xkcd

[Cazero]

So, how cute would a cat the size of the planet be?

Considering this relevant analysis on the subject of furry planetoids, not very much.

[The Glyphstone]

Not the size of a planet, but still very large:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/a-beautiful-mind

[Kato]

So, how cute would a cat the size of the planet be?

Well, it's inversely proportional, so not very? I mean, arguably tigers / lions aren't that cute...

I wonder what size the Schwartzschild limit is though... Because I've seen some really small cats.

[halfeye]

It seems to me that the current strip is wrong:

https://xkcd.com/2092/

The international date line is 12 hours from UCT, so at UTC midnight, half the world is already in 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line

Thus, all of Russia is to the west of the IDL, and all of the United States is to the east except for the insular areas of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island.

India and China as well.

[factotum]

It seems to me that the current strip is wrong:

https://xkcd.com/2092/

The international date line is 12 hours from UCT, so at UTC midnight, half the world is already in 2019.

Two things there:
1) The International Date Line is not straight--it kinks one side and the other in order to ensure that you don't get a situation where a single country is operating in two dates simultaneously. Due to a change a few years ago, this means that parts of the Kiribati archipelago are on the UTC+14 time zone and thus it's the first country in the world to go into the New Year.

2) Even if the IDL *were* exactly 12 hours opposite to Greenwich, it doesn't mean that the world's population is nice and evenly spread either side of it. China and India are both East of Greenwich, for example, and those two countries alone have more than a third of the entire world's population between them. Since the graph is saying what portion of the world's *population* is in 2019, not what portion of the world's *surface* is, it will tend to bias it.

[halfeye]

Two things there:
1) The International Date Line is not straight--it kinks one side and the other in order to ensure that you don't get a situation where a single country is operating in two dates simultaneously. Due to a change a few years ago, this means that parts of the Kiribati archipelago are on the UTC+14 time zone and thus it's the first country in the world to go into the New Year.

2) Even if the IDL *were* exactly 12 hours opposite to Greenwich, it doesn't mean that the world's population is nice and evenly spread either side of it. China and India are both East of Greenwich, for example, and those two countries alone have more than a third of the entire world's population between them. Since the graph is saying what portion of the world's *population* is in 2019, not what portion of the world's *surface* is, it will tend to bias it.

Yeah, but China, India and Russia are all on the "early" side of the dateline. The time now in China and India is early morning 2019, Moscow is fast approaching Midnight.

Mr. Munroe has got this one wrong, somehow.

[Douglas]

Yeah, but China, India and Russia are all on the "early" side of the dateline. The time now in China and India is early morning 2019, Moscow is fast approaching Midnight.

Mr. Munroe has got this one wrong, somehow.

If I understand what you mean by "early side" correctly, you've got it backwards. The west side of the dateline is one day ahead of the east side. When the dateline hits midnight, it enters a new day, the timezone west of it follows into that new day, and each hour one more timezone further to the west joins the new day.

Edit: Wait, I think the issue might be that you missed what time zone the chart is using. The times on the chart are in EST, which is UTC-5. Midnight UTC is 7pm EST, which is one of the labeled lines on the chart, and shows 85% of world population in the new year.

[halfeye]

If I understand what you mean by "early side" correctly, you've got it backwards. The west side of the dateline is one day ahead of the east side. When the dateline hits midnight, it enters a new day, the timezone west of it follows into that new day, and each hour one more timezone further to the west joins the new day.

Edit: Wait, I think the issue might be that you missed what time zone the chart is using. The times on the chart are in EST, which is UTC-5. Midnight UTC is 7pm EST, which is one of the labeled lines on the chart, and shows 85% of world population in the new year.

I am pretty sure I'm not wrong about this.

The chart is saying that at 6.30pm UTC half the world's population will be in 2019. At that time, slightly over 3/4 of the world's surface will be in 2019, including China, India, Russia, Europe and Australia.

[Douglas]

I am pretty sure I'm not wrong about this.

The chart is saying that at 6.30pm UTC half the world's population will be in 2019. At that time, slightly over 3/4 of the world's surface will be in 2019, including China, India, Russia, Europe and Australia.

At that time, slightly over 1/4 of the world's surface was in 2019, including China, India (just barely), a large portion but not all of Russia, and Australia. Europe, Africa, and of course both Americas, were all still 100% in 2018, along with the portion of the Asian continent west of India.

[halfeye]

Depends which day we're talking about. If we're talking about 6.30 UTC on 2018.12.31, then it may be right, I thought it was talking about 6.30 UTC on 2019.1.1 when it would be very wrong.

Much editing to clarify who said what when. Sorry for any confusion caused by earlier edits.

[Douglas]

Depends which day we're talking about. If we're talking about 6.30 UTC on 2018.12.31, then it may be right, I thought it was talking about 6.30 UTC on 2019.1.1 when it would be very wrong.

Much editing to clarify who said what when. Sorry for any confusion caused by earlier edits.

The chart covers the timespan where a portion (and only a portion) of the world is in 2019. 6:30pm UTC 2019.1.1 is outside that timespan, as the world reaches 100% 2019 at noon UTC, six and a half hours earlier.

Also, the date is clearly marked at the left end of the time axis, and again near the right end. It starts in Dec. 31, and the 6:30pm UTC mark is well before the midnight line.

[Kato]

Watching grown adults argue over this makes me more empathetic to my students unable to read a graph....

But appy new year, whenever it occurs to you.

(Also: Is there some joke I'm missing?)

[factotum]

(Also: Is there some joke I'm missing?)

Not every XKCD has to have a joke? Sometimes they're just plain informative, like the one that showed relative radiation doses for various things.

[Tetrimino]

2106

This one really struck a chord with me. When I first started using Instagram, my account was public, which is something I've come to regret. Not that I posted anything embarrassing, I just don't like knowing that some company probably has my photos.

[Lord Torath]

Huh. I only just noticed this. Anyone know how long the "How to" ad has been there?

[Fyraltari]

Huh. I only just noticed this. Anyone know how long the "How to" ad has been there?

It wasn't there last time I checked which was wednesday.

[Keltest]

Its only been there a couple days. He made a Blag post about it even.

[Kato]

Still better than nine out of ten physics students

I'm curious about the new book. Mr Munroe always puts out good literature, as far as I know.

[Cazero]

Still better than nine out of ten physics students

Are you kidding? He forgot to label the axes !

[georgie_leech]

Are you kidding? He forgot to label the axes !

Right, so better than 90% of physics students

[Peelee]

Rest in peace, you beautiful machine. You done good.

[Fyraltari]

Rest in peace, you beautiful machine. You done good.

They all do.

[Max_Killjoy]

I hope, someday, that we'll be able to build a museum on Mars, and bring all these rovers and probes in and give them a place of honor, there on Mars.

Yes, I am sentimental, including about machines that do big, real things for us.

[Peelee]

I hope, someday, that we'll be able to build a museum on Mars, and bring all these rovers and probes in and give them a place of honor, there on Mars.

Yes, I am sentimental, including about machines that do big, real things for us.

They could have a whole wing dedicated to whalers on the Moon!

[Lord Torath]

Rest in peace, you beautiful machine. You done good.

They all do.

And today's strip: Opportunity Rover. And an alternate version of 695: Spirit. (Not certain who did that update, but it still looks like Randall's work)

[Mith]

And today's strip: Opportunity Rover. And an alternate version of 695: Spirit. (Not certain who did that update, but it still looks like Randall's work)

And now I am sad. I knew what the comic was going to be, but it still makes me sad to read it. I guess it's still a good tribute to the mission. I do much prefer Opportunity's comic.

[Tetrimino]

Huh. I only just noticed this. Anyone know how long the "How to" ad has been there?

*Doesn't look at the forum for a month but still wants to join the conversation*

I'm honestly way too exited about this book. What If and Thing Explainer were excellent and I've been waiting for a sequel ever since.

[Lord Torath]

Thing Explainer was kinda fun, but what if? was the best! I loved the Periodic Wall of Elements and the Neutron Star Bullet. The Weird and Worrying Questions were pretty great too!

[enderlord99]

I don't know why it's called "big hole" when it could be called "big dig"

[Rockphed]

I don't know why it's called "big hole" when it could be called "big dig"

Ah, but isn't "Big Dig" the name of a public transit project in Boston? I think that being in the pocket of "big mine" or "big mineral" are both equally applicable to mining and sound significantly less silly than "big hole". Then again, he is trying to get us to laugh, not to educate us on all the things our politicians are in the pocket of. After all, I'm fairly certain that "Big Funny" is slowly accruing power, and will soon be the most influential special interest in the history of the world!