# ­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:** 80
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1582 "2022-08-11T13:09:40Z")
“…you just say it like the ‘x’ in ‘fire’.” You mean that isn’t obvious to everybody? ---
**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:** [August 11, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1583 "2022-08-11T22:42:46Z")
He should know – It’s pronounces identically with the X in XKCD. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1584 "2022-08-12T21:52:52Z")
> **[Coffee Cup Holes](https://xkcd.com/2658/)** > > Theoretical physicist: At the Planck length, uncountably many. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1585 "2022-08-13T13:09:38Z")
Wouldn’t the Chemist be incorrect? The question asked about a coffee cup, not a cup of coffee. Though the Philosopher drawing does show liquid flowing out. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1586 "2022-08-13T13:22:43Z")
The caffeine molecules are in the cup, so their holes are, too. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1587 "2022-08-13T14:28:10Z")
So if you ask for a coffee cup and I give you one you’ll be happy, even though it’s empty? As opposed to asking for a cup of coffee? There’s a difference between the two. A coffee cup, at least to me, does not imply contents. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1588 "2022-08-13T14:34:36Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > There’s a difference between the two. A coffee cup, at least to me, does not imply contents. It doesn’t exclude contents either, and at least in the last two panels, it did contain them. Now, the error I see is the theoretical physicist, as the number of holes _would_ be countable, even if it’s many. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1589 "2022-08-13T16:21:25Z")
Since there are probably orders of magnitude more disposable-type coffee cups than eared ceramic ones, I’d be that guy and say, on average, way less than half a hole (at the Topologist level of resolution, that is). ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1590 "2022-08-13T17:09:36Z")
But what about the disposable ones with fold-out handles? Those have two and would bring the average back up. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1591 "2022-08-13T20:58:20Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > But what about the disposable ones with fold-out handles? How common are those? I can’t think of any coffee chain that has those here. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1592 "2022-08-13T22:19:20Z")
No, but a million little independent donut shops in the states use that kind of cup, if not extruded foam. The main problem with them is that they are too small for a decent dose of caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1593 "2022-08-14T02:02:44Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > at the Topologist level of resolution I’ll merely say that that cartoon is going up on my door next week. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1594 "2022-08-14T22:49:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > What I’d like to see are cameras with encrypted keys that can sign the data files and prove that it came from that particular camera Well, this didn’t take long. The first camera with in-camera cryptographic signatures is now available: [https://www.sony.eu/presscentre/news/sony-unlocks-in-camera-forgery-proof-technology](https://www.sony.eu/presscentre/news/sony-unlocks-in-camera-forgery-proof-technology) It looks like the camera doesn’t use a stacked sensor (i.e., sensor and image processor stacked into a single IC), so it’s not _quite_ as secure as it might otherwise be. But it would still require some serious physical tampering to bypass. A good start for the first iteration. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1595 "2022-08-16T05:27:39Z")
> **[Unreliable Connection](https://xkcd.com/2659/)** > > NEGATIVE REVIEWS MENTION: Unreliable internet. POSITIVE REVIEWS MENTION: Unreliable internet. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1596 "2022-08-16T22:14:31Z")
If I’m not mistaken, that’s a 55/2048 chance of turning off every time a ball drops, with the complementary chance of turning back on with the next ball. Now we just need to know how often the balls drop, which will determine both the frequency of the outages and their typical duration. Is it better to have a one-minute outage every ~200 minutes, or a five-minute outage every ~1000 minutes, or…? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1597 "2022-08-18T01:34:11Z")
> **[Gen Z](https://xkcd.com/2660/)** > > Curdled milk, of a peculiar kind, made after a Bulgarian recipe and called "yaghurt," is now a Parisian fad and is believed to be a remedy against growing old. A correspondent who has tried it, says he would prefer to die young. (1905, The Elk Falls Journal) ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1598 "2022-08-18T01:59:01Z")
I dunno. Gen Z are the children of Gen X. While every generation has some degree of “How do you do, fellow kids?”, ultimately I expect that parents have _some_ idea what their kids are really up to. They aren’t completely disconnected as the comic implies. Also, “same energy” is totally a Gen Z thing. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1599 "2022-08-18T05:30:54Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I dunno. Gen Z are the children of Gen X. While every generation has some degree of “How do you do, fellow kids?”, ultimately I expect that parents have _some_ idea what their kids are really up to. They aren’t completely disconnected as the comic implies. We’re Gen X. We know, but we don’t really care. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1600 "2022-08-18T05:36:06Z")
I almost typed out a long response, but… meh. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/1601 "2022-08-18T14:25:36Z")
What is it about kids these days? They keep _caring_ about stuff! In my day, we would just roll our eyes, and say, “Whatever.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=79) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=81)