# ­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:** 295
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5883 "2026-05-13T21:54:00Z")
To be exact, when zircon crystals form, uranium sometimes substitutes for the zirconium, but lead does not. So any lead in the zircons will be the result of uranium decaying to lead. U-235 and U-238 decay to different isotopes of lead, so they can do a crosscheck on the date. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5884 "2026-05-13T23:05:33Z")
And zirconium is very durable, so there are some crystals around from the early days of Earth. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5885 "2026-05-13T23:30:44Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Yes - You’re spot on. Or maybe many teeny tiny spots on. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5886 "2026-05-16T02:33:57Z")
> **[Speedrun](https://xkcd.com/3246/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/speedrun.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/speedrun.png) “Usain Bolt holds the world record in the 100 meter speedrun.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5887 "2026-05-18T19:20:48Z")
> **[Particle Census](https://xkcd.com/3247/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/particle_census.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/particle_census.png) “Remember, your answers to the physics census are confidential; we will not be issuing Pauli exclusion principle citations.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5888 "2026-05-18T19:29:11Z")
IANA expert, but I _think_ “indeterminite” in panel #2 is a rare spelling error. I’m more familiar with “indetermin **a** te”. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5889 "2026-05-18T19:32:20Z")
IANA native speaker, but had the same thought. It looks wrong. Now, a census of particles. After finding the god particle I wonder whether they will also find the Jesus particle. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5890 "2026-05-18T19:37:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IANA expert, but I _think_ “indeterminite” in panel #2 is a rare spelling error. It’s an ore of unobtanium. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5891 "2026-05-18T22:57:13Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > After finding the god particle I wonder whether they will also find the Jesus particle. Only if they find it before it’s deported. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5892 "2026-05-18T23:28:39Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > After finding the god particle I wonder whether they will also find the Jesus particle. Only if it goes back to where it was created/born first. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5893 "2026-05-21T14:02:39Z")
> **[182.8 Meters](https://xkcd.com/3248/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/182_8_meters.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/182_8_meters.png) “They rounded down to 182.8 instead of rounding up to 182.9 because 182.9 might make the statement incorrect.” ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5894 "2026-05-21T14:11:27Z")
Ooooh! I do this all the time! > The astronomers reckon the asteroid is about 48.28 km wide _About_ 48.28 km? Ah, 30 miles! The European press does that all the time when quoting US data. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5895 "2026-05-21T14:17:49Z")
This makes my blood boil, which is much higher than my usual precise 98.6° Fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5896 "2026-05-21T14:29:18Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Ooooh! I do this all the time! > > > The astronomers reckon the asteroid is about 48.28 km wide > > _About_ 48.28 km? Ah, 30 miles! The European press does that all the time when quoting US data. It happens in reverse too when the U.S. press reports scientific data (which is virtually always in SI units) and converts the units to U.S. customary system units. Like the size of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs being estimated to be about “6 miles” wide. Of course the original estimate was an order of magnitude estimate in SI units: about 10 km. But at least 10 km and 6 miles both have the same number of significant figures. Reporting a 30 mile estimate as 48.28 km, on the other hand, implies a false sense of precision. They should report it as about 50 km, of course. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5897 "2026-05-21T14:30:31Z")
> [@robby](#): > > false sense of precision Exactly my peeve. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5898 "2026-05-21T14:31:18Z")
I’ve seen road signs all over Canada that were obviously “3 miles to …” and were translated to km with word precision. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5899 "2026-05-21T16:58:00Z")
I see this in the “science” portion of Google News. The Indian Times is often describing a passing asteroid using descriptions like; the size of an aircraft carrier, the size of an Olympic swimming pool, box car, refrigerator, … ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5900 "2026-05-21T17:05:59Z")
And then there’s the Colorado sheriff way of describing size… [![](https://www.fox21news.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2020/01/screenshot-twitter.com-2020.01.28-06-05-59.png?w=768) ](https://www.fox21news.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2020/01/screenshot-twitter.com-2020.01.28-06-05-59.png?w=768) ---
**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:** [May 21, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5901 "2026-05-21T17:17:00Z")
> [@robby](#): > > Reporting a 30 mile estimate as 48.28 km, on the other hand, implies a false sense of precision. They should report it as about 50 km, of course. Like the museum guard who tells a visitor the dinosaur bones on display are 65,000,003 years old. “My boss said they were 65 million years old, and that was three years ago…” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/5902 "2026-05-21T17:28:24Z")
At the natural history museum where I volunteer we have a gallery for late-Cretaceous Arizona. The sign over the entrance is _68,000,000 BC_ and I’ve made that joke until people believed me. Ditto for the geology hall where we have some pieces of the Barringer Crater meteorite on display. On the wall above them is the photo below and I had to stop telling people, “Five milliseconds sooner and it would have wiped out the visitor center.” [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Meteor_Crater_-_Arizona.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Meteor_Crater_-_Arizona.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=294) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=296)