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Awesome Xkcd

Could a Nuclear Submarine Work as a Spaceship?

Could a Nuclear Submarine Work as a Spaceship?

xkcd’s What If? is back with another hypothetical question. This time, a follower asked: “How long could a nuclear submarine last in orbit?” Along the way, you’ll learn if a sub’s hull could withstand the conditions in space, and more importantly, what might happen to its occupants and nuclear reactor.

Laser Beam Umbrella

Laser Beam Umbrella

Some people have tried to make unconventional umbrellas, but for the most part, a traditional design is the most efficient way to keep raindrops from falling on your head. In this clip from Randall Munroe and Henry Reich’s What If? series, they explore a hypothetical and impractical invention – a powerful laser that vaporizes raindrops out of the sky as they fall.

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If You Could Throw a Baseball Near Light Speed

If You Could Throw a Baseball Near Light Speed

Imagine, for a moment, that it was possible to pitch a baseball at 90% of the speed of light. Not only would you easily eliminate the batter, but there would be other major consequences according to this hypothetical physics exploration by the mighty Randall Munroe of xkcd. Weapons makers, don’t get any funny ideas.

What If the Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning?

What If the Earth Suddenly Stopped Spinning?

You might not feel it, but the Earth is spinning quite quickly. Depending on your latitude, you could be going more than 1000 MPH. xkcd’s What If? explores what might happen if, all of a sudden, the planet stopped spinning and the atmosphere kept going. Things wouldn’t bode well for living creatures or structures, thanks to the extreme wind and waves.

What If Car Races Had No Rules?

What If Car Races Had No Rules?

xkcd’s What If series ponders another viewer-submitted question. With no regard for rules, what would be the fastest way to get a human around a race track 200 times – without killing the driver. After coming up with some creative solutions, it turns out the limiting factor isn’t the vehicle, it’s the person inside of it.

If a Magnitude 15 Earthquake Hit Earth

If a Magnitude 15 Earthquake Hit Earth

Any earthquake above a magnitude 5 can do damage, and levels higher than that can turn serious or deadly. xkcd’s What If? ponders the question of what sort of horrible things would happen if something much more intense hit our planet, say a magnitude 15 or higher. Who knew that there were negative magnitude quakes?

XKCD: Garden

XKCD: Garden

XKCD’s latest “comic strip” is a mini-game. The panel is an empty lot. You can then shine up to three lamps on it, and adjust the lamp’s colors. Every few minutes, something will grow or arrive. So far our garden has… a cat. (Thumbnail by Dysbit.)

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How to Go to Space

How to Go to Space

“There are often several fire burning parts to an up goer.” MinutePhysics and XKCD teamed up to explain how to explore space – but with one major restriction – they could only use the 1000 most common words in the English language to describe rocket science.

XKCD: Comics that Ask What If?

XKCD: Comics that Ask What If?

Physicist and xkcd creator Randall Munroe spoke at TED about his What If? series. His humorous Q&A articles are one of the reasons why he loves math, even if the accompanying mental adventures have led him to get rickrolled.

What If? The Book

What If? The Book

Physicist and xkcd creator Randall Munroe will soon release a book version of What If?, his funny and enlightening science Q&A series. The book features unpublished articles as well as revised versions of some of the published ones.

XKCD: Now

XKCD: Now

Randall Munroe continues his experiments with dynamic and time-based comics. His latest piece appears static, but it’s actually a world clock. A web comic world clock. We’d love to have a watch version of this.

XKCD: Frequency

XKCD: Frequency

Randall Munroe used a grid of animated gifs to illustrate how often certain events, phenomena or actions occur in real time, from mundane things like someone getting a tattoo to someone dying of cancer.

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Xckd: Click and Drag

Xckd: Click and Drag

Randall Munroe made a huge illustration – 46ft wide if printed at 300dpi – filled with diverse sights. You can see the entire thing here, but it takes away the exploration and discovery.

University Websites

University Websites

Yet another classic comic from xkcd. Universities are usually the champions of logic and excellence, but their websites are another story altogether. This diagram needs to be posted at all schools.

Funny: We Love XKCD

Funny: We Love XKCD

Olga Nune’s stirring I Love XKCD gets loved right back by the internet in We Love XKCD; web legends such as Wil Wheaton, Cory Doctorow, and Mr. Toast all lend their voices.

Movie Narrative Charts

Movie Narrative Charts

xkcd untangles convoluted Hollywood plotlines into organized Movie Narrative Charts; LotR, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars all become semi-coherent, but Primer still remains indecipherable.

xkcd: Farewell, Geocities

xkcd: Farewell, Geocities

xkcd bids a fond, blinking farewell to web hosting service GeoCities by redesigning their entire site today; so long, and thanks for all the animated gifs, comic sans and broken links!

I Love XKCD

I Love XKCD

Based on the “xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel” comic strip, I Love XKCD will fill your heart with geeky love; it’s a bit short, but Olga Nune’s performance makes up for it.

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