# ­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:** 302
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6023 "2026-06-23T05:05:15Z")
It helps if give a link to the actual xkcd strip. That image is not readable even if I click on it to get the image in a separate tab. > **[Significant](https://xkcd.com/882/)** ---
**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:** [June 23, 2026, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6024 "2026-06-23T10:40:05Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > It helps if give a link to the actual xkcd strip. That image is not readable even if I click on it to get the image in a separate tab. It IS a link to the actual strip. As for it being too small, don’t you get a mouse pointer as a magnifying glass? If you click on the image it becomes full size. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6025 "2026-06-23T10:44:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > It IS a link to the actual strip. I meant the one I gave. Notice that I give both when I post the new strips. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > As for it being too small, don’t you get a mouse pointer as a magnifying glass? If you click on the image it becomes full size. Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6026 "2026-06-25T12:53:47Z")
> **[Baryon Asymmetry](https://xkcd.com/3263/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/baryon_asymmetry.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/baryon_asymmetry.png) “Wait, what do you mean, ‘dark matter’? It’s not dark, it interacts with high-energy gamma rays … right? Oh jeez, did I forget to make it interact?” ---
**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:** [June 25, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6027 "2026-06-25T14:38:14Z")
This parallels many a discussion between a professor and a grad student… ---
**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:** [June 25, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6028 "2026-06-25T14:48:14Z")
Surely, if one is positing a Creator, the “reason” for the asymmetry would be “I miracled away all of the antimatter because I wanted complex life like you to develop”. In fact, the “why” of pretty much everything would come down to “because I wanted it that way”. The more interesting question would be “how”. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6029 "2026-06-25T16:49:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > n fact, the “why” of pretty much everything would come down to “because I wanted it that way”. As it would be for most creators. “Why is that lovely statue’s nose so big?” “Because I wanted it that way.” Critics always overestimate the value of their opinions. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6030 "2026-06-27T03:19:15Z")
> **[720 Ollie](https://xkcd.com/3264/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/720_ollie.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/720_ollie.png) “This discovery was key to his demonstration of regular/goofy symmetry violation, which won him gold in the theory portion of the X Games.” ---
**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:** [June 27, 2026, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6031 "2026-06-27T05:08:50Z")
As someone who is more familiar with fermions than ollies, I’m having trouble distinguishing the joke from what’s real. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6032 "2026-06-27T05:26:23Z")
Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6033 "2026-06-27T08:06:15Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > At least Franklin would be familiar with the idea of progress. Yeah; some people were forward-looking. I expect Edgar Allen Poe would have been fascinated by the 21st century, as a very early science fiction writer. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6034 "2026-06-27T10:41:49Z")
An ollie is when you up the ramp/halfpipe then just roll back down without spinning in any direction. So in a zero degree ollie you go up forward and down backwards. With a 180 you go forward both up and down. With a 360 you’re in the same orientation as zero degrees so you come down backwards. In order to come down forwards you need to add half of a full spin. The regular/goofy thing is about your stance on the board. Regular is left foot forward, goofy is the opposite. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6035 "2026-06-27T13:34:16Z")
But for classical skaters, if you do a 720 ollie, you land the same way as you do for a 360 ollie. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6036 "2026-06-27T17:15:46Z")
At least landing backwards is better than becoming inverted like a transporter accident. Or becoming CPT mirrored into antimatter. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6037 "2026-06-27T18:12:10Z")
When it comes to transporter mishaps, I’ll take inverted over inside out any day. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6038 "2026-06-27T23:41:51Z")
And exploded. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6039 "2026-06-28T01:43:28Z")
As long as the inversion is a rotation and not a mirroring that turns you into antimatter, as Lumpy suggested. That would not only kill you, it would probably kill everyone for hundreds of miles around you. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6040 "2026-06-28T02:38:58Z")
Hold, please. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6041 "2026-06-28T02:46:12Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > As long as the inversion is a rotation and not a mirroring that turns you into antimatter A rotation would be worse. A mirroring would be instantly fatal, and you would never know it. A rotation, on the other hand, would mean your body requires right-hand proteins, while nature only produces left-hand ones. Your death would be slow and painful. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6042 "2026-06-28T16:04:38Z")
Eh, if it happened once accidentally, it can happen again intentionally. You’d just have to transporter-flip a supply of food for yourself, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=301) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=303)