# ­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:** 282
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5623 "2026-02-19T09:13:24Z")
Nice to learn, but what is it with the infinite looping network of diverging paths to ensnare Robert Frost? I associate diverging paths with **[Borges](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Forking_Paths)**. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5624 "2026-02-19T09:29:23Z")
“[Two roads diverged in a yellow wood](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken),” ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5625 "2026-02-19T09:32:01Z")
That kind of wood, the one with trees! I was picturing a board. Thank you! Wait: yellow? 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5626 "2026-02-19T12:45:42Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Wait: yellow? 🤔 Yellow > **[Quinn's Eco Corner - Quaking Aspens: Life and Legends Among the Leaves — Bear...](https://www.bvadventures.com/adventure-blog/quinns-eco-corner-quaking-aspens)** > > Quaking aspens are a type of poplar tree named for their leaves that tremble given the slightest current of air. The feature is reflected in their latin name as well - Populus tremuloides . ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5627 "2026-02-19T13:09:08Z")
And which was also briefly a meme: > **[The Best, and Most Literary, Icebox Plums Jokes From Twitter - Electric...](https://electricliterature.com/the-best-and-most-literary-icebox-plums-jokes-from-twitter/)** > > William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just to Say” has always somehow lent itself to parody. (See Kenneth Koch’s “Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams”: “We laughed at the hollyhocks together / and then I sprayed them with lye. / Forgive... ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5628 "2026-02-19T13:10:19Z")
“I gave Frost a golden thread to find his way out, but it [disappeared](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148652/nothing-gold-can-stay-5c095cc5ab679).” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5629 "2026-02-20T22:10:49Z")
> **[Eliminating the Impossible](https://xkcd.com/3210/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/eliminating_the_impossible.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/eliminating_the_impossible.png) “‘If you’ve eliminated a few possibilities and you can’t think of any others, your weird theory is proven right’ isn’t quite as rhetorically compelling.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5630 "2026-02-21T00:21:22Z")
Basically we’re at the mercy of presuming that our cognition works and gives correct answers. As anyone who has searched for a lost\[1\] item knows, we are worryingly fallible. * * * 1. the thing about items being lost is, if you had any idea where they went to, or if a quick search of the obvious locations turned it up, it wouldn’t be lost. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5631 "2026-02-21T00:37:05Z")
You mean the Cat in the Hat lied to us? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LVIaZSYLwtE/hqdefault.jpg "'Dr. Seuss' Cat In The Hat': 'Calculatus Eliminatus' Song (1971)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVIaZSYLwtE) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5632 "2026-02-21T01:31:51Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > As anyone who has searched for a lost item knows How did you do that? — hmmm. However you did it, it doesn’t show up in the quote. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5633 "2026-02-21T02:38:55Z")
A carat, and square brackets. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5634 "2026-02-21T02:44:06Z")
Let me see if this[1^] works. Nope. Wrong order? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5635 "2026-02-21T02:46:18Z")
A carat, followed by the footnote, which is in square brackets. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5636 "2026-02-21T02:48:31Z")
Trying again 1\[1\] Aha! I guess maybe I didn’t need the number \[2\] Yup. It does. Thanks! * * * 1. footnote, maybe 2. does it number them automatically? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2026, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5637 "2026-02-21T04:28:53Z")
It’s under Options, Add Footnote. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5638 "2026-02-24T07:51:15Z")
> **[Amperage](https://xkcd.com/3211/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/amperage.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/amperage.png) “Oh, and do you have any tips on how to vacuum up copper that’s melted into your carpet?” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5639 "2026-02-24T15:44:36Z")
A search on 500 Amp cables reveals that they’re commonly sold as jumper cables for starting heavy trucks. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5640 "2026-02-24T23:01:40Z")
A vacuum capable of cleaning up molten copper would probably draw a lot of current… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5641 "2026-02-24T23:08:37Z")
Groan ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5642 "2026-02-26T03:16:44Z")
> **[Little Red Dots](https://xkcd.com/3212/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/little_red_dots.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/little_red_dots.png) “After a lot of analysis, I’ve determined that they’re actually big red dots; they’re just very far away.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=281) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=283)