#xkcd No. 3076
Date: 2025-4-14
Title: The Roads Both Taken
Alt text: When you worry that you're missing out on something by not making both choices simultaneously by quantum superposition, that's called phomo.
https://xkcd.com/3076/
xkcd
![Description:
Single panel xkcd comic. Features a block of text, a "photon" icon, and the title "Photon Poetry". The text mimics Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken".
Transcript:
TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A YELLOW WOOD,
AND SO OF COURSE I TRAVELED BOTH
THOUGH BE ONE TRAVELER, STILL I COULD
EXPLORE DOWN BOTH AS FAR AS I COULD
BEYOND THE BENDS IN THE UNDERGROWTH...
... I SHALL BE TELLING THIS WITH A SIGH
SOMEWHERE AGES AND AGES HENCE:
TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A WOOD, AND I,
I TOOK THEM BOTH AND RECOMBINED,
AND THAT HAS MADE INTERFERENCE.
[Icon of a radiating photon]
PHOTON POETRY](/proxy/post_attachment/679823/aea0bd783f.png "Description:
Single panel xkcd comic. Features a block of text, a \"photon\" icon, and the title \"Photon Poetry\". The text mimics Robert Frost's \"The Road Not Taken\".
Transcript:
TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A YELLOW WOOD,
AND SO OF COURSE I TRAVELED BOTH
THOUGH BE ONE TRAVELER, STILL I COULD
EXPLORE DOWN BOTH AS FAR AS I COULD
BEYOND THE BENDS IN THE UNDERGROWTH...
... I SHALL BE TELLING THIS WITH A SIGH
SOMEWHERE AGES AND AGES HENCE:
TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A WOOD, AND I,
I TOOK THEM BOTH AND RECOMBINED,
AND THAT HAS MADE INTERFERENCE.
[Icon of a radiating photon]
PHOTON POETRY")
#xkcd No. 3042
Date: 2025-1-24
Title: T. Rex Evolution
Alt text: Unfortunately, body size and bite force continue to increase.
https://xkcd.com/3042/
#xkcd No. 3193
Date: 2026-1-12
Title: Sailing Rigs
Alt text: I wanted to make the world's fastest yawl, so I made the aft sail bigger, but apparently that means it's not a yawl anymore! It's a real ketch-22.
https://xkcd.com/3193/
![Description:
A chart titled "Common Sailing Rigs" displays sailboat silhouettes. The top rows show real configurations, while the lower rows feature increasingly absurd, impossible, or dangerous designs.
Transcript:
Title: COMMON SAILING RIGS
[A grid of sailboat silhouettes, starting with real designs and becoming increasingly surreal.]
LATEEN
BERMUDA RIGGED SLOOP
KETCH
GAFF RIGGED SLOOP
YAWL
SCHOONER
KETCH-RIGGED GAFF
KLOOP-RIGGED SKETCH [The sails are jagged and oddly shaped]
BUNKBED RIG [One boat hull is stacked directly on top of another]
FLETTNER RIG [A vertical cylinder stands on the deck]
OOPS, ALL SPINNAKERS [Three balloon-like sails fill the boat]
KEEL RIG [The boat is upside down with the keel in the air]
KITE RIG [The boat is pulled by a string of kites]
LONGSAIL RIG [The sail is extremely long and low, extending far past the stern]
DECKHAND OBLITERATOR [Two anchors on chains swing violently from the top of the mast]
OFFSET RIG [The mast and sail are mounted on a platform far to the left of the hull]
MASTLESS RIG [A sail billows loose from the deck without a mast]
UNCLASSIFIABLE CHAOS RIG [A messy jumble of mismatched sails pointing in all directions]](/proxy/post_attachment/962920/d55945a1a5.png "Description:
A chart titled \"Common Sailing Rigs\" displays sailboat silhouettes. The top rows show real configurations, while the lower rows feature increasingly absurd, impossible, or dangerous designs.
Transcript:
Title: COMMON SAILING RIGS
[A grid of sailboat silhouettes, starting with real designs and becoming increasingly surreal.]
LATEEN
BERMUDA RIGGED SLOOP
KETCH
GAFF RIGGED SLOOP
YAWL
SCHOONER
KETCH-RIGGED GAFF
KLOOP-RIGGED SKETCH [The sails are jagged and oddly shaped]
BUNKBED RIG [One boat hull is stacked directly on top of another]
FLETTNER RIG [A vertical cylinder stands on the deck]
OOPS, ALL SPINNAKERS [Three balloon-like sails fill the boat]
KEEL RIG [The boat is upside down with the keel in the air]
KITE RIG [The boat is pulled by a string of kites]
LONGSAIL RIG [The sail is extremely long and low, extending far past the stern]
DECKHAND OBLITERATOR [Two anchors on chains swing violently from the top of the mast]
OFFSET RIG [The mast and sail are mounted on a platform far to the left of the hull]
MASTLESS RIG [A sail billows loose from the deck without a mast]
UNCLASSIFIABLE CHAOS RIG [A messy jumble of mismatched sails pointing in all directions]")
#xkcd No. 3032
Date: 2025-1-1
Title: Skew-T Log-P
Alt text: The most important quantity for meteorologists is of course the product of latent pressure and temperostrophic enthalpy, though 'how nice the weather is' is a close second.
https://xkcd.com/3032/
#xkcd No. 3027
Date: 2024-12-20
Title: Exclusion Principle
Alt text: Fermions are weird about each other in a standoffish way. Integer-spin particles are weird about each other in a 'stand uncomfortably close while talking' kind of way.
https://xkcd.com/3027/
#xkcd No. 3034
Date: 2025-1-6
Title: Features of Adulthood
Alt text: I don't dig pit traps and cover them with sticks and a thin layer of leaves nearly as much as I expected; I find a chance to do it barely once a month.
https://xkcd.com/3034/
#xkcd No. 3036
Date: 2025-1-10
Title: Chess Zoo
Alt text: The zoo takes special care to keep kings separated from opposite-color pieces as part of their conservation program to prevent mating in captivity.
https://xkcd.com/3036/
#xkcd No. 3028
Date: 2024-12-23
Title: D&D Roll
Alt text: Under some circumstances, if you throw a D8 and then a D12 at an enemy, thanks to the D8's greater pointiness you actually have to roll a D12 and D8 respectively to determine damage.
https://xkcd.com/3028/
#xkcd No. 3035
Date: 2025-1-8
Title: Trimix
Alt text: You don't want the nitrogen percentage to be too high or you run the risk of eutrophication.
https://xkcd.com/3035/
#xkcd No. 3195
Date: 2026-1-16
Title: International Station
Alt text: Welcome to the International Space Station Exclamation Point!
https://xkcd.com/3195/
![Description:
Ponytail and Cueball float in weightlessness surrounded by a wrench, papers, and a tablet. Ponytail speaks to Cueball about a translation error while they drift.
Transcript:
[A single panel showing Ponytail and Cueball floating in zero gravity, surrounded by loose objects like a wrench and papers.]
Ponytail: YOU KNOW, NASA AND ROSCOSMOS ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY NAMED IT THE *INTERNATIONAL STATION*, BUT A TRANSLATION ISSUE LED SOMEONE TO ACCIDENTALLY TRANSCRIBE THE FORMATTING.](/proxy/post_attachment/965704/01c8ce7533.png "Description:
Ponytail and Cueball float in weightlessness surrounded by a wrench, papers, and a tablet. Ponytail speaks to Cueball about a translation error while they drift.
Transcript:
[A single panel showing Ponytail and Cueball floating in zero gravity, surrounded by loose objects like a wrench and papers.]
Ponytail: YOU KNOW, NASA AND ROSCOSMOS ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY NAMED IT THE *INTERNATIONAL STATION*, BUT A TRANSLATION ISSUE LED SOMEONE TO ACCIDENTALLY TRANSCRIBE THE FORMATTING.")
#xkcd No. 3029
Date: 2024-12-25
Title: Sun Avoidance
Alt text: C'mon, ESA Solar Orbiter team, just give the Parker probe a LITTLE nudge at aphelion. Crash it into the sun. Fulfill the dream of Icarus. It is your destiny.
https://xkcd.com/3029/
#xkcd No. 3243
Date: 2026-5-8
Title: Crystal Gazing
Alt text: 'Beyond that lies a vale of fire through which my vision cannot penetrate' is the kind of fun thing geologists, heliophysicists, and early universe cosmologists have a lot of opportunities to say.
https://xkcd.com/3243/
#xkcd No. 3041
Date: 2025-1-22
Title: Unit Circle
Alt text: They're continuing to search for a square with the same area as the circle, as efforts to construct one have run into difficulties.
https://xkcd.com/3041/
#xkcd No. 3039
Date: 2025-1-17
Title: Human Altitude
Alt text: I wonder what surviving human held the record before balloons (excluding edge cases like jumping gaps on a mountain bridge). Probably it was someone falling from a cliff into snow or water, but maybe it involved something weird like a gunpowder explosion or volcano.
https://xkcd.com/3039/
#xkcd No. 3030
Date: 2024-12-27
Title: Lasering Incidents
Alt text: I still don't know how the police found my compound where I ran an illegal searchlight depot/covert blimp airfield/fireworks testing range.
https://xkcd.com/3030/
#xkcd No. 3043
Date: 2025-1-27
Title: Muons
Alt text: Update: I've been banned from the physics department for the way I pronounce "Doppler effect."
https://xkcd.com/3043/
#xkcd No. 3196
Date: 2026-1-19
Title: Aurora Coolness
Alt text: I've had countless nights where the line never left the bottom zone of the graph, but the few moments where it's climbed all the way to the top have made up for them all.
https://xkcd.com/3196/
![Description:
A line graph titled "My Experience Seeing the Northern Lights" plots "Aurora Coolness" against "Time." A jagged line shows hours of fluctuating activity with one sudden, very brief, intense spike.
Transcript:
Title: MY EXPERIENCE SEEING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS:
[A line graph. The vertical axis is labeled "AURORA COOLNESS" and lists four levels of intensity, from top to bottom:]
SPECTACULAR RIBBONS OF COLOR SPANNING THE SKY AND ILLUMINATING THE LANDSCAPE
"OH WOW, IT'S GETTING REALLY BRIGHT NOW."
SHEETS AND PILLARS OF LIGHT, COLORS FAINTLY VISIBLE
VISIBLE GLOW ON THE HORIZON, COLOR ONLY VISIBLE IN PHOTOS
[The horizontal axis is labeled "TIME". A jagged line spans a duration labeled "MANY HOURS". The line fluctuates mostly between the lower two levels, occasionally reaching the third level. There is a single, sharp spike that shoots up to the highest level.]
[Text pointing to the sharp spike:]
5 OR 10 MINUTES
[Caption below the graph:]
AURORA TIP: IF YOU GET GOOD VIEWS OF THE AURORA, KEEP WATCHING THE SKY; YOU MIGHT SUDDENLY GET GREAT ONES.](/proxy/post_attachment/969068/9301431138.png "Description:
A line graph titled \"My Experience Seeing the Northern Lights\" plots \"Aurora Coolness\" against \"Time.\" A jagged line shows hours of fluctuating activity with one sudden, very brief, intense spike.
Transcript:
Title: MY EXPERIENCE SEEING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS:
[A line graph. The vertical axis is labeled \"AURORA COOLNESS\" and lists four levels of intensity, from top to bottom:]
SPECTACULAR RIBBONS OF COLOR SPANNING THE SKY AND ILLUMINATING THE LANDSCAPE
\"OH WOW, IT'S GETTING REALLY BRIGHT NOW.\"
SHEETS AND PILLARS OF LIGHT, COLORS FAINTLY VISIBLE
VISIBLE GLOW ON THE HORIZON, COLOR ONLY VISIBLE IN PHOTOS
[The horizontal axis is labeled \"TIME\". A jagged line spans a duration labeled \"MANY HOURS\". The line fluctuates mostly between the lower two levels, occasionally reaching the third level. There is a single, sharp spike that shoots up to the highest level.]
[Text pointing to the sharp spike:]
5 OR 10 MINUTES
[Caption below the graph:]
AURORA TIP: IF YOU GET GOOD VIEWS OF THE AURORA, KEEP WATCHING THE SKY; YOU MIGHT SUDDENLY GET GREAT ONES.")
#xkcd No. 3053
Date: 2025-2-19
Title: KM3NeT
Alt text: Unfortunately, KM3NeT led to the discovery of the Pauli anglerfish, which emits Cherenkov radiation to prey on neutrino researchers.
https://xkcd.com/3053/
![Description:
Single panel xkcd comic. Three stick figures stand by a projector screen showing underwater telescope modules. Text explains Cherenkov radiation.
Transcript:
THE KM3NET DEEP-WATER TELESCOPE
DETECTS THE FLASHES OF CHERENKOV
LIGHT FROM NEUTRINO INTERACTIONS.
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU
AREN'T JUST SEEING
BIOLUMINESCENT FISH?
CHERENKOV RADIATION IS
ONLY EMITTED WHEN THINGS
EXCEED THE LOCAL SPEED
OF LIGHT, SO IT CAN'T BE
PRODUCED BY UNDER-C LIFE.
[Projector screen displays a diagram of a telescope module underwater]](/proxy/post_attachment/621531/40daf9b914.png "Description:
Single panel xkcd comic. Three stick figures stand by a projector screen showing underwater telescope modules. Text explains Cherenkov radiation.
Transcript:
THE KM3NET DEEP-WATER TELESCOPE
DETECTS THE FLASHES OF CHERENKOV
LIGHT FROM NEUTRINO INTERACTIONS.
HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU
AREN'T JUST SEEING
BIOLUMINESCENT FISH?
CHERENKOV RADIATION IS
ONLY EMITTED WHEN THINGS
EXCEED THE LOCAL SPEED
OF LIGHT, SO IT CAN'T BE
PRODUCED BY UNDER-C LIFE.
[Projector screen displays a diagram of a telescope module underwater]")
#xkcd No. 3066
Date: 2025-3-21
Title: Cosmic Distance Calibration
Alt text: This is the biggest breakthrough since astronomers noticed that the little crosshairs around red giant stars starting to burn helium are all the same size.
https://xkcd.com/3066/
![Description: A single-panel xkcd comic. A stick figure with a ponytail holds a pointer in front of a framed image of space. A magnified inset shows data.
Transcript:
[Image of a framed photo of a galaxy with tiny labels on the stars. A larger circle shows one of the labels magnified to read "M106 0-06 DISTANCE: 23.6163 MLY". A stick figure stands at a podium and points toward the image.]
COSMOLOGY NEWS: NEW TELESCOPES
ARE FINALLY POWERFUL ENOUGH TO
READ THE LITTLE LABELS NEXT TO STARS
SHOWING HOW FAR AWAY THEY ARE.](/proxy/post_attachment/655312/431586ab4f.png "Description: A single-panel xkcd comic. A stick figure with a ponytail holds a pointer in front of a framed image of space. A magnified inset shows data.
Transcript:
[Image of a framed photo of a galaxy with tiny labels on the stars. A larger circle shows one of the labels magnified to read \"M106 0-06 DISTANCE: 23.6163 MLY\". A stick figure stands at a podium and points toward the image.]
COSMOLOGY NEWS: NEW TELESCOPES
ARE FINALLY POWERFUL ENOUGH TO
READ THE LITTLE LABELS NEXT TO STARS
SHOWING HOW FAR AWAY THEY ARE.")
#xkcd No. 3044
Date: 2025-1-29
Title: Humidifier Review
Alt text: They should add a little sticker that certifies that the humidifier supports water conservation, but in the sense of energy conservation or momentum conservation.
https://xkcd.com/3044/
Sorry, last one, I promise.
Built another @botkit bot, if you tag @tmnt w/ some text it will generate a TMNT logo for you using an API on a @glitchdotcom site:
https://tmnt-logo.glitch.me/.
Relevant XKCD
Bot Source Code
Glitch Logo Generator Source Code
#xkcd No. 3045
Date: 2025-1-31
Title: AlphaMove
Alt text: It struggles a little with complex positions, like when there are an even number of moves and it has to round down, but when run against itself it's capable of finding some novelties. At one point I saw six knights on the board at once; Stockfish rarely exceeds four.
https://xkcd.com/3045/
#xkcd No. 3197
Date: 2026-1-21
Title: Cost Savings
Alt text: Unfortunately, my scheme to trick NASA has now taken over a decade longer than planned and has run way over budget.
https://xkcd.com/3197/
#xkcd No. 3054
Date: 2025-2-21
Title: Scream Cipher
Alt text: AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
https://xkcd.com/3054/
#xkcd No. 3046
Date: 2025-2-3
Title: Stromatolites
Alt text: If only my ancestors had been fortunate enough to marry into the branch of the bacteria family that could photosynthesize, like all my little green cousins here.
https://xkcd.com/3046/
