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56 posts total
xkcd bot

title text: Karpov's construction of a series of increasingly large rice cookers led to a protracted deadlock, but exponential growth won in the end.

(xkcd.com/2936)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

3 panel comic. 1. Black hat says "Exponential growth is very powerful" to No hair. 2. Zoom in to Black hat and a drawing of a chess board with little ovals in the squares, 1 in the first, 2 in the second, 4 in the third, 8 in the fourth. Black hat says "A chessboard has 64 squares. Say you put one grain of rice o the first square, then two on the second, then four, then eight, doubling each time" 3. Black hat is standing at a table pouring rice onto it. There are sacks of rice next to the table. Buzz cut is walking away from the table. Inset text: If you keep this up, your opponent will resign in frustration. It's called Kasparov's grain gambit. Nearly impossible to counter.
22 May at 21:16 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: ==COSMOLOGY==> 'Uhhh ... how sure are we that everything is made of these?'

(xkcd.com/2933)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. A flow chart starting with a single box. The box has no hair saying "Everything is made of tiny particles. If I understand those, I'll understand everything!" and a small vibrating particle. The two arrows leading from the box are labeled condensed matter physics and quantum field theory. Condensed matter physics leads to a box with no hair going "Oh no. Simple particles can combine to produce complex behaviors." and looking at a number of smaller particles vibrating in a star shape. Quantum field theory leads to no hair looking at the same vibrating particle and clutching their head and saying "Oh no. These particles aren't simple!"
15 May at 20:06 | Open on botsin.space
gkrnours

@xkcdbot these panel combine but it's okay, ancestor found a way to turn these complex particules with complex behavior when packed with other into beer

15 May at 20:37 | Open on mastodon.gamedev.place
mym

@xkcdbot those fucking particles

15 May at 23:21 | Open on toot.cat
Gary Houston

@xkcdbot My four years of university reduced to one cartoon. We didn't have xkcd in those days.

16 May at 2:54 | Open on mamot.fr
xkcd bot

title text: This PSA brought to you by several would-be assassins who tried to wave me in front of speeding cars in the last month and who will have to try harder next time.

(xkcd.com/2932)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Title: Driving PSA: Random drivers can't grant you the right of way as a gift. There is a two lane road intersecting a larger road with a median. A car (labeled "You, waiting to turn left") waits to make a left and enter the northbound lanes of the four lane road from east bound lane of the two lane road. On the larger road there is a left turn lane in along with two through lanes on the north-bound side. There are a number of cars waiting to turn left in the turn lane. Above the first car there is a bubble that says "You go ahead! I'm feeling generous." That car is labeled "Time traveler pretending to be polite" There is a car approaching the intersection northbound in one of the through lanes. This car is labeled "Car that they are waving you into the path of" Lower caption: If someone waves you out, assume they are an assassin sent from the future to kill you and make it look like an accident.
14 May at 3:21 | Open on botsin.space
DELETED

@xkcdbot drivers can have the right of way, as a treat

14 May at 3:26 | Open on social.besties.house
dilletante

@xkcdbot

Exactly! That's why I never turn left......

14 May at 4:33 | Open on mastodonbooks.net
beq

@xkcdbot did you steal this from some driver training manual?

I hope you did. It should be in **evvry** one of them and in every children's book, too.

14 May at 5:45 | Open on kolektiva.social
xkcd bot

title text: From Google Trends, it looks like the lag between people Googling cocktail recipes and 'hangover cure' is 14 hours.

(xkcd.com/2930)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Plot with the X axis showing time from 2005 to 2024. The Y axis has no units or labels. Plot is labeled"Google trends search traffic for 'solar flare'" The graph has a low line with a few small wiggles from 2004 to 2011, at which point is spikes and decreased in 2013, though it doesn't quite go back to the original baseline. There are smaller spikes in 2015 and 2018. There is a steadily rising trend starting in 2021 through the present. There is a mark showing 11 years from the peak in 2012 to 2023. Lower caption: I like that google has existed almost long enough for us to observe the solar cycle using google trends.
9 May at 0:35 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: While it seemed like a fun prank at the time, I realize my prank fire extinguishers full of leaded gasoline were a mistake.

(xkcd.com/2929)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Chart with an X-axis that goes from "sounds like a good idea" on the left to "sounds like a bad idea" on the right and a Y-axis that goes from "actually a good idea" on the bottom to "actually a bad idea" on the top For the sake of this description numbers will be used to better identify the locations, with axes running from negative 5 to positive 5 and intersecting at the 0,0 origin. In the sounds like a good idea/is actually a good idea quadrant: combo washer dryers (-4, -1) cutting sandwiches diagonally (-1, -1) toasting sandwiches (-2, -2) sliced bread (-4, -3) pizza (-2, -4) wheels on luggage (-5, -5) heat pumps (-2, -5) In the sounds like a good idea/actually a bad idea quadrant: prequels (-4, 1) transitions lenses (-1, 1) solar cars (-5, 2) heels (-1, 2) always saying what you think (-3, 3) asbestos (-5, 4) leaded gasoline (-3, 5) on the Y axis: extension cords with prongs on both ends (0, 4) soup (0, 0) eating citrus fruit while at sea (0, -4) in the sounds like a bad idea/actually a bad idea quadrant cutting pizza in squares (1, 1) project orion (5, 1) replying to spammers (2, 2) stair kayaking (2, 3) fake prank fire extinguishers (5, 4) bloodletting (4, 5) in the sounds like a bad idea/actually a good idea quadrant diverting diamond interchanges (1, -1) crumple zones (2, -2) putting mold on infections (5, -3) laser eye surgery (2, -4) fecal transplants (5, -5)
7 May at 4:25 | Open on botsin.space
Show previous comments
François

@xkcdbot i'm in the upper left quadrant of this cartoon and i don't like this 🔼

7 May at 4:33 | Open on social.sciences.re
Anyia 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

@xkcdbot I feel like stair kayaking is getting unfairly maligned here - wcpgw?!

7 May at 4:47 | Open on lgbtqia.space
KevinFlynn :verified:

@xkcdbot
Cutting pizza in squares is BIS

7 May at 5:20 | Open on c.im
xkcd bot
Bill's in the shop for repairs

@xkcdbot "Blowout" - a simple solution to a simple problem...

An xkcd cartoon with a user-built solution called "blowout," consisting of a cement block in the middle of the frame that causes dropped yellow balls to bounce briefly, where a left-facing fan blows them just hard enough to rebound to the left, drop off the block, and fall into the grinder wheel at the bottom of the frame
6 April at 17:14 | Open on vis.social
MrClon

@xkcdbot it's just spin the spinner on Librewolf and Chromium

7 April at 14:43 | Open on lor.sh
xkcd bot

title text: Cesium-133, let it be. Cesium-134, let it be even more.

(xkcd.com/2913)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

xkcd comic (alt text in progress)
29 March at 19:59 | Open on botsin.space
Geoff Coffey

@xkcdbot I have a theory that some protons go around feeling superior to other protons by calling themselves hydrogen ions but all the other atoms know and laugh at them behind their backs.

29 March at 20:05 | Open on bookstodon.com
xkcd bot

title text: 'Thank you for the loveliest evening I've ever had...' [normal] '...east of the Mississippi.' [instant intrigue!]

(xkcd.com/2901)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. A large statue of a squirrel on a skateboard is mounted on a plinth. Two small figures (their heads are maybe 1/3 of the height of the plinth) are standing next to it. Figure 1 exclaims "At over 40 feet, it's the tallest statue of a skateboarding squirrel in the northern hemisphere." Figure 2 has a thought bubble: ...Wait, who in the heck...Brazil? South Africa? Australia? Squirrels aren even native there... Lower caption: I love the instant mystery created by qualifiers like "east of the Mississippi" or "in the northern hemisphere".
1 March at 23:28 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: "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!"

(xkcd.com/2898)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Three figures: no hair, white hat, and short hair. No hair says: The sun orbits the earth! At the same time short hair says: The Earth orbits the sun! White hat replies: When two people disagree, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Maybe the earth and the sun orbit a common center! Lower caption: It's annoying when people are right by accident.
24 February at 2:08 | Open on botsin.space
Dallas (Join Something IRL)

@xkcdbot

"Viruses are alive"
"Viruses are non-living"
"When two people disagree, the truth is always somewhere in the middle. Maybe viruses are some kind of third thing, neither living or non-living..."

24 February at 2:12 | Open on deacon.social
Mechadragon Yria :transbian:
Am I?

🔄
Best bothsiding it, ever!

24 February at 7:53 | Open on floss.social
xkcd bot

title text: [earlier] "Your vintage-style handmade chest business is struggling. But I have a plan."

(xkcd.com/2895)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. A person in a black hat is holding a small wooden chest and gesturing at a presentation screen. On the screen there is a shovel and some question marks and circled Xs. Black hat says "First I'll fill three of these chests with $1000 each in small silver and gold coins, and then take videos of them being buried in unidentified lawns around town. Next year I post the videos. Then we site back and let the local kids do the rest." Lower caption: The proposal for creating business for our lawn car company was unorthodox but *extremely* effective.
17 February at 4:48 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: I'm sure the building inspectors will approve my design once they finally manage to escape.

(xkcd.com/2891)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. An architectural drawing for a floor plan with the caption Log Cabin. The entrance is approximately 1/3 of the distance from the lower left corner and opens onto a living room scheme containing couches and a table. There is a bathroom and a kitchen area marked out. To the left there are two bedrooms, one with an ensuite bathroom. To the right through the kitchen there is a door that leads to a plan for the cabin that is rotated 90 degrees clockwise and takes up 1/4 of the space of the drawing. Through the kitchen os sub-cabin 1 there is a door that faces the bottom of the drawing, though which sub-cabin 2 exists, in 1/8 of the drawing, once again rotated 90 degrees clockwise. This puts the door in the kitchen facing left, which leads to sub-cabin 3. Sub-cabin 3 is 1/16 of the drawing and is again rotated 90 degrees clockwise. Through the kitchen in 3 there is a door to sub-cabin 4, which is positioned above sub-cabin 3 and rotated such that it matches the orientation of the main cabin. This continues at least two more times, and the drawing gets smaller and smaller as the sub-cabins spiral inwards.
7 February at 19:38 | Open on botsin.space
Show previous comments
xkcd bot

title text: 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.

(xkcd.com/2886)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

4 panel comic. 1. Person at a lectern speaking in front of a presentation screen that reads "Potential sources of fast radio bursts: (1) energetic stellar-sized astrophysical objects floating in space". The person says "We're pretty sure this what most of them are." 2. Screen reads "(2) Microwave ovens in the observatory break room." Person says "This was definitely some of them, oops. Petrol et al 2015" 3. Screen says "(3) Energetic stellar sized microwave ovens floating in space" Person says "We think this one is unlikely." 4. Screen says "(4) Energetic stellar-sized astrophysical objects in the observatory break room" Person says "This is almost certainly not it, though we're sending a grad student to double check."
27 January at 1:53 | Open on botsin.space
Nazo

@xkcdbot Relatively certain if it was the bottom right one you wouldn't actually have to send anyone.

We'd all already be dead.

27 January at 2:28 | Open on mastodon.social
xkcd bot

title text: A left-handed sheet bend creates a much weaker connection, especially under moderate loads.

(xkcd.com/2880)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Title: Cursed connectors #46 A double core wire with an unusual design at its end. A gold wire runs parallel to a silver one until it reaches a region that is a lighter gold color. The silver continues through the gold region to a further region that is lighter silver. Below are two wires of this type tied in a knot such that the gold outer region of one touches the gold of the other and the silver touches the silver. This second diagram is subtitled "the sheet bend"
12 January at 20:38 | Open on botsin.space
Mer-fOKxTOwl

@xkcdbot now my hammock can be powered too ^^

12 January at 21:00 | Open on chaos.social
xkcd bot

title text: 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.'

(xkcd.com/2879)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Short hair, no hair, and pony tail are talking. Short hair says "So what do you do?" Pony tail responds with an outstretched hand "I'm a researcher studying gas molecules like this one." Lower caption: Fields of research where you can add "...like this one" after you say what you study: gas molecules, gravitational fields, planetary magnetospheres, sound waves, habitable worlds, languages, social interactions, skin microbes
11 January at 2:43 | Open on botsin.space
Show previous comments
Head·word [ˈhedˌwɜː(ɹ)d] n.

@xkcdbot

“I'm a philosopher studying untrue statements like this one”

11 January at 6:53 | Open on lingo.lol
beq

@xkcdbot I study soils like this one.

(I'll have to establish the "Domosol" to truly be able to say this also inside buildings without having to point out the window. People will be delighted when I start examining the pH values of their wood tile floors.)

11 January at 7:58 | Open on kolektiva.social
beq

@xkcdbot I study social networks like this one.

(Think about it 😜)

11 January at 8:09 | Open on kolektiva.social
xkcd bot

title text: They're a little cagey about exactly where the crossover point lies relative to the likelihood of devastating effects on the planet.

(xkcd.com/2878)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. A graph with the X-axis labeled "How far away the supernova is" and Y-axis labeled "How happy astronomers are" The X-axis has 9 tick marks, the Y-axis has 6. Neither has units. The curve starts well below Y = 0 at X slightly less than 1. It increases rapidly to ~6 when X reaches 2. It slowly drops off to about Y = 1 by X = 7.
8 January at 12:43 | Open on botsin.space
Winchell Chung ⚛🚀

@xkcdbot

Eek!
The right half of the graph is boring. But the left hand side is terrifying!

8 January at 15:11 | Open on spacey.space
xkcd bot

title text: Hypothermia of below 98.6 K should be treated by leaving the giant molecular cloud and moving to the vicinity of a star.

(xkcd.com/2877)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Two column table Title: Treating a fever Column 1: Fever (all numbers are in Celsius unless stated otherwise) Column 2: Treatment 38 - 40 (100 - 104 Fahrenheit) fluids, rest, normal doctor stuff 40 - 45 hospital, advanced doctor stuff 45 - 100 exit that steam cloud immediately 100 - 400 stop, drop, and roll 400 - 500 return to Earth from Venus ASAP 500 - 1,500 please climb out of that volcano 1500 - 5,000 turn your tunneling machine around and come back up to the surface 5,000 - 6,000 no, the surface of the *Earth* not the sun 6,000 - 50,000 wait, that's not the sun. what star are you visiting? come back right now 50,000 - 20,000,000 at least stay on the *surface* of the star instead of diving down to the core 20,000,000 - 10,000,000,000 you know, you could've picked a normal star instead of one that's exploding 10,000,000,000 or higher I hope you're enjoying your visit to the Big Bang, but you should really come back home immediately
5 January at 20:13 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: It's not just time zones and leap seconds. SI seconds on Earth are slower because of relativity, so there are time standards for space stuff (TCB, TGC) that use faster SI seconds than UTC/Unix time. T2 - T1 = [God doesn't know and the Devil isn't telling.]

(xkcd.com/2867)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

xkcd comic (alt text in progress)
13 Dec 2023 at 22:38 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: For someone who has ostensibly outgrown staying up late waiting for Santa, I do spend an awful lot of time refreshing websites to see if packages are here yet.

(xkcd.com/2866)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic with 4 sub-panels. Across the top is a graph with a y-axis labeled "my apparent age" and an x-axis representing time. It is a flat line about three quarters of the way up the axis until the middle of sub-panel 3, where it dramatically drops by 20 years and then rises logarithmically by 7 to 10 years at the end. Sub panels are drawn below the graph from left to right. Sub panel 1: No hair sits at a desk in front of a computer. There is a dark window in the background. Sub panel 2: No hair turns and sees 3 faint white flecks in the window. Sub panel 3: The window now has a significant number of snow flakes visible. No hair is jumping out of the chair and yelling "Hey! It's snowing! Outside! There's snow falling! Look! Snow! Hey!" Sub panel 4: The window has slightly more snow visible. No hair is back at the computer, though their head is angled such that they are not paying at much attention to the computer as they did in sub panel 1.
12 Dec 2023 at 3:38 | Open on botsin.space
xkcd bot

title text: And over heeee[...]eeeere (i)s Saturn.

(xkcd.com/2863)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. The phrase "Optimistic aliens measure space typographically" appears in Times New Roman font. The letters are all grey except for the first O, and the dots above the i's, which are black. The rest of the text is black and in Munro's usual handwritten font. Arrow pointing to the first O: Sun (not to scale) Arrow pointing to the first dotted i: Mercury Arrow pointing to the second dotted i: Venus Arrow pointing to the third dotted i: Earth Arrow pointing to the four dotted i: Mars Arrow pointing to the fifth dotted i: Jupiter A line marking 1 AU is drawn from the center of the first O to the center of the third i. Lower caption: Space tip: If you're ever lost in the inner solar system, you can just type out the phrase "optimistic aliens measure space typographically" in times new roman and use the dots as a map.
4 Dec 2023 at 19:48 | Open on botsin.space
Zwacco

@xkcdbot Can you confirm, @dlr_next ? 😄

4 Dec 2023 at 20:10 | Open on troet.cafe
Léon Planken
Heliograph

@xkcdbot for #science!!! :akko_fistup: :blobimfine:

4 Dec 2023 at 20:55 | Open on mastodon.au
xkcd bot

title text: If a materials scientist gives you a present, always ask whether regifting will incur any requirements for Federal paperwork.

(xkcd.com/2856)
(explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php)

Single panel comic. Three figures (pony tail, hat, and no hair) are standing around a table with wrapped presents on it. No hair is hold one of them. No hair says "Where is this wrapping paper from? It's so thin, but I can't tear it. Is this amarid fabric?! Maybe I can unpeeled the...ooh, the tape flashes as I pull it up! Triboluminescence! Did you add a phosphor? It's so bright! Wait, are these patterns structural coloration?" Lower caption: materials scientists are like cats--the best present you can get them is an empty box with cool wrapping paper.
18 Nov 2023 at 3:02 | Open on botsin.space
Nazo

@xkcdbot I feel like this sort of wrapping would please quite a lot of people. 😁

18 Nov 2023 at 3:06 | Open on mastodon.social
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