# ­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:** 14\ **Page:** 325
**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:** [October 21, 2026, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6483 "2026-10-21T15:21:51Z")
The Japanese refer to screwdrivers as either “plus” or “minus” in – of course – Japanese. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6484 "2026-10-22T09:52:57Z")
I am surprised you did not link to your post over there in the Pit: > [@A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 3)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/4972): > > “And the Lord spake, saying, ‘First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.’” … ETA: Hm, did not link as I inteded. But the link is fine. ETA 2: Now it does. Misterious ways and so on… ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6485 "2026-10-22T12:20:55Z")
There actually were certificates issued with private keys that were integers less than 256. > **[EM EV TLS CA - G3B, CCADB A012333 SHA-256... - 2083449 - eMudhra: Private key...](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2083449#c2)** > > Original Reporter: rdaurne77@gmail.com (Wayne) | ASSIGNED (naveen.ml) in CA Program - CA Certificate Compliance. Last updated 2026-10-22. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6486 "2026-10-22T12:33:30Z")
_That_ has the makings of a really big disaster. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6487 "2026-10-22T13:11:35Z")
I’m told that if you update your browser, it probably won’t affect you. (unlike the PHP bug, which is a big deal. If you manage a website that uses PHP, and you haven’t addressed it, you should take your site offline until you have.) ---
**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:** [October 22, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6488 "2026-10-22T16:40:21Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > ETA 2: Now it does. Misterious ways and so on… “Forget it, Par. It’s Discourse.” ---
**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:** [October 23, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6489 "2026-10-23T15:11:20Z")
Here’s a more accessible article on it: > **[Disgraced eMudhra drops out of TLS business after using cert private key of 4](https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/10/disgraced-emudhra-drops-out-of-tls-business-following-certificate-debacle/)** > > Flubbed key signing "ceremony" allowed minting of web credentials for any site. eMudhra is getting out of the certificate business. Ars Technica replies, “don’t let the door hit you on the butt”. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6490 "2026-10-24T01:39:12Z")
> **[Forms of Water](https://xkcd.com/3315/)** [![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/forms_of_water.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/forms_of_water.png) “The ‘light’ refers to bremsstrahlung.” ---
**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:** [October 24, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6491 "2026-10-24T02:30:14Z")
You might have trouble defending the argument that oxygen bonded with the element that has the atomic number zero can be called “water”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6492 "2026-10-24T08:21:38Z")
It’s just one of the hydrogen atoms that’s lacking a proton. That makes the molecule HO with an extra electron. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6493 "2026-10-24T13:50:45Z")
Well, if heavy water is D2O and light water is H2O, BOTH hydrogens in the heavy water have an extra neutron even if Randall only points to one of them. If your argument were correct, Randall would’ve had to include HDO and H0O in his diagram ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6494 "2026-10-24T13:58:18Z")
Are both hydrogen atoms in heavy water deuterium? I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6495 "2026-10-24T14:31:09Z")
They are; though you can have semi-heavy water. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/6496 "2026-10-24T14:35:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Are both hydrogen atoms in heavy water deuterium? > **[Heavy water](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water)** > > Heavy water (deuterium oxide, 2H2O, D2O) is a form of water in which all hydrogen atoms are hydrogen-2 isotope or deuterium (2H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (1H, also called protium) that makes up most of the hydrogen in normal water. The presence of the heavier isotope gives the water different nuclear properties, and the increase in mass gives it slightly different physical and chemical properties when compared with normal water. Deuterium is a ... > Heavy water (deuterium oxide, 2H2O, D2O) is a form of water in which all hydrogen atoms are hydrogen-2 isotope or deuterium (2H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) rather than the common hydrogen-1 isotope (1H, also called protium) that makes up most of the hydrogen in normal water. > Deuterium is a heavy hydrogen isotope. Heavy water contains deuterium atoms and is used in nuclear reactors. Semiheavy water (HDO) is more common than pure heavy water, while heavy-oxygen water is denser but lacks unique properties. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=324)