#xkcd No. 3052
Date: 2025-2-17
Title: Archive Request
Alt text: They just want researchers in the enclosure to feel enriched and stimulated. ('The Enclosure' is what archivists call the shadowy world outside their archives in which so many people are trapped.)
https://xkcd.com/3052/
xkcd
![Description:
Single-panel xkcd comic of a stick figure at a computer, expressing frustration, while text above and below describe library data access.
Transcript:
TO REQUEST DATA FROM THE ARCHIVES,
FILL OUT THIS FORM. THE PAGES WILL
BE SCANNED, ENCODED TO CD-ROM, AND
MAILED TO YOU WITHIN IO BUSINESS DAYS.
DOWNLOAD THE DECODER FOR
OUR PROPRIETARY FORMAT HERE
(REQUIRES WINDOWS 98® OR XP®)
[A stick figure sits in a rolling chair at a desk with a laptop, looking at the screen.]
UGH, FINE...
ARCHIVISTS ACTUALLY HAVE EVERYTHING IN DIGITAL
REPOS NOW, BUT THEY STILL DO THIS TO PROVIDE
ENRICHMENT FOR RESEARCHERS, THE WAY ZOOS
HIDE FOOD FOR ANIMALS IN HARD-TO-OPEN BOXES.](/proxy/post_attachment/618521/2f8f181d4d.png "Description:
Single-panel xkcd comic of a stick figure at a computer, expressing frustration, while text above and below describe library data access.
Transcript:
TO REQUEST DATA FROM THE ARCHIVES,
FILL OUT THIS FORM. THE PAGES WILL
BE SCANNED, ENCODED TO CD-ROM, AND
MAILED TO YOU WITHIN IO BUSINESS DAYS.
DOWNLOAD THE DECODER FOR
OUR PROPRIETARY FORMAT HERE
(REQUIRES WINDOWS 98® OR XP®)
[A stick figure sits in a rolling chair at a desk with a laptop, looking at the screen.]
UGH, FINE...
ARCHIVISTS ACTUALLY HAVE EVERYTHING IN DIGITAL
REPOS NOW, BUT THEY STILL DO THIS TO PROVIDE
ENRICHMENT FOR RESEARCHERS, THE WAY ZOOS
HIDE FOOD FOR ANIMALS IN HARD-TO-OPEN BOXES.")
#xkcd No. 3253
Date: 2026-6-1
Title: Sunbeam
Alt text: While weather control is typically thought of as a superpower, the unconscious ability of astronomers and astrophotographers to summon clouds is more properly classified as a curse.
https://xkcd.com/3253/
#xkcd No. 3251
Date: 2026-5-27
Title: Time Machine Conversation
Alt text: It's possible to do sea navigation without a compass, but you'll have to get some spoilers from the Polynesians.
https://xkcd.com/3251/
#xkcd No. 3069
Date: 2025-3-28
Title: Terror Bird
Alt text: There has long been debate about Big Bird's species, with some experts claiming he was a canary, but recent genetic analysis places him firmly in Cariamiformes.
https://xkcd.com/3069/
#xkcd No. 3260
Date: 2026-6-17
Title: Messi
Alt text: Commentators agree that this will probably be the last World Cup in which Messi faces serious competition.
https://xkcd.com/3260/
![Description:
A line graph with six connected data points and a steep upward curving dashed trendline.
Transcript:
Title: LIONEL MESSI WORLD CUP GOALS PER GAME
[A line graph with a solid black line connecting six data points and a dashed gray exponential trend line curving sharply upwards. The y-axis is numbered 0, 1, 2, and 3. The x-axis has unlabeled tick marks, with specific years labeled next to the corresponding data points.]
2006: [Data point slightly above 0]
2010: [Data point exactly at 0]
2014: [Data point around 0.5]
2018: [Data point around 0.25]
2022: [Data point exactly at 1]
2026 (SO FAR): [Data point exactly at 3]
Caption below the graph: AT THIS RATE, BY 2040 MESSI WILL BE SCORING HUNDREDS OF GOALS PER GAME.](/proxy/post_attachment/1097317/cf1596e56a.png "Description:
A line graph with six connected data points and a steep upward curving dashed trendline.
Transcript:
Title: LIONEL MESSI WORLD CUP GOALS PER GAME
[A line graph with a solid black line connecting six data points and a dashed gray exponential trend line curving sharply upwards. The y-axis is numbered 0, 1, 2, and 3. The x-axis has unlabeled tick marks, with specific years labeled next to the corresponding data points.]
2006: [Data point slightly above 0]
2010: [Data point exactly at 0]
2014: [Data point around 0.5]
2018: [Data point around 0.25]
2022: [Data point exactly at 1]
2026 (SO FAR): [Data point exactly at 3]
Caption below the graph: AT THIS RATE, BY 2040 MESSI WILL BE SCORING HUNDREDS OF GOALS PER GAME.")
#xkcd No. 3081
Date: 2025-4-25
Title: PhD Timeline
Alt text: Rümeysa Öztürk was grabbed off the street in my town one month ago.
https://xkcd.com/3081/
![Description:
Flowchart of a US Ph.D. program timeline. The left side is processes; right side branches into coursework and research. The last steps are crossed out.
Transcript:
US PH.D. PROGRAM TIMELINE
ENROLLMENT
MEET WITH ADVISOR
↓
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
↓
QUALIFYING EXAMS
↓
PROPOSE DISSERTATION
↓
RESEARCH
AND WRITE
DISSERTATION
COURSEWORK
RESEARCH
[Red text and arrows point to the end of the traditional Ph.D. timeline]
SUBMIT
DISSERTATION
DEFEND
DISSERTATION
GET GRABBED OFF THE
SIDEWALK OUTSIDE YOUR
HOME BY MASKED
GOVERNMENT AGENTS
↓
BE WHISKED OUT OF THE
STATE BEFORE A JUDGE
HAS TIME TO INTERVENE
↓
????](/proxy/post_attachment/691205/156d60622e.png "Description:
Flowchart of a US Ph.D. program timeline. The left side is processes; right side branches into coursework and research. The last steps are crossed out.
Transcript:
US PH.D. PROGRAM TIMELINE
ENROLLMENT
MEET WITH ADVISOR
↓
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
↓
QUALIFYING EXAMS
↓
PROPOSE DISSERTATION
↓
RESEARCH
AND WRITE
DISSERTATION
COURSEWORK
RESEARCH
[Red text and arrows point to the end of the traditional Ph.D. timeline]
SUBMIT
DISSERTATION
DEFEND
DISSERTATION
GET GRABBED OFF THE
SIDEWALK OUTSIDE YOUR
HOME BY MASKED
GOVERNMENT AGENTS
↓
BE WHISKED OUT OF THE
STATE BEFORE A JUDGE
HAS TIME TO INTERVENE
↓
????")
#xkcd No. 3247
Date: 2026-5-18
Title: Particle Census
Alt text: Remember, your answers to the physics census are confidential; we will not be issuing Pauli exclusion principle citations.
https://xkcd.com/3247/
#xkcd No. 3094
Date: 2025-5-26
Title: Mass Spec
Alt text: Patients at least found it to be an improvement over Millikan's incredibly messy and unpleasant oil drop suspension procedure.
https://xkcd.com/3094/
![Description:
A single panel comic with two stick figures, one person handing the other a balloon. In the background is a swing, a hanging magnet, and a target on the wall.
Transcript:
[Panel 1]
RUB THIS BALLOON AGAINST YOUR HEAD, THEN GO JUMP PAST THAT MAGNET TOWARD THE TARGET ON THE WALL.
[A female stick figure in a lab coat hands a balloon to a male stick figure.]
[A swing is in the background.]
[A hanging magnet is in the background.]
[A target on the wall in the background.]
BEFORE THE BATHROOM SCALE WAS INVENTED, THE ONLY WAY TO WEIGH PEOPLE WAS MASS SPECTROMETRY.](/proxy/post_attachment/721849/fc87d82c58.png "Description:
A single panel comic with two stick figures, one person handing the other a balloon. In the background is a swing, a hanging magnet, and a target on the wall.
Transcript:
[Panel 1]
RUB THIS BALLOON AGAINST YOUR HEAD, THEN GO JUMP PAST THAT MAGNET TOWARD THE TARGET ON THE WALL.
[A female stick figure in a lab coat hands a balloon to a male stick figure.]
[A swing is in the background.]
[A hanging magnet is in the background.]
[A target on the wall in the background.]
BEFORE THE BATHROOM SCALE WAS INVENTED, THE ONLY WAY TO WEIGH PEOPLE WAS MASS SPECTROMETRY.")
#xkcd No. 3235
Date: 2026-4-20
Title: Types of Board Game
Alt text: I can't believe Candles of Vienna caved to commercial pressure and added the Goku expansion.
https://xkcd.com/3235/
![Description:
Eight panels show Cueball, Ponytail, Megan, and White Hat playing board games at a table.
Transcript:
Title: TYPES OF BOARD GAME
Panel 1:
[Box:] BORING
Megan: EACH TURN, ROLL A DIE AND MOVE YOUR TOKEN. TURNS PROCEED CLOCKWISE AROUND THE TABLE UNTIL WE ALL GET TIRED AND GO HOME.
Panel 2:
[Box:] ABSTRACT
Cueball: EACH TURN, YOU CAN PLACE ANY NUMBER OF RED TRIANGLES OR BLUE SQUARES ON A HEXAGON, OR MOVE ANY HEXAGON TO A...
Panel 3:
[Box:] HYPERSPECIFIC THEME
Ponytail: IT'S OCTOBER 2, 1814. THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA CONVENES. YOU ARE EACH IN CHARGE OF DISTRIBUTING AND LIGHTING CANDLES FOR THE OPENING BALL, WHICH WAS HELD AT THESE THREE LOCATIONS...
Panel 4:
[Box:] OVERCOMPLICATED
White Hat: IT'S A CROSS BETWEEN *TWILIGHT IMPERIUM* AND *CONES OF DUNSHIRE*, BUT IMPLEMENTED ENTIRELY IN CATEGORY THEORY. EVERY CONE IS A MONAD, AND...
Panel 5:
[Box:] COOPERATIVE
Megan: WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO SORT THESE DECKS OF CARDS USING ONLY HAND GESTURES. AFTER THAT, WE'LL SILENTLY ORGANIZE MY JUNK DRAWER.
Panel 6:
[Box:] BRANDED
Cueball: YOU CAN PLAY AS PHOEBE, CHANDLER, MONICA, RACHEL, ROSS, JOEY, OR, DUE TO AN ILL-ADVISED TIE-IN, GOKU.
Panel 7:
[Box:] PARTY
Ponytail: EACH OF THE CARDS IN YOUR HAND HAS A BAD WORD ON IT. ON THE COUNT OF THREE, YELL THE...
Panel 8:
[Box:] SOCIAL DEDUCTION
Megan: REMEMBER, PER OUR *FIND THE SECRET MURDERER* HOUSE RULES FROM LAST WEEK, DISCOVERING THAT A PLAYER HAS COMMITTED A REAL-LIFE MURDER DOES *NOT* COUNT.](/proxy/post_attachment/1041932/4ec19f0c78.png "Description:
Eight panels show Cueball, Ponytail, Megan, and White Hat playing board games at a table.
Transcript:
Title: TYPES OF BOARD GAME
Panel 1:
[Box:] BORING
Megan: EACH TURN, ROLL A DIE AND MOVE YOUR TOKEN. TURNS PROCEED CLOCKWISE AROUND THE TABLE UNTIL WE ALL GET TIRED AND GO HOME.
Panel 2:
[Box:] ABSTRACT
Cueball: EACH TURN, YOU CAN PLACE ANY NUMBER OF RED TRIANGLES OR BLUE SQUARES ON A HEXAGON, OR MOVE ANY HEXAGON TO A...
Panel 3:
[Box:] HYPERSPECIFIC THEME
Ponytail: IT'S OCTOBER 2, 1814. THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA CONVENES. YOU ARE EACH IN CHARGE OF DISTRIBUTING AND LIGHTING CANDLES FOR THE OPENING BALL, WHICH WAS HELD AT THESE THREE LOCATIONS...
Panel 4:
[Box:] OVERCOMPLICATED
White Hat: IT'S A CROSS BETWEEN *TWILIGHT IMPERIUM* AND *CONES OF DUNSHIRE*, BUT IMPLEMENTED ENTIRELY IN CATEGORY THEORY. EVERY CONE IS A MONAD, AND...
Panel 5:
[Box:] COOPERATIVE
Megan: WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER TO SORT THESE DECKS OF CARDS USING ONLY HAND GESTURES. AFTER THAT, WE'LL SILENTLY ORGANIZE MY JUNK DRAWER.
Panel 6:
[Box:] BRANDED
Cueball: YOU CAN PLAY AS PHOEBE, CHANDLER, MONICA, RACHEL, ROSS, JOEY, OR, DUE TO AN ILL-ADVISED TIE-IN, GOKU.
Panel 7:
[Box:] PARTY
Ponytail: EACH OF THE CARDS IN YOUR HAND HAS A BAD WORD ON IT. ON THE COUNT OF THREE, YELL THE...
Panel 8:
[Box:] SOCIAL DEDUCTION
Megan: REMEMBER, PER OUR *FIND THE SECRET MURDERER* HOUSE RULES FROM LAST WEEK, DISCOVERING THAT A PLAYER HAS COMMITTED A REAL-LIFE MURDER DOES *NOT* COUNT.")
#xkcd No. 3205
Date: 2026-2-9
Title: Carbon Dating
Alt text: This dating is corroborated by the presence of stone tools at the site, rather than earlier and less effective helium ones.
https://xkcd.com/3205/
![Description:
Ponytail points at a wall chart featuring a skull and bones while lecturing Cueball and Megan. The scene resembles an academic presentation or scientific briefing.
Transcript:
Title: COSMOLOGIST CARBON DATING
Panel 1:
Ponytail: THE HIGH CARBON CONTENT OF THE SKELETON INDICATES THAT THE INDIVIDUAL LIVED LESS THAN 13.6 BILLION YEARS AGO, AFTER THE FIRST ROUND OF STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS.
[Ponytail is holding a pointer stick against a poster showing a skull, a bone, and a graph.]](/proxy/post_attachment/989355/05af33c120.png "Description:
Ponytail points at a wall chart featuring a skull and bones while lecturing Cueball and Megan. The scene resembles an academic presentation or scientific briefing.
Transcript:
Title: COSMOLOGIST CARBON DATING
Panel 1:
Ponytail: THE HIGH CARBON CONTENT OF THE SKELETON INDICATES THAT THE INDIVIDUAL LIVED LESS THAN 13.6 BILLION YEARS AGO, AFTER THE FIRST ROUND OF STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS.
[Ponytail is holding a pointer stick against a poster showing a skull, a bone, and a graph.]")
#xkcd No. 3082
Date: 2025-4-28
Title: Chess Position
Alt text: It's important to learn the moves that take you into the vortex, but it's best not to study vortex itself too closely. Even grandmasters who have built up a tolerance lose the ability to play for a few hours after studying it.
https://xkcd.com/3082/
#xkcd No. 3102
Date: 2025-6-13
Title: Reading a Big Number
Alt text: [desperately] Maybe this is from some country where they use commas as decimal points, and also as digit separators after the decimal, and also use random other characters for decoration???
https://xkcd.com/3102/
#xkcd No. 3083
Date: 2025-4-30
Title: Jupiter Core
Alt text: Juno mission data suggests that Jupiter actually contains Matryoshka doll-style nested copies of every other planet in the Solar System.
https://xkcd.com/3083/
![Description:
Comic displays eight sectional views of Jupiter with various center contents. Each view is labeled with a humorous, alternative theory about Jupiter's core.
Transcript:
CURRENT LEADING THEORIES FOR
WHAT'S IN THE CENTER OF JUPITER.
[First sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
DIFFUSE MIX OF
HEAVY ELEMENTS
AND METALLIC
HYDROGEN
[Second sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
ROCKY CORE
WITH METALLIC
HYDROGEN
MANTLE
[Third sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
VALUABLE
TREASURE
[Fourth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
EMERGENCY
BACKUP EARTH
[Fifth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
REGULAR PLANET
PRETENDING TO BE
A GAS GIANT TO
AVOID ATTENTION
[Sixth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
HARD BALL
FROM
AVOCADO
[Seventh sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
BABY
JUPITER,
STILL
GESTATING
[Eighth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
NO CORE; FLAT
EARTH CONSPIRACISTS
ARE WRONG ABOUT
EARTH BUT RIGHT
ABOUT JUPITER](/proxy/post_attachment/696152/14420163ed.png "Description:
Comic displays eight sectional views of Jupiter with various center contents. Each view is labeled with a humorous, alternative theory about Jupiter's core.
Transcript:
CURRENT LEADING THEORIES FOR
WHAT'S IN THE CENTER OF JUPITER.
[First sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
DIFFUSE MIX OF
HEAVY ELEMENTS
AND METALLIC
HYDROGEN
[Second sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
ROCKY CORE
WITH METALLIC
HYDROGEN
MANTLE
[Third sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
VALUABLE
TREASURE
[Fourth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
EMERGENCY
BACKUP EARTH
[Fifth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
REGULAR PLANET
PRETENDING TO BE
A GAS GIANT TO
AVOID ATTENTION
[Sixth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
HARD BALL
FROM
AVOCADO
[Seventh sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
BABY
JUPITER,
STILL
GESTATING
[Eighth sectional view of the planet Jupiter.]
NO CORE; FLAT
EARTH CONSPIRACISTS
ARE WRONG ABOUT
EARTH BUT RIGHT
ABOUT JUPITER")
#xkcd No. 3225
Date: 2026-3-27
Title: Satellite Pollution
Alt text: We're working to make sure the images are as up-to-date and accurate as possible, with a minimum number of sponsored galaxies.
https://xkcd.com/3225/
![Description:
White Hat and Ponytail stand on the left, looking toward Cueball on the right. Cueball stands next to a large vertical window showing Earth and space. In space, a satellite drags a massive rectangular banner depicting a starry night sky with a spiral galaxy. Text appears above the characters and below the panel.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
Ponytail: Aren't you worried these will be disruptive for ground-based astronomy?
Cueball: No, why?
[Below the panel:]
My new company is being criticized for our satellites that deploy 100-mile-wide banners painted with inaccurate pictures of the night sky.](/proxy/post_attachment/1017034/00f9a1f971.png "Description:
White Hat and Ponytail stand on the left, looking toward Cueball on the right. Cueball stands next to a large vertical window showing Earth and space. In space, a satellite drags a massive rectangular banner depicting a starry night sky with a spiral galaxy. Text appears above the characters and below the panel.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
Ponytail: Aren't you worried these will be disruptive for ground-based astronomy?
Cueball: No, why?
[Below the panel:]
My new company is being criticized for our satellites that deploy 100-mile-wide banners painted with inaccurate pictures of the night sky.")
#xkcd No. 3090
Date: 2025-5-16
Title: Sail Physics
Alt text: Turning in other directions can be accomplished by using a magnetized centerboard and ocean currents, since a current flowing through a magnetic field induces a Laplace force.
https://xkcd.com/3090/
![Description:
Four-panel comic explaining how sailboats sail upwind using physics, with diagrams showing charge buildup and forces on a boat.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
HOW SAILBOATS
USE PHYSICS TO
SAIL UPWIND:
[Diagram of a sailboat with wind arrows hitting the sail.]
WIND
SAIL
BOAT
Panel 2:
1. WIND PASSING OVER
THE SAIL STRIPS AWAY
ELECTRONS VIA THE
TRIBOELECTRIC EFFECT.
[Diagram of a sailboat with wind arrows hitting the sail, showing negative charges being stripped away from the boat.]
Panel 3:
2. THE POSITIVELY
CHARGED BOAT IS
BLOWN DOWNWIND;
ITS MOVEMENT IN
EARTH’S MAGNETIC
FIELD PRODUCES A
LORENTZ FORCE.
[Diagram of a positively charged sailboat with a downwind direction arrow and a perpendicular Lorentz force arrow.]
Panel 4:
3. THE LORENTZ FORCE
ACTS PERPENDICULAR
TO THE DIRECTION OF
MOTION, REDIRECTING
THE BOAT UPWIND.
[Diagram of a positively charged sailboat with a downwind motion arrow and an upwind resulting direction arrow.]](/proxy/post_attachment/712086/4ff5eea765.png "Description:
Four-panel comic explaining how sailboats sail upwind using physics, with diagrams showing charge buildup and forces on a boat.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
HOW SAILBOATS
USE PHYSICS TO
SAIL UPWIND:
[Diagram of a sailboat with wind arrows hitting the sail.]
WIND
SAIL
BOAT
Panel 2:
1. WIND PASSING OVER
THE SAIL STRIPS AWAY
ELECTRONS VIA THE
TRIBOELECTRIC EFFECT.
[Diagram of a sailboat with wind arrows hitting the sail, showing negative charges being stripped away from the boat.]
Panel 3:
2. THE POSITIVELY
CHARGED BOAT IS
BLOWN DOWNWIND;
ITS MOVEMENT IN
EARTH’S MAGNETIC
FIELD PRODUCES A
LORENTZ FORCE.
[Diagram of a positively charged sailboat with a downwind direction arrow and a perpendicular Lorentz force arrow.]
Panel 4:
3. THE LORENTZ FORCE
ACTS PERPENDICULAR
TO THE DIRECTION OF
MOTION, REDIRECTING
THE BOAT UPWIND.
[Diagram of a positively charged sailboat with a downwind motion arrow and an upwind resulting direction arrow.]")
#xkcd No. 3084
Date: 2025-5-2
Title: Unstoppable Force and Immovable Object
Alt text: Unstoppable force-carrying particles can't interact with immovable matter by definition.
https://xkcd.com/3084/
![Description:
A 3-panel xkcd comic shows an arrow (unstoppable force) hitting a trapezoid(immovable object). The third panel has text and a continuation of the idea.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
UNSTOPPABLE
FORCE
IMMOBABLE
OBJECT
[A horizontal line is drawn, with a right-pointing arrow "Unstoppable Force" to the left of a trapezoid "Immovable Object"]
Panel 2:
[A horizontal line is drawn, with a right-pointing arrow partially inside the trapezoid outline.]
Panel 3:
[A horizontal line is drawn, with a right-pointing arrow "Unstoppable Force" to the right of a trapezoid "Immovable Object"]
I DON'T SEE WHY PEOPLE FIND
THIS SCENARIO TO BE TRICKY.](/proxy/post_attachment/698115/ca5d817b2d.png "Description:
A 3-panel xkcd comic shows an arrow (unstoppable force) hitting a trapezoid(immovable object). The third panel has text and a continuation of the idea.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
UNSTOPPABLE
FORCE
IMMOBABLE
OBJECT
[A horizontal line is drawn, with a right-pointing arrow \"Unstoppable Force\" to the left of a trapezoid \"Immovable Object\"]
Panel 2:
[A horizontal line is drawn, with a right-pointing arrow partially inside the trapezoid outline.]
Panel 3:
[A horizontal line is drawn, with a right-pointing arrow \"Unstoppable Force\" to the right of a trapezoid \"Immovable Object\"]
I DON'T SEE WHY PEOPLE FIND
THIS SCENARIO TO BE TRICKY.")
#xkcd No. 3282
Date: 2026-8-7
Title: Trick Play
Alt text: I've been trying to find out whether the Laws of the Game take the axiom of choice or not, but FIFA officials keep blocking my number.
https://xkcd.com/3282/
![Description:
Soccer diagram showing a single pass splitting into two simultaneous attacks on the goal.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
[A top-down diagram of a soccer play on a field, using Xs for defenders and Os for offensive players. Arrows indicate the movement of the ball. A passing sequence begins with dotted lines between Os. Then, a solid pass line emerges from an O player and diverges into two separate solid lines, going to two different O players on opposite sides. Both of these players then have solid arrows pointing toward the goal.]
THE MATH DEPARTMENT TEAM'S OPPONENTS HATE IT WHEN BANACH PASSES TO TARSKI.](/proxy/post_attachment/1151729/2ce8e75d9d.png "Description:
Soccer diagram showing a single pass splitting into two simultaneous attacks on the goal.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
[A top-down diagram of a soccer play on a field, using Xs for defenders and Os for offensive players. Arrows indicate the movement of the ball. A passing sequence begins with dotted lines between Os. Then, a solid pass line emerges from an O player and diverges into two separate solid lines, going to two different O players on opposite sides. Both of these players then have solid arrows pointing toward the goal.]
THE MATH DEPARTMENT TEAM'S OPPONENTS HATE IT WHEN BANACH PASSES TO TARSKI.")
#xkcd No. 3206
Date: 2026-2-11
Title: Installation
Alt text: Do YOU remember the skylight being this big?
https://xkcd.com/3206/
![Description:
A four-panel comic shows Megan and Cueball outdoors, unrolling an impossibly long carpet across rough terrain. They struggle over rocks and hills, continuing until they question their progress.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
[Megan is pulling a small cart filled with rolls of carpet. Behind her, Cueball is bent over, unrolling a roll of carpet onto the ground. They are walking to the right.]
Panel 2:
[The scene continues as they traverse uneven, hilly ground. Megan pulls the cart uphill while Cueball pushes the unrolling carpet up a slope.]
Panel 3:
[The terrain is rocky and difficult. Megan struggles to pull the cart over a bump, and Cueball is lifting a new, large roll of carpet to place it down, continuing the path.]
Panel 4:
[Megan stands still, holding the handle of the cart. Cueball stands behind her, looking back at the long strip of carpet they have laid out. A single unrolled roll sits on the ground near them.]
Megan: You're *sure* we started installing the wall-to-wall carpet on the right side of the wall?
Cueball: The other end of the room *must* be getting close by now.](/proxy/post_attachment/991030/1caddfa486.png "Description:
A four-panel comic shows Megan and Cueball outdoors, unrolling an impossibly long carpet across rough terrain. They struggle over rocks and hills, continuing until they question their progress.
Transcript:
Panel 1:
[Megan is pulling a small cart filled with rolls of carpet. Behind her, Cueball is bent over, unrolling a roll of carpet onto the ground. They are walking to the right.]
Panel 2:
[The scene continues as they traverse uneven, hilly ground. Megan pulls the cart uphill while Cueball pushes the unrolling carpet up a slope.]
Panel 3:
[The terrain is rocky and difficult. Megan struggles to pull the cart over a bump, and Cueball is lifting a new, large roll of carpet to place it down, continuing the path.]
Panel 4:
[Megan stands still, holding the handle of the cart. Cueball stands behind her, looking back at the long strip of carpet they have laid out. A single unrolled roll sits on the ground near them.]
Megan: You're *sure* we started installing the wall-to-wall carpet on the right side of the wall?
Cueball: The other end of the room *must* be getting close by now.")
#xkcd No. 3077
Date: 2025-4-16
Title: de Sitter
Alt text: Our anti-de Sitter club is small at the moment, but I've started corresponding with the conformal field theory people.
https://xkcd.com/3077/
![Description:
Single panel xkcd comic. A door with a sign taped to it that reads "20TH CENTURY DUTCH PHYSICIST WILLEM DE SITTER IS NOT WELCOME HERE".
Transcript:
[Image shows a door with a sign taped to it.]
Sign on door:
20TH CENTURY
DUTCH PHYSICIST
WILLEM DE SITTER
IS NOT
WELCOME HERE
Below the image:
MY HOUSE IS AN ANTI-DE SITTER SPACE.](/proxy/post_attachment/682545/674052cc6b.png "Description:
Single panel xkcd comic. A door with a sign taped to it that reads \"20TH CENTURY DUTCH PHYSICIST WILLEM DE SITTER IS NOT WELCOME HERE\".
Transcript:
[Image shows a door with a sign taped to it.]
Sign on door:
20TH CENTURY
DUTCH PHYSICIST
WILLEM DE SITTER
IS NOT
WELCOME HERE
Below the image:
MY HOUSE IS AN ANTI-DE SITTER SPACE.")
#xkcd No. 3093
Date: 2025-5-23
Title: Drafting
Alt text: A 5% efficiency gain at the cost of a 99% efficiency loss
https://xkcd.com/3093/
#xkcd No. 3207
Date: 2026-2-13
Title: Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination
Alt text: 'The zero line in WMM2025 passes through a lot of population centers; I wonder what year the largest share of the population lived in a zone of less than 5° of declination,' he thought, derailing all other tasks for the rest of the day.
https://xkcd.com/3207/
![### Description
A world map drawn in black outline shows continents distorted into wavy, irregular shapes. Red arrows scatter across the edges of landmasses, pointing in varied directions rather than strictly North.
### Transcript
Title: BAD MAP PROJECTION #216: ZERO DECLINATION
Subtitle: A CYLINDRICAL PROJECTION DISTORTED SO THAT UP IS MAGNETIC NORTH
[A line drawing of a world map is shown. The continents look generally recognizable but are warped and twisted. North America is tilted, Greenland is stretched, and the coastlines ripple unnaturally. Small red arrows are placed around the perimeter of the continents and islands, indicating the direction of "magnetic north" relative to that specific location on the distorted map. For example, arrows point almost straight down in Alaska, diagonally up in Europe, and in various other directions elsewhere.]](/proxy/post_attachment/992681/fbe1374882.png "### Description
A world map drawn in black outline shows continents distorted into wavy, irregular shapes. Red arrows scatter across the edges of landmasses, pointing in varied directions rather than strictly North.
### Transcript
Title: BAD MAP PROJECTION #216: ZERO DECLINATION
Subtitle: A CYLINDRICAL PROJECTION DISTORTED SO THAT UP IS MAGNETIC NORTH
[A line drawing of a world map is shown. The continents look generally recognizable but are warped and twisted. North America is tilted, Greenland is stretched, and the coastlines ripple unnaturally. Small red arrows are placed around the perimeter of the continents and islands, indicating the direction of \"magnetic north\" relative to that specific location on the distorted map. For example, arrows point almost straight down in Alaska, diagonally up in Europe, and in various other directions elsewhere.]")
#xkcd No. 3087
Date: 2025-5-9
Title: Pascal's Law
Alt text: Reductio ad absurdum fails when reality is absurd.
https://xkcd.com/3087/
![Description: A single panel xkcd comic shows a physics lecture with stick figures. A teacher points to a diagram of a hydraulic press while students sit at desks.
Transcript:
NO, THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT.
IF HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE WORKED THAT WAY,
THEN YOU COULD USE IT TO MAKE MACHINES
THAT EXERT NEAR-INFINITE FORCE.
AND ANCIENT PEOPLE COULD HAVE DEMOLISHED
ENTIRE MOUNTAINS JUST BY DRILLING SMALL
TUNNELS AND FILLING THEM WITH WATER.
[Diagram of hydraulic press. On the left side, a small cylinder with a piston pushing down on it. The cylinder is connected to a larger cylinder on the right side by a pipe. The right cylinder has a platform on top with a figure next to a bag labeled "1000" with an arrow pointing to the top of the platform.]
WHEN I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT PASCAL'S LAW, I TRIED
TO DISPROVE IT BY SHOWING THAT IT WOULD LEAD TO
ABSURD CONSEQUENCES, BUT IT TURNS OUT HYDRAULIC
PRESSES AND RUINA MONTIUM ARE BOTH REAL THINGS.](/proxy/post_attachment/705093/72a68c32c9.png "Description: A single panel xkcd comic shows a physics lecture with stick figures. A teacher points to a diagram of a hydraulic press while students sit at desks.
Transcript:
NO, THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT.
IF HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE WORKED THAT WAY,
THEN YOU COULD USE IT TO MAKE MACHINES
THAT EXERT NEAR-INFINITE FORCE.
AND ANCIENT PEOPLE COULD HAVE DEMOLISHED
ENTIRE MOUNTAINS JUST BY DRILLING SMALL
TUNNELS AND FILLING THEM WITH WATER.
[Diagram of hydraulic press. On the left side, a small cylinder with a piston pushing down on it. The cylinder is connected to a larger cylinder on the right side by a pipe. The right cylinder has a platform on top with a figure next to a bag labeled \"1000\" with an arrow pointing to the top of the platform.]
WHEN I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT PASCAL'S LAW, I TRIED
TO DISPROVE IT BY SHOWING THAT IT WOULD LEAD TO
ABSURD CONSEQUENCES, BUT IT TURNS OUT HYDRAULIC
PRESSES AND RUINA MONTIUM ARE BOTH REAL THINGS.")
#xkcd No. 3079
Date: 2025-4-21
Title: Air Fact
Alt text: 'Wow, that must be why you swallow so many of them per year!' 'No, that's spiders. You swallow WAY more ants.'
https://xkcd.com/3079/
#xkcd No. 3095
Date: 2025-5-28
Title: Archaea
Alt text: Under the two-domain system, anyone who punches you is technically an Archaean pathogen.
https://xkcd.com/3095/
#xkcd No. 3097
Date: 2025-6-2
Title: Bridge Types
Alt text: Pontoon bridges are just linear open-sided waterbeds.
https://xkcd.com/3097/
