https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:NewPages&feed=atom&hideredirs=1&limit=50&offset=&namespace=0&username=&tagfilter=&size-mode=max&size=0explain xkcd - New pages [en]2024-03-28T20:07:15ZExplain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.MediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2912:_Cursive_Letters2912: Cursive Letters2024-03-27T20:09:03Z<p>Iggynelix: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2912<br />
| date = March 27, 2024<br />
| title = Cursive Letters<br />
| image = cursive_letters_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 549x484px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 𝓘 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓬𝓪𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓛 𝓲𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓫𝓪𝓫𝓵𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓯𝓾𝓷 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮, 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓬𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓺 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓪 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a ''𝓑𝓞𝓣 𝓦𝓘𝓣𝓗 𝓓𝓔𝓒𝓔𝓝𝓣 𝓗𝓐𝓝𝓓𝓦𝓡𝓘𝓣𝓘𝓝𝓖'' - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This graph ranks {{w|cursive}} Latin script letters. The type of cursive used is closest to {{w|D%27Nealian|D'Nealian}} (notably the Q) though a few of the letters appear to be in the {{w|Zaner-Bloser_(teaching_script)|Zaner-Bloser}} style of cursive (specifically the P and p). The graph uses two criteria: legibility and coolness. <br />
<br />
According to the graph in the comic: 'L' is in the top-right quadrant indicating it is both cool and easy to read; 'C' is in the top-left, meaning it is easy to read, yet not cool; 'Z' and 'z' are in the bottom-right which means cool looking, yet not easy to read; and 'r' which is bottom-left indicating it is neither particularly cool nor very easy to read (perhaps being confusable as a form of 'n', or even 'M', at least until actual cursive versions of those are comparable against). <br />
<br />
The purpose of cursive is to allow efficient handwriting and make characters look nice and more "connected" at the same time. The possible downside of this is the legibility of the individual letters. This may be due to the similarity of cursive letter shapes (e.g. 'U' and 'V' in the graph), especially when joined to other letters, or due their dissimilarity from more familiar "block letter" counterparts (e.g. 'Z' and 'z' in the lower right corner).<br />
<br />
In the title text, [[Randall]] states 'L' and 'q' are letters that he enjoys writing in cursive, which could possibly add a third axis (most fun to least fun) to the graph. Notably, some RSS apps have challenges displaying the font and result in settings of '???'s. <br />
<br />
The title text is written in cursive-looking font using upper unicode characters (encoded as UTF-8). <br />
Example: the cursive I character 𝓘 (Unicode [https://www.compart.com/en/unicode/U+1D4D8 120024 U+1D4D8]) is F0 9D 93 98 in UTF-8. <br />
The title text includes 22 of 26 characters in the {{w|English alphabet|English lowercase alphabet}} and is thus 4 characters short of a {{w|pangram}} (missing letters: j, v, x and z). Pangrams are often used to show the characters in a typeface in print or on a computer screen. It is unclear if the comic deliberately chose the words in the title text to show almost all the characters in cursive or if it is simply a coincidence.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do '''NOT''' delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A graph with 10 ticks on both the X and Y axes. The graph contains cursive uppercase and lowercase Latin letters. X axis is labeled "Looks cool" with an arrow pointing right and Y axis is labeled "Easy to tell what letter it's supposed to be" with an arrow pointing upward. From top to bottom, left to right, the letters are: C, B, P, K, d, X, R; M, N, c, O, x, t, y, L; D, W, a, Y, o, i; H; A, b, j; p, h; w, Q; m, u, k, g; E, I, l, q; f, J; U, V, T, e; n; v, F; G; r, S, s, z, Z.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2911:_Greenland_Size2911: Greenland Size2024-03-25T19:37:11Z<p>172.70.115.32: hundreds of miles tall</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2911<br />
| date = March 25, 2024<br />
| title = Greenland Size<br />
| image = greenland_size_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 262x304px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The Mercator projection drastically distorts the size of almost every area of land except a small ring around the North and South Poles.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a GREEN LAND FOR ANTS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Because the {{w|Earth}} is {{w|Empirical evidence for the spherical shape of Earth|curved}}, all flat maps have some distortion. (A common comparison is flattening an orange peel, which cannot be done without tearing and wrinkling it.) Different {{w|map projection}}s can distort different {{w|Map projection#Metric properties of maps|metric properties}}, such as distances, areas, and angles, while leaving others intact. It can be desirable to preserve different metrics in different applications.<br />
<br />
The {{w|Mercator projection}}, depicted in the comic, prioritizes depicting correct angles. This allows for easy course planning at sea, and makes shapes fairly accurate. In exchange, Mercator is often criticized for distorting size: distances near the poles look larger than the same distance near the {{w|equator}}. A common complaint is that {{w|Greenland}} appears as big on the map as {{w|Africa}}, when Africa actually has 14 times as much area as Greenland. When these size distortions are presented out of context, they can create bias and misconceptions about different places.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]]'s dialogue leads the reader to expect this complaint. However, instead of comparing ''relative'' sizes of two landmasses within the map, [[Cueball]] compares the ''absolute'' sizes of the depiction of Greenland and the actual Greenland. On a typical world map, Greenland might be centimeters or inches across. Judging from the human characters, the mapped Greenland in this comic might be 10 cm across. In real life, Greenland is about 650 miles or 1,050 km across from east to west ([//britannica.com/place/Greenland source]). Cueball deems this difference misleading, presenting it as a failure of this specific map or projection.<br />
<br />
Of course, this is absurd. The purpose of any map is to present information at a scale (usually much more compactly) at which it is easy to read and interpret. Any actual-size world map would have to be the size of the Earth's surface, in which case it would have few uses. In addition, if a map includes a {{w|Scale (map)|scale}}, it enables the user to use the ratio to calculate the actual size of the places depicted (though this would not be possible on a Mercator projection, since the map-to-reality scale is not constant).<br />
<br />
The title text is about the fact that regardless of the size of the map there ''is'' a certain point where the area on the map is equal to the area at the actual pole at that latitude. This is because a horizontal line on a worldwide Mercator projection corresponds to a line of latitude. While most lines of latitude are thousands of miles (kilometers) long, they become smaller and smaller approaching the poles. As long as the projection (and choice of how much map to print) includes the pole (a point of zero length) expanded out as a measurable edge of the map, there will be a line of latitude around each pole whose length would equal the width of the map that Cueball is looking at (though the specific line would be different depending on the size and precise geometry of the map). If Cueball's map were 1 m wide, then this line of latitude would be at 89.999998568° N or S - that is, the line of latitude there would be a circle with a circumference of 1 m around each of the poles. Of course, in order for the map to actually include (say) the northern of those latitude lines as well as Greenland, it would have to be hundreds of miles tall.<br />
<br />
A map at a scale of 1:1 was discussed in {{w|Lewis Carroll}}'s "{{w|Sylvie and Bruno Concluded}}":<br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
''"What a useful thing a pocket-map is!" I remarked.''<br><br />
''"That's another thing we've learned from ''your'' Nation," said Mein Herr, "map-making. But we've carried it much further than ''you''. What do you consider the ''largest'' map that would be really useful?"''<br><br />
''"About six inches to the mile."''<br><br />
''"Only ''six inches''!" exclaimed Mein Herr. "We very soon got to six ''yards'' to the mile. Then we tried a ''hundred'' yards to the mile. And then came the grandest idea of all! We actually made a map of the country, on the scale of ''a mile to the mile''!"''<br><br />
''"Have you used it much?" I enquired.''<br><br />
''"It has never been spread out, yet," said Mein Herr: "the farmers objected: they said it would cover the whole country, and shut out the sunlight! So we now use the country itself, as its own map, and I assure you it does nearly as well."''<br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
The same idea was expanded in {{w|Jorge Luis Borges}}'s "{{w|On Exactitude in Science}}".<br />
<br />
Mercator projections have been mentioned previously in [[977: Map Projections]], [[2082: Mercator Projection]], and [[2613: Bad Map Projection: Madagascator]]. The misleading size of Greenland on the Mercator projection is also the object of [[2489: Bad Map Projection: The Greenland Special]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Cueball and White Hat are looking at a world map on the wall showing a Mercator projection, with Cueball gesturing with his hand towards the map.]<br />
:Cueball: This map is really misleading about the size of Greenland.<br />
:Cueball: It's actually '''''much''''' bigger than that - it's hundreds of miles across.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Maps]]<br />
[[Category:Geography]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2910:_The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald2910: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald2024-03-22T11:37:01Z<p>172.69.79.131: /* Explanation */ Seems irrelevent. We already mention the 'real song' involved. Worded wrong if you're trying to give a different tune which someone might know, if they don't know the Lightfoot one. (I personally know neither, so it really doesn't help!)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2910<br />
| date = March 22, 2024<br />
| title = The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald<br />
| image = the_wreck_of_the_edmund_fitzgerald_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 463x672px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = You know that asteroid that almost destroyed Earth in the 90s? Turns out the whole thing was secretly created by Michael Bay, who then PAID Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to look heroic while blowing it up!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by ONE OF THE FBI'S MOST WANTED, FOR CRIMES AGAINST SHIPPING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The comic features [[Cueball]] performing a {{w|narrative song}}, which parodies {{w|Gordon Lightfoot}}'s song '{{w|The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald|The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''}}' This song, which was one of the most recognizable and successful of Lightfoot's career, recounts the fate of the {{w|SS Edmund Fitzgerald|SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald''}}, a {{w|Great Lakes}} freighter which famously sank during a storm on {{w|Lake Superior}}, resulting in the deaths of the entire crew. <br />
<br />
Cueball's song begins with lyrics based on the original song (though heavily modified), but quickly shifts into a (completely fictional) account of Lightfoot deciding to bribe a mechanic to sabotage the ship, implicitly causing the disaster for the purpose of writing a song about it. <br />
<br />
In real life, the cause of the ship sinking remains unknown, but it's speculated that the ship's hull broke up in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIg90sVSwSE rough waters of a storm.] Lightfoot wasn't involved with the ship at all, [https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/the-ship-sank-all-over-again-families-of-victims-in-wreck-recall-gordon-lightfoot/article_8cb6b84d-5576-5344-ba20-d5b06e3370d9.html devoted considerable time, effort, and money to the families] and of the disaster's victims. In addition, while the parody presents Lightfoot as desperate for a career-making song, he was already internationally famous, with multiple hits, when the wreck occurred. <br />
<br />
As a punchline, the verse goes on to claim that a greater maritime disaster, the {{w|Sinking of the Titanic|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''}}, was somehow caused by director {{w|James Cameron}}, implying that he did so in order to make a {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|film about it}}. While the tale of Lightfoot causing the first disaster is theoretically feasible (the song came out only a few months after the accident), the second tale clearly is not. The ''Titanic'' sank in 1912, 85 years before the film was made, and over 40 years before Cameron was even born.<br />
<br />
The title text continues this particular cycle by suggesting that an even bigger potential disaster was orchestrated {{tvtropes|RecycledInSpace|in space}}, as the real life basis for yet another film, ''{{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon}}''.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is holding a guitar and singing on a pier. Two pairs of connected eighth notes are on the left and right of Cueball, as well as a detached eighth note on his right. Three seagulls fly in the background on his left. Four pillars of the pier and the water below it are also shown. Throughout the comic, alternate pairs of lines of the song are indented as indicated below.]<br />
:Cueball:<br />
:The ship was the pride<br />
:of the American side<br />
::It was due to set<br />
::sail for Cleveland<br />
:As the big freighters go,<br />
:it was bigger than most<br />
::With a crew and good<br />
::captain well seasoned<br />
<br />
:[Zoom on Cueball, without the pier, water, and seagulls. A pair of connected eighth notes to his right, a half note and a detached eighth note to his left.]<br />
:Cueball:<br />
:But taking a walk on<br />
:the shore by the dock<br />
::Was a songwriter named<br />
::Gordon Lightfoot<br />
:He was humming a tune<br />
:but it didn't have words<br />
::For it's challenging<br />
::trying to write good<br />
<br />
:[Close-up on Cueball's face. A quarter note and a pair of connected eighth notes to his right, a detached eighth note and a quarter note to his left.]<br />
:Cueball:<br />
:Poor Gordon sought glory<br />
:but needed a story<br />
::His career in folk<br />
::music imperiled<br />
:He mulled over this as<br />
:he watched them do work<br />
::On the hull of the<br />
::''Edmund Fitzgerald''<br />
<br />
:[Zoom back to second panel. A pair of connected eighth notes to Cueball's right, a separated eighth note and a pair of connected eighth notes to his left.]<br />
:Cueball:<br />
:Perhaps it was wrong,<br />
:what he did for a song<br />
::He should never have<br />
::bribed that mechanic<br />
:But his maritime crimes<br />
:are no worse than the time<br />
::Young James Cameron<br />
::sank the ''Titanic''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Songs]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2909:_Moon_Landing_Mission_Profiles2909: Moon Landing Mission Profiles2024-03-20T17:31:45Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2909<br />
| date = March 20, 2024<br />
| title = Moon Landing Mission Profiles<br />
| image = moon_landing_mission_profiles_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 709x504px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = If you pick a low enough orbit, it gives you a lot of freedom to use a lightweight launch vehicle such as a stepladder.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Getting astronauts to the Moon (and back) is hard. There are several different strategies to do it. This comic reviews three mission profiles considered for the Apollo Moon landings and one which is absurd. (While the profiles only depict the outbound leg of the trip, in each case the return journey would likely make compatible rocket and trajectory choices.)<br />
<br />
'''{{w|Lunar Orbit Rendezvous}} (LOR)'''<br />
<br />
Description: Using a single large rocket to get the required lunar orbiter and lander systems into trans-lunar orbit, which can then fulfil their eponymous roles.<br />
<br />
Status: Chosen by the {{w|Apollo Program}} in the 1960s and 1970s.<br />
<br />
Explanation: This was the actual method used in the Apollo missions. It was efficient in terms of fuel and cost. The main spacecraft ('command module') orbits the Moon, as the lander separates and uses its descent-stage to safely reach the surface.<br />
<br />
After the Moon mission, the lander (ascent-stage only) ascends to dock once more with the command module in lunar orbit, the crew then return to Earth in the command module (leaving the abandoned ascent stage behind, in most cases purposefully directed to impact the Moon).<br />
<br />
'''{{w|Earth Orbit Rendezvous}} (EOR)'''<br />
<br />
Description: A large lunar-landing system is assembled in Earth orbit through several launches. Once complete, it travels to the Moon as a whole. It is depicted here as not required to orbit the Moon in full, in any way, but is shown needing to orbit Earth, as an unavoidable part of its profile.<br />
<br />
Status: Rejected for requiring multiple {{w|Saturn V}} rockets per landing and potentially taking longer.<br />
<br />
Explanation: This concept involved launching different parts of the spacecraft into Earth orbit using multiple rockets and then assembling them before heading to the Moon. It would have allowed almost arbitrarily large sizes of equipment to have reached the surface, perhaps to simplify the return journey, but with the complication of adding multiple orbital docking procedures to the project rather than most assembling and spacecraft mating being carried out prior to launch. It should be noted that Randall made a mistake on this point of the comic; the Earth Orbit Rendezvous would have required multiple launches of the {{w|Saturn IB}}, not multiple launches of the Saturn V.<br />
<br />
In theory, a returning craft (the final stage that breaks free of the Moon and heads back to Earth) would have made a direct crossing from the Moon's surface back to Earth's atmosphere, unless a Lunar Orbit aspect (perhaps a habitation module left as a waypoint for use by subsequent missions) was included in the plans. (In this particular regard, the {{w|Artemis program}} profile resembles this particular profile.)<br />
<br />
'''{{w|Direct Ascent}}'''<br />
<br />
Description: The lander is launched from Earth directly to the Moon without entering orbit.<br />
<br />
Status: Rejected for requiring an unreasonably large rocket.<br />
<br />
Explanation: This was a simpler but less feasible approach, where a single huge rocket (or a particularly large rocket stack) would send the lander straight to the Moon. The inefficiency comes in taking a comparatively huge rocket down to the Moon and back up, requiring a lot more fuel than a separate lander. It avoids having to 'park' items in orbit that it must later dock once more with, but then increases the mass that must land on/take off from the lunar surface, without being useful during this phase of the mission.<br />
<br />
The return journey would be as direct as the original leg. This option does not preclude discarding various stages of the rocket as various transit phases are completed, but would not involve any complicated rendezvousing to enable the crew module to reach its waypoints.<br />
<br />
In reality, this was the approach imagined for the Nova C-8 rocket as an Apollo alternative. This was also the approach used in {{w|Destination Moon (comics)|Destination Moon}} from {{w|The Adventures of Tintin}}, with the fuel problem addressed by using a nuclear reactor for much of the trip—which would be a really bad idea in reality since "rockets have a tendency to explode"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHvR1fRTW8g]. Science fiction movies have frequently depicted this method of landing, either before the dawn of the actual Apollo program or (to save plot-time ''or'' by using a fictional increase in rocket capability) in more futuristic settings.<br />
<br />
'''Lunar Earth Rendezvous (LER)'''<br />
<br />
Description: The Moon transits to rendezvous with a spacecraft in low Earth orbit.<br />
<br />
Status: Rejected because, humorously, "I guess no one thought of it?!"<br />
<br />
Explanation: This is a fictional and impractical scenario. The Moon cannot propel itself and cannot alter its orbit to rendezvous with a spacecraft. The Moon would also break up because {{w|low Earth orbit}} is within the {{w|Roche limit}}. Astronauts would theoretically land on the Moon, but the hypothetical fragments of the Moon would make the landing impractical. This would be also bad for the Earth's climate, tides, stock markets and ecosystems.<br />
<br />
The 'return leg' could involve having the Moon move back to where it should be, which does not add ''too'' many extra mysteries to the mission profile, unless those who implement it would prefer not to have to bring it back again for the next expedition.<br />
<br />
The title text imagines the Moon coming to ''very'' low Earth orbit, low enough to reach with a step ladder. There are many reasons this is wholly impractical, as well as civilization-ending. Dropping the Moon down to within six feet or so of the Earth would likely cover the Earth in moonrock. The only difference from [[2908: Moon Armor Index|the prior comic]] is that debris would ultimately be deposited at a significantly high sideways velocity (perhaps briefly preceded by a hypersonic atmospheric shockwave and everything you might expect from catastrophic worldwide ground-tremors), no matter where you were. If this mission profile had been used in the 1960s, the Soviet Union, the United States, and all ''other'' nations (whether they like it or not) would have 'won' the space race almost simultanously as the rapid redistribution of rock tried to settle over ''everywhere'' to create (on average) a 43&nbsp;km-deep grave. Arguably the true 'winner' could be determined by which country gets hit by the initial Moon rocks first.<br />
<br />
===Factual Mission Profiles===<br />
The Apollo Program considered a number of possible mission profiles. Of the {{w|Apollo program#Choosing a mission mode|four shortlist plans}}, the Lunar Surface Rendezvous plan was not shown or mentioned in this comic, but clearly inspired the title of the method created in its place.<br />
<br />
With the ongoing work to achieve the {{w|Artemis program}}, the successor to Apollo, this comic is probably also making sideways references to the plans and equipment being developed to achieve it, which currently features several aspects of the above examples. A single crewed-launch is intending to rendezvous with, and make use of, additional equipment separately launched (including one that is very nearly one big rocket in its own right). Instead of assembling in Earth orbit, it will probably make use of a [https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/lunar-near-rectilinear-halo-orbit-gateway lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit], or NRHO, to and from which the landing system will operate. There is also planning, still in an early stage, to establish lunar-surface infrastructure that would simplify the refuelling of the transfer craft and support surface operations.<br />
<br />
The only depicted plan that should not play a part in upcoming missions is the one which may be more connected with some other quite different scenario which [[2561: Moonfall|has previously been referenced]] in xkcd.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Top left panel]<br />
:'''Lunar orbit rendezvous'''<br />
:Spacecraft orbits Moon, drops lander<br />
:[A big circle and a small circle, depicting the Earth and the Moon, with a line starting from the left side of the Earth curving, then straight towards the Moon, then forming an orbit around it and then descending on the Moon. A spacecraft is located at about the middle of the line.]<br />
:Chosen by the Apollo program<br />
<br />
:[Top right panel] <br />
:'''Earth orbit rendezvous'''<br />
:Large lander assembled in Earth orbit via several launches, travels to Moon<br />
:[The same circles depicting the Earth and the Moon. Two lines start from the left side of the Earth into an orbit around it, with a couple of different stages of spacecraft located in different parts of the orbit. The merged line heads straight towards the Moon to land on its left side, without orbit. A spacecraft is located around the middle of the line.]<br />
:Rejected for requiring multiple Saturn Vs per landing and potentially taking longer<br />
<br />
:[Bottom left panel] <br />
:'''Direct ascent'''<br />
:Lander launched from Earth directly to Moon<br />
:[Another big circle and small circle, depicting the Earth and the Moon again. This time, the line curves the same way as in the lunar orbit rendezvous, heads straight towards the Moon, and ends on the Moon's left side. A spacecraft is located slightly on the left, to Earth's side.]<br />
:Rejected for requiring an unreasonably large rocket<br />
<br />
:[Bottom right panel]<br />
:'''Lunar Earth rendezvous'''<br />
:Moon transits to rendezvous with spacecraft in low Earth orbit<br />
:[A big circle representing Earth and three small circles representing the Moon at different times. Starting from the right side, the small circle follows a path that curves slightly upwards. The path then straightens. Another small circle is located on the straight part. The path forms an orbit around the Earth, with another small circle on Earth's left side. Another small path leads from the left side of the Earth to the leftmost small circle.]<br />
:Rejected because I guess no one thought of it?!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2908:_Moon_Armor_Index2908: Moon Armor Index2024-03-18T22:11:59Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2908<br />
| date = March 18, 2024<br />
| title = Moon Armor Index<br />
| image = moon_armor_index_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x390px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Astronomers are a little unsure of the applicability of this index, but NASA's Planetary Protection Officer is all in favor.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this “What If?”-style comic, [[Randall]] hypothesizes an imaginative situation in which each planet's moon(s) become converted into protective armor (as a form of {{w|Overburden#Analogous uses|overburden}}) to coat the respective planet. For example, the {{w|Moon}} would coat {{w|Earth}} in a 43 kilometer layer if it were molded into protective armor, almost five times the height of {{w|Mount Everest}}. <br />
<br />
This visual index illustrates that the moons of both Earth and Pluto are unusually massive in comparison to their planet. The large relative size of Earth’s moon — and its protective role in deflecting asteroids — is one reason that’s been suggested by astronomers for why intelligent life successfully evolved on Earth.<br />
<br />
Mars's moons {{w|Phobos (moon)|Phobos}} and {{w|Deimos (moon)|Deimos}} are small compared to Mars, so they would contribute a thin 2-inch layer of 'armor' around Mars, in contrast to the 20-inch (0.5&nbsp;m) diameter of a {{w|Mars rover}} wheel. Huge Jupiter would be covered with almost 3 km of "moon" matter, which indicates just how much moon mass orbits Jupiter, a situation mostly similar for Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.<br />
<br />
Six trans-Neptunian {{w|dwarf planet}}s and dwarf planet candidates are included, as well: Only Pluto, having a moon ({{w|Charon (moon)|Charon}}) of a comparable size to its planet, would have a layer thicker than Earth's. {{w|120347 Salacia|Salacia}}, {{w|Haumea}}, {{w|50000 Quaoar|Quaoar}}, {{w|225088 Gonggong|Gonggong}} and {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}} are among the {{w|List of trans-Neptunian objects#List|ten largest such objects}}. (Two dwarf planets with moons — {{w|Makemake}} and {{w|90482 Orcus|Orcus}} — are not mentioned in the comic, but would be similarly depicted.)<br />
<br />
The title text states that astronomers are "unsure" about the applicability of this index, a joking understatement that imagines this comic as being a serious contribution to astronomical academic knowledge. Astronomers might also point out additional issues:<br />
* wariness of {{w|Giant-impact hypothesis|moons and planets getting too close}}.<br />
* moons already serve a protective purpose by deflecting and even intercepting some incoming asteroids (with a ''slight'' chance of turning a future miss into a hit).<br />
* the four gas giants — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — lack a solid surface to practically sustain a layer of armor without even ''more'' ambitious engineering than the already complicated process of somehow distributing soft-landed fragments of disassembled satellite evenly all across a planet.<br />
* although the coating would provide some protection to the underlying surface on which it was placed, it would effectively become part of the planet, and raise the surface. The things we would normally care about protecting, such as any life forms that exist, would be forced to relocate to this new surface, and therefore not benefit from any protection, while suffering significant detrimental impact to habitats, etc.<br />
<br />
The title text continues that NASA's [https://what-if.xkcd.com/117/ Planetary Protection Officer] is purportedly in favor of the idea. In reality, this officer is actually responsible for keeping other celestial bodies safe from Earth's contamination, not for shielding planets in armor. Theoretically, though, armoring other planets could indeed protect them from further Earth-sourced contamination, and armoring Earth would also theoretically protect other planets by burying the biosphere and all of Earth life not already sent into space — a potentially civilization-smothering action, though a surprisingly unapocalyptic result compared to many of Randall’s “What If?” scenarios.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Planet/<br>dwarf planet !! Surface area (km²) || Moons || Total volume (km³) || Moon shield thickness<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Earth}} || 5.1007×10^8 || {{w|Moon|1}} || 2.196×10^10 || 43&nbsp;km (27&nbsp;mi) (4.86 × height of {{w|Mount Everest}})<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Mars}} || 1.4437×10^8 || {{w|Moons of Mars|2}} || {{w|Phobos (moon)|(5695±32)}}+{{w|Deimos (moon)|(1033±19)}} || 5&nbsp;cm (2&nbsp;in)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Jupiter}} || 6.1469×10^10 || {{w|Moons of Jupiter|95}} || 1.7646×10^11 || 2.87&nbsp;km (1.78&nbsp;mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Saturn}} || 4.27×10^10 || {{w|Moons of Saturn|146}} || 7.651×10^10 || 1.79&nbsp;km (1.11&nbsp;mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Uranus}} || 8.1156×10^9 || {{w|Moons of Uranus|28}} || 5.61×10^9 || 0.69 km (0.43 mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Neptune}} || 7.6187×10^9 || {{w|Moons of Neptune|16}} || 1.04×10^10 || 1.36 km (0.84 mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Pluto}} || 1.7744×10^7 || {{w|Moons of Pluto|5}} || {{w|Charon (moon)|(9.322×10^8)}}+{{w|Moons of Pluto|(approx 87100+38800+900+200)}} || 52.5&nbsp;km (32.6&nbsp;mi) (by this comic's approximation)<br />
50.4&nbsp;km (31.3&nbsp;mi) (by full calculation)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|120347 Salacia|Salacia}} || 2.27×10^6 || {{w|Actaea (moon)|1}} || 1.41×10^7 || 6.21&nbsp;km (3.85&nbsp;mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Haumea}} || 8.14×10^6 || {{w|Moons of Haumea|2}} || {{w|Hiʻiaka (moon)|(17.2×10^6)}}+{{w|Namaka (moon)|(2.57×10^6)}} || 2.43&nbsp;km (1.51&nbsp;mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|50000 Quaoar|Quaoar}} || 3.78×10^6 || {{w|Weywot|1}} || 4.19×10^6 || 1.11&nbsp;km (0.69&nbsp;mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|225088 Gonggong|Gonggong}} || 4.75×10^6 || {{w|Xiangliu (moon)|1}} || 1.44×10^6 || 0.3 km (0.19 mi)<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}} || (1.70±0.02)×10^7 || {{w|Dysnomia (moon)|1}} || 1.61×10^8 || 9.47 km (5.88 mi)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Implications of choosing a volume-to-area ratio===<br />
The usual means of comparing a moon to a planet might be to compare the volume of both. This comic compares moon volume (kilometers cubed) to planet surface area (kilometers squared); specifically, the index derives a ''linear'' indicator (the thickness of the new material) by dividing the ''area'' of the main body (proportional to the square of its uncounted radius) into the ''combined volume'' of all other bodies (proportioned cubes of their own radii), which gives an unusual dimensional analysis (dividing X kilometers-cubed by Y kilometers-squared gives a length, Z, in kilometers, not a simple dimensionless ratio).<br />
<br />
This particular methodology makes the Pluto-Charon system (Charon being roughly half the diameter and one-eighth the volume of Pluto, before even adding that of the other moons) surprisingly similar to the Earth-Moon one (our sole Moon is around one-quarter Earth's diameter, and therefore less than 2% its volume; also in comparison, the Earth and Moon are respectively slightly more than 150 times and around 3 times the volume of Pluto), but leaves them ''both'' as still standing out significantly against all other planetary comparisons, even against comparably-sized 'planet's.<br />
<br />
===The complexities of armor thickness calculations===<br />
The comic uses the ≈ sign to show that the formula is only an approximation: it does not take account the increase in armor surface area as it gets thicker. This approximation would be perfect for a shield of thickness zero, but for the thickest shield (Pluto) around a small celestial body the error is around 4% (52.5&nbsp;km by this approximation, but 50.4&nbsp;km by more thorough calculation). To find the correct value, we can use the formula for the volume of a sphere, V = 4/3 * pi * r³ (where V is the volume and r is the radius). Using this formula, we can find and add together the volumes of each moon, as well as the volume of the planet, to get a total volume of the new shielded planet. Then we can find its radius using the formula r = (V / (4/3 * pi))<sup>⅓</sup>, derived from the previous formula. Subtracting the radius of the previous planet from the radius of the new planet gives us the thickness of the armor.<br />
<br />
This process described above assumes that all objects involved are completely spherical, which may not be the case. The act of tearing apart a solid moon, perhaps into rough gravel, might add microvoids to the new layering that bulk up the volume slightly. But neither are gravitational compression effects taken into account on an originally loose material; the planet's gravitational pull could settle some of the moon material into a slightly smaller volume than the one it occupied as lower-gravity moon.<br />
<br />
The planet below could also be marginally affected by the change in its total planet-and-armor mass, for rocky planets mostly within any {{w|pedosphere}} or previously exposed outer {{w|lithosphere}}. The interaction with {{w|Titan (moon)#Lakes|surface liquids}} and atmospheres, especially in planets defined {{w|Gas giant|primarily by their gas layers}}, would depend much upon how impermeable and/or rigid the chosen layering method made the additional material. One could imagine a spherical shell of moon matter around Jupiter with such high structural strength as to resist crumbling into its gaseous maw. Alternatively, the moon material could be expected to sink towards the gaseous planet's center until it reaches a layer sufficiently dense and/or rigid to stop it sinking further. In this case the moon material would displace a volume of the planet's gas causing an increase in the planet's radius.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Text above diagram:]<br />
:Moon armor index:<br />
:How thick the shells around various worlds would be if their moon(s) were converted into protective armor<br />
:≈Total moon volume/Planet surface area<br />
<br />
:[Above the diagram, there is a depiction of two moons orbiting a planet, an arrow pointing right, and the same planet with an additional layer around it without orbiting moons.]<br />
<br />
:[The diagram consists of vertical bars showing "moon armor" thicknesses for the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Salacia, Haumea, Quaoar, Gonggong and Eris. Earth's bar has a label named "43 km thick" and is compared to the height of a comparatively small Mt Everest, with randomly drawn features indicating a cross section of the additional layer's rocky material. Most of the other armor thickness bars are not very tall compared to Earth. Some bars, notably Jupiter's, are embellished with various strata-like lines that possibly correspond to different contributing moons. Most bars show some small dots and patterns. A circular viewport shows the zoomed in detail of the top of Mars's otherwise not visible bar that reveals a thin layer with the label of 2", and also the bottom of a Mars rover wheel on top of the new surface. Pluto's bar is slightly taller than Earth's and has a label "(Mostly Charon)" inside, with arrows pointing into the bar area, which looks similar to that of Earth's Moon.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Bar charts]]<br />
[[Category:Mars rovers]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2907:_Schwa2907: Schwa2024-03-15T21:50:24Z<p>Xurkitree10: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2907<br />
| date = March 15, 2024<br />
| title = Schwa<br />
| image = schwa_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 301x389px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Doug's cousin, the one from London, runs a Bumble love cult.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
English features a lot of {{w|Reduced vowel|vowel reduction}}, where vowels in unstressed syllables often become a short 'uh'-like sound called a {{w|schwa}} (ə). As [[Randall]] notes, this makes it by far the most common sound in English, and [[Randall]] makes the observational joke that one can learn the English language without learning any other vowel sounds, if one sticks to the right topics of conversation. He gives conversational examples which demonstrate exactly that, using words that contain ''only'' the schwa vowel -- accurate for US and UK dialects with the {{w|Phonological history of English close back vowels#STRUT–COMMA merger|STRUT-COMMA merger}}.<br />
<br />
The humor lies in the unusal and impractical elements of this tip:<br />
* It's ''impractical'', since limiting oneself to only words with schwa will exclude using many common words (like "no") and make for stilted speech (using "Nuh uh" every time instead).<br />
* It's ''highly unusual'' for hyper-efficient language learning to focus on all words with a common vowel sound rather than, say, the 1,000 most common words. English learners learn between 14 and 20 vowel sounds - depending on the dialect - which are written with just six vowel letters (AEIOU and sometimes Y). For example, the 'a' in "cat" may not be the same 'a' in "father", depending on dialect.<br />
<br />
Randall has had a longstanding interest in minimalist visions of English communication. He published a whole book, Thing Explainer, about explaining complex ideas — such as the Up-Goer 5 — using “only the ten hundred words people use the most often.”<br />
<br />
The intended pronunciation of the conversation can be written in the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} (while preserving punctuation marks) as:<br />
:Megan: /wəts əp<font color="gray">?</font> wəz dəɡ ˈɡənə kəm<font color="gray">?</font> dəɡ ləvz brən{{w|Voiceless postalveolar affricate|t͡ʃ}}<font color="gray">.</font>/<br />
:Ponytail: /ˈnə{{w|Glottal stop|ʔ}}<nowiki />ə<font color="gray">,</font> dəɡz stək kəz əv ə ˈtən(ə)l əbˈstrək{{w|Voiceless postalveolar fricative|ʃ}}(ə)n<font color="gray">.</font> ə trək dəmpt ə tən əv ˈən{{w|Voiced palatal approximant|j}}(ə)nz<font color="gray">.</font>/<br />
:Megan: /ə{{w|Voiceless velar fricative|x}}<font color="gray">.</font>/<br />
<br />
The title text, in IPA, if only schwas were used:<br />
:/dəgz ˈkəz(ə)n<font color="gray">,</font> {{w|Voiced dental fricative|ð}}<nowiki />ə wən frəm ˈlənd(ə)n<font color="gray">,</font> rənz ə ˈbəmb(ə)l ləv kəlt<font color="gray">.</font>/<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan, Cueball, and Ponytail stand in front of a dinner table, with Megan and Cueball facing Ponytail. Megan has her hand on the rightmost chair while Ponytail has her palm out.]<br />
:Megan: What's up? Was Doug gonna come? Doug loves brunch.<br />
:Ponytail: Nuh uh, Doug's stuck 'cause of a tunnel obstruction. A truck dumped a ton of onions.<br />
:Megan: Ugh.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:The schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. In fact, if you stick to the right conversation topics, you can avoid learning any other ones.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2906:_Earth2906: Earth2024-03-14T02:00:30Z<p>162.158.186.34: /* The scale of the error */ We don’t know whether they decelerated until moving backwards or they accelerated.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2906<br />
| date = March 13, 2024<br />
| title = Earth<br />
| image = earth_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 364x472px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Just think of all the countless petty squabbles and misunderstandings, of all the fervent hatreds, over so insignificant a thing as the direction and duration of a rocket engine firing.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[File:Pale Blue Dot.png|200px|right|thumb|The ''Pale Blue Dot'' image from Voyager 1. Earth is the "pale blue dot" halfway up the rightmost color band.]]<br />
At first sight, this appears to be the famous {{w|Carl Sagan}} commentary, upon the ''{{w|Pale Blue Dot}}'' image of Earth, a picture taken by the {{w|Voyager 1 probe}} in 1990 (at that time 6 billion kilometers away) but having been transmitted back to Earth to be appreciated as one of the most iconic 'photos of Earth from space', along with ''{{w|Earthrise}}'' and ''{{w|The Blue Marble}}''. Sagan's written, and later spoken, words evoke how the lives of all of us are somehow confined to barely more than a single pixel's-worth of existence upon an already zoomed-in view of space.<br />
<br />
From the caption, however, it appears that 'Carl' is not looking at an image. Instead it is a spacecraft window. The minute apparent size of the Earth is as a result of the spacecraft being very far from Earth. This is an unintended consequence of an attempt to deorbit from {{w|low Earth orbit}} (i.e. not more than 2000 kilometers from the Earth's surface, from which the Earth should still mostly fill any view that points towards it). Rather than transitioning from LEO into a re-entry trajectory, somehow the vessel and crew have been sent into a ''much'' higher-reaching orbit, if not into a solar or extra-solar trajectory. And it is apparently Carl's fault. The speech is thus not an inward view of where we all are, but an outward look at somewhere that all the crew (unwillingly, and against all recent expectations) are ''not''.<br />
<br />
<!-- NOT SURE IF THIS NEW PARAGRAPH IS NEEDED. "BLUE MARBLE" ALREADY MENTIONED (AS SEPARATE), AND WE ALREADY HAVE REFERENCED CORE INFLUENCES AND MORE. THOUGH MAYBE SOMEONE CAN RE-USE/RE-EDIT SOME OF IT? -- This comic is not (although it appears as to the uneducated pre-astronomer who watches [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Foreman_(comedian) map men]) a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Marble Blue Marble] image taken on the moon. The most common distribution of this image has been cropped to remove most of the empty space, and rotated so [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B14Gtm2Z_70 north was up]. --><br />
The title text continues with the traditional tone of the speech, only to become an implicit attempt to claim that it wasn't quite as drastic an error as it actually seems to have been.<br />
<br />
The very same words (or as far as they go), but in the more traditional situation of an informative lecture, were previously used in [[1246: Pale Blue Dot]].<br />
<br />
=== The scale of the error ===<br />
<br />
The comic's distance from Earth is unlikely to be anywhere near that of Voyager 1, and would not be being seen portrayed by the same 1500mm high-resolution narrow-angle camera as took the alluded-to image. The apparent size of Earth, compared with Carl at his window, would depend a lot on the actual 'camera' geometry/position for the scene. For comparison, however, the Earth seen from the Moon is slightly under four times the diameter of the Moon as seen from the Earth, or perhaps nearly the size of a clenched fist, held at arm's length. This implies (unless the scene uses a particularly wide-angled lens, close to Carl and the window) that the vessel's position is now ''significantly'' beyond the orbit of the Moon.<br />
<br />
The ''absence'' of a clearly visible Moon, which would have a near-identical phase to the illuminated Earth and could easily be the second brightest object in the scene, is therefore best explained by it being no more than a sub-pixel object, indistinguishable from the surrounding darkness of space, somewhere within thirty Earth diameters (and thus [[2205: Types of Approximation|approximately]], in this image, pixels) of the visible Earth. This could include being sufficiently in conjunction/opposition to Earth to blend in, or be obscured by it.<!-- Note just for those who pass by this source: This excludes the 'out there' humorous possibility that the badly-done manouver did not effect the spacecraft, so much as it somehow sent the *Earth* out of its position, leaving the ship (and the Moon, and more than half of all other satellites?) still technically continuing more or less their prior Earth-orbits - which are now technically various solar ones... (BunsenH:)This could be a remake of {{w|Space: 1999}}. (OP:)Indeed, but actually turned up several notches! --><br />
<br />
The general lack of other visible stars, etc, would be explained by the exposure being tuned to not wash out the illuminated internal view, and not being set up for useful astronomical shots, though may then set another range of useful limits on what magnitude of reflected sunlight must still arrive from Earth in order to remain visible.<!-- Additional bonus note: This would depend upon the effective Earth-phase, Earth-albedo (e.g. ocean/land/ice-cap as prime reflector), the actual levels of the running lights by the 'cupola' viewing window and possible lower-dynamic-range capabilities/adjustments to the resulting image by the hypothetical 'comic camera', perhaps other details. On top of it being more governed by Rule Of Funny than *strict* reality, I suggest that making the actual calculation would be more troublesome than it's worth. Right? --><br />
<br />
The orbital speed in low-earth orbit is ~8 km/s. A typical de-orbiting maneuver requires slowing down by about 100 m/s (which according to the ''[[What_If%3F_(book)|What If]]'' chapter "Orbital Submarine" could be accomplished with the 24 Trident missiles carried aboard an Ohio-class submarine.) However, escape speed is ~11 km/s, meaning the vessel must go faster by ~3 km/s. So Carl has indeed made quite an error if he fired the boosters thirtyfold too much and in the opposite direction (or 190fold in the correct direction, resulting in the spacecraft traveling in the opposite direction of previously).<br />
<br />
=== The "pale blue" dot ===<br />
Although it might initially look like a white dot, the comic truly has used a pale blue color for the dot that represents Earth, with the color used in the "2x" version of the image seeming to be 0xBDCFF4.<br />
<br />
This can be interpreted as predominently a very light gray, with an extra hint of green and a bigger hint of blue. Or redefined as an {{w|HSL and HSV|HSV}} triplet of of 220.4 (a greenish-blue hue), 22.5% (relatively unsaturated) and 95.7% (very bright), all consistent with how the sunlit side of an Earthlike world would look with large oceans, vast swathes of terrestrial vegetation and atmospheric clouds, necessarily abstracted down to a very limited number of pixels.<br />
<br />
Looking at {{w|File:Pale_Blue_Dot.png|an actual example of the 'original'}}, seems to give a possible RGB of 0x95B39E (which gives: hue of 138, i.e. a 'bluish-green'; saturation level of 16.8%; brightness value of 70.2%), which is of course also consistent with the above assumptions about Earth. But all such images are of course ultimately derived as a composite of the data from [https://pds-rings.seti.org/voyager/iss/inst_cat_na1.html#filters eight separate 'filters'], which don't neatly fit into the {{w|RGB color model}}, and always subject to various kinds of post-processing and image conversion techniques.<!-- Maybe someone can find an actual 'original original' from NASA/JPL/whoever, or even the original eight 'raws'..? --><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Carl Sagan (drawn Cueball like but with flat hair) is standing in front of a black screen with a tiny pale blue dot in the middle. He indicates the screen by holding out his right hand palm up towards the screen. He is speaking to someone off-panel, who replies from a star burst on the right edge of the panel.]<br />
:Carl: Look again at that dot. That's home. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives...<br />
:Carl: On a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.<br />
:Off-panel voice: We '''''know,''''' Carl.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Carl Sagan was '''''not''''' making us feel better about how badly he'd messed up the low Earth orbit reentry burn.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/fuckfuck2024-03-13T13:34:26Z<p>172.71.242.160: Even the user that created it seems to be regretting it. But I bet we're all interested to see how long a marked Page To Delete will sit here undeleted, right?</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category:Pages to delete]]</div>Jupitalehttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2905:_Supergroup2905: Supergroup2024-03-11T21:55:25Z<p>172.71.178.110: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2905<br />
| date = March 11, 2024<br />
| title = Supergroup<br />
| image = supergroup_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 335x321px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I love their cover of 1,200 Balloons, Dalmatians, and Miles.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In popular music, a {{w|supergroup (music)|supergroup}} is a musical group formed by collaboration of existing solo artists and members of other musical groups.<br />
<br />
This comic shows a marquee announcing a concert by a supergroup formed from members of 10 musical groups whose names all begin with a number. The name of the supergroup is the sum of all those numbers, 176, followed by the names of the original groups without their numbers. It's reasonable to estimate that there could be up to 32 members of the supergroup (see [[#band_member_numbers|below]]).<br />
<br />
Musical groups mentioned in the comic:<br />
* {{w|Twenty One Pilots}}<br />
* {{w|5 Seconds of Summer}}<br />
* {{w|4 Non Blondes}}<br />
* {{w|2 Live Crew}}<br />
* {{w|100 gecs}}<br />
* {{w|3 Doors Down}}<br />
* {{w|Nine Inch Nails}}<br />
* {{w|OneRepublic}}<br />
* {{w|One Direction}}<br />
* {{w|Thirty Seconds to Mars}}<br />
<br />
Sum: 21 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 100 + 3 + 9 + 1 + 1 + 30 = 176<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that this supergroup performs a {{w|medley (music)|medley}} or {{w|mashup (music)|mashup}} of songs whose titles begin with numbers. The title of this "supersong" is similarly formed by adding the numbers and following with the rest of all the titles. Notably, none of the referenced songs were written by any of the referenced artists.<br />
<br />
Songs mentioned in the title text:<br />
* {{w|99 Luftballons}} (by {{w|Nena (band)|Nena}}). 99 Red Balloons is the title of the English-language adaptation of the song.<br />
* {{w|One Hundred and One Dalmatians#Music|One Hundred and One Dalmatians}} (Disney film soundtrack). The titular song by the {{w|Sherman Brothers}} is not featured in the film, but was released in separate Disney recordings.<br />
* {{w|A Thousand Miles}} (by {{w|Vanessa Carlton}}). Other songs titled "{{w|1000 Miles}}" or "Thousand Miles" also exist.<br />
<br />
Sum: 99 + 101 + 1000 = 1200<br />
<br />
"{{w|I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)}}" by {{w|the Proclaimers}} is about walking "500 miles, and [...] 500 more", therefore a thousand miles in total. There are two more songs titled (or known as) {{w|500 Miles (disambiguation)|"500 Miles"}}, by Hedy West and Tori Amos, which could be added up to replace "A Thousand Miles" (or "1000 Miles") in the tally as well.<br />
<br />
<span id="band_member_numbers">The supergroup could have 32 members:</span><br />
* Twenty One Pilots: This band has 2 members, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun.<br />
* 5 Seconds of Summer: There are 4 members in this band, including Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, and Ashton Irwin.<br />
* 4 Non Blondes: Originally, this group had 4 members, but it disbanded in 1994. The lead singer was Linda Perry.<br />
* 2 Live Crew: This group's core lineup included 2 to 4 members over different periods, with notable members being Luther Campbell, Brother Marquis, Fresh Kid Ice, and Mr. Mixx.<br />
* 100 gecs: This band consists of 2 members, Laura Les and Dylan Brady.<br />
* 3 Doors Down: This band typically has 5 members, although the number has varied with lineup changes over the years.<br />
* Nine Inch Nails: Officially, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are the only constant members of Nine Inch Nails, with a changing lineup of touring members and collaborators.<br />
* OneRepublic: This band has 5 members, including Ryan Tedder, Zach Filkins, Drew Brown, Brent Kutzle, and Eddie Fisher.<br />
* One Direction: Originally, there were 5 members in this band, but after Zayn Malik's departure in 2015, it continued with 4 members until their hiatus.<br />
* Thirty Seconds to Mars: This band has had various lineups but is centered around Jared Leto and Shannon Leto, with other members joining and leaving at different times.<br />
<br />
Sum: 2 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 5 + 4 + 2 = 32<br />
<br />
These counts mostly reflect the bands' most well-known lineups and may vary with time due to changes in membership or the band's status. Combined groups may feature {{w|McBusted|fewer than}} the sum of their original memberships, even down to just single musicians/vocalists coming from any or all of their prior collaborations. On the other hand, especially for {{w|Charity supergroup|worthy causes}}, it is possible that groups with {{w|List of Hawkwind band members#Members|many changing lineups}} could perhaps rustle up far more members than they ever had at a given time, never mind any prominent artists who may guest-star in their own right. It is unclear whether the band names would be pro rated in these circumstances (for example, if only one of 100 gecs joined the supergroup, would they only count for 50?).<br />
<br />
=== Potential connection to mathematical supergroups ===<br />
Randall may be making a subtle reference to mathematical physics, in which a {{w|supergroup (physics)|supergroup}} is a generalization of a group based on the concept of {{w|supersymmetry}}.<br />
<br />
Readers with a background in mathematics or physics might find their expectations thwarted upon realizing that the comic is about mundane musical collaborations. But then, "every supergroup carries a natural group structure, but there may be more than one way to structure a given group as a supergroup"<ref name="wiki_supergroup">{{w|Supergroup (physics)|Supergroup (physics) on Wikipedia}}, accessed 2024-03-13</ref>, which applies to both contexts.<br />
<br />
=== Miscellaneous numeric observations ===<br />
<br />
100 gecs provides the most "bandname per member" (100 / 2 = 50), with OneRepublic and One Direction each vying for most "members per bandname" (both 5, at their most complete). Counting the songname mashup ratios is more complex: if it is not a single "1000 miles", ''perhaps'' the two Proclaimers can be said to be each singing 500 miles, to match the other solo artists' alternate 500s (depending upon which source(s) are chosen as canon), but a single luftballon requires just slightly over 1% of Nena (whether the {{w|Nena|eponymous singer}} or shared throughout {{w|Nena (band)|her band of five}}) and a lone Dalmatian slightly less than 1% split amongst {{w|101 Dalmatians|an uncertain number of originators}}.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, Knit Cap, and Hairy are in line at a theater box office with Ponytail looking in at the window at the tickets sale. The window is partly shaded/reflectively-marked and cannot be seen through in the comic. There is a speaking grille in the window, plus a opening at the bottom for passing payment and tickets. To the left of the window are double doors and above all this there is a large theatrical billboard with small lights all around it. It reads:]<br />
:<big>Playing Tonight</big><br />
:''The New Supergroup:''<br />
:176 Pilots, Seconds of Summer, Non Blondes, Live Crew, gecs, Doors Down, Inch Nails, Republic, Direction, and Seconds to Mars<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Music]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2904:_Physics_vs._Magic2904: Physics vs. Magic2024-03-08T21:20:10Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2904<br />
| date = March 8, 2024<br />
| title = Physics vs. Magic<br />
| image = physics_vs_magic_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x294px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'At the stroke of midnight, your brother will be hurtling sideways at an altitude of 150 meters' is a regular physics prediction about your nonmagical trebuchet, whereas 'you are cursed to build a brother-launching trebuchet' falls out of the Lagrangian.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic explores the distinctions between magic and physics through the perspective of [[Miss Lenhart]], a schoolteacher. She explains that {{w|physics}} involves the continuous application of forces to objects over time, whereas magic reveals the outcome without detailing the process. She illustrates her point with a magical curse example that dictates the recipient will slay their brother by midnight (or possibly noon), highlighting its lack of scientific basis due to the absence of a causal explanation. She further contends that the {{w|laws of thermodynamics}}, among other laws, fall into the category of magic, with {{w|Lagrangian (physics)|Lagrangians}} representing a deeper level of magic.<br />
<br />
The humor in this comic arises from the observation that foundational physical laws, despite being empirically derived, lack explanations for their inherent truths. According to the logic presented in the second panel, these laws resemble magic as they specify outcomes without clarifying the means to achieve them. While some laws might be derived from others, ultimately, we accept certain principles as given, akin to magical reasoning.<br />
<br />
The second panel references Newtonian mechanics, depicted as an initial value problem, which establishes a system's initial conditions and its temporal evolution based on specific rules. This formulation aligns with our intuitive understanding that the present is a known state and the immediate future is determined by present conditions. The final panel humorously juxtaposes this notion with various physics concepts that challenge our basic assumptions in progressively disconcerting ways.<br />
<br />
Specifically, equilibrium thermodynamics, a major branch of thermodynamics familiar to students, makes predictions about a system's eventual state without accounting for its current state or intermediate behaviors. This perspective seemingly contradicts the principle introduced in the first panel, although the concept of inquiring about long-term stability without detailed process knowledge remains intuitively accessible.<br />
<br />
{{w|Conservation law}}s, emerging naturally from Newtonian physics, present another conceptual challenge. While basic explanations involve calculus and elementary algebra, more advanced interpretations connect conservation laws to physical system symmetries in a highly abstract and enigmatic manner. These laws, therefore, make permanent statements about a system's state, independent of its evolution, challenging the initial principle in a manner that feels even more counterintuitive than thermodynamics. Notably, particle physics conservation laws, except in cases involving the {{w|Wu experiment|weak nuclear force}}, maintain certain system properties like charge, spin, and parity.<br />
<br />
Lagrangian mechanics, a reinterpretation of classical physics equivalent to Newton's laws, diverges by considering both initial and final states to determine physically permissible trajectories. This approach directly opposes the first panel's principle, mirroring the magical definition by surprisingly and counterintuitively aligning the intuitive Newtonian perspective with the "magical" frameworks of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics. Therefore, the comic labels Lagrangians, central to Lagrangian mechanics and system dynamics description, as 'Deep Magic', highlighting their role in encapsulating physics' magical aspect.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, the comic might hint at the teleological debate within physics, especially regarding the {{w|stationary-action principle}}'s potential teleological interpretations. This principle, foundational to deriving various equations of motion across physics fields, suggests a teleological element by inferring initial conditions from specified final conditions, challenging the conventional causality narrative.<br />
<br />
The title text merges the comic's thematic elements, contrasting a nonmagical {{w|trebuchet}} prediction with the mystical implications of the curse, further blending the lines between physics predictions and magical foresight.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Miss Lenhart is standing in front of a whiteboard and pointing to it with a stick. The whiteboard contains two lines of scribbles at the top, two drawings below them featuring a curve on the left and a circle on the right, and below them four additional lines of scribbles with smallest line of scribbles in the lower left corner.]<br />
:Miss Lenhart: '''''Physics''''' and '''''magic''''' are different in a very deep way.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Miss Lenhart pointing the stick to the left to a depiction of a projectile's motion due to gravity. The path of movement is shown as a dashed line that first heads directly to the right but starts increasingly curving downward. There are five small circles at different points within the path. There are labels "V<sub>0</sub>" for an arrow pointing right on the left side of the leftmost circle, "F" for an arrow pointing downward below the leftmost circle, and "T<sub>0</sub>" to "T<sub>4</sub>" for the five individual circles from left to right.]<br />
:Miss Lenhart: '''''Physics''''' works by describing the forces that act on a system.<br />
:Miss Lenhart: To predict outcomes, we progressively apply those forces over time.<br />
<br />
:[Miss Lenhart is holding the stick down and standing in front of Jill and Hairy sitting at their desks. Jill has her hands on her desk while Hairy has his hands on his lap.]<br />
:Miss Lenhart: '''''Magic''''' specifies the outcome, but not the intermediate events.<br />
:Miss Lenhart: '' "Ere the clock strikes twelve, you are cursed to slay your brother" '' is magic, not science.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting as in the third panel, except Miss Lenhart is holding the stick slightly lower and Jill has her other hand on her lap.]<br />
:Miss Lenhart: ... And that's how we know thermodynamics is magic.<br />
:Miss Lenhart: Conservation laws are, too.<br />
:Hairy: What about Lagrangians?<br />
:Miss Lenhart: '''''Deep''''' magic. Speak not of them here.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Trebuchet]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2903:_Earth/Venus_Venn_Diagram2903: Earth/Venus Venn Diagram2024-03-06T21:17:11Z<p>Laser813: A bit less duplicative detail</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2903<br />
| date = March 6, 2024<br />
| title = Earth/Venus Venn Diagram<br />
| image = earth_venus_venn_diagram_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 416x309px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Actually, the fact that Mars is still orbiting safely over here means that it was technically an *Euler* apocalypse, not a Venn one.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
A {{w|Venn diagram}} illustrates the relationships and differences among sets by showing common and distinct elements, using overlapping circles (or other shapes). This comic is both a '''Venn diagram''' and a '''proximity illustration''' of {{w|Earth}} and {{w|Venus}} colliding, physically 'overlapping' each other.<br />
* As a '''proximity illustration''', it depicts Earth and Venus smashing into each other, resulting in "shockwaves and production of impact ejecta" occurring where they collide. The relative circle sizes are accurate; the circumference of Venus is 5% smaller than Earth's.<br />
* As a '''Venn diagram''', it shows a collision moment in which the commonality between Earth and Venus is "shockwaves and production of impact ejecta" at the spot of intermingled Earth-Venus overlap.<br />
<br />
'''Shockwaves''' are intense, high-pressure waves caused by the immense force of the impact, that propagate through the materials of both planets faster than the speed of sound. <br />
<br />
'''Impact ejecta''' are the materials expelled from the impact site, consisting of molten rock, vaporized material, and solid debris, flung out at high velocities due to the energy released by the collision. The production of impact ejecta would indeed occur in the overlapping impact area.<br />
<br />
The title text is [[2721: Euler Diagrams|another xkcd joke]] about the difference between a [[:Category:Venn diagrams|Venn]] diagram and an [[:Category:Euler diagrams|Euler]] diagram, which is similar to a Venn diagram except that it's acceptable to have circles (or other shapes) that do not intersect if there are no common elements between those sets. The observation that {{w|Mars}} is still orbiting by itself makes Mars an additional set (out of the frame of the diagram), in addition to - but not intersecting with - Earth and Venus, making this technically an {{w|Euler diagram}}. Therefore if the Earth-Venus collision is a "Venn apocalypse," the inclusion of Mars as a non-intersecting entity makes this technically an "Euler apocalypse."<br />
<br />
As a thought experiment, if you expand the diagram infinitely, a "{{w|Big Crunch|Venn apocalypse}}" would consist of every body in the universe being in the process of colliding, simultaneously. This would be very dangerous.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
===Similar jokes===<br />
This joke is similar to the 'Pie chart' meme, showing 'pie I have eaten' and 'pie I have not yet eaten' as a mathematically conventional pie chart formed by a photograph of the actual subject of the chart: a real-world partially-eaten pie.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Two circles are drawn so they overlap. The segments of the circles that overlap are drawn in dashed lines. Each circle has a label and text are written in the central overlapping part the circle. Above the circles there is a caption:]<br />
:Earth/Venus Venn Diagram<br />
:Left: Earth <br />
:Right: Venus <br />
:Center: Shock-waves and production of impact ejecta<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Euler diagrams]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2902:_Ice_Core2902: Ice Core2024-03-04T22:39:18Z<p>172.71.99.122: US-eng is default here (despite being UK-eng, myself).</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2902<br />
| date = March 4, 2024<br />
| title = Ice Core<br />
| image = ice_core_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 318x333px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = If you find an ash deposition layer from a year in which an eruption destroyed an island that had Camellia sinensis growing on it, you can make a Gone Island Ice_τ.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Some people may like to taste a wine dated to the year they were born, or perhaps are subject to it as a family tradition. This would more typically be for a special occasion such as a milestone birthday than because it happens to be a 'good year' for the wine(s) they favor (unless they were particularly fortunate). Reaching the legal drinking age would be an appropriate opportunity to partake in a wine that is the same age as themselves. This comic extends this practice into a joke that {{w|paleoclimatologist|paleoclimatologists}}, who study the climate, use dated ice instead of dated wine, drilling into the ground to find the layer of ice matching the birth year of the recipient, either to drink 'neat' (once sufficiently melted) or as the '{{w|Bartending terminology#On the rocks|on the rocks}}' part of another drink, perhaps a cocktail.<br />
<br />
[[Megan]], a paleoclimatologist, decides to make a cocktail with the ice from the ice sheets (present in the Arctic and Antarctic, for example). Normally, scientists would try to date the ice and then use it to describe the state of the climate when these ice sheets formed. Here, Megan tries to find the ice layer corresponding to [[Knit Cap]]'s birth year to use the ice for the chosen drink. The caption asserts that this method of creating drinks is “traditional” for paleoclimatologists. She then asks if Knit Cap has the cocktail shaker that they presumably brought to the site ready. Cocktail shakers are used in the preparation of many mixed drinks, which often contain ice (usually produced by refrigeration, rather than harvested from natural sources).<br />
<br />
The title text says that if they manage to find some ice with ash coming from an eruption which destroyed an island with {{w|Camellia sinensis}} growing on it, they'll be able to make a cocktail called a 'Gone Island Ice_τ', which is a punning reference to the cocktail known as a {{w|Long Island iced tea}}. Camellia sinensis (common name, "tea plant") is generally used for making tea, so this cocktail would have tea infused into the ice. The Greek letter tau is used in place of "tea". The joke here likely is that this character is used in various fields to denote time, and presumably in this case refers to the time the ice deposit in question dates to.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Knit Cap and Megan are both wearing knit caps and scarves in a snowy and icy environment, most likely a glacier, looking at an ice drill that is a tripod with the drill in the middle. There is a helicopter on the ground in the background, with their footprints between them and the helicopter, suggesting they flew with the helicopter to the glacier. Knit Cap is holding a small container between her hands while Megan is holding the middle of the drill.]<br />
:Megan: Next, we'll identify the ice core layer matching your birth year. Do you have the shaker ready?<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Making the traditional paleoclimatologist cocktail<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Characters with hats]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2901:_Geographic_Qualifiers2901: Geographic Qualifiers2024-03-01T23:25:43Z<p>Apollo11: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2901<br />
| date = March 1, 2024<br />
| title = Geographic Qualifiers<br />
| image = geographic_qualifiers_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 435x386px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is bragging to a [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Cueball-like guy]] in front of a giant statue of a {{w|squirrel}} standing on a skateboard. Cueball states that this is the largest statue of that theme in “the {{w|Northern Hemisphere}}”. The other guy then becomes intrigued, as he realizes that this seems to imply the existence of a taller one in the {{w|Southern Hemisphere}}, not to mention the existence of additional smaller one(s) in the Northern Hemisphere. A skateboarding squirrel is a peculiar enough subject that to find one example of such a statue would be a surprise, and to learn that there is at least one other would be even more surprising.<br />
<br />
He quickly considers several countries in that hemisphere, {{w|Brazil}}, {{w|South Africa}}, and {{w|Australia}}. Native squirrel species are found in both {{w|Sciurus ingrami|Brazil}} and {{w|Smith's bush squirrel|South Africa}}, and people there might plausibly choose to erect statues to them. Australia, however, has no native squirrels, and introduced populations of {{w|Eastern gray squirrel|gray}} and {{w|Northern palm squirrel|palm squirrels}} [https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/palm-squirrel reportedly] have been eradicated, at considerable expense of time and money. "Confused Cueball" wonders whether Australians would know or care enough about squirrels to erect statues to them. It so happens, though, that many animals (and many entirely fictional ones) are depicted as statues in countries where they are not native, Australia is known for its many {{w|Big things (Australia)|overly large statues}}, and 1.5 m (5 foot) tall [https://natureworks.com.au/products/animals/mammals/farm-forest-animals/giant-wirral-the-enormous-squirrel-statue/ squirrel statues] are already sold there. So the existence of squirrel statues in the Southern Hemisphere that are larger than the one Cueball is bragging about is not out of the question - but the comic doesn't permit "confused Cueball" the half hour he'd need to drag out his phone and look up all these facts. The question about whether, and how many, of these putative squirrel statues are mounted on a skateboard is separate, although there is nothing in the urban cultures of the places named to preclude this possibility.<br />
<br />
It's entirely possible that this qualifier is unnecessary. If the statue were the largest of its kind in the world, or even the only one in the world (which is a distinct possibility, given the very specific nature of the statue), the description would still be true. Sometimes qualifiers are added simply due to incomplete information. They've exhaustively surveyed skateboarding squirrel statues in the Northern Hemisphere and determined that this one is the largest, but since they haven't searched the Southern Hemisphere, they don't want to commit to it being the largest in the world. On the other hand, it's possible that, paradoxically, he deliberately added a needless qualifier in an attempt to make the claim sound more impressive, even though technically it limits its scope, by implying intense competition for a title that, in reality, no one else is interested in claiming. [[Randall]] states, in the caption, that he loves the mystery that such qualifiers create. Doing so could thus have been one of Randall's [[:Category:My Hobby|hobbies]], but he doesn't make that explicit. <br />
<br />
Another example appears in the title text, where Randall uses the other example qualifier given in the caption. Here someone is expressing gratitude at the end of a date, saying that it's the loveliest evening they've ever had. This seems normal until they add the location qualifier of "east of the {{w|Mississippi River|Mississippi}}" (the river). This leaves the companion wondering what kind of great evening they had in some other location. In this case, it's unlikely that the speaker would have incomplete information about their own personal history.<br />
<br />
The statue may be a reference to [https://www.worldrecordacademy.org/2022/06/worlds-largest-squirrel-sculpture-cedar-creek-texas-sets-world-record-422206 Ms. Pearl], the [https://www.google.com/maps/@30.1663034,-97.5110882,3a,75y,51.89h,82.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shmwK8_AhUxo4gnhMZmWG5w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 giant squirrel statue] in {{w|Cedar Creek, Texas}} which, at 14 ft (4 m), is indeed the largest squirrel statue in the Western Hemisphere. In 2018, the qualifier ''was'' necessary since a [https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/10477/a-giant-squirrel-has-taken-over-almat|temporary 40 ft (12 m) squirrel statue] was erected in {{w|Kazakhstan}}. (It is no longer there.) But information for tourists in Cedar Creek, Texas, doesn't include this information that would create the mystique.{{Actual citation needed}}<br />
<br />
It is perhaps thanks only to the specific phrasing "tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel" that we need not consider tallest-statues-of-squirrels (temporarily) placed on skateboards, tallest statuesque skateboards with squirrels atop or even a rather modestly sized statuette representing a moment when [https://bigthings.vroomvroomvroom.com/listing/worlds-largest-skateboard/ a large skateboard] had sciurine visitors, in any or all hemispheres.<br />
<br />
In [[1368: One Of The]], the use of the unnecessary qualifier "one of the" was portrayed as one of Randall's [[:Category:Pet Peeves|Pet Peeves]], with a reporter describing the {{w|Gateway Arch}} as "one of the most recognizable arches in St. Louis", when it could have been described as "the most recognizable arch" in the city.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The scene in this comic is shown from afar and drawn in black silhouette on a white background. It depicts a huge statue of a squirrel standing on a skateboard, which is on a pedestal. Below and in front of the statue there are two Cueball-like guys. The Cueball on the left is pointing at the statue and speaking to his friend on the right who has a thought bubble above him.]<br />
:Cueball: At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the Northern Hemisphere.<br />
:Friend [thinking]: ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren't even native there...<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the Northern Hemisphere."<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Geography]]<br />
[[Category:Squirrels]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2900:_Call_My_Cell2900: Call My Cell2024-02-29T05:46:33Z<p>108.162.242.37: 1284</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2900<br />
| date = February 28, 2024<br />
| title = Call My Cell<br />
| image = call_my_cell_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 509x222px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 'Hey, can you call my cell?' '...I'm trying, but it says this number is blocked?' 'Ok, thanks, just checking.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
When a person cannot find their {{w|cell phone}}, it is not uncommon to ask a friend to call the phone in question. This will activate the device's ring tone and/or its haptic actuator, assuming the device is not off or silenced, making it easier to find (this is also one of the meanings of [[207: What xkcd Means|"xkcd"]]).<br />
<br />
At first, [[Black Hat]] appears to have misplaced his cell phone, as he asks [[Cueball]] to call it. However, when Cueball does call Black Hat's cell, it is revealed to be in Black Hat's (supposed) pocket. He then makes a show of ''annoyance'' that Cueball ("''this'' guy") is calling him, sends the call to {{w|voicemail}}, and leaves. From this, it might be inferred that Black Hat was simply trying to demonstrate that he doesn't ''want'' Cueball to call him, showing another of his ''[[72: Classhole|classhole]]'' tendencies, as Black Hat is quite often depicted as deliberately inconsiderate and rarely prone to actual carelessness.<br />
<br />
The title text is a similar situation. Cueball calls Black Hat, but instead Black Hat demonstrates that he was only "checking" that he had {{w|Call blocking|blocked Cueball's number}} so Cueball is unable to reach his cell, making an even stronger insult. This can also be seen as a grammatical accuracy. When Black Hat asks "Can you call my cell?" he is asking whether Cueball is ''able'' to place a call on Black Hat's cell phone. This would be a variation of a particularly pedantic authority figure replying to a "Can I...?" question with the response like "I imagine you ''can'', but (right now) you ''may not''..." and so denying the request. In this case, the answer to the strict interpretation would have been "No", rendering the implied issue of permission entirely moot.<br />
<br />
This comic may be related to [[1284: Improved Keyboard]], where Black Hat stops Cueball from texting him by changing his keyboard.<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat walks in from the right approaching Cueball. Black Hat has his finger raised.]<br />
:Black Hat: Hey, can you call my cell?<br />
<br />
:[Cueball has taken his phone up and is pressing the screen, presumably dialing Black Hat's number. Black Hat looks down at his back pocket, which is ringing. He reaches for the pocket, which has his phone in it.]<br />
:Black Hat: Oh, one sec.<br />
:''Ring''<br />
<br />
:[Cueball, still holding his phone, looks at Black Hat. Black Hat has turned his back to Cueball and is looking at his phone which he is holding in both hands. Above his head is both his one line of speech but also a separate jagged speech bubble indicating what is written on his phone screen.]<br />
:Black Hat: Ugh, it's '''''this''''' guy.<br />
:Phone: ''Send to voicemail''<br />
<br />
:[Cueball, holding his phone down, watches Black Hat walk away from him, already partly outside the right frame of the panel.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Phones]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2899:_Goodhart%27s_Law2899: Goodhart's Law2024-02-26T17:43:16Z<p>141.101.98.103: /* Explanation */ s/stss/sts/</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2899<br />
| date = February 26, 2024<br />
| title = Goodhart's Law<br />
| image = goodharts_law_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 295x321px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [later] I'm pleased to report we're now identifying and replacing hundreds of outdated metrics per hour.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[White Hat]] suggests creating a meta-metric, "number-of-metrics-that-have-become-targets," and making it a target.<br />
<br />
First, Cueball introduces and defines {{w|Goodhart's Law}}, which is the observation that when a metric — a {{w|performance indicator|measure of performance}} — becomes a goal, efforts will be unhelpfully directed to improving that ''metric'' at the expense of systemic objectives.<br />
<br />
For example, imagine a scenario in which a car dealership is looking to grow profits, and its managers decide to focus on increasing a component metric of profit: how many cars it sells. So they offer a bonus to their salespeople to sell more cars. But then the salespeople offer deep discounts to rack up sales, rendering the car sales unprofitable. This example shows how a ''metric'' (cars sold) can become the ''target'', replacing the real target, profit growth, if individual incentives are not properly managed.<br />
<br />
Hearing about Goodhart's Law, White Hat suggests eliminating metrics that have become targets.<br />
<br />
White Hat's suggestion could be a good or a bad idea. It all depends on how the bonus incentive is awarded:<br />
<br />
* A '''well-designed implementation''' would award bonuses only for finding metrics which truly aren't serving their purpose, so the organization's managers could fix the measurement issues (assuming the fix isn't worse than the status quo), and would employ sufficient management oversight to discourage trivial submissions. If submissions are in good faith, bonuses are awarded only for approved submissions, and the identifications result in real improvements, the organization will likely be better off.<br />
<br />
* A '''poorly-designed implementation''' would offer a bonus to every identification, regardless of quality. This would incentivize the identification of even quite useful metrics — and perhaps even the ''creation'' of new metrics-as-targets for the sole purpose of then removing them and collecting the bounty.<br />
<br />
The title text imagines this '''poorly-designed implementation''', leading to the creation of a new metric (metric changes per hour) and the organization identifying — and ''replacing'' — hundreds of metrics per hour, crowding out actual focus on the organization's true goals. It's the ultimate example of "change for change's sake." <br />
<br />
Part of the joke is that White Hat's original suggestion — the new metric causing the issue and one that ''should'' be replaced — seems to be ironically surviving the replacement of hundreds of other metrics. <br />
<br />
This comic illustrates that the thoughtless combination of Goodhart's Law and poorly designed incentives can have ruinous results for an organization.<br />
<br />
The proper usage of organizational metrics and incentives is the focus of {{w|managerial accounting}}, a field within organizational management.<br />
<br />
===Discussion of the promises and perils of operational measurement===<br />
While there is a temptation to game any metric, measurement is the main objective way of describing the success of an activity and assessing the effect of changes. "Data-driven" or "evidence-based" approaches are used to drive measurable improvements in various areas of society. <br />
<br />
Discussions of Goodhart's Law have noted [https://commoncog.com/goodharts-law-not-useful/] that people may respond to a metric by either (1) improving the system, (2) distorting that system (examples below), or (3) distorting the data (e.g., governments publishing false or cherry-picked economic data). Channeling energy toward improvement requires an organization to make (1) more appealing (flexibility and culture) and the others less (transparency, culture, reduced pressure to meet unrealistic goals). Figuring out how to do that involves a slow and thoughtful process unlike White Hat's kneejerk jump to a new metric.<br />
<br />
===Additional examples of Goodhart's Law===<br />
* The classical example of Goodhart's Law is the {{w|Perverse_incentive#The_original_cobra_effect|Cobra Effect}}: anecdotally the British rule in India paid bounties for dead cobras as a pest control effort. People quickly realized that more cobras allowed them to harvest more for the bounty, and began actively breeding cobras.<br />
* School test scores are intended as a metric for how well a school is teaching its students. When that becomes an incentivized target, schools are forced to design their curriculum around the exams, which can create a more rigid system which fails to engage students and teachers. In extreme cases, this can motivate decisions to remove underperforming students from school districts, or encourage teachers to allow or even facilitate cheating. <br />
* A hospital measures inpatient ''Length of Stay'' because shorter stays save money and free up beds for other patients. But this metric, on its own, may encourage doctors to discharge patients too soon. This not only puts patients at risk, but can also result in costly re-admissions. <br />
* A call center measures the number of calls handled per hour as a measure of worker productivity. This can drive workers to rush through calls, terminating them as quickly as possible, which can lead to short, frustrating interactions.<br />
* The hypothetical {{w|Instrumental convergence#Paperclip maximizer|Paperclip Maximizer}} concept demonstrates how having a seemingly benign metric as a goal might still result in almost unlimited adverse effects, if unchecked.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and White Hat are standing and talking, White Hat with hand on his chin.]<br />
:Cueball: When a metric becomes a target, it ceases to be a good metric.<br />
:White Hat: Sounds bad. Let's offer a bonus to anyone who identifies a metric that has become a target.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Statistics]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2898:_Orbital_Argument2898: Orbital Argument2024-02-24T02:17:01Z<p>172.69.151.204: Marked transcript complete</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2898<br />
| date = February 23, 2024<br />
| title = Orbital Argument<br />
| image = orbital_argument_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 448x323px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Some people say light is waves, and some say it's particles, so I bet light is some in-between thing that's both wave and particle depending on how you look at it. Am I right?" "YES, BUT YOU SHOULDN'T BE!"<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[White Hat]] is using the {{w|Argument to moderation|middle ground fallacy}} to try to make a compromise between the positions of [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]].<br />
<br />
Cueball appears to be asserting a {{w|geocentric}} viewpoint, whilst Megan adheres to a {{w|heliocentric}} one, both of which are flawed descriptions of the way things are, but the latter is much closer to reality. White Hat, however, considers it {{wiktionary|politic#Adjective|politic}} to 'split the difference' and declares his intention to compromise with a 'middle' option, to try to uncritically please both parties. (Though it's probable that he may instead just equally annoy them both!)<br />
<br />
On a naive reading, which imagines a point of common orbit midway between the bodies, his thesis is simply wrong. However, by one way of looking at it, it happens that he is also correct. Because two bodies exert equal but opposite gravitational forces on each other, each orbits around the average location of the other, and therefore they both orbit a common center. This {{w|Barycenter (astronomy)|barycenter}} is located somewhere between the centers of mass of the two bodies; the distance of each body's center of mass from the barycenter is proportional to the other body's mass. This is most apparent in systems where the two bodies have similar masses, but it is present to an extent in all orbital pairs, even when one body is far more massive than the other. For this reason, Earth does not orbit the center of the stationary Sun as described by the heliocentric model. However, the Earth-Sun barycenter is only slightly different from the Sun's own true center, still well within the Sun. It is around this which the Sun wobbles, in contrast to the way the Earth orbits around this unequally proportioned midpoint.<br />
<br />
That White Hat has worded his compromise solution in a way that (arguably) encompasses the deeper truth of the barycentric viewpoint is not treated as justifying his mediating approach. It is clearly understood, by someone who seems to understand the complexities (e.g. a {{w|Randall Munroe#NASA|NASA physicist}}) that White Hat's 'successful' conclusion is just accidental, and such a person may therefore find this vexatious. This seems to be a case of a {{w|Gettier problem}}: White Hat reaches a true statement via unjustified logic.<br />
<br />
The title text extends the principle of the comic's astronomical viewpoint down to the correspondingly opposing 'quantum world'. For various well-studied reasons, light is often described ''either'' as particles ''or'' as waves. White Hat's approach would be to give both viewpoints equal credit and suggest a compromising middle-ground explanation. In this case, also, he would have the {{w|Wave–particle duality|correct answer}} but, in the continuing view of an increasingly exasperated witness to his chronic {{w|False balance|"half-and-half"ism}}, not through a logical proof. Averaging predictions of experts is used to reliably improve the accuracy of the {{w|Ensemble learning|ensemble}}, as well as other methods that might produce a {{w|consensus forecast}}, so his heuristic may indeed have some validity for some types of prediction along a continuum of possibilities. But, for this case, two opposing philosophical positions do not represent the right kind of data to merge into a balanced 'best fit' intermediate predictive model.<br />
<br />
Another example of the middle ground fallacy was used in [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition]], although in that case the person offering the compromise solution was not portrayed as getting the right answer by accident.<br />
<br />
Orbits of celestial bodies are quantified using a set of parameters called orbital elements. Some of these parameters are commonly known as arguments, such as the {{w|Argument of periapsis}}. However, these kind of arguments tend to lead to consensus rather than disagreements. Independent measurements of the arguments might indeed be combined by taking the mean (to discover the middle ground).<br />
<br />
The Earth-Moon barycenter is located approximately ¾ of the way from Earth's center of mass to its surface, towards the Moon's center of mass. The equivalent Jupiter-Sun barycenter, meanwhile, is located just ''above'' the 'surface' of the Sun due to the masses involved being not as different (but still significantly so), and the much greater distance between them. Pluto-Charon barycenter is located completely outside of Pluto, in part because they are much more similar masses, and are thus considered to orbit each other (tidally locked) around a point approximately 5.4% along the distance between the surfaces of Pluto surface and Charon, or 11% of their center-to-center distance.<br />
<br />
As each of the planets and the Sun are simultaneously orbiting/'being orbited' (and every planet also measurably pulls on every other, etc, even discounting every smaller and/or more distant body in the universe), the combined solar-system's barycenter is a less simply-defined point (that being more likely to be within the Sun, at any given point of time), which can often be considered to more simply average out to "<each planet> orbits the Sun" for most purposes.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[From left to right, Cueball, White Hat and Megan standing. Cueball and Megan are arguing. Cueball is raising a finger while Megan's arms are outstretched. White Hat stands between them, both hands out in an equivocal gesture.]<br />
:Cueball: The sun orbits the earth!<br />
:Megan: The earth orbits the sun!<br />
:White Hat: When two people disagree, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Maybe the earth and the sun orbit a common center!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:] <br />
:It's annoying when people are right by accident.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]<br />
[[Category:Compromise]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2897:_Light_Leap_Years2897: Light Leap Years2024-02-21T15:29:36Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2897<br />
| date = February 21, 2024<br />
| title = Light Leap Years<br />
| image = light_leap_years_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 288x389px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = When Pope Gregory XIII briefly shortened the light-year in 1582, it led to navigational chaos and the loss of several Papal starships.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
The comic features [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] updating astronomical distances in a database. The caption imagines a world in which {{w|leap year}}s, which add an extra day to the year, making it 366 days long instead of 365, purportedly extend light-years by 0.27% due to the additional day (366/365 = 1.0027397...). This adjustment ostensibly reduces the number of light years to celestial bodies like Alpha Centauri by a corresponding percentage — a relatively small amount, but one that corresponds to approximately 730 times the average Earth-sun distance. The comic was released about a week before the leap day of 2024, a leap year.<br />
<br />
The joke hinges on the fact that in most common usages years have a variable length, with the {{w|Gregorian calendar}}'s leap year system — adding a day every four years to align the calendar year with the astronomical year — being the current civil standard in most of the world. A {{w|light year}}, defined in astronomy as the distance light travels in a vacuum over a Julian year (365.25 days), remains constant at 9,460,730,472,580.8 km, unaffected by the Gregorian calendar's leap years. However, the comic amusingly suggests that leap years lengthen light years, necessitating database updates for astronomical distances.<br />
<br />
The title text imaginatively claims {{w|Pope Gregory XIII}}, who introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582, inadvertently affected the length of the light-year. This is not due to 1582 being a leap-year (it was [https://www.customcalendarmaker.com/leap-years ''not'' a leap-year]), but because of the calendar days that had to be skipped to remove the timing error built up when using the prior (and less correct) Julian method of leap-years. Those adopting the system in 1582 had to shorten this year by ten days. {{w|List of adoption dates of the Gregorian calendar by country|Later adopters}} may have had to shorten the year that they ''did'' change by up to 13 days, i.e. up to three extra days for every four whole centuries spent on the 'wrong' calendar.<br />
<br />
A year of effectively 355 days, rather than 365, would therefore lead (by this comic's premise) to potential misunderstandings/misapplications of distance approaching 3%, leading to "navigational chaos" and the loss of "Papal starships." This satirizes the significant historical impact of calendar reforms on navigation and measurement, despite the anachronism, as the light-year wasn't defined until 1838 and the concept of a finite speed of light only emerged in 1676 with {{w|Rømer's determination of the speed of light}}, whilst practical starships (papal or otherwise) that would usefully rely upon light-year measurements, have yet to be developed (on Earth, at least, the only place where such light-year measurements might originate). However, navigational chaos ''has'' been a cause of maritime shipwrecks, such as the notable {{w|Scilly naval disaster of 1707}} in which four ships were lost and over 1,400 sailors died due to navigational errors.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, the title text could be interpreted as a joke about how the light-year in astronomy is based on the Julian year (365.25 days) rather than the mean Gregorian year (365.2425 days). The pope may have briefly changed that definition, leading to "navigational chaos". Although the difference between a Julian light-year and a Gregorian light-year is only about 20 parts per million, it still amounts to about 194 million km (121 million mi) per light year.<br />
<br />
This is another comic, after the very recent [[2888: US Survey Foot]], about how differing interpretations of standard units could have absurd real-world implications. <br />
<br />
===Discussion of the use of light year values in the comic===<br />
The values given for Proxima Centauri's distance from the Sun, 4.2377 light-leap-years and 4.2493 light-nonleap-years, are consistent with a distance of 4.2464 actual light-years as described by the {{w|International Astronomical Union}}, which is only minutely different from 4.2465 light-years, the value given by {{w|Gaia catalogues|Gaia Data Release 3}} in 2020. Though tiny on an interstellar scale, the difference between 4.2377 and 4.2493 light-years, 0.0116 light years, equals 109.7 billion km (68.2 billion miles), about 730 times the average distance between the Earth and the sun (150 million km or 93 million miles).<br />
<br />
Ironically, this kind of change would not actually bother astronomers in the slightest. Astronomical distances on scales larger than the solar system are universally (or rather, globally: we do not know how things are done in other parts of the universe) measured with the {{w|parsec}} ("''pc''", or useful multiples such as ''kpc'', ''Mpc'', or ''Gpc''). One of those is approximately 3.24 light years, so has a [[2205: Types of Approximation|similar astronomical magnitude]], but is founded upon common interpretations of distance and angle instead of time. (Both partly rely upon baseline measures that are complementary aspects of Earth's orbit, i.e. its periodicity and radius, which theoretically make for a globally agreeable system; but highly unlikely to match whatever equivalent any non-terran scientists would independently develop.) While light-years, and {{w|Light-year#Related units|related units}}, are common in publications intended for non-astrophysicists and for the benefit of laypersons, they are generally considered as secondary usefulness to parsecs within the actual fields of astronomy and astrophysics research. As such, it is highly likely that the clearly exacting database that Cueball and Ponytail are in the process of modifying is not even keyed to any light-units, making leap-/non-leap-light-years already an automatic conversion that the system may pander for without such a direct interaction.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a laptop on it and leaning to the back of his office chair, while having his other hand on the laptop. He is looking at Ponytail, who is standing behind him. The text from the laptop screen is shown above it, indicated with a zigzag line.]<br />
:Cueball: It took until February, but I finally got all the distances updated!<br />
:Ponytail: I really wish we didn't have to do this.<br />
:[Laptop screen:]<br />
:<u>Proxima Centauri</u><br />
:Distance: [in red, crossed out] <span style="color:red"><s>4.2493 ly</s></span><br />
:[in green] <span style="color:green">4.2377 ly</span><br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Astronomers hate leap years because they make light-years 0.27% longer.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Time]]<br />
[[Category:Calendar]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2896:_Crossword_Constructors2896: Crossword Constructors2024-02-19T22:14:43Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2896<br />
| date = February 19, 2024<br />
| title = Crossword Constructors<br />
| image = crossword_constructors_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 285x388px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Also, we would really appreciate it if you could prominently refer to it as an 'eHit'.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is inspired by a common situation when people try to make {{w|Crossword#American-style crosswords|US-style quick crossword}} puzzles (where the grid is [[media:CrosswordUSA.svg|almost completely filled]] with words). Here, [[Cueball]], [[Hairbun]], and [[White Hat]] are {{w|crossword puzzle}} constructors, but some of the words they would like to use would result in awkward sequences of letters which are not English words or familiar names, such as "aete", "eni", etc. However, they have an idea to write a letter to persuade prominent singers ({{w|Taylor Swift}}, {{w|Ed Sheeran}}, {{w|Nicki Minaj}}, {{w|Ariana Grande}} and {{w|The Weeknd}}) to choose these awkward sequences of letters as titles of their future albums, thereby letting Cueball, Hairbun, and White Hat write clues about those albums and use those letter sequences as answers. <br />
<br />
The particular sequences of letters that are selected are notable for their exclusive usage of the {{w|Letter frequency|most common English letters}}. Most of them also begin and end with a vowel. These are two features that are common in "{{w|crosswordese}}", i.e., words which appear significantly more often in crosswords than in reality. Examples of crosswordese that are actually used include the words "{{w|OREO}}", "{{w|Épée|EPEE}}", and "{{w|Yoko Ono|ONO}}". <br />
<br />
The title text lists another sequence of awkward letters, "eHit". Here, Cueball, Hairbun, and White Hat ask these singers to refer their hits (popular songs) as "eHit"s, adding the "e" for electronic such as in e-mail and e-dating. This is also a reference to common crossword entries like "E-TAIL" or "E-MAG" which are often criticized for using the prefix "E" to create words that no one really uses.<br />
<br />
===Possible unintended meanings of words===<br />
*aete: {{w|Apple_event#Object_Model|AppleEvent Terminology Extension}}<br />
*eni: {{w|Eni|Eni S.p.A.}}, Italian multinational energy company; the name of an {{W|Eniola_Aluko|England footballer}}<br />
*oreta: ''{{w|Oreta}}'', moth genus in family {{w|Drepanidae}}<br />
*aroe: {{w|Aroe}} may refer to: The Aru Islands Regency, islands in eastern Indonesia; Aroe, an alternative name for Aroi, Patras, in western Greece<br />
*oine: {{w|Kusumoto Ine}}, also known as O-Ine, Japanese physician<br />
*aen: {{w|AEN}} may refer to: Acute esophageal necrosis, a rare esophageal disorder; and more<br />
*aerae: ''[[wikt:aerae|aerae]]'' (Latin noun) genitive/dative singular and nominative plural of ''[[wikt:aera#Latin|aera]]'' (era)<br />
<br />
''{{w|Enta da Stage}}'' is the debut album by American East Coast hip hop group Black Moon.<br/><br />
''öine'' means nocturnal/nightly in Estonian, and features in the titles of a number of albums by artists from that country.<br />
<br />
The above words and definitions would be considered too obscure for use in most American crossword puzzles, as puzzle editors normally prefer answers to be at least somewhat familiar to the general public, even if the answers wind up being clued obscurely.<br />
<br />
===Uses in mainstream crossword puzzles===<br />
Some of these words have appeared in the New York Times crossword, albeit only in the pre-1992 era (that is, before the current editor Will Shortz began his tenure).<br />
*aroe: Clued as a variant spelling for the {{w|Aru Islands Regency}}, and also as part of the phrase "and be thou like unto a roe" from the King James Bible.<br />
*aen: Clued as an abbreviation for the ''{{w|Aeneid}}'' or as an abbreviation for the Latin word ''aeneus'' meaning "of bronze" or "of copper"<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a table and typing on his laptop, with small movement lines above his hands indicating typing. White Hat and Hairbun are standing behind him and looking at what he writes. The text he writes can be seen above them. The list of words at the end are written in two columns with four words in each. Here below, the second column of words is written below the first:]<br />
:Dear Ms. Swift, Mr. Sheeran, Ms. Minaj, Ms. Grande, and Mr. Weeknd,<br />
:We are a group of crossword puzzle constructors, and we would like to suggest some titles for your future albums:<br />
:*Aete<br />
:*Eni<br />
:*Oreta<br />
:*Aroe<br />
:*Oine<br />
:*Aen<br />
:*Enta<br />
:*Aerae<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Music]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2895:_Treasure_Chests2895: Treasure Chests2024-02-17T05:01:49Z<p>Asdf: /* Explanation */ restoring 1st paragraph</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2895<br />
| date = February 16, 2024<br />
| title = Treasure Chests<br />
| image = treasure_chests_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 287x488px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = [earlier] "Your vintage-style handmade chest business is struggling. But I have a plan."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic features [[Black Hat]] proposing a way to create significant business for a "lawn care company", for which the comic narrator has an attachment (perhaps owner or employee), albeit in an extremely unethical and possibly illegal manner which is very much congruent with Black Hat's character of being a '[[classhole]]'.<br />
<br />
His plan is to create the conditions for a large number of lawns all over a certain town to be dug out by random members of the public, via the motivation of a large potential reward for digging up a lawn (in this case, a chest with $1,000 in the form of silver and gold coins). By filming the burials in such a way that the subsequently posted videos are tantalizingly open to many interpretations as to where they actually were, and then waiting a year to let time obscure any obvious signs of disturbed earth and digging, he encourages feverish speculation among treasure-hunters about the location of the chests, and an incentive to dig up lawns more or less at random, with or without permission.<br />
<br />
It is also possible that waiting a year leaves time for one or more chests to have been discovered prior to the 'start' of the deliberate competition to find them. So long as all three weren't (publicly) discovered, it leaves open the possibility that those competing to find the 'unfound' chests will continue with their efforts to find what is now unfindable, prolonging the exercise beyond the point at which all chests could be known to be discovered and that there are no more chances to gain their riches. Indeed, there is nothing to stop Black Hat from simply digging the chests back up once the videos have been filmed, so that he is not out $3000 and there is nothing to find, prolonging the search indefinitely.<br />
<br />
The many homeowners who soon find themselves with ruined lawns would then proceed to contact the lawn care company in order to fix the broken lawns, thus making the business lots of money. For the maximum initial expenditure of $3000 (plus the cost of the containers, and other trivial overheads), a need for significant remediation work will be generated. According to the caption below the panel, the proposal set out by Black Hat turns out to be VERY profitable and EXTREMELY effective. It would be cheaper than most other forms of effective advertisement, such as {{w|Flyer (pamphlet)#Distribution and use|mass-flyering the catchment area}} or buying advertising time/space in traditional media, whilst being much more penetrating and focused than any but the most sophisticated (and expensive) forms of online advertising. As long as the 'competition' isn't actually linked to the lawn-care businesss, it also has the advantage that it can create a near maximum potential demand for the service without risking {{w|media fatigue}} and perhaps aversion to the product being advertised. There is no indication that this will be <em>ever</em> be promoted as the company's very own competition, which would probably actively drive the numerous victims of the scheme to find (or found!) rival businesses, not to mention risk the instigation of claims for recompense through civil liability.<br />
<br />
The title text shows how Black Hat, before sharing his proposal in this comic, saw a struggling business that made vintage-style handmade chests and cooked up the lawn care plan as a way to boost their sales by generating demand for chests from the lawn company. Sales of three chests doesn't seem a significant uplift for the chest company, which potentially implies that Black Hat has pushed his treasure hunt scheme to multiple lawn care companies, perhaps each in a different town, each buying three chests. One can only speculate about what other companies he may have enticed to take part in this {{tvtropes|ChainOfDeals|chain of deals}}, at each point being paid for the pleasure (and keeping the accumulated proceeds), leaving arbitrary amounts of disruption in his wake.<br />
<br />
As of the time of posting, [https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/silver-price/ silver prices] were roughly $23 per ounce / $8 per cm^3, and [https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/gold-price/ gold prices] were roughly $2000 per ounce / $1250 per cm^3. This means that even the fairly small chest Black Hat has procured, which appears to be around 4 litres, would be very empty if holding $1000 in pure gold or silver coins. Accounting for space between coins, a $1000 chest entirely containing silver coins would be only be filled between 1/8-1/4 liter / 1/2-1 cup, whereas $1000 would only constitute a single medium/large gold coin or a few small ones. However, 'gold' and 'silver' coins may simply refer to higher value coins made either partially from gold and silver, or from some other alloys that give gold and silver colourings. The value might also be based on the face value of gold and silver coins that differ from the market value based on the metal content, or Black Hat might be using another dollar currency rather than the US dollar. If using U.S. currency, he probably filled it with {{w|Dollar_coin_(United_States)|dollar coins}}, which currently exist in both gold (the "Sacagawea dollar", the "Native American series", and the "Presidential dollar") and silver (the "American Silver Eagle", the "Susan B. Anthony dollar", the "Morgan" and "Peace" dollars, and the extra-large "Eisenhower dollar") colorations. 1,000 dollar coins would nicely fill a small chest and look impressive enough.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is holding a treasure chest in one hand and pointing with a stick to a poster that features a shovel at the top, three circled X's below it, and five question marks around them.]<br />
:Black Hat: First, I'll fill three of these chests with $1,000 each in small silver and gold coins, and take videos of them being buried in unidentified lawns around town.<br />
:Black Hat: Next year, I post the videos.<br />
:Black Hat: Then we sit back and let the local kids do the rest.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:The proposal for creating business for our lawn care company was unorthodox but ''extremely'' effective.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2894:_Research_Account2894: Research Account2024-02-14T19:09:34Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2894<br />
| date = February 14, 2024<br />
| title = Research Account<br />
| image = research_account_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 291x479px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Focus of your research: EXTREME PETTINESS AND UNWILLINGNESS TO LET ANYTHING GO<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] has a longstanding craving to win online arguments and to prioritize these arguments (see [[386: Duty Calls]], one of Randall's viral comics). In the comic he is filling out a form to register for a research account. Such accounts are typically intended for people doing serious work in the relevant field, who need access to the materials provided to support that work. Cueball, however, has filled out “other/none” for institution, and “to win an argument with someone in a group chat” for “reason for requesting access to our datasets”, making it clear that his interest is both petty and personal. While this may be honest, it doesn't match the assumed purpose, and he may be worried that it might mean that his registration would be rejected or subsequently cancelled. So he then selects all and deletes his previous justification, replacing it with “independent research”, which is an accurate, if generic, explanation. Randall is undoubtedly familiar with such registration forms from doing background research for xkcd and What If?.<br />
<br />
In the title text, he says that his research focuses on “extreme pettiness and unwillingness to let anything go” (in all caps), further reinforcing the reason that he is doing this solely to win an argument. It is possible this is a pun on different meanings of the word "focus" - while the question about the focus of one's research is typically about the subject matter they are researching (raft building in fire ants, etc), Cueball appears to be writing about what drives his desire to do research. Similarly, Cueball is not doing research INTO pettiness, but rather is focusing entirely on his pettiness as his main reason to perform research and achieve his goals. Of course, there is a focused area of research related to individuals who obsessively pursue matters disproportionately to their severity, who are known as {{w|querulant|querulants}}.<br />
<br />
It is not uncommon for online forms to include fields like these, where it's unclear what, if anything, will be done with the input, and therefore how much it matters what is entered. It's unlikely that anyone would have the capacity to review all the freetext answers submitted, and in any case, by the time they did so, Cueball would presumably have already accessed the materials he wanted.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Cueball sits at a desk, typing at his laptop computer.]<br />
<br />
:[Above him, there is a box indicating his computer screen.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption above screen:] Application for research account<br />
<br />
:[Under the caption, there is a panel, representing the computer screen; in the panel: (cut off from above) "Institution: Other/none", where the option has been selected from a drop-down menu. Under that is written "Reason for requesting access to our datasets:", under which is a comment field where "To win an argument with someone in a group chat" has been written. Under that, two long bubbles containing the words "Select all" and "Delete" separate another panel, with a panel featuring the comment field with "Independent research" written. The cursor can still be seen blinking.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic panel:]<br />
:I never know how honest to be on these forms.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Scientific research]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2893:_Sphere_Tastiness2893: Sphere Tastiness2024-02-13T00:16:45Z<p>172.69.151.204: Marked transcript complete</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2893<br />
| date = February 12, 2024<br />
| title = Sphere Tastiness<br />
| image = sphere_tastiness_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 388x392px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Baseballs do present a challenge to this theory, but I'm convinced we just haven't found the right seasoning.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic graphs the tastiness vs. the size of four roughly spherical objects: {{w|melons}}, {{w|grapes}}, {{w|Earth|Earth}} and the {{w|Moon}}. Based on the the fact that melons and grapes are (in this context) relatively small and tasty to most people, and that planetary scale bodies are relatively large and made mostly of rocks and metals generally considered not remotely tasty,{{cn}} [[Randall]] postulates the existence of an intermediate body, one which is approximately 800 meters in diameter and "tastes okay".<br />
<br />
This is the second comic in a row to feature fruit, graphs and predictions (after [[2892: Banana Prices]]), and continues the theme of a logarithmic axis scale to facilitate plotting a linear regression. Here the line is interpolated between known data, rather than extrapolated beyond it. Such interpolation is quite common in scientific analysis, and is often useful, but this example clearly leads to a ludicrous conclusion. Using such ridiculous analyses to show the dangers of flawed and/or sloppy methodology is a common theme in xkcd.<br />
<br />
There are multiple ways in which this analysis is flawed, and therefore why the conclusion is unsupportable:<br />
* there are only four data points, which is insufficient to interpolate from.<br />
* these clusters represent entirely different sub-classes of spherical object (fruit vs. astronomical bodies) while other subclasses are not represented at all (the title text mentions this flaw).<br />
* as tight clusters of [[2533: Slope Hypothesis Testing|similarly sourced data]], it effectively reduces the data down to two useful data points. This also makes the choice of log-median interpolation unjustified.<br />
* the 'tastiness' scale has no indication of what assessment (subjective or objective) it records. Nor does it even have graduations, making it unknown if the graph is linear-log or log-log (or otherwise), changing the implied meaning behind the choice of straight-line interpolation.<br />
* according to astronaut John Young, who visited the Moon's surface during the Apollo 16 mission, [https://phys.org/news/2006-02-mysterious-moondust.html "moondust doesn't taste half bad"]. (Although other Apollo astronauts likened its smell and taste to burnt gunpowder, so make of that what you will.)<br />
<br />
The title text points out that {{w|baseball (ball)|baseballs}} seem to refute this theory since they're not usually thought of as tasty, but they're between the sizes of grapes and melons, which would place them in the bottom left of the graph, way off the fit line. Baseballs are typically made of a combination of a rubber or cork center wrapped in yarn, and covered by either horsehide, cowhide or synthetic leather. In point of fact, there are many, many common round objects that completely fail to conform to this graph, but rather than acknowledge that this analysis is fatally flawed, Randall uses {{w|special pleading}} to justify its exclusion from the graph, suggesting that the problem is that we lack "the right seasonings". While seasonings can improve the taste of foods, it's implausible that the inedible components of baseballs would be rendered "tasty" with any conceivable combination of seasonings. Even if they could, there's no evidence that such would give them the proper level of 'tastiness' to conform to the graph. This argument lampoons the use of "cherry picking" and motivated reasoning, in which researchers include only data points which fit their hypothesis and make up reasons to exclude those which don't. This is obviously very poor science, but less exaggerated versions are all too common in scientific studies. <br />
<br />
The comic refers to this plot as research. This is an exaggeration, since two clusters of paired points are rarely considered sufficient for research purposes. But plotting a justifiably sufficient quantity of data points on a logarithmic plot, and then drawing a line through them, is a common way to visualize an actual exponential relationship more comprehensibly. An example of that is the {{w|Gutenberg–Richter law}} where the magnitude of earthquakes (an intrinsically logarithmic scale) in a particular region is plotted together with the frequency of occurrence, typically resulting in a statistically significant straight line.<br />
<br />
Other fruit opinions have previously been mentioned in [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], but it is unknown what the line would be like if Randall included grapefruit.<br />
<br />
Other absurd uses of linear regression are seen in [[605: Extrapolating]] and [[1204: Detail]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Graph with Y axis using an arrow indicating tastiness from "Not Tasty" to "Tasty" and X axis labeled "Sphere Diameter (meters)" with a logarithmic scale running from 10<sup>-5</sup> to around 10<sup>8</sup> (with 10<sup>-3</sup>, 10<sup>0</sup>, 10<sup>3</sup> and 10<sup>6</sup> labeled).]<br />
<br />
:[The graph contains two points for "Grapes" and "Melons" at the "Tasty" end of the Y axis, between 10<sup>-2</sup> and 10<sup>-1</sup> meters, and two points for "The Earth" and "The Moon" at the "Not Tasty" end, both around 10<sup>7</sup> meters. A straight dashed line shows a linear interpolation between the points. There's a circle with a question mark about halfway between them.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
: My research suggests the existence of an 800-meter sphere that tastes okay.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Baseball]]<br />
[[Category:Extrapolation]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2892:_Banana_Prices2892: Banana Prices2024-02-09T16:34:46Z<p>172.71.130.233: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2892<br />
| date = February 9, 2024<br />
| title = Banana Prices<br />
| image = banana_prices_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 564x378px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = It's a linear extrapolation, Michael. How big could the error be? 10%?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_Qyk9DSUw ‘It’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost, $10?'] is a line from an {{w|Arrested Development}} episode (Season 1, Episode 6, "Charity Drive", 2003) that became a well-known meme used to mock out-of-touch elites. The character who spoke this line (Lucille Bluth, a wealthy socialite) made a satirically high estimate for the price of a banana because she had never bought her own groceries. According to the graph, the banana price at the time of that episode was actually just under 25 cents, and the price at the time of this comic’s publication (2024) is around 30 cents.<br />
<br />
The comic is a wry observation that the irony of this sitcom line will "probably" be anachronistically meaningless in a century or so, presenting three predictions of banana prices over the next 250 years that each extrapolate from the current 2024 price using different long-term inflation rates. <br />
<br />
The three extrapolations use (1) the general inflation rate (a value dominated by the cost of housing), (2) the inflation rate for fresh fruit, and (3) 45 years of historic banana prices. Those models present the joke becoming reality around 2140, 2170 and 2250, respectively.<br />
<br />
The caption’s claim that banana prices could exceed $10 in a century are based on the fastest rising extrapolation, the one for “general inflation.” This extrapolation predicts a banana’s price to rise from 30 cents to $10 in approximately 115 years. This 115-year increase corresponds to an average long-term inflation rate of about 3.2%, close to the historic US average.<br />
<br />
The reference to "BLS/St. Louis FRED" refers to The {{w|Bureau of Labor Statistics}} and {{w|St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index|St Louis FRED}}, widely respected sources of economic data. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis maintains the FRED database; FRED stands for Federal Reserve Economic Data.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the ignorant tone of Lucille Bluth to make two jokes.<br />
# A satirical guess of 10% error. The humor is that the three predictions themselves (from 115 years to 220 years) predict wildly different years of a $10 banana. Economic extrapolation into the distant future is at most an educated guess, with an expected error far in excess of 10%. Guessing such small errors in such speculative projections is just as clueless as guessing that individual bananas cost so much. <br />
# An ignorant reference to these as “linear extrapolations.” While they look linear, they are actually ''exponential'' extrapolations. The graph is log-linear, with price as a logarithmic scale on the vertical (left) axis, which makes it possible to visualize the exponential growth extrapolation as a straight line. In other words, an extrapolation line on a graph with a logarithmic scale is actually exponential. <br />
<br />
It’s not typical to plot commodity prices on a log-scale, but maybe Randall did this to allow himself to make this subtle “linear extrapolation” joke.<br />
<br />
This comic uses several common xkcd themes:<br />
* '''Log scales''' and their peculiarities are a recurring xkcd theme, and this is the second comic in a row to play with logarithms (the prior one being [[2891: Log Cabin]]). <br />
* It's also the second comic in the last four to involve '''predictions across centuries''' (i.e. [[2889: Greenhouse Effect]]). <br />
* '''Extrapolation''' is also a theme in [[605: Extrapolating]] and [[1007: Sustainable]]. <br />
<br />
===Discussion of price references in fiction===<br />
It's common for fictional works to {{tvtropes|UndisclosedFunds|avoid mentioning actual prices or amounts of money}}. One reason is that presenting an actual amount risks the work becoming dated by inflation. A price that's presented as surprisingly high can lose its impact as the value of money changes, making it difficult for a punchline or a dramatic moment to land. In this case, however, the number is so exaggerated (being around 40 times higher than the actual price of a banana), that it's unlikely for inflation to impact the joke in the immediate future. Twenty years after the episode first aired, the joke works just as well as it did. <br />
<br />
While the graph is about ordinary bananas, technically Lucille may have been guessing the price of frozen and chocolate-dipped bananas, which sold for $1 to $4 in the early 2000s. The only thing this changes is the interpretation of her estimate as perhaps being slightly less out-of-touch.<br />
<br />
===Panama disease===<br />
The banana price can possibly be highly affected by the {{w|Panama disease}}:<br />
<blockquote>During the 1950s, an outbreak of Panama disease almost wiped out commercial Gros Michel banana production. The Gros Michel banana was the dominant cultivar of bananas, and Fusarium wilt inflicted enormous costs and forced producers to switch to other, disease-resistant cultivars. Since the 2010s, '''a new outbreak of Panama disease caused by the strain Tropical Race 4 (TR4) has threatened the production of the Cavendish banana, today's most popular cultivar'''.</blockquote><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A graph with the x-axis showing time, from the years 1950 to around 2275. The y-axis is a log scale showing the price of a banana from $0.10 to over $10.00. A label called "Price of a banana (BLS/St. Louis ''Fred''[https://fred.stlouisfed.org/])" show a rising trend in the price of a banana. There are two dots on that trend. One is labeled "Episode airs" and the other one "Now". 3 extrapolations shown as dashed lines labeled "General inflation rate", "Fresh fruit price trend" and "Banana price trend" extend until reaching the $10 mark, indicated by 3 dots.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption above the graph:] "It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost? $10?"<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:] That line probably has another century or so left.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Line graphs]]<br />
[[Category:Timelines]]<br />
[[Category:Fiction]]<br />
[[Category:Extrapolation]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2891:_Log_Cabin2891: Log Cabin2024-02-07T19:37:07Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2891<br />
| date = February 7, 2024<br />
| title = Log Cabin<br />
| image = log_cabin_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 353x265px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = I'm sure the building inspectors will approve my design once they finally manage to escape.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[File:log_cabin_golden_spiral.png|thumb|301px|Golden spiral (approximately) overlaid on the floor plan]]<br />
<br />
This is a comic featuring a {{w|floor plan}}, presumably of a {{w|log cabin}}, and a pun on the word "log". The odd part about it is the right half, which appears to be infinitely recursive copies of the building, a self-similar {{w|fractal}}. The house as a whole represents a {{w|golden rectangle}} with a side ratio of the {{w|golden ratio}} (phi = 0.5 + (1.25 ^ 0.5) ≈ 1.6180339887...), with successively smaller living areas (further subdivided into rooms, to a common but shrunken and rotated plan) being square adjoined by a golden-rectangle of all smaller living areas in the manner of the areas defined by the classic {{w|Golden spiral}} diagram. The joke is that Randall is intentionally conflating the word "log" in the common phrase "log cabin," where "log" refers to the wood the cabin is made of, with a {{w|logarithmic spiral}}, as "log" is shorthand for "logarithmic".<br />
<br />
Every square subunit of the premises consists of a main combined kitchen/lounge area, with an adjoining shower-equipped bathroom, and a hallway leading to a closet and two bedrooms (a double-bed one with en-suite bath-equipped bathroom, and another with a single bed; both having their own walk-in closet space). Between the kitchen and the dining table is the open doorway that serves as the entry into the next inwards level of the floorplan.<br />
<br />
A visitor can also walk in a spiral by using the open doorways in the building plan.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Randall says that he is confident that building inspectors will approve the design of his log cabin, assuming they can escape. As one moves deeper into the infinite spiral of architecture, the entire log cabin ''seems'' to be a denser labyrinth of rooms and hallways.<br />
<br />
It is unknown how the inspectors lost in the inner rooms would shrink in the same ratio, and would only have to head out through the last doorway they walked in through (or two, if they're currently in the en-suite) and then exit each 'main' area in turn until they exited the building itself. If they have any trouble at all (other than rescaling themselves), it would be that there is ''always'' a further inward area that they might consider needs exploring to fulfil their inspection routine. This construction could imply folded spacetime. To perform a correct inspection, the inspectors might need sufficient relation that inner rooms are identical to the outer rooms, and to solve algebraic equations for various parameters.<br />
<br />
It could have been that the repetition continued outside of what is drawn here, continuing to grow larger as it moves further out, except that only the top-level external entry has a door: the entries to each lower level only have open doorways marked with no door, and except for the clear marking of external windows on the first four iterations, with no internal ones (and therefore no equivalent windows on the subsequent iterations) precludes that possibility. In fact, the first iteration has windows on the 'southern' edge for the single bedroom and seating area, for which there are no equivalents on any of the other iterations.<br />
<br />
[https://www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/log-cabin-quilt-block.html Log Cabin] is also a classic quilting block, which starts with a tiny square and spirals outwards.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A drawing of the top view of a log cabin, which includes two beds, a kitchen, a bathroom and furniture. A smaller version of the log cabin is connected to the main building. An even smaller version is connected to the smaller version, and so on, forming a golden rectangle.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel]:<br />
: Log cabin<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Engineering]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Puns]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2890:_Relationship_Advice2890: Relationship Advice2024-02-05T17:38:42Z<p>Sarah the Pie(yes, the food): /* Explanation */ deleted incomplete tag, looks plenty complete</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2890<br />
| date = February 5, 2024<br />
| title = Relationship Advice<br />
| image = relationship_advice_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x241px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Good to be a little wary of advice that sounds too much like a self pep talk.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[White Hat]], [[Cueball]], and [[Ponytail]] can be seen having a conversation about relationships. White Hat expresses the opinion that "relationships aren't easy". The others accept this advice, which is generally accepted as a reasonable view: two people are always going to have at least some difference in opinions, desires and needs that need to be communicated, negotiated and worked out. This requires mutual effort and some level of compromise in any healthy and successful relationship. <br />
<br />
In the subsequent frames, however, White Hat continues to push the matter, describing relationships in increasingly unpleasant terms, starting with calling them "constant work" and ultimately calling it a "grueling ordeal". Cueball and Ponytail correspondingly agree with him less, and instead {{w|The lady doth protest too much, methinks|begin to worry about him}}. <br />
<br />
White Hat's views on what is necessary and appropriate in relationships appear to go to unhealthy extremes. While his initial comments about relationships requiring efforts are reasonable, the notion that relationships consist of endless, overwhelming effort is not, for most people, though for some people who experience significant asociality this can be how most relationships feel. However, Cueball and Ponytail appear to suspect that White Hat may be describing a relationship that he's currently in or that has severed, and trying to rationalize an unhealthy situation by telling himself that "this is normal". <br />
<br />
When someone is in an abusive relationship, they may struggle to see that the relationship is abusive, often confusing genuinely destructive behavior with normal relationship troubles. There are various reasons this may occur. Some people experience {{w|traumatic bonding}}, some have spent so much time in or around unhealthy relationships that they've come to seem 'normal', and some experience various forms of {{w|Codependency|codependence}}. For people in such situations, help from friends and/or professional counselors is often necessary to allow them to even identify the situation they're in, and particularly to separate themselves from the situation.<br />
<br />
Seeing Randall’s often negative thoughts on [[223: Valentine's Day|Valentine’s Day]] and the [[1016: Valentine Dilemma|problems it produces]], it may not be a coincidence that this comic was released only nine days before the event. <br />
<br />
The title text explains that advice which focuses on remaining upbeat in a bad situation (like a "pep talk"), should give others pause. There's a good chance that the person giving such advice is trying to {{w|Reaction formation|convince themselves that their situation is alright}}, rather than providing useful guidance for others. In this comic, this sentiment is seemingly applied to White Hat, whose "relationship advice" may be much more personal than such advice should reasonably be, and the reader is thus warned to take advice like this with a grain of salt. This is similar to [[449: Things Fall Apart]] where Cueball tells Megan "I love you" repeatedly and Megan points out he's only saying it to reassure ''himself'' rather than express it to her.<br />
<br />
This comic's title is reminiscent of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]] comics. Here, though, there turns out to be no actual advice or tip, and thus not part of the tip category.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat, Cueball and Ponytail are walking. White Hat has his palm out.]<br />
:White Hat: What you have to remember is, relationships aren't easy.<br />
:Ponytail: Yeah, fair.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of White Hat with his finger raised.] <br />
:White Hat: They're hard. They require constant work.<br />
:White Hat: A relationship is a job.<br />
:Off-panel voice: I guess...<br />
<br />
:[White Hat has stopped walking and is facing Cueball and Ponytail standing a bit further away.]<br />
:White Hat: It's a challenge that feels overwhelming. It's a crushing burden.<br />
:Cueball: Umm.<br />
<br />
:[White Hat has his arms raised while still facing Cueball and Ponytail.]<br />
:White Hat: A relationship is a grueling ordeal.<br />
:Cueball: ...Who are you trying to convince, exactly?<br />
:Ponytail: Yeah, are '''''you''''' okay?<br />
:White Hat: I'm '''''fine!''''' This is '''''normal!'''''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Social interactions]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2889:_Greenhouse_Effect2889: Greenhouse Effect2024-02-02T17:51:24Z<p>172.68.213.15: oh, comic says double, so quote appriopriate numbers . No point for {{incomplete}} now</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2889<br />
| date = February 2, 2024<br />
| title = Greenhouse Effect<br />
| image = greenhouse_effect_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x315px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Once he had the answer, Arrhenius complained to his friends that he'd "wasted over a full year" doing tedious calculations by hand about "so trifling a matter" as hypothetical CO2 concentrations in far-off eras (quoted in Crawford, 1997).<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This comic has [[:Category:Climate change|climate change as its topic, a recurring theme]] on xkcd. There is no 'joke' <em>per se</em>, just a wry (and serious) observation on the timeline of climate change, and our understanding of it. The fact in question here is when science became aware of anthropogenic global warming and its primary cause.<br />
<br />
The comic depicts a timeline with three events:<br />
* The introduction of the {{w|Watt steam engine}} in 1776. The comic takes it as the start of the {{w|Industrial Revolution}}, and the event that most directly ushered in the boom of fossil fuels' burning.<br />
* [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Influence_of_Carbonic_Acid_in_the_Air_upon_the_Temperature_of_the_Ground The first quantitative prediction] of the {{w|greenhouse effect}} by {{w|Svante Arrhenius}} in January and April 1896 (that, a. o., doubling CO<sub>2</sub> concentration would increase mean temperature by 5 to 6 °C, depending on latitude). Arrhenius drew on and included a summary of {{w|Arvid Högbom}}'s 1894 Swedish article, which dealt with carbon cycle over geological periods and first estimated annual global carbon emissions.<br />
* The present day, early 2024.<br />
<br />
As the caption points out, less time elapsed between the start of the Industrial Revolution and the work by Arrhenius, than has elapsed since then. Some present-day climate discussions may cite [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2153-3490.1957.tb01849.x a 1957 paper by Revell and Seuss] as "the starting point" for modern inquiries into global warming. While it was more advanced and detailed, the comic notes "we figured out the greenhouse effect" 61 years prior; see both [https://folk.universitetetioslo.no/roberan/t/EarlyEstimates1.shtml Robbie 2018] and even longer {{w|History of climate change science}} which includes earlier, qualitative works.<br />
<br />
The implication, consistent with other [[:Category:Climate change|climate change themed xkcd comics]], is that humans have taken insufficient action to stop global warming despite knowing about it for more than a century, and understanding, at least intellectually, the consequences of inaction.<br />
<br />
The title text portrays Arrhenius as dismissive of his work. A reading of the reference cited (page 8 in [https://courses.seas.harvard.edu/climate/eli/Courses/EPS281r/Sources/Greenhouse-effect/Arrhenius/3-optional-Crawford-1997.pdf Crawford 1997]: 'Writing to a friend at the end of [1895], he found it "unbelievable that so trifling a matter has cost me a full year".') suggests instead that Arrhenius was complaining about the unanticipated difficulty of answering what he thought initially was a simple question, about the historical (geological time) connection between carbon dioxide concentrations and global temperature. Per this reading, Arrhenius's complaint was about the work required to achieve the result, <em>not</em> about the significance of the result. His interpretation of the significance, though, differed from today's (page 11 in Crawford 1997): "[Global warming will] allow our descendants, even if they only be those of a distant future [estimating the doubling time as 500 years], to live under a warmer sky and in a less harsh environment than we were granted".<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[At the top of the comic a timeline is shown as a long line. It has three dots, one at each end a bit inside the end of the line and one close to the middle Each dot has a gray curved line going up to it from below. Below the end of these lines a year is given. And beneath the year is a caption. Above the time line are two gray double arrows going from three gray lines above each of the three dots. The lines are broken in the middle where a label is written.]<br />
<br />
:[Label of arrow that spans from first to second dot:]<br />
:120 years<br />
<br />
:[Label of arrow that spans from second to third dot:]<br />
:128 years<br />
<br />
:[Label for the first dot:]<br />
:'''1776'''<br />
:James Watt develops a steam engine that helps kick off the Industrial Revolution<br />
<br />
:[Label for the second dot:]<br />
:'''1896'''<br />
:Arvid Högbom and Svante Arrhenius note that industrial activity is adding CO<sub>2</sub> to the atmosphere, and calculate how much the Earth will heat up if the CO<sub>2</sub> concentration doubles. Their answer closely matches modern estimates.<br />
<br />
:[Label for the third dot:]<br />
:'''2024'''<br />
:Today<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:We figured out the greenhouse effect closer to the start of the Industrial Revolution than to today.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Climate change]]<br />
[[Category:Timelines]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2888:_US_Survey_Foot2888: US Survey Foot2024-01-31T15:07:32Z<p>172.71.242.3: /* Explanation */ Unfortunately, a US-EN site, where they don't differentiate between the measurement and the various measuring devices.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2888<br />
| date = January 31, 2024<br />
| title = US Survey Foot<br />
| image = us_survey_foot_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x606px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Subway refuses to answer my questions about whether it's an International Footlong or a US Survey Footlong. A milligram of sandwich is at stake!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This comic pokes fun at the difference in length between the {{w|Foot_(unit)#U.S._survey_foot|US Survey Foot}} and the {{w|Foot_(unit)|International Foot}}. After Carl Edvard Johansson's {{w|Carl_Edvard_Johansson#Johansson_and_the_inch|gauge blocks}} in 1912 led to {{w|International_yard_and_pound|an international agreement}} in 1959, the foot has been defined to be exactly 0.3048 meters, whilst the US survey foot continued to use the {{w|Mendenhall Order|definition of 1893}}, making it a bit longer than the international foot at 1200/3937 meters. However, the difference between the two is proportionately too small to be meaningful for most purposes, as they only differ by 2 parts per million. At foot-length scales, the difference is a fraction of a micron, with longer measures (where the error grows to a notable degree) requiring an already excessive implied precision likely to mismatch its true accuracy. Some engineering or scientific applications ''may'' involve such tolerances, but would be expected to consistently use some more modern standard of measurement to {{w|Mars Climate Orbiter|avoid such confusion}}.<br />
<br />
In the third panel, Cueball says that someone is using the survey foot again: it turns out to be [[Black Hat]], an action that sounds very typical for him. Cueball claims that he is drawing the world 610&nbsp;nm closer to madness, which is about the difference between the two measures (per foot). Cueball, outraged, then says that the {{w|National Institute of Standards and Technology}} (usually abbreviated as NIST) will capture Black Hat to stop him from using the US survey foot. The joke here is that his coordinates show that he is 8000 miles away, but since he is using the US survey foot, he is 0.016 miles (around 25.75 meters or 84.48 feet) away from the search team, making them unable to find him at that exact spot. They are probably at the same lake in the last two frames, with maybe little more than a frame border between them. (A good strike team would likely keep looking, but perhaps being strictly NIST-trained to adhere to particularly exacting standards has ironically made them vulnerable to the same inaccuracies that they are supposed to be preventing.)<br />
<br />
Part of the joke is the imaginative idea that NIST employs and dispatches strike teams to apprehend persons that use incorrect measurements. This may be a play on words about the {{w|Nuclear Emergency Support Team}}, or "NEST", a {{w|United States Department of Energy}} group who respond to nuclear and radiological emergencies such as reactor accidents or nuclear terrorism, and who might reasonably have access to resources such as the helicopters depicted during a crisis.<br />
<br />
The title text references a {{w|Subway (restaurant)#Sandwich_size|2013 lawsuit}} over the length of a "Footlong" sandwich sold by Subway fast food chain. However – in contrast to the issue at stake in that lawsuit – the difference in length between an 'international footlong' sandwich and a 'US survey footlong' sandwich is way below the precision ''or'' accuracy by which sandwiches are usually produced – making it understandable that Subway would not think it necessary to clarify which definition of 'foot' they use for their products.<br />
<br />
===Explanation of the comic's underlying assumptions and implications===<br />
Randall appears to be playing a bit fast-and-loose here. To make this joke work implies a rather imaginative situation: that both Black Hat and the searchers have set their devices to measure and report location ''in reference to'' the same location (the place where Cueball is and that is at one end of the 8,000 mile measurement) and not just use GPS and lat/long like every other smartphone on the planet. <br />
<br />
In the unlikely event that the searchers' phones measure and report location in reference to Cueball's location, evidently Black Hat has also overridden his device's in-built GPS to report its location in reference to Cueball's location as a way to toy with him and the NIST teams, and then traveled EXACTLY 8,000 miles away, knowing NIST would be able to track him and that a team would be sent in pursuit. After all, Black Hat is known for his preternatural powers of mischief.<br />
<br />
Though Cueball’s location is not specified, one potential location is NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland, or another governmental location, perhaps in the Greater Washington Area where most US government agencies and departments are headquartered. These options are supported by the panel in which Cueball mentions a NIST team is on their way and brags that “we” are going to capture him. This language implies that Cueball either works for NIST or for a larger effort in which NIST is a partner. These location options are also supported by the fact that Cueball’s location is used for the origin point of the 8,000-mile measurement, suggesting that he’s speaking at a flagship location and not a random office building.<br />
<br />
The use of helicopters — which cannot fly 8,000 miles unaided — also suggests an imaginative situation in which NIST teams with access to helicopters are distributed around the globe, perhaps at US air bases and on US aircraft carriers.<br />
<br />
===Real world example===<br />
In the early 2000s, Survey Foot/International Foot conversion issues created difficulties in the civil engineering industry after a commonly used CADD design software package changed how it processed units. Prior versions of the software program Microstation were unit-agnostic, relying only on absolute coordinates assigned to elements from survey data. Starting with Microstation Version 8, internal software calculations were performed entirely in metric units and relied on a units definition file to seamlessly convert to the unit system being used for a project. The default options in the program being “Foot” or “Survey Foot”, many users were unaware of the difference and selected “Foot” even when a project’s field survey was performed in survey feet. In the US, most states have their own coordinate systems, referred to as State Plane Coordinates, to correct for the approximation of projecting the Earth’s spherical surface into a cartesian X,Y plane. Some states have coordinate zones which span their entire length, so a project’s coordinates can be millions of feet from the origin, a scale on which the miniscule difference between Survey and International feet conversion becomes whole feet.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball.]<br />
:Cueball: We thought it was over. After 60 years of struggle, the US survey foot was dead, deprecated by NIST in 2023.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is shown to be talking to Ponytail, Hairy, and Megan. He has a presentation behind him.]<br />
:Cueball: We thought architects and engineers could rest easy, free of the headaches of having two conflicting definitions of the foot that differ by 610 nanometers.<br />
:International foot: 0.304 800 000 m<br />
:US survey foot [crossed over in gray] <span style="color:gray">R.I.P.</span>: 0.304 800 609... m<br />
<br />
:[Cueball points at an image of Black Hat with unreadable writing above it.]<br />
:Cueball: But I bring dire news:<br />
:Cueball: ''Someone has started using the US survey foot again.''<br />
<br />
:[Closeup on Cueball again.]<br />
:Off-panel voice: Why!?<br />
:Cueball: We don't know.<br />
:Cueball: Some people just want to drag the world 610nm closer to madness.<br />
<br />
:[Farther view of Cueball only. He clenches a fist.]<br />
:Off-panel voice: What can we do!?<br />
:Cueball: A NIST team is already in the air. We will capture the scofflaw and end this nightmare.<br />
<br />
:[Two helicopters flying, with mountains in the background.]<br />
<br />
:Caption: 8,000 miles away<br />
:[Two operatives in a forest by a pond with NIST helmets. One talks on a walkie-talkie.]<br />
:Operative: We've reached the coordinates of the target's device. There's no one here.<br />
:Voice from walkie-talkie: How!?<br />
<br />
:Caption: 8,000.016 miles away<br />
:[Black Hat walking elsewhere (by the same pond) in the forest, very close by. He appears to be holding a device of some sort.]<br />
:Black Hat: ♫ ♪<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
<br />
The number of miles in the last panel was [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/5/5f/20240131173446%21us_survey_foot_2x.png originally] 8,000.014, but was changed to 8,000.016. The latter matches the 2 ppm difference between the international foot and the US survey foot.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Characters with hats]]<br />
[[Category:Geography]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2887:_Minnesota2887: Minnesota2024-01-29T19:01:54Z<p>Mumiemonstret: /* Explanation */ "Citation greatly appreciated"</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2887<br />
| date = January 29, 2024<br />
| title = Minnesota<br />
| image = minnesota_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 673x260px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = In addition to 'squishy', after reviewing my submitted intraplate ground motion data, the National Geodetic Survey has politely asked me to stop using the word 'supple' so often when describing Midwestern states.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
[[Hairy]], [[Ponytail]], and [[Cueball]] are in a business meeting of an unknown nature, but one which (it transpires) is unrelated to either geography, geology or geopolitical boundaries. Hairy asks if anyone has any other concerns, a common enough question to ask when trying to ensure that nobody at the meeting has still something to say that had not already been covered directly by the agenda or the resulting discussions.<br />
<br />
Cueball voices an opinion on Minnesota. Due to the {{w|post-glacial rebound}} present in Minnesota, this US state is apparently slowly decreasing in size. The humor comes from the fact that this may be a genuine concern to Cueball, but is completely unrelated to the topic of the meeting, is not really a 'problem' that has any practical significance, and in any case there is also no reasonable way to prevent this{{Citation needed}}. And yet Cueball clearly finds it important enough that "all meetings should be about Minnesota" until the 'problem' is solved.<br />
<br />
The title text implies that Cueball has also brought this issue up to the {{w|National Geodetic Survey}}; rather than commenting on his data or findings, they have simply requested that he stop using suggestive language in his papers ("supple" and "squishy" are sometimes used, especially in erotic literature, to describe certain body parts<sup>[<i>citation greatly appreciated</i>]</sup>).<br />
<br />
The Midwestern states, particularly in areas like the {{w|New Madrid Seismic Zone}}, are subject to the movement of tectonic plates well within a tectonic plate boundary. While these areas are typically less active than boundary zones, they can still experience significant seismic activity. The flexible way the Earth's crust in these regions responds to tectonic stresses – gently stretching and flexing over centuries in response to deep stresses – could imaginatively be described as "supple."<br />
<br />
Minnesota's northern border is legally defined in part by reference to geographical features, most notably {{w|Lake of the Woods}} and a chain of rivers and lakes connecting it to {{w|Lake Superior}}. As such, movement of these features due to glacial rebound may indeed be reducing Minnesota's size at a very gradual rate. Minnesota's southern border, in contrast, is legally defined as a line running at 43º 30′ N, which would not be affected by the motion of the land. Indeed, it is possible that glacial rebound is effectively moving land out of Iowa and into Minnesota, again at a very gradual rate.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Hairy standing in front of Ponytail and Cueball, who are sitting behind a desk]<br />
:Hairy: Does anyone have any other concerns?<br />
:Cueball: I'm concerned that Minnesota is getting shorter.<br />
<br />
:[A map of Minnesota beside Cueball, with arrows pointing from the northern and southern borders towards the middle]<br />
:Cueball: Because of post-glacial crust rebound, the northern border is moving toward the southern border. It's less than an inch a decade, but I still don't like it.<br />
:Cueball: Minnesota shouldn't be squishy.<br />
<br />
:[Hairy again standing in front of Ponytail and Cueball at the desk. Ponytail is looking at Cueball, whose finger is now raised in the air, gesturing]<br />
:Hairy: Okay. Does anyone have any concerns related to the topic of this meeting?<br />
:Cueball: All meetings should be about Minnesota until we resolve this.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Geography]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2886:_Fast_Radio_Bursts2886: Fast Radio Bursts2024-01-27T02:01:46Z<p>172.71.178.61: /* Explanation */ ...like this. It's a {{}}-template. There are alias variations, but fully spelling with capital-C and small-n is the real one. Place it *immediately* after punctuation, etc.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2886<br />
| date = January 26, 2024<br />
| title = Fast Radio Bursts<br />
| image = fast_radio_bursts_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 469x524px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Dr Petroff has also shown that the Higgs boson signal was actually sparks from someone microwaving grapes, the EHT black hole photo was a frozen bagel someone left in too long, and the LIGO detection was just someone slamming the microwave door too hard.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is giving a presentation, stating the different sources of {{w|fast radio burst}}s, which are short high-energy signals which have been detected by astronomers, but whose sources are not known. His team is pretty sure that most of these bursts are energetic stellar objects in space - that is, astronomical phenomena.<br />
<br />
He then says that some of them are caused by {{w|microwave oven}}s, citing Dr. Emily Petroff's work on identifying the apparent source of "{{w|Peryton (astronomy)|peryton}}s" at the {{w|Parkes Observatory}}.<ref>E.Petroff et al. (2015). "[https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/451/4/3933/1119649?login=false Identifying the source of perytons at the Parkes radio telescope]". ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'', '''451'''(4):3933–3940.</ref> These are signals similar to fast radio bursts, but which originate on Earth and not in space; initial hypotheses included atmospheric effects related to {{w|lightning}} and passing aircraft, but they were eventually identified as a much closer range signal from microwaves escaping as the oven door was opened inside the observatory.<br />
<br />
After that, he explores two further options, combining attributes of the previous two:<br />
<br />
* Energetic stellar-sized microwave ovens floating in space; this is unlikely since microwave ovens typically are not stellar-sized and all known microwave ovens originate on Earth rather than in space. (There is [https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202106/30/WS60dbaca4a310efa1bd65ebc9.html a microwave oven] installed in the Chinese Tiangong space station, but it appears that the ISS [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-51235555 is less well equipped] than that. Neither facility is ever likely to have room for 'stellar-sized' equipment of any kind.)<br />
* An energetic stellar-sized object in the observatory break room would be surprising, as we have yet to see a break room large enough to contain a stellar-sized object. Although unlikely, he says he sends a grad student there to double-check. Presumably, the student is being sent rather than Cueball himself both because it is unlikely to give useful data, and because if there is indeed energetic stellar plasma in the break room, the million-degree temperatures would probably kill anyone who enters it, and grad students are disposable when compared to researchers.<br />
<br />
Note that, as well as the ''universe-''sized {{w|Cosmic microwave background}} radiation, there are various microwave-bright {{w|Pulsar}}s and other strong microwave signals [https://www.space.com/40840-nanodiamonds-mysterious-cosmic-microwave-light.html originating from actual stars], but no reason to believe that they are deliberately purposed/engineered as any actual oven, despite [https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-sees-a-stellar-furnace/ misleading language] sometimes employed by those in the field.<br />
<br />
The title text references several other discoveries, with Dr. Petroff suggesting explanations based on microwave ovens for each of them, as was the case with her discovery:<br />
<br />
* The apparent detection of the {{w|Higgs boson}} at the Large Hadron Collider was actually someone [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrtk-pyP0I microwaving grapes], which generates plasma<br />
* The [https://science.nasa.gov/resource/first-image-of-a-black-hole/ image of a black hole] captured by the Event Horizon Telescope was a burning bagel (a notably ring-shaped bread product with the charred portion being black)<br />
* {{w|LIGO}} (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) did not detect gravitational waves, but was instead disturbed by someone slamming the microwave door too hard<br />
<br />
In each case, these are highly improbable - for instance, LIGO used a complex suspension system, and two sites (one in Louisiana and one in Washington State) comparing signals, to rule out such interference. The real Dr. Petroff has not made any such claims.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
See [[2289: Scenario 4]] for a similar situation.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball standing behind a lectern, with a poster hung from the ceiling behind him, raising his hand]<br />
<br />
: Potential sources of fast radio bursts:<br />
:(1) Energetic stellar-sized astrophysical objects floating in space<br />
:Cueball: We're pretty sure this is what most of them are.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up on Cueball, not raising hand.]<br />
<br />
:(2) Microwave ovens in the observatory break room<br />
:Cueball: This was some of them, oops. (Petroff et. al., 2015)<br />
<br />
:(3) Energetic steller-sized microwave ovens floating in space<br />
:Cueball: We think this one is unlikely.<br />
<br />
: [Zoom out back to perspective of first panel.]<br />
<br />
:(4) Energetic stellar-sized astrophysical objects in the observatory break room<br />
:Cueball: This is almost certainly not it, though we're sending a grad student to double-check.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2885:_Spelling2885: Spelling2024-01-24T12:54:30Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2885<br />
| date = January 24, 2024<br />
| title = Spelling<br />
| image = spelling_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 281x333px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Any time I misspell a word it's just because I have too much integrity to copy answers from the dictionary.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
Search engines like Google offer the correct spelling of most misspelled words. Some people get help with hard-to-spell words like "plagiarism" by entering their best guess into Google, then copy-pasting the correct version.<br />
<br />
Cueball has an unusually strict interpretation of {{dict|plagiarism}} in which copying the ''individual word'' "plagiarism" without attribution would be plagiarizing, and this misplaced integrity makes him morally opposed to doing so.<br />
<br />
He also does not consider the option to cite his Google search of the often misspelled word as a source when including the correct spelling "plagiarism" in his document:<br />
"plagerism - Google Search." Google, https://www.google.com/search?q=plagerism. Accessed 24 January 2024.<br />
<br />
The title text implies that Cueball's absurdist view of plagiarism applies much more widely when he says he only ever misspells words because he has too much integrity to copy the spelling from the dictionary, an act he also considers to be plagiarism. Simply using the dictionary to [https://guides.library.ubc.ca/legalcitation/sec#:~:text=Dictionaries%20are%20not%20normally%20cited,.%22%20See%20the%20following%20examples. spell a word correctly or lookup its definition] is not plagiarism and does not require a citation. Any style guide or professional editor would advise Cueball that correct spelling is much preferred to incorrect spelling or superfluous citations.<br />
<br />
Note that while spelling assistance should not be cited, citing a dictionary can be appropriate when using the ''entry'' associated with a word, for example:<br />
* Providing a definition: If you're using a definition from a dictionary to make a point in your writing. This is because the definition is serving as a source of evidence or support for your argument.<br />
* Etymology or historical usage: If you are discussing the etymology or historical evolution of a word.<br />
<br />
"Plagiarise" rather than "plagiarize" is the common spelling in many parts of the English-speaking world. Search engines may localize(/localise) the appropriate spelling(s) based on the user's (presumed) location. <br />
<br />
A common misspelling of "plagiarism" is "[https://capitalizemytitle.com/plagiarize-vs-plagerize-how-do-you-spell-it/ plagerism]", perhaps because of the way the word sounds when pronounced.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting on an office chair at a desk and looking at a laptop while resting his hands on it. Megan is standing behind him and looking at the laptop as well.]<br />
:Megan: When I can't spell a word I usually just Google and copy and paste it from the results.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah, but I can't do that '''''here!!'''''<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Why spelling "plagiarism" is especially hard<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Randall had previously commented on some ''other'' problems with using Google's suggestion feature as a spellchecker in [https://blog.xkcd.com/2010/05/03/color-survey-results/ the Color Survey Results post] on the xkcd [[Blag]].<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2884:_Log_Alignment2884: Log Alignment2024-01-22T19:03:12Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2884<br />
| date = January 22, 2024<br />
| title = Log Alignment<br />
| image = log_alignment_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 351x312px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = A video can have a log scale that's misaligned with both the time AND space axes.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
In the comic, we see a background distribution of straight and parallel (but notably off-orthogonal) lines, such as might normally define the log-magnitude on a log-log or semi-log graph. But there are no perpendicular gradations ''and'' the bar graph drawn upon it appears to have no relation with the background, drawn distorted in an almost {{w|Salvador Dalí|Dalíesque}} manner, as if it were a projection of one twisted in 3d space. Both its bars and the base/vertical axes seem to have no relation to the supposed underlying log-scale.<br />
<br />
With the slight exception of the bar tops crossing the log lines at an angle, and the curved vertical axis having {{w|graduation (scale)|graduation ticks}} that bear no linear ''or'' log relation with the intersecting background, the distorted bars only travel unidirectionally across the underlying parallels and ''could'' feasibly be read as indicating a definitive magnitude (or range) of some kind. Or at least could with number-labels to give an idea of what values to associate with each log-line. That two bars appear from outside the frame of the comic (the base axis having fallen out of the bottom of the frame) might not even matter, so long as we can work out what quality or sample each of the bars represents (being similarly unlabeled).<br />
<br />
The humour in the comic is that a more practical log-chart can be seen as the result of logarithmically compressing a normal chart in one or both axes. Normal parallel and perpendicular axes remain straight lines when doing this; lines that aren't parallel or perpendicular to the squishing process get turned into curves of the exact kind depicted. A plot ''can'' be made according to measures not consistent with the graph axes, especially where [https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Curvature-introduced-by-pen-type-recording-system-Comparison-of-a-raw-seismogram-showing_fig5_364100386 other factors dictate the plotting], but then it is more common to make use of {{w|Graph paper#Examples|variant grid systems}}.<br />
<br />
Skewed log charts are real and occur in fields of science with useful applications. For example, a "{{w|Skew-T log-P diagram}}" depicts the relationship between temperature and pressure of a parcel of air in the atmosphere. On this chart, the x-axis is skewed with relation to the rest of the graph, and its isotherms, or lines of equal temperature, slant diagonally upwards and to the right of the diagram. The y-axis is normal and represents pressure on a log scale. A more detailed explanation can be found [https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/upperair/skew-t-log-p-diagrams here], and there are several related pressure/temperature charts which optimise the dimensional comparisons and skewings to allow for the results of somewhat codependent variables (such as normal changes along a slice of altitudes) to produce lines that are more recognisably consistent, or revealing of actual signature changes that provide more key information to those who study such diagrams.<br />
<br />
The title text further reinforces the concept of misalignment by stating that the time axis represented by the progressive changing of a moving image can be misaligned against (by the other elements of the data within the video itself, including any log scale element), adding at least one further dimension through which to twist and skew axial and non-axial components of such a dynamic graph. It's possible this may be a reference to cutting between scenes in TV shows.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Distorted bar graph on top of gray log scale lines in the background that are slightly tilted, with the lower ends on the left]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:There's actually no rule in math that says your log scales have to be aligned with your graph axes.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Bar charts]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2883:_Astronaut_Guests2883: Astronaut Guests2024-01-20T03:09:13Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2883<br />
| date = January 19, 2024<br />
| title = Astronaut Guests<br />
| image = astronaut guests 2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 331x391px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = They didn't bring us a gift, but considering the kinetic energy of a bottle of wine at orbital speed, that's probably for the best.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Cueball]], [[Megan]], [[Ponytail]], and [[Hairbun]] can all be seen eating dinner together. Presumably, Ponytail and Hairbun were invited over for dinner, as, to impress them, [[Cueball]] misleadingly claims that they previously "had six {{w|astronaut}}s over for dinner." Normally, this would be interpreted as the astronauts being friends with the hosts (which confers social prestige), going inside their house, and eating. As it turns out, the astronauts only briefly passed overhead while in {{w|orbit}}, and, by chance, this happened during dinnertime. This is a pun on the word "over", as the personnel of the {{w|International Space Station}} are overhead when it passes above you; yet they did not go "over ''to'' someone's house" in the sense that English speakers would usually assume.<br />
<br />
Cueball may also be considering the property lines to extend up indefinitely (just like in "What If?" article "{{what if|161|Star Ownership}}"), causing the astronauts to [[1475: Technically|technically]] be at their house despite being hundreds of miles away, vertically.<br />
<br />
The astronauts in question were presumably occupying the International Space Station, which has an orbital period of between 90 and 93 minutes (depending on its altitude) or 5400 to 5580 seconds.[https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Tools/orbitTutorial.htm] If the astronauts were "over" for 7½ milliseconds, that would be somewhere between 1.34x10⁻⁶ and 1.39x10⁻⁶ of an orbit. Earth's circumference (at the equator) being approximately 40,000 kilometres (24,850 miles), the station was apparently "over" for a ground distance of between 53.9 m and 55.7 m (177 to 183 feet). That would imply quite a large property, but may also consider the astronauts' locations within the ISS, which is 109 m (356 feet) long. (The effect of [[1276: Angular Size|angular size]] is small in this case because the ISS's elevation is small compared to the radius of the Earth. The route traced by the ISS in orbit is only slightly larger than its projection at ground level.)<br />
<br />
The caption makes Cueball's statement even less impressive, alleging that statements like it are correct in many places. This would make it uninteresting as a {{w|coincidence}}. It can only happen for latitudes of less than 51.64° north or south, which is as far as the orbital inclination of the ISS takes it, leaving almost 21.6% of the Earth's surface never directly "over"ed. Nonetheless, these areas of the globe will be, overall, significantly more sparsely populated than those that are "over"ed, meaning that the claim could be made in much more than 88.4% of places, assuming that by "places" we mean "properties where people are likely to be having dinner".<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that Cueball didn't want a gift (a bottle of wine) from the astronauts. The kinetic energy of a 1.2 kg (full) bottle of wine travelling at the linear velocity of the International Space Station (8000 m/s) is on the order of [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=1%2F2*%288km%2Fs%29%5E2*1.2kg 40 megajoules]. The gravitational potential energy of that mass on the Earth's surface (equatorial radius of 6,378 km) is 75.08 MJ, and its gravitational potential energy at an elevation of 408 km is 70.56 MJ, a difference of 4.52 MJ[https://physics.icalculator.com/gravitational-potential-energy-physics-calculator.html], and that would be converted to kinetic energy if it were to fall. For comparison, the kinetic energy of a fully loaded semi-truck (max legal weight 80,000 pounds or ~36 tonnes) at 70mph (110km/h; a typical highway speed limit for passenger cars) is around [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=1%2F2*%28110km%2Fh%29%5E2*80000+pounds 17 megajoules]. A bottle with more than 2½ times the kinetic energy of that would be hard to keep on the table, and would likely do damage to people or things that tried to keep it there. {{Citation needed}} However, this would assume that the bottle somehow survives its descent through the Earth's atmosphere intact, which seems unlikely.<br />
<br />
This comic was posted the same day as the American release of a film set on the ISS (conveniently named ''{{w|I.S.S. (film)|I.S.S.}}''), and just a day after the latest flight to the station by a {{w|Axiom Mission 3|Crew Dragon flight}} had temporarily increased the occupants from the normal seven residents to eleven.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball, Megan, Ponytail, and Hairbun are eating around a table. Cueball is leaning on the back of his chair and has his palm out.]<br />
:Cueball: We don't have houseguests often, but we once had six astronauts over for dinner.<br />
:Hairbun: Oh, wow!<br />
:Cueball (muttering): <small>''…for 7½ milliseconds in mid-August 2012.''</small><br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
: If you spend enough time looking at orbital records and property lines, you can make this claim in a lot of places.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category: Space]]</div>SomeoneIGuesshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2882:_Net_Rotations2882: Net Rotations2024-01-17T22:45:45Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2882<br />
| date = January 17, 2024<br />
| title = Net Rotations<br />
| image = net_rotations_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 318x477px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = For decades I've been working off the accumulated rotation from one long afternoon on a merry-go-round when I was eight.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category: Tips|Tips]], this time a Spacetime health tip. <br />
<br />
This comic may refer to a thing that some people with {{w|OCD}} do, which is to spin around to get rid of "net rotations," hence the title of this comic. [[Cueball]] (perhaps representing [[Randall]]?) takes this one step beyond the typical person with OCD - he calculates the net rotations each day and spins around at the end of the day to cancel this out. In this case, he would be spinning left 17 rotations to return to zero.<br />
<br />
The offered reason for the necessity to do this is a physics joke: the reference to spacetime and to one's "worldline" has to do with relativity and the {{w|Einstein-Cartan theory}}, which is an extension of Einstein's general relativity. The theory suggests a coupling between the intrinsic spin of elementary particles (fermions) and the torsion of spacetime, and this comic appears to humorously extrapolate this idea to even supermolecular structures like a human, telling readers to "cancel out your accumulated turns at the end of each day to avoid worldline torsion", where in reality, it is highly unlikely the spin on such a large scale would cause any torsion in anyone's worldline, or their path traced by a particle or observer in spacetime.<br />
<br />
A mobile device with position and orientation sensing might be able to keep track of one's net rotations, eliminating the need for calculations. One would need only to do one's spinning while monitoring the device to see when it returned to zero.<br />
<br />
The caption suggests that this is healthy and necessary/highly recommended to do this. However, most people don’t, and most people are still OK.{{Citation needed}} In fact, xkcd's own characters are perfectly OK with [[162: Angular Momentum|accumulating net rotations]] and [[2679: Quantified Self|similar topological excesses]].<br />
<br />
Possibly a reference to the 1966 novel, [//archive.org/details/revolvingboy0000frie The Revolving Boy] by {{w|Gertrude Friedberg}} whose protagonist suffered from being out of correct positioning depending on the number of turns he was forced to make in his everyday life.<br />
<br />
The title text mentions that Cueball was on a {{w|merry-go-round}} when he was eight and he accumulated so many rotations that he's still trying to counter these rotations to this day.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is rotating around himself with only one foot on the ground, the other leg raised and bend above the ground and with his arms crossed in front of his chest. There are five circular curves around Cueball from head to legs to indicate this rotary motion. He rotates in front of a whiteboard. On the left of the board there are two vertical helix-like curves going from near the top to the bottom. They are crossing over each other at five points, the first four crossings close to the top, and then one near the bottom. Next to this there are ten rows of illegible scribbles, then a line, then another row of scribbles then a line and at the bottom a row of scribbles which is circled in. There is a large thought bubble above Cueball to indicate that he is thinking to himself while rotating in front of his calculations on the whiteboard.]<br />
:Cueball (thinking): ...and three lefts for going down the stairwell at work, two rights from cloverleaf interchanges, minus one for the Earth's rotation...<br />
:Cueball (thinking): Okay, that's a net of 17 right.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Spacetime health tip: Remember to cancel out your accumulated turns at the end of each day to avoid worldline torsion.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Tips]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2881:_Bug_Thread2881: Bug Thread2024-01-16T05:16:21Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2881<br />
| date = January 15, 2024<br />
| title = Bug Thread<br />
| image = bug_thread_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 317x495px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = After some account issues, we've added 6 new people from the beach house rental website support forum.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
A bug thread is an online discussion about unintended behavior in a program, also known as a bug. Bug threads may be found on bug trackers, such as Github or Bugzilla, on technical forums such as StackOverflow, or on general product user forums.<br />
<br />
Most bug threads have a rule to only leave a comment if you have something insightful to add{{Actual citation needed}}, such as being able to reproduce how the bug occurs or possible solutions to resolving it. In practice, this rule is often ignored and many threads end up with multiple people simply commenting that the bug still exists. It could be argued that this, in itself, is additional information, since it gives an indication of how widespread and/or persistent the problem is. Those who are perfectly content with a product have few reasons to participate in a bug thread, so those seeking help will tend to mostly read posts by the others who are, or have been, seeking help, if no one has provided a proper solution.<br />
<br />
The exact nature of the bug in the comic is unknown, but there are multiple people reporting the problem (based upon their distinctive profile pictures), indicating that this is not a case of a rare problem where [[979: Wisdom of the Ancients|only one or two]] people have ever been known to be affected. Most of the visible posts just state the poster's inclusion in the list of those affected by the bug, either with a one word reply ("Same"), or a shorthand expression of emotion ("{{w|Like button|+1}}. So frustrating."), although a couple have stated that existing troubleshooting methods haven't worked for them, with one even providing three links to the specific 'solutions' that they have already seen and (unsuccessfully) tried. There appear to be no official representatives of the {{w|Developer#Computers|'devs'}}, or any other knowledgeable users, providing actual workarounds or seeking further information about the problem, at least within this small window upon the collected messages.<br />
<br />
Although we cannot see the unreadable timestamp information on the posts, one author (the penultimate, using a [[White Hat]] image) makes the observation that the problem has now been ongoing for five years. This is followed by a [[Cueball]]-identified user proposing that this group of like-minded individuals may enjoy meeting up in the physical world (perhaps even in lieu of fixing the bug). They suggest leasing a beachfront property for a weekend, which is more suggestive of taking a break than for brainstorming possible bug resolutions (although that type of event isn't unknown). Whether this is [[Randall]], or not, his own follow-up comic commentary suggests that bonding over such adversity is as good a reason for friendship as any.<br />
<br />
The title text reveals that the meet-up was actually attempted, suggesting that there were at least some still active (and still bug-bound?) participants of the thread. They apparently encountered (potentially unrelated) issues with an online service through which they booked the vacation venue, and have extended the general invitation (venue permitting) to several other new acquaintances who have likewise fallen foul of the holiday-home service's own problematic implementation, likely having started to similarly bond witin the bug-thread/forum where this latter issue must have stubbornly remained similarly unresolved. These new additions presumably have no interest in the original issue, but have been invited purely for social reasons.<br />
<br />
[[979: Wisdom of the Ancients]] also refers to an online discussion thread about a bug, and [[1305: Undocumented Feature]] also involves a tech support forum which is eventually used only for socializing.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Part of a discussion thread in progress on an online forum is shown. Each comment has the writer's avatar to the left of the text and small illegible text immediately above the text. Part of the first comment's text is cut off at the top.]<br />
:Commenter #1: Same issue here.<br />
:Commenter #2: I'm having this problem too. None of the posted fixes work.<br />
:Commenter #3: Same.<br />
:Commenter #4: +1. So frustrating.<br />
:Commenter #5: I'm still having this. Did you all ever figure out a fix?<br />
:Commenter #6: Same problem as everyone. I tried the steps in the posts <u>here</u>, <u>here</u>, and <u>here</u>. Nothing.<br />
:Commenter #7: Add me to the list.<br />
:Commenter #8: Same. Ugh. Can't believe this thread is 5 years old now.<br />
:Commenter #9: Where does everyone live? Do we want to get a beach house for a weekend or something?<br />
:[Caption below the image:]<br />
:At some point, you just have to give up on fixing the bug and embrace the fact that you have dozens of new friends.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Internet]]<br />
[[Category:Social interactions]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2880:_Sheet_Bend2880: Sheet Bend2024-01-12T20:38:57Z<p>TheusafBOT: Reverted edit 336205 by 108.162.245.167 to 334563</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2880<br />
| date = January 12, 2024<br />
| title = Sheet Bend<br />
| image = sheet_bend_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 317x244px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = A left-handed sheet bend creates a much weaker connection, especially under moderate loads.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is the seventh installment in the series of [[:Category:Cursed Connectors|Cursed Connectors]] and presents Cursed Connectors #46: The Sheet Bend. At the time of release this was the lowest number used for a cursed connector, replacing [[2495: Universal Seat Belt|#65: Universal Seat Belt]] (with [[2507: USV-C|#280: USV-C]] being the one with the highest number).<br />
<br />
This comic shows two double-core cables being joined in a knot to make an electrical connection. The knot used to tie the two halves of the cable is a {{w|sheet bend}}, which is often used to join two ropes of different thicknesses, and explains the name for this type of cursed connector, which seems to be made by ensuring each cable end is terminated with identical electrical connections to the outer sleeving in a manner similar to various 'ring' connections in {{w|Phone connector (audio)|'phone' connectors}}, but as significantly longer and more separated sleeves.<br />
<br />
In contrast to more normal methods, [[Randall]] has proposed yet another of his 'cursed' connectors. This one requires ''no'' additional plugs, sockets, enclosures or even tools to use. Any two cables with such ends can be brought together and simply knotted together. This particular knot, and the specific spacing of its two external conductors, appears to be chosen in order to rather elegantly create consistent connections between the respective contacts, with a minimum of fuss. <br />
<br />
However, there are potentially many unaddressed but conspicuous problems with this connection method, thus rendering it a 'cursed' connector. Among the issues are:<br />
* The need to have suitable ends to any cables, which would involve issues in the manufacture (and the materials used) as cable's cores must be separately tapped and reliably connected to an external length of conductive sleeving.<br />
* The consistent ability of a cabler to tie the correct knot, which is a skill that will need practice. Done wrongly the electrical connections may not be made correctly, or at all (including as discussed in the title text).<br />
* Even if initially tied correctly, knots can slip or distort when subsequently pulled more taut.<br />
* Even if the user is a competent and consistent knot-tier, this is inherently more effort, and therefore less convenient, than the more usual practice of simply pushing two connectors together.<br />
* The external conducting patches of the cable are an uncommon feature of electrical junctions, with issues in both high-power and low-power situations.<br />
** If the cables are supposed to carry high voltages, any bare conductors ought to be safely isolated from easy contact with equipment/people. In particular, plugs and sockets that carry anything approaching mains-voltages have active and passive elements integrated which protect the person connecting or disconnecting the equipment. There is no physical precaution visible to protect the person tying or untying the cable from potential shock. Instead, they must rely upon the ''other'' end of the potentially 'live' cable being disconnected. And, when left unattended, there would continue to be a high risk of injury (including death), fire or more basic damage due to the lack of any proper physical isolation.<br />
** Low-voltage cables that pass signals between equipment (e.g. networking data or audio signals) are susceptible to external contact disrupting the flow. Random static charges, built up and transfered into the connector, instead make other equipment or people the potential threat to the cabled-up equipment, causing disruption to the normal purpose of the cable, where a more standard plug-and-socket/hard-wired connection would not.<br />
* The bending, twisting and rubbing of the cables each time the cables are connected and disconnected will very likely cause wear and damage over time.<br />
* The knot provides a possible snag point by which the cable could be caught; anything which catches or tugs on the knot could cause disconnection.<br />
<br />
The title text says that a left-handed sheet bend would provide a weaker connection. The difference between a left-handed and right-handed sheet knot is that the two free ends of the knotted 'cords' are in the same orientation for a right-handed sheet knot (here, both on the lower side of the image), but on opposite sides for a left-handed sheet knot. A left-handed sheet bend provides less strength to the knot, due to the possibility of distorting (e.g. {{w|Knot#Capsizing|''capsizing''}}) and/or allowing one or both cables to pull through the knot.<br />
<br />
This makes the title text a pun on the double meaning of "moderate load", which could be a moderate amount of physical tension applied through the cables ''or'' a moderate amount of electrical current passing through them. Together, it would be expected that tension drawing two conductive surfaces together would create less resistance between them, strengthening the electrical connection as well, but only if the knot holds as expected.<br />
<br />
A knot was also the subject of the relatively recent [[2738: Omniknot]].<br />
<br />
And yet, Randall just made another cursed connector.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Above the drawing there is a header. Below the header there is a double-core wire going in from the left and stopping just past the middle of the picture. It shows how the inside of the wire looks and how the silver and golden wires inside are connected to two rectangular pieces of silver and golden material respectively. The golden piece is to the left and the silver piece to the right, closest to the end of the wire. Beneath this wire is shown two double-core wires forming a knot of the sheet bend type. Here it becomes clear that the silver and golden pieces are on the outside of the wires (but connected to the wires running inside the wires). In the knotted part of the wires gold touches gold and silver touches silver, without them touching the other color. Beneath this knot there is a label for the connector.]<br />
:Cursed Connectors #46:<br />
:The Sheet Bend<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Cursed Connectors]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2879:_Like_This_One2879: Like This One2024-01-11T02:45:34Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2879<br />
| date = January 10, 2024<br />
| title = Like This One<br />
| image = like_this_one_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 273x464px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = A lot of sentences undergo startling shifts in mood if you add 'like this one' to the end, but high on the list is 'I'm a neurologist studying dreams.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] is asking [[Ponytail]] what she does, presumably in a professional context. Ponytail responds with "I'm a researcher studying gas molecules like this one" and then she indicates the air above her outstretched hand, or possibly pointing with a finger, which, indeed, does contain or point to gas molecules. However, it would not be at all clear which one molecule she was supposed to be identifying, since they are too small for human sight to distinguish. Identifying a specific gas molecule in this way does not provide the listener with any useful information.<br />
<br />
The caption under the comic lists further examples of things that researchers study and are, by necessity, around them either all the time, or at any time they are talking to another person, making the researchers truthfully able to respond "...like this one" when asked about their research, despite the fact that such a statement doesn't tangibly identify anything to the other person.<br />
* '''Gas molecules''': Gas molecules generally share a few basic physical characteristics simply because they're in a gaseous state. A researcher would thus be able to make reference to their study of (any particular kinds of) gas molecules as, unless they happen to be researching something incredibly exotic, the gas molecules they were studying would probably share at least something with the gas molecules found in the atmosphere. A more restrictive interpretation would be that the researcher is, in fact, studying particular kinds of {{w|Atmosphere of Earth|gas molecules that are in the atmosphere}}.<br />
* '''Gravitational fields''': Every object with mass has a gravitational field that extends, however weakly, throughout the universe.<br />
* '''Planetary magnetospheres''': The Earth {{w|Earth's magnetic field|has a magnetic field}}, which covers the entire planet and any conversations taking place there. <br />
* '''Sound waves''': Most in-person conversations are mediated with sound waves created by human vocal cords, and those that are not (text or sign languages) are almost certainly in the presence of background noise.<br />
* '''Habitable worlds''': As of 2024, all humans converse on or near the habitable world of Earth.{{cn}} Depending on your definition of 'world', any environment in which a human could survive (and therefore hold a conversation) could be considered a 'habitable world'.<br />
* '''Languages''': Conversations such as this one are possible only if one or more languages are involved.<br />
* '''Social interactions''': Any conversation constitutes a social interaction.<br />
* '''Skin microbes''': For better or worse, a wide variety of microbial organisms {{w|Skin flora|live on the skin}} of any outstretched hand.<br />
<br />
The title text moves into inverse cases, where it would be highly unusual or potentially disconcerting for an example of the research subject to be present at the time of the conversation. In the example given, for a neurologist to say "I'm a neurologist studying dreams ''like this one''", would imply that your conversation with them (or your entire consciousness) is itself a dream.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball are facing Ponytail, who holds her hand out palm up.]<br />
:Megan: So what do you do?<br />
:Ponytail: I'm a researcher studying gas molecules like this one.<br />
<br />
:[Below the panel there is an explanation of the comics idea.]<br />
:Fields of research where you can add "...like this one" after you say what you study:<br />
:[Bulleted list of various separate fields of study.]<br />
::Gas molecules<br />
::Gravitational fields<br />
::Planetary magnetospheres<br />
::Sound waves<br />
::Habitable worlds<br />
::Languages<br />
::Social interactions<br />
::Skin microbes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Social interactions]]<br />
[[Category:Dreams]] <!--Title text --></div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2878:_Supernova2878: Supernova2024-01-08T12:41:24Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2878<br />
| date = January 8, 2024<br />
| title = Supernova<br />
| image = supernova_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 348x227px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = They're a little cagey about exactly where the crossover point lies relative to the likelihood of devastating effects on the planet.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
A {{w|supernova}} occurs when a heavy star can no longer produce enough energy to fight its own gravity, e.g. because its fuel runs out ({{w|type II supernova|type II}}) or because it has accreted too much mass from a binary companion ({{w|type Ia supernova|type Ia}}). The collapsing mass leads to a violent explosion, one of the most interesting events for astronomers to observe and one that can be used to glean information about the universe. <br />
<br />
At first glance, the curved line on this graph might match that of the typical {{w|light curve}} of a type Ia supernova, constructed by plotting the brightness of the supernova as a function of time, with negative values indicating a logarithmic luminosity scale (below zero means a linear luminosity of less than the unit amount). In the event of a supernova, a star (which may previously have been unremarkable) becomes notably bright over a short period of time before trailing off again to leave a stellar remnant and expanding cloud of ejecta. Around the time of this comic's release new constraints on the expansion of the universe from the observation of type Ia supernovae were [https://news.fnal.gov/2024/01/final-supernova-results-from-dark-energy-survey-offer-unique-insights-into-the-expansion-of-the-universe/ published], which used the regular shape of their light curves to establish a distance scale.<br />
<br />
However, this comic reimagines the shape of a light curve graph to depict the relationship between the distance of supernovae from Earth, and the consequent happiness of astronomers, which happens to take a similar form. The further away the supernova occurs, the less detail can be learned from it, so the graph beyond the maximum happiness distance appears to show an {{wiktionary|asymptotic}} approach to less and less astronomer happiness. On the other hand, a {{w|near-earth supernova}} close enough to flood the Earth with significant amounts of gamma and X-ray radiation might be considered ''too'' close. Its radiation could destroy life on Earth, or at least significantly harm the biosphere, which would be a bad thing.{{cn}} Astronomers (and many others) would be really unhappy if that happened, shown as a sharp drop in happiness towards smaller distances and negative happiness values for a supernova that is very close. In fact, if a supernova were to instantly destroy Earth, or kill off all life on it, astronomers may no longer be able to be happy or unhappy (depending on your theological/spiritual feelings), so distance values close to zero have undefined astronomer happiness values.<br />
<br />
Many astronomers watch and study the stars in the night sky, even those that don't change appreciably over human timescales, but observing and recording such a huge event would be interesting for many reasons. Humans can observe some supernovae with the naked eye, especially if they occur within {{w|Milky Way|our own galaxy}}. A potential supernova in the news lately is {{w|Betelgeuse}}, a {{w|red giant}} star that is the left shoulder in the constellation Orion. About 430 light years from the Sun, it has been pulsating, dimming and brightening over exceedingly short time scales compared to the tens of millions of years such a big star is expected to burn. Betelgeuse should be far enough away from Earth that the inevitable explosion would be safe enough for life on Earth (although [https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/earth-danger-betelgeuse-supernova some assessments] are not so sure), but it ''will'' outshine all other stars in the night sky, competing with the Moon, and could even be visible during daytime. This would be a dream come true for many astronomers and something obvious to others interested in the night sky. In the first [[:Category:Stargazing | Stargazing]] comic, [[1644: Stargazing | 1644]], the wish that it goes supernova (in [[Randall|Randall's]] lifetime) is clearly expressed.<br />
<br />
Since this ''should'' be safe for us, and since it would be a spectacle not seen at least since the start of recorded history, and unlikely to be seen again by human eyes, this would make astronomers very happy, not just from all they could learn, but also from all the increased interest in gazing at the sky with the 'new' star (and then seeing what happens to it next).<br />
There are thought to be about three supernovae occurring per century within our own galaxy (most of which are much further away than Betelgeuse), and many other galaxies within which a supernova explosion can be detected. These remain useful to see, and are often studied as intensively as possible, but have decreasing amounts of thrill to them and are harder to notice/record in the early stages of the explosion (or immediately before, to add even more understanding).<br />
<br />
The title text expands upon the point of "too close" supernovae, claiming that astronomers are not quite clear or perhaps unwilling to admit how close they would like a supernova to be. If it were {{what if|73|close enough}} to severely impact the quality of human life, they would presumably not be happy, but the title text suggests that they might actually be willing to accept some trouble on Earth if they get to see a supernova comparatively close by.<br />
<br />
This is the second comic in a row that mentions exploding stars, after [[2877: Fever]], which like this comic is also a [[:Category:Charts|Charts comic]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A graph is shown where the axes are labeled and arrows are pointing upward above the Y axis label and to the right above the X axis label. There is a single line on the graph that peaks close to the Y axis, where it reaches close to the top of the drawn part of the Y axis. Then the line approaches the X axis asymptotically towards the far right. But closer to the Y axis, the peak line goes almost vertically down, and continues far below the "bottom of the chart", outside of the boundary of the graph that was only supposed to be above the X axis.]<br />
:Y axis: How happy astronomers are<br />
:X axis: How far away the new supernova is<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Line graphs]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2877:_Fever2877: Fever2024-01-05T20:16:06Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2877<br />
| date = January 5, 2024<br />
| title = Fever<br />
| image = fever_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 514x587px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = Hypothermia of below 98.6 K should be treated by leaving the giant molecular cloud and moving to the vicinity of a star.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic mimics [https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/-/media/images/project/healthcareblog/hero-images/2020/05/fevers-at-every-age-infographic.ashx?h=1477&w=750&hash=14066972FE7A69A90BE29654F41F7C65 charts] on {{w|fever}} temperatures and actions that are indicated as a result. However, rather than dividing the normal body temperature range of a febrile (fever-having) patient into subtle grades, it quickly progresses beyond these to specify treatment for increasingly high temperature ranges, culminating with the most extreme temperature range ever achieved in the universe. <br />
<br />
After the first two entries in the table, the rest refer to temperatures caused by the surrounding environment, rather than by conditions internal to the body (or the vapor/plasma cloud you would turn into if you reach this temperature...). Hence the 'treatments' consist of removing yourself from those environments. <br />
<br />
[[Randall]] uses the SI related unit {{w|Celsius}} for all entries in the table, giving the temperature in {{w|Fahrenheit}} only for the first entry in the table about a normal fever temperature range. <br />
<br />
The title text uses the real SI unit {{w|Kelvin}}, and suggests that those with temperatures under 98.6 Kelvin (-173.55 Celsius or -280.39 Fahrenheit) are in a {{w|molecular cloud}} and that they should get near a star to warm them up. 98.6 ''Fahrenheit'' (=37°C) is the average human resting body temperature, explaining why Randall chose this number, but 98.6 Kelvin is a good deal colder than this, and a temperature at which it would be very hard for a human to survive. By way of comparison, the normal boiling point of liquid oxygen is 90.19 K (−182.96 °C; −297.33 °F).<br />
<br />
Taking an everyday situation to its logical extreme is a common humor trope, often used by xkcd.<br />
<br />
===Table of fever temperatures===<br />
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"<br />
|+ Treating a Fever<br />
|-<br />
! Fever Temperature in Celsius (Fahrenheit) !! Treatment !! Additional notes<br />
|-<br />
| 38-40 (100-104) || Fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff || Normal fever temperatures. <br />
<br />
"Normal doctor stuff" refers to routine medical consultation at an outpatient clinic or through telemedicine.<br />
|-<br />
| 40-45 (104-113) || Hospital, advanced doctor stuff || A severe fever level at which humans might start experiencing brain damage from fever. <br />
<br />
"Advanced doctor stuff" refers to hospital care, likely in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).<br />
|-<br />
| 45-100 (113-212) || Exit that steam cloud immediately || A temperature range that is uncomfortable and injurious. (Imagine keeping your hand right above the spout of a steaming kettle.) For the rest of the table, the prescribed treatments presume that the fever temperature is due to one's environment. <br />
<br />
Note that this range maximum is 100 degrees Celsius, the temperature at which water boils. After this point, the water in the body would soon boil, causing quick and painful death.<br />
|-<br />
| 100-400 (212-750) || Stop, drop, and roll || The subject is probably on fire. Stop, drop, and roll is a recommended method for putting out flames on your clothing.<br />
|-<br />
| 400-500 (750-930) || Return to Earth from Venus ASAP || 464°C (867°F) is {{w|Venus}}ian atmosphere temperature.<br />
|-<br />
| 500-1,500 (930-2,700) || Please climb out of that volcano || {{w|Magma}} is about 700°C (1,290°F). Therefore, if someone is at that temperature, they are probably in lava/magma.<br />
|-<br />
| 1,500-5,000 (2,700-9,000) || Turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface || 4,400-6,000°C (7,950-10,830°F) is the estimated core temperature of the {{w|Earth}}. Another reference to the 2003 movie [[:Category:The Core|The Core]], at least the 6th comic to do so.<br />
|-<br />
| 5,000-6,000 (9,000-10,800) || No, the surface of the '''''Earth''''', not the Sun || 5,500°C (9,930°F) is the approximate temperature of the surface of the {{w|Sun}}. The Sun's {{w|photosphere}} has a temperature between 4,400 and 6,600 K (4,130 and 6,330 °C) (with an effective temperature of 5,772 K (5,499 °C)).<br />
|-<br />
| 6,000-50,000 (10,800-90,000) || Wait, that's not the Sun. What star are you visiting? Come back right now. || Surface temperatures of {{w|main sequence|main-sequence}} stars larger than the Sun can go up to 50,000 (Kelvin and degrees Celsius are indistinguishable at this point). Though some stars can be even hotter.<br />
|-<br />
| 50,000-20,000,000 <small>(90,000-36,000,000)</small> || At least stay on the '''''surface''''' of the star instead of diving down to the core || Core temperatures of main-sequence stars like the Sun are usually around ten million kelvins, while larger and hotter stars can reach up to a hundred million.<br />
|-<br />
| 20,000,000-10,000,000,000 <small>(36,000,000-18,000,000,000)</small> || You know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding || {{w|Supernova}}e can reach temperatures of billions of degrees for brief periods, with type II supernovae even reaching hundreds of billions of degrees. This is the first of two comics in a row that mentions exploding stars, with [[2878: Supernova]] the next comic. That comic is like this comic also a [[:Category:Charts|Charts comic]].<br />
|-<br />
| 10,000,000,000 or higher <small><br>(18,000,000,000 or higher)</small> || I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang but you should really come back home immediately || 10<sup>32</sup> °C (or K), the highest physically meaningful temperature, is the estimated temperature at the Planck epoch (10<sup>-43</sup> s) after the {{w|Big Bang}}<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A table is shown with two columns with twelve rows. The columns are labeled and there is a heading above table:]<br />
:<big>Treating a Fever</big><br />
<br />
:[Column labels]:<br />
:Fever<br />
:Treatment<br />
<br />
:38°C-40°C (100°F-104°F) <br />
:Fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff<br />
<br />
:40°C-45°C<br />
:Hospital, advanced doctor stuff<br />
<br />
:45°C-100°C<br />
:Exit that steam cloud immediately<br />
<br />
:100°C-400°C <br />
:Stop, drop, and roll<br />
<br />
:400°C-500°C<br />
:Return to Earth from Venus ASAP<br />
<br />
:500°C-1,500°C<br />
:Please climb out of that volcano<br />
<br />
:1,500°C-5,000°C<br />
:Turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface<br />
<br />
:5,000°C-6,000°C<br />
:No, the surface of the '''''Earth''''', not the Sun<br />
<br />
:6,000°C-50,000°C<br />
:Wait, that's not the Sun. What star are you visiting? Come back right now.<br />
<br />
:50,000°C-20,000,000°C<br />
:At least stay on the '''''surface''''' of the star instead of diving down to the core<br />
<br />
:20,000,000°C-10,000,000,000°C<br />
:You know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding<br />
<br />
:10,000,000,000°C or higher<br />
:I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang but you should really come back home immediately<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Medicine]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:The Core]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2876:_Range_Safety2876: Range Safety2024-01-03T14:54:44Z<p>B for brain: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2876<br />
| date = January 3, 2024<br />
| title = Range Safety<br />
| image = range_safety_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 565x272px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The Range Mischief Officer has modified the trajectory to add a single random spin somewhere in the flight, but won't tell us where.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
A {{w|Range Safety}} Officer is responsible for ensuring the safety of the flight of a missile or launch vehicle – such as the rocket in the comic. This involves tasks like creating a launch corridor clear of any aircraft or ships, as well as ensuring that atmospheric conditions are favorable for a launch. <br />
<br />
In this comic, the RSO has noticed reports of thunderstorms downrange, and has ordered a hold as conditions are no longer favorable.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] continues on by imagining the opposite position, a "Range Danger Officer," responsible for ensuring that the flight of the vehicle is dangerous. Flying into the biggest thunderstorm may qualify as dangerous - in 1987 an ATLAS rocket launched into thunderstorm conditions by NASA was destroyed by lightning strikes that caused electrical malfunction. <br />
<br />
Finally, someone on the staff justifiably{{cn}} wonders what reason there is for that position to exist.<br />
<br />
The title text imagines a Range Mischief Officer, responsible for mischief – generally defined as minor/playful annoyance. Introducing a random unknown spin may qualify, since the spin shouldn't affect the flight too much, but would make all the flight engineers nervous about the flight as they seek to understand why telemetry is inverted (or why it is not!), as they work out the cause and whether it is symptomatic of bigger underlying issues or just a technical change of reference to an otherwise correct flight trajectory. Whether the spin is purely axial or end-over-end would probably matter greatly!<br />
<br />
The Range Danger Officer and Range Mischief Officer both sound like suitable positions for [[Black Hat]], xkcd's resident [[classhole]].<br />
<br />
This is the second holiday season comic in 3 years to depict rocket safety officers. A Range Safety Officer was also mentioned in the title text of [[2559: December 25th Launch]], where the RSO shoots down Santa so he cannot interfere with the rocket launch.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A rocket is on a launchpad with a tower next to it as seen from far away. There are two birds flying to the right of them and one bird flying to the left of them. To the left of the launchpad there is a very small building. Much farther to the right there are two smaller buildings, and a voice is emanating from the largest and right most building which also has two antennas on top. The scene is shown in black silhouette on a white background.]<br />
:Voice: There are reports of thunderstorms in the downrange area.<br />
<br />
:[Same scene, except there are now only two visible birds, both flying on the left side of the rocket.]<br />
:Voice: The Range Safety Officer has ordered a launch hold.<br />
<br />
:[Almost same scene, but panned to the right so the smallest building to the left is not shown and a third building to the right of the other two buildings can be seen. Birds are now flying with one on either side of the rocket. Two voices are now emanating from the middle building.] <br />
:Voice: But the Range '''''Danger''''' Officer wants to launch the rocket toward the biggest thunderstorm.<br />
:Voice 2: Okay, why do we even '''''have''''' that position?<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/range_safety.png standard size] image was uploaded with a resolution/size larger than the supposed 2x version.<br />
** This may have been an error.<br />
* The tower next to the rocket was also missing from panel 2.<br />
** See the original version [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/1/18/20240103171847%21range_safety_2x.png here]<br />
* Both these errors were later corrected.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Weather]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2875:_20242875: 20242024-01-01T21:50:04Z<p>172.70.86.41: Undo revision 334333 by 172.70.126.38 (talk) That IP is on a splurge. Two prior articles. This one has a cited statement CNed and a second, which is overkill. (Also, wrong punctuation.)</p>
<hr />
<div><noinclude>:''This page refers to the comic named "2024". For comic #2024, see [[2024: Light Hacks]].''</noinclude><br />
{{comic<br />
| number = 2875<br />
| date = January 1, 2024<br />
| title = 2024<br />
| image = 2024_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x553px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = It wasn't originally constitutionally required, but presidents who served two terms have traditionally followed George Washington's example and gotten false teeth.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] starts off almost like a "[[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|doesn't time fly?]]" scene, the unstoppable progression of the calendar is observed, as [[Ponytail]] points out that it's now 2024. This, though, is the only reference to [[#Trivia|New Year]] in the comic, and serves only as a pretext for [[Cueball]] to note that they are now in an election year, in this context a {{w|President of the United States#Election|US ''Presidential'' election}} year, which occurs every four years and has (in one form or other) since 1788. Ponytail then replies in some form of exasperated tone that they "keep on happening", which is true but (normally) unsurprising, even/especially with other major elections happening every two years, presumably not compared to how [https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/youre-joking-not-another-one/ some other democracies] might be less predictable/more frequent.<br />
<br />
On top of this, Ponytail seems to have not been aware (or maybe has chosen to forget) the passing of two whole election cycles (and two newer incumbents) as the discussion focuses upon {{w|Barack Obama}}, the ''former'' US President, before Presidents Biden and Trump. Ponytail seems to be quite behind the times as she asks if Obama is still president (he left office January 20th, 2017, which was 7 (!) years ago, a fact that Cueball cannot quite believe Ponytail is ignorant of). Ponytail states that she liked him, and wonders if he'll be up for taking on the position again. But Cueball states that he ''can't'' be made President again, having already served two terms, which Ponytail confirms by checking for herself the details of the {{w|Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution}}.<br />
<br />
In the second half of the comic Cueball and Ponytail discuss whether Obama is even the same person seven years after he was last president. Like the mythical {{w|Ship of Theseus}}, mentioned by Ponytail, which gradually had all of its parts replaced over many years, most of Obama's constituent cells have been replaced since he was last president. Ponytail is thus looking into the possibility of Obama's re-election based upon philosophical/biological technicalities (as applied to the Constitution's words), rather than as legal/political convention might normally suggest. <br />
<br />
Cueball questions if the cell replacement isn't a myth, and at least some cells may remain the same, especially those making up the enamel in the teeth, which he believes has a half-life of over 30 years, meaning that even after 30 years only half of the cells in your enamel have been replaced. <br />
<br />
But even when Ponytail's approach is seen to be wanting, requiring a wait significantly exceeding 30 years, Ponytail suggests negating that issue by having all of Obama's teeth removed and replaced with false teeth.<br />
<br />
In order to facilitate the latter goal, Ponytail announces her intention to consult both a dentist (presumably for getting the teeth replaced) and a lawyer (perhaps to establish that Obama could thus run for president again, hopefully in advance). Although, in Ponytail's frame of mind, it could also be to consult with the dentist to clear up the currently theoretical issues about tooth-biology, and the lawyer might be asked to serve an enforcement notice to force Obama to undergo the 'treatment'. Her peculiar chain of logic might well also lead to one or other {{tvtropes|ThePlan|plan}} that is itself a total curveball and/or riddled with flaws.<br />
<br />
Seeing where her current misplaced, and {{w|Dunning–Kruger effect|less than informed}}, zeal might be leading her, Cueball appears to be about to suggest that the {{w|Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court }} is about to pre-emptively block her plan, but instead turns out, in a play on the word 'block', to be saying that they will be unanimous in blocking her phone number so that she cannot contact them again, suggesting that this just the latest in a string of ridiculous proposals she has attempted to bring before them, and they have finally lost patience. The Supreme Court being unanimous on any issue is now a [https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/07/as-unanimity-declines-conservative-majoritys-power-runs-deeper-than-the-blockbuster-cases/ comparatively rare event].<!-- I looked for a decent post-2021 summary, but could not find one, perhaps someone else could check and replace/rephrase if they can establish better search engine skills--><br />
<br />
Although Cueball (and thus [[Randall]]) seems to think the suggestion has no merit, it is public knowledge that Randall did [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/01/28/obama/ endorse Obama] and in [[1756: I'm With Her]], he again showed that he prefers Democratic Presidents at least over [[Donald Trump]]. That he is not happy about Trump has been obvious in many comics ([[2220: Imagine Going Back in Time]] for an example), and Trump might be running for president again, in this election year, so it is not unlikely that Randall would wish that it was possible to get Obama back as president if in any way possible.<br />
<br />
The title text combines two {{w|George Washington}} references. The first part of the sentence is the beginning of the mundane but true claim that "It wasn't originally constitutionally required, but presidents who have served two terms have traditionally followed George Washington's example and not sought a third term." However, the title text veers off-course to the subject of {{w|George Washington's teeth|George Washington's (in)famous 'false teeth'}}. Washington's dentures are often falsely claimed to be made of wood; in truth they were ''real'' teeth procured from other sources. Regardless, this would have likely resolved the rather specific philosophical/legal problems established in the comic, were they real. However, since Washington only ran for president twice, even if the 22nd amendment had been in effect, it would have been unnecessary!<br />
<br />
It goes almost without saying that no one has yet even ''attempted'' to carry out this plan. Only one President has exceeded the 2-term limit; {{w|Franklin D. Roosevelt}} died in office during his ''fourth'' term, but he served prior to the 22nd Amendment and was thus unaffected by the rule, which was enacted six years after his death. (FDR did have a partial denture, but given that he retained some of his natural teeth, he did not engage in Ponytail's proposed scheme.) Presidents since then have definitely ([[Definitely|and sometimes defiantly]]) tried various schemes aimed at securing a second term, with both successes and failures, but nobody has yet attempted ''this particular plan'' to achieve a third or beyond. Or at least one can assume that those that perhaps did (including, as noted, all those who were not yet 'required' to go to these lengths) failed to attain their goals for entirely different reasons.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail and Cueball are walking.]<br />
:Ponytail: So this is 2024.<br />
:Cueball: Yup. Guess it's an election year now.<br />
:Ponytail: Again? Man, those just keep happening, huh?<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail and Cueball stop walking and Cueball has turned to face Ponytail.]<br />
:Ponytail: Who's the president these days, anyway? Is it still Obama?<br />
:Cueball: What? No? He hasn't been... How do you not...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail and Cueball standing.]<br />
:Ponytail: Darn, I liked him. Is he running this time?<br />
:Cueball: No, he's not allowed to.<br />
:Ponytail: He's not? Why?<br />
:Cueball: Constitution.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on the upper part of Ponytail who checks her smartphone held up in one hand. The text she is reading on her phone is shown in a square speech bubble above her head, with a jagged thin snip from the speech bubble extending from it down to above her smartphone.]<br />
:Phone: ''Amendment 22''<br />
:Phone: No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice<br />
:Ponytail: What?? C'mon...<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail has raised her hand palm up towards Cueball.]<br />
:Ponytail: Don't all your cells get replaced every seven years, Ship of Theseus-style? Is he even the same person?<br />
:Ponytail: Maybe "no person shall be elected more than twice" isn't a prohibition, it's more of an observation, like "you can't step in the same river twice."<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on the upper part of Cueball.]<br />
:Cueball: Isn't the cell thing a myth?<br />
:Cueball: I think tooth enamel has a turnover half-life of 30+ years. His teeth molecules are probably the same.<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail has turned around and walks away from Cueball with a finger raised high.]<br />
:Ponytail: So if Obama just gets false teeth, he can run again! I need to talk to a dentist and a lawyer!<br />
:Cueball: The Supreme Court is about to vote 9-0 to block your number.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*This is the first [[:Category:New Year|New Year comic]] using the year as the title since 2018. <br />
**That was a break of six years after having [[:Category:Comics sharing name|used this kind of title]] for all even years between [[998: 2012|2012]] and [[1935: 2018|2018]] plus also in [[1779: 2017|2017]].<br />
**So five times in seven years and then five years in a row without doing so.<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:New Year]]<br />
[[Category:Comics sharing name|2024]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Elections]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]</div>TheusafBOThttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2874:_Iceland2874: Iceland2023-12-29T23:41:46Z<p>162.158.130.37: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2874<br />
| date = December 29, 2023<br />
| title = Iceland<br />
| image = iceland_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 325x454px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The HVAC bill for installing the Gulf Stream was enormous.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This comic is a reference to the strange geography of Iceland, owing to the sheer number of notable geographical features in such a small area, leading to the conclusion by Randall that Iceland had to have been created by a committee of various planetary scientists all vying to have their ideas implemented into their 'project', that being Iceland.<br />
<br />
The comic depicts a scene of a Cueball giving a presentation to a bunch of members sitting around a table, that being White Hat, Blondie, another Cueball, Megan and Hairbun, in the order left to right. It may have been inspired by Iceland being recently in the news for its {{w|2023 Sundhnúkur eruption|notable volcanic activity}}, although at least this one isn't one of the ones {{w|Eyjafjallajökull|under a glacier}}, so only (currently) causing fairly localised inconvenience.<br />
<br />
Noting that being nearer the magnetic pole might more frequently provide you with an aurora, but the more severe (on the {{w|K-index#The Kp-index and estimated Kp-index|Kp index}}) geomagnetic storms invoke their auroral displays at lower latitudes. Once you get a Kp of 5 (out of a theoretical 9), Iceland may be far ''too'' close to the pole to fully appreciate the sight.<br />
<br />
A possible alternative viewpoint that can be taken in this comic is about projects that have unrealistic targets (and often fail as a result). The bottom text has already set itself a very unrealistic target by attempting to satisfy 'everyone', even though such a task would be rendered impossible should a single instance of conflicting desires ever occur. In addition, the various ideas that the characters are each vying for to be implemented into the project (that being Iceland) in this comic would each likely require significant resources to accomplish, causing the project requirements to balloon so drastically that meeting its targets would become impossible. This process is often described as {{w|feature creep}}.<br />
<br />
{{w|HVAC}} in the title text is jargon for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The {{w|Gulf Stream}} is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36 degrees latitude and moves toward Northwest Europe as the North Atlantic Current, providing Iceland with a milder and more liveable climate than would be otherwise expected for its latitude. The electrical costs associated with providing airflow at a certain temperature, over such a vast area would prove incredibly expensive, not to mention the fact that the Gulf Stream is not in fact an artificial phenomenon powered by electricity, but rather a natural one.{{cn}}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in front of a board and pointing to it with a stick. In front of him is a long table with White Hat, Blondie, another Cueball and Megan sitting on the long side of the table (the same side, the one away from the reader) with Hairbun sitting at the end of the table furthest from Cueball. All are sitting on office chairs and looking at Cueball. On the board there are two figures and some unreadable text. The top figure is an skewed ellipse with some dots inside. There is a label text beneath it. The next large figure depicts an island with a rift going down its middle. The rift extends on either side of the island. There is a label above it. Beneath this there is a box with four lines of unreadable text and above it a heading. Cueball's stick points to the island.]<br />
:Cueball: Okay, we'll make it an island on a mid-ocean ridge to satisfy the mantle people and the oceanographers.<br />
:Cueball-like man: But what about my glaciers?<br />
:Cueball: We can just pile them on the volcanoes.<br />
:Hairbun: Don't forget that it has to be near a pole - I was promised aurora!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the comic:]<br />
:Iceland was designed by a committee of planetary scientists that was trying to satisfy everyone.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]<br />
[[Category:Geography]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Engineering]]</div>TheusafBOT