# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 118
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2343 "2023-08-14T22:47:26Z")
Well, yes, that’s why everyone loves car washes. Oh, and explainxkcd is back up. But they don’t really have a good explanation for the 1500 year trick shot, either. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2344 "2023-08-17T00:35:43Z")
> **[Types of Solar Eclipse](https://xkcd.com/2816/)** > > The best place to be for a hug eclipse is a scenic natural area with good views and few clouds. The worst place to be is the lunar surface. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2345 "2023-08-18T20:13:59Z")
> **[Electron Holes](https://xkcd.com/2817/)** > > They tried to report me to the authorities, but because I had the device they couldn't charge me. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2346 "2023-08-18T20:20:03Z")
B+ comic. A+ alt-text. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2347 "2023-08-18T20:32:02Z")
Physicists wouldn’t get mad. Dirac came up with the idea of an infinite “sea” of electrons, of which positrons were holes in the sea: > **[Dirac sea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirac_sea)** > > The Dirac sea is a theoretical model of the vacuum as an infinite sea of particles with negative energy. It was first postulated by the British physicist Paul Dirac in 1930 to explain the anomalous negative-energy quantum states predicted by the Dirac equation for relativistic electrons (electrons traveling near the speed of light). The positron, the antimatter counterpart of the electron, was originally conceived of as a hole in the Dirac sea, before its experimental discovery in 1932.\[nb In ho... A positron gun is definitely possible. And while the Dirac sea is obsolete, it’s still basically consistent with the universe as we observe it (in not too different than the way that the ether is compatible with observation). We have better explanations now, but it’s not _wrong_. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2348 "2023-08-18T23:22:06Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > We have better explanations now, but it’s not _wrong_. At least he didn’t try to suffocate her by flooding the lab with phlogiston ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2349 "2023-08-18T23:41:45Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > an infinite “sea” of electrons, of which positrons were holes in the sea: Those are negative-energy electrons, though, which leaves a positron as a positive-mass particle. The holes that act as charge carriers in some semiconductors aren’t really the same thing (and yes, it is the holes that carry the current, not the electrons, as can be proven by a Hall effect experiment). That said, if semiconductors can have electron holes that act like particles in their own right, then maybe, under the right conditions, air can, too. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2350 "2023-08-22T08:08:49Z")
> **[Circuit Symbols](https://xkcd.com/2818/)** > > A circle with an A in it means that the circuit has committed a sin and has been marked as punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2351 "2023-08-22T22:35:31Z")
That’s not an earthquake. The wire just does that. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2352 "2023-08-22T22:46:09Z")
You can always make a resistor by zig-zagging your wire enough times. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2353 "2023-08-22T22:46:46Z")
The diode is cool. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2354 "2023-08-22T23:11:11Z")
And capacitors and inductors totally do look like that. What’s the battttttttery? I don’t recognize that symbol (and I think that one’s real). ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2355 "2023-08-22T23:47:37Z")
ExplainXKCD says it’s fictional. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2356 "2023-08-24T03:22:13Z")
> **[Pronunciation](https://xkcd.com/2819/)** > > I pronounce the 'u' in 'pronunciation' like in 'putting' but the 'ou' in 'pronounce' like in 'wound'. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2357 "2023-08-24T13:37:40Z")
After reading “ **t** as in buffe **t** ”, I thought he going for a silent word, where every letter is unpronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2358 "2023-08-24T23:30:01Z")
We did a thread on that (at least) once, and were able to find an English word for almost every letter. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2359 "2023-08-26T03:48:05Z")
> **[Inspiration](https://xkcd.com/2820/)** > > An apple fell on Isaac Newton's head and gave him the idea that the moon might be a tasty apple, though this turned out not to be true--the Apollo program eventually determined that it was just a desolate and bland Red Delicious. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2360 "2023-08-29T06:38:22Z")
> **[Path Minimization](https://xkcd.com/2821/)** > > Of course you get an ice cream cone for the swimmer too! You're not a monster. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2023, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2361 "2023-08-29T13:50:04Z")
I feel “Path that minimizes contact with sand because it’s coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere” was a missed opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/2362 "2023-08-29T13:53:30Z")
I’m not sure “path that maximizes time” is meaningful without additional constraints. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=117) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=119)