Difference between revisions of "983: Privacy"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Jump to: navigation, search
(I get the importance of having the official transcript, but part of this wiki's goals is both consistency (character names, etc.) and the ability to accurately describe the comic's nuances to someone unable to view the image. (cont.))
((cont.) Directly inserting the wiki's character names into the official transcript doesn't fully accomplish either. Including both transcripts (and hiding one by default just like the xkcd site itself) seems like a good idea)
Line 30: Line 30:
  
 
:Other Dorm:
 
:Other Dorm:
:[The same couple in the other person's dorm room, where the roommate is sitting at a computer playing an MMO]
+
:[Cueball and Megan holding hands inside another dorm room. The roommate is sitting at a computer wearing a headset.]
:Roommate: I'll be done tuesday.
+
:Roommate: I'll be done Tuesday.
 
:Roommate in raid
 
:Roommate in raid
  
 
:Library Rare Book Collection:
 
:Library Rare Book Collection:
:[Libidinous couple staring inside the room from outside. Nelson Mandela and other university workers inside the room, :looking at some extremely expensive items]
+
:[Cueball and Megan looking through a closed door. Inside Nelson Mandela and two university workers are talking amongst various items on display.]
 
:Occupied by tour for visiting Nelson Mandela
 
:Occupied by tour for visiting Nelson Mandela
  
 
:Accelerator Tunnel:
 
:Accelerator Tunnel:
:[Couple stares at a heavy, imposing door denying them entry]
+
:[Cueball and Megan in silhouette in front of an imposing-looking door with a passcode scanner beside it. The door is marked with a radioactive trefoil and the words "NO ENTRY".]
:Sealed while beam is in operation.
+
:Sealed while beam is in operation
  
 
:Beaver Lodge:
 
:Beaver Lodge:
:[couple attempting to enter an occupied beaver lodge]
+
:[Megan climbing on top of a dirt mound while Cueball stands on the ice beside it. A cross-section reveals a beaver inside the mound and a submerged entrance.]
:Frozen over for winter to keep out predators; only accessible via underwater entrance.
+
:Frozen over for winter to keep out predators; only accessible via underwater entrance
  
 
:Hyperspace:
 
:Hyperspace:
:[Couple in front of a number of highly advanced physics textbooks]
+
:[Megan reading a textbook in front of a table piled with five other textbooks. Cueball looks over Megan's shoulder.]
:Person 1: Are you *sure*?
+
:Cueball: Are you ''sure''?
:Ruled out by current understanding of physics.
+
:Ruled out by current understanding of physics
  
 
:College Law #27:
 
:College Law #27:

Revision as of 21:09, 18 December 2014

Privacy
Eventual headline: 'University Researchers Create Life in Lab! Darkness, Faulty Condoms Blamed.'
Title text: Eventual headline: 'University Researchers Create Life in Lab! Darkness, Faulty Condoms Blamed.'

Explanation

This comic is about Cueball and Megan attempting to find some privacy to "hook up", which is slang for engaging in sexual activity.

They start by going to a dorm, supposedly Cueball's; however, the door is locked. They try Megan's dorm next, but Megan's roomate is currently playing a video game and is "in a raid", which is a phrase used in World of Warcraft and other Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games or MMORPGs. A Raid is a large gathering of players that work together to defeat a difficult enemy.

The Rare book collection in the library in frame three is usually deserted, so it would be perfect for sexual activity. However, it is currently occupied by a visiting Nelson Mandela, who is on a tour of the school.

Next they try an accelerator tunnel that is in use and thus locked. This is a normal safety feature in particle accelerators in order to protect researchers from being exposed to potentially dangerous radiation from the particle beam, simply by being near the accelerator while it is in use.

Then they try a beaver lodge. A beaver lodge is usually only accessible from underwater and during winter, the entrances are even further protected by a solid sheet of ice. Note that the final level of the Nintendo 64 game Banjo-Kazooie includes a beaver's living space resembling the one shown. In the game, the lodge is only accessible during the winter phase, when the player must swim from a hole in the ice to the underwater entrance.

With our current understanding of physics, there is neither the possibility of hyperspace existing, nor the possibility of getting there quickly.

The title text indicates that the two found privacy for sex in the lab, but inadvertently got Megan pregnant. This is a pun on news titles about scientists who have created synthetic life in the lab. This eventual headline appears in a few 1037: Umwelt frames as "Scientists Create Life In Lab".

The comic 658: Orbitals is similar.

Transcript

Dorm:
[Cueball and Megan holding hands in front of a door. Megan is attempting to turn the doorknob.]
Locked
Other Dorm:
[Cueball and Megan holding hands inside another dorm room. The roommate is sitting at a computer wearing a headset.]
Roommate: I'll be done Tuesday.
Roommate in raid
Library Rare Book Collection:
[Cueball and Megan looking through a closed door. Inside Nelson Mandela and two university workers are talking amongst various items on display.]
Occupied by tour for visiting Nelson Mandela
Accelerator Tunnel:
[Cueball and Megan in silhouette in front of an imposing-looking door with a passcode scanner beside it. The door is marked with a radioactive trefoil and the words "NO ENTRY".]
Sealed while beam is in operation
Beaver Lodge:
[Megan climbing on top of a dirt mound while Cueball stands on the ice beside it. A cross-section reveals a beaver inside the mound and a submerged entrance.]
Frozen over for winter to keep out predators; only accessible via underwater entrance
Hyperspace:
[Megan reading a textbook in front of a table piled with five other textbooks. Cueball looks over Megan's shoulder.]
Cueball: Are you sure?
Ruled out by current understanding of physics
College Law #27:
The availability of private space is inversely proportional to the desirability of the hookup.

Official Transcript

Dorm:
[[An incredibly libidinous, extremely attractive couple try and enter one person's dorm room.]]
Locked.
Other Dorm:
[[The same couple in the other person's dorm room, where the roommate is sitting at a computer playing an MMO]]
Roommate: I'll be done tuesday.
Roommate in raid
Library Rare Book Collection:
[[Libidinous couple staring inside the room from outside. Nelson Mandela and other university workers inside the room, looking at some extremely expensive items]]
Occupied by tour for visiting Nelson Mandela
Accelerator Tunnel:
[[Couple stares at a heavy, imposing door denying them entry]]
Sealed while beam is in operation.
Beaver Lodge (stop snickering!):
[[couple attempting to enter an occupied beaver lodge]]
Frozen over for winter to keep out predators; only accessible via underwater entrance.
Hyperspace:
[[Couple in front of a number of highly advanced physics textbooks]]
Person 1: Are you *sure*?
Ruled out by current understanding of physics.


comment.png add a comment! ⋅ comment.png add a topic (use sparingly)! ⋅ Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif refresh comments!

Discussion

If your roommate's in a raid, he's not gonna turn around and notice you shacking up any time soon. World of Warcraft is serious business. Davidy22[talk] 06:55, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Is the transcript the original one? 108.162.216.45 21:51, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

No, the name Cueball is never mentioned by Randall. But in general it is close to the original one at all.--Dgbrt (talk) 22:23, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

I don't see how the tour for visiting Nelson Mandela could be interpreted as suggesting that Nelson Mandela was in the rare book collection and the tour was going to visit him - that just seems ridiculous. It's pretty clear that Nelson Mandela's visiting the library. --199.27.130.143 13:38, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

Agreed. I have fixed the entry to reflect the same. It's worth noting that you could have done it first, and explained your edit here. This is, after all, a wiki editable by anyone. Orazor (talk) 09:56, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Is the fact that the roommate says Tuesday a joke on how long raids can last? That he can reply with a day of the week rather than a time? I think I have seen jokes about the lengths of raids in other places, but I'm not sure. Athang (talk) 21:43, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

Well if it's WoW then Tuesday is reset and maintenance shutdown day (usually). -Pennpenn 108.162.250.155 05:15, 13 February 2015 (UTC)


This is a larger idea, so I didn't want to add it without running it by people: Might it be that the visiting Nelson Mandela is a joke about the stereotypical priorities of college students? I.E. that Megan and Cueball are so engaged with the idea of hooking up that a visit from a notable figure is ignored. -- Xkcdeal (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

At first, I thought the "other dorm" one was showing the roommate setting up a RAID array... Whoop whoop pull up (talk) 19:01, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

This is just applied Murphy's Law, isn't it? 103.22.200.240 23:31, 13 February 2019 (UTC)

A positive consequence of this law: not desiring hookup provides large (infinite?) amount of private space. 162.158.203.23 04:10, 9 January 2021 (UTC)