# xkcd thread
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574
**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:** 48
### Author:  [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/942 "2021-08-06T13:21:28Z")
> [@TroutMan](#):
>
> I think it’s a reference to comic #2390, [Linguists.](https://xkcd.com/2390/)
Makes sense. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/943 "2021-08-06T13:43:54Z")
And since “Linguists” was brought up, I can think of at least one case where “fell in a hole” could be used, but “fell down a hole” could not. Suppose that there were, say, some government program for which you had to earn at least $20,000 per year to qualify for, and another similar program for those earning under $15,000 per year. Someone earning $17,000, and thus not qualifying for either program, might be said to “fall in the hole” between them, but could not be said to “fall down a hole”.
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### Author:  [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/944 "2021-08-06T19:57:49Z")
“Fell down a hole” has the connotations of being deeper than the one who fell in is tall, while “fell in a hole” does not, at least to me.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/945 "2021-08-06T20:04:12Z")
More literally, you could be in a hole already, and trip on a root and fall.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/946 "2021-08-07T06:08:56Z")
> **[Abandonment Function](https://xkcd.com/2499/)**
>
> Remember to only adopt domesticated drones that specifically request it. It's illegal to collect wild ones under the Migratory Drone Treaty Act.
When they made drones that could recharge just by perching on a power line, the number of feral drones increased dramatically.
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### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/947 "2021-08-09T16:48:24Z")
> **[Global Temperature Over My Lifetime](https://xkcd.com/2500/)**
>
> I was really impressed by the accuracy of some of the report's predictions about fossil fuel consumption. Then I realized, oh, right, of course.
Not his most cheerful work.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/948 "2021-08-09T18:15:09Z")
I’m surprised he didn’t include starting the strip as a milestone in his life.
See also [Earth Temperature Timeline](https://xkcd.com/1732/) and [4.5 Degrees](https://xkcd.com/1379/).
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/949 "2021-08-12T00:21:34Z")
> **[Average Familiarity](https://xkcd.com/2501/)**
>
> How could anyone consider themselves a well-rounded adult without a basic understanding of silicate geochemistry? Silicates are everywhere! It's hard to throw a rock without throwing one!
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2021, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/950 "2021-08-12T12:29:22Z")
SiO2, right?
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### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/951 "2021-08-12T14:22:43Z")
Of course.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/952 "2021-08-12T16:51:23Z")
…And I just looked it up. Neither olivine nor feldspar even has a single chemical formula.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/953 "2021-08-13T21:52:29Z")
> **[Every Data Table](https://xkcd.com/2502/)**
>
> I'm hoping 2022 is relatively normal because I don't know what symbol comes after the asterisk and the dagger.
Double dagger ‡ comes next, follwed by the section symbol §. I have a hunch we’re going to need the double dagger.
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### Author:  [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2021, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/954 "2021-08-14T10:45:08Z")
Some double meaning, \* also means “birth” and † means “death”, which may or may not mean something for 2020 and 2021. Wikipedia suggests the triple dagger as the third one, which I haven’t been able to find or reproduce here, so § is easier. After that, Wiki says give up and use superscript numbers. I remember some old books that continued with \*\* and ††.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/955 "2021-08-16T22:16:06Z")
> **[Memo Spike Connector](https://xkcd.com/2503/)**
>
> Backward-compatible with many existing cables, and can connect directly to phones or tablets if you press them down hard enough.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/956 "2021-08-16T22:40:46Z")
Back to the Data Tables, 2020 and 2021 are both weird, but they have mostly the same weirdness. Wouldn’t you just use the same symbol, and the same footnote, for both?
Oh, and I’m wondering how many more of the Cursed Connectors we’re going to see.
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### Author:  [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)
#### Post date: [August 17, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/957 "2021-08-17T20:13:32Z")
Depending on the data you’re tabulating, there might well be a significant difference between the two years. Sports, for example, were often shut down completely early on in the pandemic, but were later able to adapt and go through with shortened seasons and fewer fans. This year, things are almost back to normal.
I think Randall could just draw the wide SCSI-2 connector for the next Cursed Connector installment and call it a day.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/958 "2021-08-19T02:21:29Z")
> **[Fissile Raspberry Isotopes](https://xkcd.com/2504/)**
>
> Grandma's shelf-stable blackberry pie meson recipe was a huge seller until her farm was shut down by a joint FDA/NRC investigation.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2021, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/959 "2021-08-20T20:51:02Z")
> **[News Story Reaction](https://xkcd.com/2505/)**
>
> Unless the next line is, "After we broke up, she blamed the painting and spent years planning her revenge, so my sorrow is mixed with relief that the dogs at least denied her that triumph."
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### Author:  [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/960 "2021-08-20T20:55:15Z")
Okay, how many of us had to check to see if that news story was true or made up for the comic?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/961 "2021-08-20T22:08:33Z")
\
For the record, it’s made up.
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