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| titletext = Happy little turtles
 
| titletext = Happy little turtles
 
}}
 
}}
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{{TOC}}
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*To experience the interactivity of this comic, visit the {{xkcd|2601|original comic}}.
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*To experience the interactivity of the game, visit the {{xkcd|2601|original comic}}.
 
−
 
 
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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This is the 12th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2445: Checkbox]], which was released on Thursday, April 1st, 2021. The next became [[2765: Escape Speed]] released on Friday April 19th, 2023 (a regular release day, but 18 days late).
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{{incomplete|Created by a HAPPY LITTLE TURTLE - now that the full comic has been completed, an explanation of that is necessary. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
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This is the 12th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2445: Checkbox]], which was released on Thursday, April 1st, 2021.
  
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The comic displays just a small {{w|radio button}} (or option button). Usually, there would be more than one to give the user options. Once it has been selected it cannot be deselected. Once pressed the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/2601_Instructions_Radio_on.png button turns blue] and this starts the real part of this April fool's comic.
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When loading the comic just a small dot is shown, a {{w|radio button}} (or option button). Usually, there would be more than one to give the user options. Once it has been selected it cannot be deselected. Once pressed the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/2601_Instructions_Radio_on.png button turns blue] and this starts the real part of this April fool's comic.
  
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The comic consists of an [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=0 audio file]. The speech is a mix of [[#Index of facts|facts about turtles]] and coding instructions in {{w|Logo_(programming_language)|LOGO}}. When executed, the instructions draw an xkcd comic. The audio file is 9 hours and 7 minutes long.
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The comic consists of an [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=0 audio file]. The speech is a mix of [[#Index of facts|facts about turtles]] and coding instructions in {{w|Logo_(programming_language)|LOGO}}. When executed, the instructions draw an xkcd comic. The audio file is 9 hours and 7 minutes long.
  
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[[File:xkcd 2601 finished comic animation.gif|thumb|200px|200px|Click to view the animation of the code running to create the picture, sourced from the GitHub.]]
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[[File:xkcd 2601 finished picture.png|thumb|The finished picture.]]
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*See the [[#The resulting image|resulting comic]] below.
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[[File:xkcd 2601 finished comic animation.gif|thumb|200px|200px|Click to view the animation of the code compiling to create the picture.]]
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**And see how it is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/xkcd_2601_finished_comic_animation.gif animated here].
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*Here is the [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601#transcription-complete resulting comic].
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**This has been compiled by [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601#transcription-complete theinternetftw on Github].
 
 
*The transcript of the quotes (the non-code) can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].
 
*The transcript of the quotes (the non-code) can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].
 
*Images of the dynamic changes and other pictures relating to this comic can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Images]].
 
*Images of the dynamic changes and other pictures relating to this comic can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Images]].
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The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png image originally displayed] on this page was of a small turtle crawling in the center where the radio button is in the real comic. That was the image that would be downloaded by web crawlers like explain xkcd's bot, as it is what was placed here on xkcd: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/instructions_2x.png. This is of course not the real comic, which cannot be downloaded in that manner.  
 
The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png image originally displayed] on this page was of a small turtle crawling in the center where the radio button is in the real comic. That was the image that would be downloaded by web crawlers like explain xkcd's bot, as it is what was placed here on xkcd: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/instructions_2x.png. This is of course not the real comic, which cannot be downloaded in that manner.  
  
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The "turtle" is a key concept in Logo, a programming language especially designed to teach programming to children in an easy way. The turtle in the logo is the cursor. Programming commands move the turtle, drawing a line as it goes. Of course, listening to hours of instructions, including the speech-synthesized reading of source code, is not an easy way to code or draw a picture.{{cn}}
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The "turtle" is a key concept in Logo, a programming language especially designed to teach programming to children in an easy way. The turtle in Logo is the cursor. Programming commands move the turtle, drawing a line as it goes. Of course, listening to hours of instructions, including speech-synthesized reading of source code, is not an easy way to code or draw a picture.{{cn}}
  
 
In addition, at [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=32817 the end of the audio] the voice says:
 
In addition, at [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=32817 the end of the audio] the voice says:
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</blockquote>
 
</blockquote>
  
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The title text alludes to {{w|Bob Ross}}'s catchphrase "happy little trees" in ''{{w|The Joy of Painting}}'', a PBS TV show in which Ross leads the viewer through the painting of a nature scene.  The audio file itself is also presented in the style of ''The Joy of Painting''; it begins with greeting the viewer and introducing the color palette to be used (just one color, in this case, as Logo and all computer monitors of the time were monochrome).  The speaker then reads out some helper functions to be used in programming the scene, which is more analogous to Ross's palette of paints (titanium white, carmine red, etc.) along with words of encouragement as each is completed.  The functions are DIST, to calculate the {{w|Euclidean distance}} between two points, LERP, to perform {{w|linear interpolation}}, MIX to average two numbers (with LERP), and CUBIC to draw {{w|cubic Hermite spline}}s.  From there, the speaker alternates between sketching parts of the scene and offering more words of encouragement, mixed in with turtle facts.
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The title text alludes to {{w|Bob Ross}}'s catchphrase "happy little trees" in {{w|The Joy of Painting}}.
  
 
Transcribing the audio into text was organized as a [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601 project on github].
 
Transcribing the audio into text was organized as a [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601 project on github].
  
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This is not the first time that Randall made an interactive comic where turtles played a big part, see [[1416: Pixels]]. In this, he jokes with the idea of turtles all the way down, which is [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10403 also mentioned] in the audio file. He also made a comic simply called [[889: Turtles]].
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This is not the first time that Randall made an interactive comic where turtles played a big part, see [[1416: Pixels]]. He also made a comic simply called [[889: Turtles]].
 +
 
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===The Resulting Image==
 +
 
  
 
===Unique header text===
 
===Unique header text===
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This comic has a [[Header text#Comic-specific header text|unique header text]], see [[Header text#Instructions|the details here]]. The header is:
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This comic has a [[xkcd_Header_text#Unique_header_text|unique header text]], see [[xkcd_Header_text#Instructions|the details here]]. The header is:
 
:"Today's comic was created with [https://twitter.com/fadinginterest Patrick], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/chromakode @chromakode], [https://twitter.com/dyfrgi Michael], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], [https://twitter.com/xDirtyPunkx Conor], [https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon],  and [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin]."
 
:"Today's comic was created with [https://twitter.com/fadinginterest Patrick], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/chromakode @chromakode], [https://twitter.com/dyfrgi Michael], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], [https://twitter.com/xDirtyPunkx Conor], [https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon],  and [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin]."
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The header had not changed [[Header text#2022-01-31_-_What_if.3F_2|since the promotion]] of the new ''what if? 2'' book.
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The header had not changed [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-31_-_What_if.3F_2|since the promotion]] of the new what if? 2 book.
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==The resulting image==
 
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[[File:xkcd 2601 finished picture.png|750px|center]]
 
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===Explanation of the image===
 
−
 
 
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The image drawn by the Logo program is a depiction of {{w|Bob Ross}} standing in front of a canvas, on which he has painted "a happy little tree, holding up a happy little world". However, unlike his usual "happy little trees", the tree depicted is not a small pine, but rather a gargantuan {{w|World Tree}} growing from the back of a giant {{w|World Turtle}}, on which a {{w|Flat Earth}} rests. (The "happy little world" does bear several small pines more typical of his style.) Several ornaments hang from the World Tree, referencing the common practice of hanging ornaments on {{w|Christmas trees}}.
 
−
 
 
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Near the middle of the world, a Cueball sits while listening to the radio, perhaps tuning in to the same transmission that generated the image. Closer to the reader, a turtle is shown walking around, leaving dotted-line tracks behind it, suggestive of the Logo turtle. The dotted-line tracks spell out "TY", shorthand for "thank you" (presumably directed to the readers).
 
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At the far top right, a dotted line is shown past which the words "vacuum decay" are written. This is a hypothetical effect in which the universe, being in a {{w|metastable}} state, decays to a true vacuum, and the resulting annihilation of everything expands at the speed of light. As such, humans would have no idea if there were an approaching false vacuum until it arrived at Earth.
 
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At the far left of the image, a robot and human are drawn next to a turtle which has flipped onto its back.  The robot declares, "Poor thing!" while the human says "I'll help".  This is a reference to the "empathy tests" employed to distinguish humans from androids in ''{{w|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?}}'' and its film adaptation ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''.  As part of the test, the listener is asked to imagine being in the desert, flipping a tortoise onto its back, and refusing to turn it back over, while their eyes are monitored for signs of emotional response (or lack thereof).  In this case, the robot expresses sympathy for the turtle and the human declares that he will turn it back over. (In this case, however, the robot is very clearly distinguishable from a human being.)
 
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===Transcript of the image===
 
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:[A man with large hair and a beard, meant to resemble Bob Ross, is holding an artist's palette with five patches of paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. He looks upon his canvas, where he has painted a large painting.]
 
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:Painter: A happy little tree
 
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:Painter: Holding up a happy little world.
 
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:[The painting contains lots of stuff. Most notably, an enormous tree with a large, flat top grows on the back of a similarly large turtle at the bottom of the painting, the top of whose shell has been replaced with soil. On the tree is a robot that sees Cueball bending down to lift a turtle that is on its back. They talk:]
 
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:Robot: Poor thing!
 
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:Cueball: I'll help
 
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:[In the top right corner, there is a dotted line forming a semi-circle around the corner. Inside this are the words:]
 
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:Vacuum decay
 
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:[There are no other words in the image. The image includes:]
 
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In the sky:
 
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* Mars, including:
 
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** A Mars rover (appears to be Curiosity or Perseverance), which is examining a turtle
 
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** A small rover (appears to be Sojourner)
 
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* The JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)
 
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* The ISS and what appears to be a TIE fighter transiting the sun
 
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* Saturn
 
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* A small planet with a man and a flower (''Le Petit Prince'' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
 
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* A moon of Saturn, with both Cueball and a tiny turtle
 
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* A constellation in the shape of a turtle
 
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* A constellation in the shape of a kite (or a tetrahedron)
 
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* A constellation that appears to be the little dipper (Ursa Minor) stacked inside the big dipper (Ursa Major), resembling a [[:wikipedia:lemon squeezer|lemon squeezer]], next to an object that appears to be half a lemon.
 
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* Cueball playing tennis with incoming meteors
 
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* A rocket
 
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* Three birds
 
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* Two galaxies
 
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* A star which appears to have teleported
 
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On top of the tree:
 
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* Cueball listening to a radio
 
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* Ponytail holding a balloon
 
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* Megan looking over the edge
 
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* A turtle who may have walked a path in the shape of the letters "T" and "Y"
 
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* A squirrel
 
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* A rabbit
 
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* Two happy little trees
 
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* Eight scattered tufts of grass and five scattered rocks
 
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* Mountains in the background, one of which seems to have a gigantic Egg on its top and stairs leading to it, which is likely a reference to the video game {{w|The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening}}.
 
  
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Under the tree:
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===By the way===
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* Beret guy looking out of a window in the tree
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If you have scripts disabled, you will see just a little picture of a turtle and will spend a while scratching your head about how to make it work.  (YMMV)
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* Blondie standing at the base of the tree
 
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* One happy little tree on top of the turtle
 
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* Ponytail in a balloon, throwing out an anchor towards the turtle
 
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* A helicopter with a stegosaurus tail (thagomizer)
 
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* Three glass ball ornaments hanging from the tree
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Covered by the radio button is an image of a turtle crawling from left to right, with a dotted line trailing behind it, indicating its movement. This image can only be seen by looking in the place where images for xkcd are usually placed on xkcd.]
 
:[Covered by the radio button is an image of a turtle crawling from left to right, with a dotted line trailing behind it, indicating its movement. This image can only be seen by looking in the place where images for xkcd are usually placed on xkcd.]
  
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:''[To read a transcript of the audio file go here: [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].]''
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:'''[To read a transcript of the audio file go here: [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].]'''
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==Trivia==
 
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*If you have scripts disabled, you will just see a picture of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png  little turtle] which is not interactive.
 
−
 
 
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*The Tree being atop a turtle in the finished comic (as well as the general turtle theme) could be a reference to the programming phrase "it's [[1416: Pixels|turtles all the way down]]", which is used to describe infinite recursion. A world atop a turtle (albeit with elephants between) is also a Discworld reference, derived by [[1498: Terry Pratchett|Terry Pratchett]] from the same mythic roots, and something Randall is known to have [[1052: Every Major's Terrible|occasionally]] [[625: Collections|referenced]].
 
  
 
==Index of facts==
 
==Index of facts==
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6158
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6158
 
|-
 
|-
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|In this, the turtles would enjoy themselves
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|In this the turtles would enjoy themselves
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6437
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6437
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7064
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7064
 
|-
 
|-
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|The first few years of a marine turtle's life are known as the lost years.
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|The first few years of a marine turtles life are known as the lost years.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7352
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7352
 
|-
 
|-
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|Marine turtle species vary greatly in size.
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|Marine turtle species, vary greatly in size.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7654
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7654
 
|-
 
|-
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|Wales holds the world record for the largest marine turtle ever found
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|whales holds the world record for the largest marine turtle ever found
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7675
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7675
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=8216
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=8216
 
|-
 
|-
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|turtles seem to prefer red, orange, and yellow food.
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|turtles seem to prefer red, orange and yellow food.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10106
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10106
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17943
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17943
 
|-
 
|-
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|But the turtle in all his varieties in all his ways is a most mysterious animal.
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|But the turtle in all his varieties in all his ways, is a most mysterious animal.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17961
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17961
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20506
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20506
 
|-
 
|-
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|Luckily for the turtles, they're burrowing and water-dwelling habits.
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|Luckily for the turtles, they're burrowing and water dwelling habits.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20527
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20527
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21642
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21642
 
|-
 
|-
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|pond turtles, soft-shelled turtles, and of course tortoises,
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|pond turtles, soft shelled turtles, and of course tortoises,
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21646
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21646
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22409
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22409
 
|-
 
|-
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|Not to the fearsome-looking alligator turtle
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|Not to the fearsome looking alligator turtle
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22421
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22421
 
|-
 
|-
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|Even water-dwelling turtles will dig their nests
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|Even water dwelling turtles will dig their nests
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22805
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22805
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23618
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23618
 
|-
 
|-
−
|Although sea turtles are famous for their internal GPS
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|Although sea turtles are famous for their internal gps
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23629
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23629
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25765
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25765
 
|-
 
|-
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|The largest freshwater turtle in North America is the alligator snapping turtle.
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|The largest freshwater turtle in north America is the alligator snapping turtle.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25788
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25788
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26450
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26450
 
|-
 
|-
−
|turtles are placed in the two sub-orders based on the method of retraction.
+
|turtles are placed in the two sub orders based on the method of retraction.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26455
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26455
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26676
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26676
 
|-
 
|-
−
|Most turtle species are found in southeastern North America and South Asia.
+
|Most turtle species are found in south eastern North America and south asia.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26681
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26681
 
|-
 
|-
Line 455: Line 391:
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26981
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26981
 
|-
 
|-
−
|The African helmeted turtle is the most common turtle in Africa,
+
|The african helmeted turtle is the most common turtle in Africa,
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27157
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27157
 
|-
 
|-
−
|roti island. Snake-necked turtles are found only on Rhode island.
+
|roti island. Snake necked turtles are found only on Rhode island.
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27221
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27221
 
|-
 
|-
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|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27961
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27961
 
|-
 
|-
−
|musk turtles eat mollusks,
+
|musk turtles eat molluscs,
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27968
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27968
 
|-
 
|-
Line 509: Line 445:
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29392
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29392
 
|-
 
|-
−
|Though the flatback turtle only lays 50 at a time
+
|Though the flat back turtle only lays 50 at a time
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29396
 
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29396
 
|-
 
|-

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