# Explain to me the latest xkcd **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642 "2008-08-29T02:59:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/41 "2008-09-05T04:44:50Z")
OK, I laughed out loud. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/42 "2008-09-05T04:48:36Z")
Not to turn this into xkcdidu, but I’m missing the reference for “House of Pancakes”. It’s still kind of funny even without that though, simply by being bizarre. > **[House of Pancakes](https://xkcd.com/472/)** > > Fuck it. I'm just going to Waffle House. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/43 "2008-09-05T04:52:19Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Empire Strikes Back Thank you! (Never was a Star Wars fan; but I should have known…) At least I can sleep tonight now, thanks to you! ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/44 "2008-09-05T05:06:19Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > Not to turn this into xkcdidu, but I’m missing the reference for “House of Pancakes”. > > It’s still kind of funny even without that though, simply by being bizarre. > > [xkcd: House of Pancakes](http://www.xkcd.com/472/) It is, apparently, a “House of Leaves” parody. Look at the top of the page, right under the xkcd logo. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/45 "2008-09-05T07:10:58Z")
> [@Kendall Jackson](#): > > It is, apparently, a “House of Leaves” parody. > > Look at the top of the page, right under the xkcd logo. Oh shit. This is like the day I discovered xkcd comics have alt-text, only much less rewarding… now I have to go back through all the old ones and see when else, if ever, he used that top space for a message. (Or has this always been there only for the current day, and I’ve just never paid it much attention?) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/46 "2008-09-05T09:28:51Z")
> [@Kendall Jackson](#): > > Randall Munroe is one of the most empathetic and emotionally understanding people on the internets. His [furry comic](http://www.xkcd.com/471/), by itself, is proof enough of that. Also a hint that he might be a Doper or at least a lurker, given the timing of that in relation to recent furry threads. I seem to recall thinking that before. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/47 "2008-09-05T14:03:15Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Also a hint that he might be a Doper or at least a lurker, given the timing of that in relation to recent furry threads. I seem to recall thinking that before. Yeah, cause this is the only place on the entire internet that’s been discussing furries recently. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/48 "2008-09-05T17:00:45Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Oh shit. This is like the day I discovered xkcd comics have alt-text, only much less rewarding… now I have to go back through all the old ones and see when else, if ever, he used that top space for a message. > > (Or has this always been there only for the current day, and I’ve just never paid it much attention?) It has always been there. If you leave your mouse in one spot it appears too. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/49 "2008-09-05T17:28:56Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > It has always been there. If you leave your mouse in one spot it appears too. I know about the alt-text. I’m talking now about the message at the top of the screen (on the current comic, it says “TODAY’S COMIC IS A PARODY OF HOUSE OF LEAVES”) ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/50 "2008-09-05T17:34:52Z")
Hm. That note wasn’t there last night. I guess I wasn’t the only one confused by it. **Indistinguishable** , I don’t think that space has been used before, or at least not very often. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642/51 "2008-09-08T10:19:55Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Yeah, cause this is the only place on the entire internet that’s been discussing furries recently. :rolleyes: What’s your problem, dude? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-to-me-the-latest-xkcd/461642.md?page=2)