# ­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:** 75
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1482 "2022-06-23T13:05:27Z")
Yes, but the chaffing will last until the release of What If? 3. ---
**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 23, 2022, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1483 "2022-06-23T13:26:47Z")
I sometimes wonder if Google’s biking times are customized to the user’s biking speed. I know it’s usually pretty close for me, which means that either I’m very close to Google’s standard typical cyclist, or it’s tracking my movement and taking it into account. I did have one situation once where I asked for directions to get to a particular spot downtown. I knew how to get there, because I went there often, but was unsure which of two bridges would be quicker. I was surprised at first when I saw that it gave me exactly the same unintuitive set of turns I would normally take downtown, because I’d found that those particular turns worked best with the traffic pattern… until I realized that I, all by myself, represented a majority of bicycle trips by Android users from the west side of Cleveland to that destination. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1484 "2022-06-23T15:12:16Z")
It’s Google and yes, they are tracking you. Don’t be alarmed. It will all be over soon. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1485 "2022-06-23T15:47:15Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > Don’t be alarmed. It will all be over soon. I think the proper phrase is “you will be assimilated”. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1486 "2022-06-23T15:50:58Z")
Nah, for google, it is, “You will be indexed.” ---
**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 23, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1487 "2022-06-23T15:59:05Z")
Forseen [fifty years](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Prisoner) ago. > I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own! ---
**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 23, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1488 "2022-06-23T16:32:00Z")
To be clear, I know they’re tracking me. The point I’m unsure about is just whether they’re using my average biking speed to customize their expected travel times for me. Actually, that’s pretty easy to check. I just asked it for directions from Lakewood Public Library Main Library, 15425 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, OH 44107 to Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114 by bicycle. It suggests a route via Lake Avenue, 8.0 miles, which it predicts will take me 41 minutes. Anyone else want to try those two endpoints, and see if it gives the same time? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1489 "2022-06-23T16:43:45Z")
I get the same time for the main route. But, as you said, you may be the model that they are basing it off of in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1490 "2022-06-23T17:39:08Z")
I get the same time as you. I tried part of one of my usual rides that works out to about 8 miles and I also get 41 minutes. So either… - Google has a standard speed for a bicycle over comparable distances; or - We bike at about the same speed, and Google knows this about both of us; or - Google applies their standard bike speed to one of us but not both, which coincidentally happens to be the other’s speed. Google does know enough to increase expected speeds for downhills, I just reversed a 2 mile incline near my house and the expected time for the downhill run is half that of the uphill. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1491 "2022-06-23T18:05:27Z")
I had 41 minutes, too. Google knows how quickly I tend to drive, but I can’t say I’ve ever used Google maps while riding, so I do not think it has a good baseline for me. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1492 "2022-06-23T18:14:35Z")
Google uses a base speed of 12 mph for its bicycle time calculation, adjusted for elevation changes and things like stop lights. It isn’t personalized, and unlike driving directions, it doesn’t take into account current traffic or time of day. ---
**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 23, 2022, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1493 "2022-06-23T19:14:05Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I get the same time for the main route. > > But, as you said, you may be the model that they are basing it off of in the first place. I’m certainly not the model for that particular route, because though I’ve biked to either of those libraries many times, I don’t think I’ve ever gone directly from one to the other. I just wanted definite endpoints, far enough apart to have a couple of digits for comparison but not so far that it might assume camping or something, and libraries are points I tend to think of. OK, so it apparently does just use the same standard speed for everyone. To be honest, I’m slightly disappointed by that. Though it does make sense that bike times aren’t affected by traffic, because traffic doesn’t have much effect on biking (except for potentially making left turns much trickier). ---
**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, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1494 "2022-06-25T01:10:40Z")
> **[Roman Numerals](https://xkcd.com/2637/)** > > 100he100k out th1s 1nno5at4e str1ng en100o501ng 15e been 500e5e50op1ng! 1t's 6rtua100y perfe100t! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"? See also > **[Wednesday 19 April 2006](https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2006-04-19)** > > Daily strip for Wednesday 19 April 2006 That other Hugo-winning webcomic artist beat him to the mouseover joke. ---
**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, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1495 "2022-06-28T02:25:58Z")
> **[Extended NFPA Hazard Diamond](https://xkcd.com/2638/)** > > With most labs, the hushed horror stories are about something like dimethylmercury or prions, but occasionally you'll get a weird lab where it's about the soda machine or the drop ceiling. Anyone want to take a stab at what chemical this could be for? Not at all flammable but somewhat reactive has me stumped-- A heavy metal, maybe? Are there any of those worth between $10 and $99 per gram? And what would the diamond look like for, say, [azidoazide azide](https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/things-i-won-t-work-azidoazide-azides-more-or-less)? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1496 "2022-06-28T02:36:38Z")
Something like mercury is almost a good guess, but has a street value of way less than $10/gram. Maybe one of the organic versions, like methylmercury. How about compound with the highest score? Probably everything from the TIWWW blog is a contender. I nominate chlorine pentafluoride. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2022, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1497 "2022-06-28T03:33:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Anyone want to take a stab at what chemical this could be for? Heroin is a pretty good match, except for reactivity. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2022, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1498 "2022-06-28T03:59:22Z")
There have been some guesses here: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Talk:2638:\_Extended\_NFPA\_Hazard\_Diamond](https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Talk:2638:_Extended_NFPA_Hazard_Diamond) ---
**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, 2022, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1499 "2022-06-28T12:12:37Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Something like mercury is almost a good guess, but has a street value of way less than $10/gram. It’s also got a black value of way more than 2-- Just from my own acquaintances, I’ve heard at least two of those horror stories. From the explainxkcd link: > [@](#): > > There are very, very few Health 4 / Fire 0 / Instability 2 compounds. The NIH database lists 4: nitrous oxide, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorous trichloride, and thionyl chloride (although it’s important to note these values aren’t always standardized; some authorities consider phosphorus oxychloride to be Health 3, for example). Based on the street value and the number of US agencies who would be concerned about it, my guess is thionyl chloride, a useful industrial chemical which is also used in at least one meth lab synthesis pathway… AND highly regulated as a chemical weapon precursor (to both sulfur mustard and G-series nerve agents). Oh, and it is absolutely a Disposal Pain 4 candidate, too. I don’t know the other three, but it definitely wouldn’t be nitrous oxide, because I’m pretty sure you can dispose of that just by venting it to open air. Oh, and the center space being empty probably rules out anything radioactive. ---
**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 29, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1500 "2022-06-29T22:48:11Z")
> **[Periodic Table Changes](https://xkcd.com/2639/)** > > It's nice how the end of the periodic table is flush with the edge these days, so I think we should agree no one should find any new elements after #118 unless they discover a whole row at once. Reminiscent of [Chemistry Nobel](https://xkcd.com/2214/) and [Standard Model changes](https://xkcd.com/2351/) ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1501 "2022-07-01T03:58:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Reminiscent of [Chemistry Nobel](https://xkcd.com/2214/) and [Standard Model changes](https://xkcd.com/2351/) And [State Borders](https://xkcd.com/1902/). We probably could come up with other “correction” comics if we tried. Maybe there are enough that this should be a category on ExplainXKCD. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=76)