyone having access to a room with these controls would from our point of view be in a God like position. If such a room did exist it would most likely be situated outside our universe (a dimension outside, and not necessarily in another universe). Since this is Christmas, looking at it from a Christian point of view, this would be Gods domicile and his control room for the universe would probably be located in Heaven.
  
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Presumably the control panel is a set of panels with several dials each to control the entire universe, and anyone having access to a room with these controls would from our point of view be in a Godlike position. If such a room did exist, it would most likely be situated outside our universe. Here it would be easy for [[Randall]] to use the panel to make [[#Universal constants control panel|physics references]], with dials to control the specific size of {{w|Physical constant|fundamental constants}} of the universe such as the {{w|speed of light in vacuum}} or the {{w|Planck constant}}. Instead he chooses a more comedic angle in the spirit of Christmas (as he usually does in [[:Category:Christmas|comics released]] close to said holiday, this one being released on December 23rd).  
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Seen from a physicist point of view the typical panels for such a control room, would be with dials to control the specific size of {{w|Physical constant|fundamental constants}} of the universe such as the {{w|speed of light in vacuum}}, {{w|Planck constant}} and the {{w|fine-structure constant}} to mention but a few.
  
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We are shown only one of the dials on the Christmas control panel, the one that controls how {{w|Santa Claus}} enters people’s houses. The ''Santa enters houses through''-dial has [[#Options for Santa|ten different possible settings]]. The one it's set to at this point of the comic is the traditional ''chimney''. Among the other nine there is only one even more reasonable option, ''open window'', but surprisingly there is no option called ''door''. The other eight options, however, are increasingly weird or even impossible (though of course not for Santa, who can deliver a billion presents in one night and fly in a sleigh drawn by flying reindeer). These options ranges from the ''feasible'' like ''mail slot'', ''heating vents'' or ''cat flap'', to the impossible/ridiculous (some even disgusting) such as ''kitchen faucet'', ''shower drain'', or ''toilet'', to the truly magical ''bathroom mirror'', to the downright unpleasant ''pores of your skin''. (See [[555: Two Mirrors]] regarding the mirror version.)
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But the first control panel they reach includes the dials that control {{w|Christmas}}. So these control panels are either much more detailed than just physics constant (or not at all considering these underlying constants at all). That we see this option as the first, is of course because this is a [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comic]] released on the 23rd of December.
  
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In a quite unfortunate turn of events, Megan trips and catches herself on the Santa dial, messing it up by clicking it twice (if one click equals changing to the next adjacent option, in any initial direction, then now it must be set either be "kitchen faucet" or "mail slot"). To make matters worse, when Megan asks what it was set to before so as to undo the mishap, Ponytail tells that she has forgotten. So they cannot put it back right.  
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From Ponytails comment it is clear that this is just one of several panels with dials, and on the panel for Christmas there are more than one dial. We only see one of these up close (to get an idea of how they work, and for the sake if the joke).
  
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The dial is shown in the comic only for the reader's benefit, because as Megan tripped up before reaching it and never looked at it. As Ponytail is showing her around, it must have been Megan's first visit here. The reason why Ponytail cannot remember to which option the dial was set before is most likely because she is not part of our universe (the control panel is located outside), and also she is probably not the creator of the control panel. She is clearly disturbed when Megan falls on the control panel (she holds up her hand to her mouth), and might not want to have to tell her boss about this mess up. It is possible that by changing the dial, Megan's memories of Santa's entry methods are altered, and so whatever position the dial now rests at would seem normal to her. (This could mean that history has no effect outside the universe, so the single dial controls past, present, and future Santa methods. Perhaps the dial was formerly something more logical than a chimney, like "open window," and indeed ''we'' are the ones who now live in the altered universe.)
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Megan and Ponytail have not reached the panel yet, and it is not they who see the dial from the second panel, that specifically control the Christmas setting for how {{w|Santa Claus}} enters people’s houses: The ''Santa enters houses through''-dial, has ten different possible settings. The one it's set to at this point of the comic is the traditional ''chimney''. Amongst the other nine there is one option that would be more logical ''open window'', but surprisingly here is not option called ''the door'' though. But the other eight, are increasingly weird or even impossible (though of course not for Santa, who can deliver a billion packets in one night and fly in a sleigh drawn by flying  reindeers…) These options ranging from the ”feasible” like ''mail slot'', ''heating vents'' or ''cat flap'' to the impossible/ridicules (some even disgusting) as ''kitchen faucet'', ''shower drain'' or ''toilet'' over the truly magical ''bathroom mirror '' and to the downright unpleasant - ''pores of your skin''. (See [[555: Two Mirrors]] regarding the mirror version).
  
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Then, as so often seen with human behaviors (if they are indeed human beings at all?), Megan says she will simply take a wild guess and hope she get it right. As the only thing she really knows is that it is not on the right setting now, there is only 1/9 chance that she will get it right, assuming she will at least change it away from the setting it ended up on.
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As Megan and Ponytail are on their way to the next stop on the tour of these facilities Megan trips and catches herself on the Santa dial, messing it up by clicking it twice. Ponytail is disturbed by this and holds up her hand to her mouth. The reason for this is obvious when Megan asks what it was set to before so as to undo the mishap, because Ponytail tells that she has forgotten. So they cannot put it back right. This kind of proves that Ponytail is just a guide, and not the creator of the control panels.
  
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Since the comic was released just before Christmas, here a prank is played on the reader/children who believe in Santa Claus. Now that the dial setting is probably changed, one can expect Santa to enter the house in a different way. So the believer could stay up and try to find out what way it would be.
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As so often seen with human behaviors (if they are indeed human beings at all?) Megan says she will simply take a wild guess and hope she get it right. As the only thing she really knows is that it is not on the right setting now, there is only 1/9 that she will get it right assuming she will at least change it away from the setting she ended up on.
  
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The title text continues the idea of a universe control panel by showing another possible dial, ''[[#Options for dogs|Sound dogs make]]'', ranging from normal (barking) to cat sounds (hissing, very embarrassing for a dog), "lightsaber noises", and speech to swearing. This dial would thus give the same option of changing the expected vocal response of the dog away from (our norm of) barking, as with the other dial for the way Santa enters the house. In popular culture, talking dogs are a commonly used trope; in contrast, swearing dogs are few, the most famous being {{w|Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog}}, a puppet created by {{w|Conan O'Brien}} and {{w|Robert Smigel}} and performed by the latter.
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As we can see in the comic the dial clicks twice, implying it has moved two positions; Megan has thus most likely changed the dial to either "kitchen faucet" or "mail slot." As we do not know which of these she will now change away from, It is impossible to guess from the comic where she end up putting it, all ten options are possible. <!-- TO DO: change this for a results report about from where Santa currently enters trough -->
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Since this comic was released on the 23rd of December, we are likely to find out in less than two days, if Santa comes out of the pores on our skin, or just through the mail slot... Only the first of these options will for certain be detected by someone…
  
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The comic might also be a joke on real-life controls, physical or virtual, often having no clear "default" value.
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As it is Ponytail who are showing Megan around, it is thus the first time Megan even hear about these dials, and she has no idea about where the Santa dial was pointing before. The reason why Ponytail cannot remember to which option the dial was set before is most likely because she is not part of our universe, and also not the creator of the control panel. If this is a control room outside of our universe these settings will not affect the two girls but they also have no need to know about Christmas on Earth. Anyone with access to these control room, might not particularly care for what happens on Earth, which is just one of a multitude of planet and stars that needs to be controlled from this control room.  
  
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The Universe Control Panel is also referenced in [[1763: Catcalling]].
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An alternative explanation for the reason Ponytail has forgotten, is that the universe immediately updated its settings to the latest selection, once Megan released the dial, changing all previously existing folklore and memories in existence to match (this will only make sense if the two girls are part of the universe that they are in control of). Where previously it was widely known that Santa Clause entered through the chimney, it is now widely known that he enters through kitchen faucets or mail slots (depending on Megan's selection). This makes it impossible to remember what the original setting was. Of course if this happened then how do they remember that it was changed in the first place? Megan would now know what that is on the correct position and leave it be. So this explanation makes little sense...
  
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===Options for Santa===
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The title text continues this by showing another ad-lib dial: ''Sound dogs make'' ranging from the norm (barking) over "lightsaber noises" and speech to swearing. This is likely on another control panel (but could specifically be the sound a dog would make in response to Santa's entry, by whatever method?), but would give the same option of changing the expected vocal response of the dog away from (our norm of) barking. In popular culture, talking dogs are a commonly used trope; in contrast, swearing "dogs" are few, the most famous being Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog (a puppet, created by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel and performed by the latter).
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*Below is a table with the ten possible settings for ''Santa enters houses through...''; starting with the originally chosen standard option and going clockwise through the rest:
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{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
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==Options for Santa==
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{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5
 
|'''Option''' || '''Normal Entry/Exit for...'''
 
|'''Option''' || '''Normal Entry/Exit for...'''
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Chimney}} || {{W|Santa Claus}} typically comes in this way (see him here in a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk Victorian roof-top song and dance number]). Also {{w|The_Three_Little_Pigs|big bad wolves}} use [https://youtu.be/Olo923T2HQ4?t=432 this entrance] in Disney’s cartoon.
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|Chimney || {{W|Santa Claus}}, characters in a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk victorian roof-top song and dance number] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Little_Pigs big bad wolves].
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Shower#Drainage|Shower drain}} || Dirty shower water.  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPgjOcdQ0fE Evil clowns].
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|Open window || Burglars and other criminals. Also often used as an exit by teenagers in movies and other film media.
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Mail slot}} || Letters, post cards and small presents delivered by the mailman.
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|Kitchen faucet || Water.
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Duct (flow)|Heating vents}} || Hot air used for {{w|central heating}}, but it is a common trope for the hero of an action film to [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AirVentPassageway climb through such a vent]. Also accidentally predicted the hit game Among Us.
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|Cat flap || Domesticated cats and dogs.
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Bathroom}} {{w|mirror}} || See {{w|Candyman (film)|Candyman}}, or {{w|Bloody Mary (folklore)|Bloody Mary}} (the latter has been used in [[555: Two Mirrors]]).
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|Toilet || Human waste and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption life-term prisoners].
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Skin pore|Pores of your skin}} || {{w|Sweat}} leaving the body.
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|Shower drain || Dirty shower water.
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Toilet}} || {{w|Human waste}}, {{w|Pickle_Rick|Rick Sanchez}} and {{w|The_Shawshank_Redemption|life-term prisoners}} (at least through the sewer).
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|Mail slot || Letters, post cards and small presents.
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Cat flap}} || Domesticated cats and dogs.
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|Heating vents || Hot air.
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Sink|Kitchen faucet}} || Water.
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|Bathroom mirror || {{w|Candyman (film)|Candyman}}, {{w|Bloody Mary (folklore)|Bloody Mary}} (see [[555]])
 
|-
 
|-
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|{{w|Window|Open window}} || {{w|Burglars}} and other criminals, or anyone in an emergency such as a fire. Also often used as an exit by teenagers in movies and other film media, or by people who have locked themselves out of their own house.
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|Pores of your skin || Sweat leaving the body.
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|}
 
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===Options for dogs===
 
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*Below is a table with the five possible settings for ''Sound dogs make''; starting with the current and continuing with the order in the title text:
 
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{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
 
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|'''Option''' || '''Normal sound for...'''
 
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|-
 
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|{{w|Bark (sound)|Barking}} || {{w|Dogs}} current standard sound in our universe...
 
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|-
 
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|[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hissing Hissing] || Typically a {{w|List of animal sounds|sound attributed }} to {{w|snakes}}, but also sometimes {{w|cats}} are [http://www.animalplanet.com/pets/why-do-cats-hiss/ said to hiss], for instance as a reaction against a barking dog. It would thus be very frustrating for dogs if their noise was changed into that of their arch enemies.
 
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|-
 
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|{{w|Lightsaber|Lightsaber noises}} || A lightsaber makes a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kpHK4YIwY4 unique sound], and as they are one of the most known props from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe, it is very relevant as the newest Star Wars movie ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'' was released a week before this comic. Star Wars was also a major theme a month ago in the comic [[1608: Hoverboard]], the coin collecting game that celebrated [[Randall|Randall's]] new book.
 
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|-
 
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|{{w|Fluency#Speech|Fluent}} {{w|English language|English}} || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRcUcxtaX-Q Speaking dogs] are a common trope as are {{w|talking animals}} in general. A person who is native to a country where they speak English will usually be fluent in speaking English.
 
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|-
 
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|{{w|Profanity|Swearing}} || It would be unpleasant for people who dislike swearing, and a big problems for movies such as {{w|Lassie}} where most of the soundtrack would have to be replaced by {{w|Bleep censor|bleeps}}. Swearing "dogs" are few, the most famous being {{w|Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog}}, a puppet created by {{w|Conan O'Brien}} and {{w|Robert Smigel}} and performed by the latter.
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
 
:[Megan and Ponytail are walking over to a console, Ponytail points towards it. They are drawn in a panel that is only half the width of the next panel below]
 
:[Megan and Ponytail are walking over to a console, Ponytail points towards it. They are drawn in a panel that is only half the width of the next panel below]
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:Ponytail: Over here we have the universe control panel.
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:Ponytail: Over here we have the universe control panel.  
 
:Ponytail: These dials, for example, control Christmas.
 
:Ponytail: These dials, for example, control Christmas.
  
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:[Ponytail is passing by this control panel looking back at Megan who trips and falls towards the console.]
 
:[Ponytail is passing by this control panel looking back at Megan who trips and falls towards the console.]
 
:Megan: Whoops!
 
:Megan: Whoops!
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:Megan's legs: Trip
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:Megans legs: Trip
  
 
:[Megan catches herself on the dial of the control panel and accidentally turns the dial. Ponytail has taken her hands to her mouth.]
 
:[Megan catches herself on the dial of the control panel and accidentally turns the dial. Ponytail has taken her hands to her mouth.]
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:Megan: What was the Santa dial set to before?
 
:Megan: What was the Santa dial set to before?
 
:Ponytail: I forget.
 
:Ponytail: I forget.
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:Megan: I'll just guess.
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:Megan: I'll just guess
  
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
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*In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/7/73/20151223160450!christmas_settings.png original version] of the comic Ponytail erroneously said: ''These dials, for example, '''controls''' Christmas.''
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*In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/7/73/20151223160450!christmas_settings.png original version] of the comic Ponytail erroneously said: ''These dials, for example, '''controls''' Christmas.''  
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**This was soon changed to the current (and grammatically correct) version without the "s" at the end of controls ''These dials, for example, control Christmas.''
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**This was soon changed to the current (and grammatically correct) version with out the "s" at the end of controls ''These dials, for example, control Christmas.''  
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**Thus proving that it was intended that there were more than one dial, we just see the one that Megan later changed by mistake for the sake of the joke of the comic.
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**Thus proving that it was intended that there where more than one dial, we just see the one that Megan later changed by mistake for the sake of the joke of the comic.
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*The "Universe Control Panel" is later featured in [[1763: Catcalling]], but is referred to as the "Universe Control Console" instead.
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{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
  

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