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** [[http://xkcd.com/1948/ Strip 1948]]: The 15th email is less funny after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election results.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/1948/ Strip 1948]]: The 15th email (which is apparently a political party trying to rally support despite having lost the election) is less funny after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election results.
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** Some of the earliest ''xkcd'' strips actually had ''warnings'' or ''explanations for the lay person'' on jokes made about obscure topics like [[http://xkcd.com/12/ elementary probability theory]], [[http://xkcd.com/18/ periodic table abbreviations]], or [[http://xkcd.com/21/ basic astronomy.]] The AltText on the last of these -- "Science joke. You should probably just move along." -- is particularly ironic in retrospect.
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** Some of the earliest ''xkcd'' strips actually had ''warnings'' or ''explanations for the lay person'' on jokes made about obscure topics like [[http://xkcd.com/12/ elementary probability theory]], [[http://xkcd.com/18/ periodic table abbreviations]], or [[http://xkcd.com/21/ basic astronomy.]] Since then, ''xkcd'' has unapologetically switched to being almost entirely about nerd humor; topics have since became even more obscure and incomprehensible to anyone without a degree in the relevant field or assistance from explainxkcd. The AltText on the last of these -- "Science joke. You should probably just move along." -- is particularly ironic in retrospect.
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** The strip "Flatland" describes Cueball going into Flatland and being seen as a lesbian orgy overseen by a priest. In the book ''Literature/{{Flatland}}'', lines are women and circles are priests.
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** The AltText of the strip "Flatland" describes Cueball going into Flatland and being seen as a lesbian orgy overseen by a priest. In the book ''Literature/{{Flatland}}'', lines are women and circles are priests.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/1948/ Strip 1948]]: The 15th email is less funny after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election results.
** [[https://xkcd.com/1520/ Strip 1520]], "Degree-Off", has a biologist boast that the heroes of her field have slain one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse -- namely, Pestilence, referring to the massive decline in death rate from diseases in the United States from 1900 to 2000. In the wake of the [[UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic coronavirus pandemic]], however, as well as increasing death rates from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it comes across as less of a BadassBoast and more as {{hubris}}.
** [[http://xkcd.com/1948/ Strip 1948]]: The 15th email is less funny after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election results.
** [[http://xkcd.com/1948/ Strip 1948]]: The 15th email is less funny after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election results.
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** [[https://xkcd.com/590/ Comic 590]]'s alt text has Randall confess he likes the font Papyrus and doesn't care if it's overused. Six years later, ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has a character named Papyrus, whose dialogue is written in said font.
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** [[https://xkcd.com/590/ Comic 590]]'s alt text has Randall confess he likes the font Papyrus and doesn't care if it's overused. Six years later, ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has a character named Papyrus, whose dialogue is written in said font.font, causing it to gain a surge in popularity.
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** [[https://xkcd.com/1357/ 1357, aka the "Free Speech" comic]], to the point of reaching infamy from sheer overuse and being seen in some circles as a thought-terminating cliche.
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** [[https://xkcd.com/1357/ 1357, aka the "Free Speech" comic]], to the point of [[DiscreditedMeme reaching infamy from sheer overuse overuse]] and being seen in some circles as a thought-terminating cliche.
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Wiki Vandal is not a YMMV trope.
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* WikiVandal: Wikipedia articles are frequently defaced whenever a relevant topic is mentioned, as [[http://xkcdwikiwatch.blogspot.com this blog documents]].
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Moved Wiki Vandal example as an audience reaction
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* WikiVandal: Wikipedia articles are frequently defaced whenever a relevant topic is mentioned, as [[http://xkcdwikiwatch.blogspot.com this blog documents]].
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* AluminumChristmasTrees: [[https://xkcd.com/2503/ The "memo spike" cursed connector,]] which connects multiple cables together by jamming a conductive memo spike through all of them. The thought of connecting devices this way sounds ridiculous and is played for a joke, but [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_tap vampire taps]] are a thing in real life and really do work by piercing the desired cable, which allows them to add new devices into a wired connection without unplugging existing cables.
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** [[https://xkcd.com/2130/ #2130 "Industry Nicknames"]] takes the practice of referring to industries as "Big X" after the product they produce (e.g. "Big Tobacco", "Big Pharma") and shows which potential nickname would be the silliest; its answer is "Big Egg". Four years later, Cory Doctorow (who Randall Munroe is a big fan of) would unironically use the term "Big Egg" in [[https://doctorow.medium.com/excuseflation-5de795103105 a blog post]].
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...good to remember to proofread your work.
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** There's ''always'' a relevant xkcd comic. [[labelnote:Explanation]]As of writing, there are over 2700 xkcd comics, and that number only continues to rise. Given Munroe's tendency to write about a wide variety of topics, plus each page of the comic containing an easily-Googlable transcript and resources like xkcd, not only is there usually a relevant xkcd, it's almost always simple to find any given xkcd.[[/labelnote]]
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** There's ''always'' a relevant xkcd comic. [[labelnote:Explanation]]As of writing, there are over 2700 xkcd comics, and that number only continues to rise. Given Munroe's tendency to write about a wide variety of topics, plus each page of the comic containing an easily-Googlable transcript and resources like xkcd, explainxkcd, not only is there usually a relevant xkcd, it's almost always simple to find any given xkcd.[[/labelnote]]
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Wanted to add this just 'cause I think it's interesting how these factors shake out. If it's too crufty, feel free to cut it out, but I think it belongs.
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** There's ''always'' a relevant xkcd comic.
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** There's ''always'' a relevant xkcd comic. [[labelnote:Explanation]]As of writing, there are over 2700 xkcd comics, and that number only continues to rise. Given Munroe's tendency to write about a wide variety of topics, plus each page of the comic containing an easily-Googlable transcript and resources like xkcd, not only is there usually a relevant xkcd, it's almost always simple to find any given xkcd.[[/labelnote]]
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** "You will not go to space today," from the alt-text to [[http://xkcd.com/1133/ Up Goer Five]] seems to be heading in this direction.
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** "You You will not go to space today," today. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Originates from the alt-text to [[http://xkcd.com/1133/ Up Goer Five]] seems Five]], which explains how the Saturn V rocket works in LaymansTerms; the phrase is included at the end as part of a statement about how the engines shouldn't point towards space if you want to be heading go to space. The inherent silliness of the phrase led to it immediately taking off as a meme, and Randall would later repeatedly reference it in this direction.space-related questions on the blog ''Blog/WhatIf''.[[/labelnote]]
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** "[[https://xkcd.com/2501/ It's easy to forget that the average person probably only knows]] ''(insert obscure topic)''" [[labelnote:Explanation]]"Average Familiarity" is widely used to poke fun about knowledge of a given subject being more obscure to the general population than a community thinks it is, with edits to change what subculture and obscure knowledge is being referenced being common.[[/labelnote]]
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** "[[https://xkcd.com/2501/ It's easy to forget that the average person probably only knows]] ''(insert obscure topic)''" [[labelnote:Explanation]]"Average Familiarity" is widely used to poke fun about knowledge of a given subject being more obscure to the general population than a community thinks it is, with edits and is often edited to change what subculture and obscure knowledge is being referenced being common.referenced.[[/labelnote]]
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** [[http://xkcd.com/861/ Wisdom Teeth]] a year later when the superflat option was added to ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/861/ Wisdom Teeth]] Teeth]], published in 2011, has Cueball flatten a year later when large portion of a ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' world and sort it into layers while in a painkiller-induced haze. Three years later, the game introduced the option to generate superflat option was added to ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''.worlds consisting of a few perfectly-sorted layers of blocks.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/132/ Comic 132]], published in 2006, has Cueball not know about Music/{{Metallica}} because the band was never featured in ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''. Not only was a Metallica song included in the series for the first time in the third installment, which released the following year, but 2009 saw the release of a ''Guitar Hero'' game with nothing but music from Metallica.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/132/ Comic 132]], published in 2006, has Cueball not know about Music/{{Metallica}} because the band was never featured in ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''. Not only was a Metallica song included in the series for the first time in the third installment, which released the following year, but 2009 saw the release of a Metallica-themed ''Guitar Hero'' game with nothing but music from Metallica.game.
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** "[[https://xkcd.com/2501/ It's easy to forget that the average person probably only knows]] ''(insert obscure topic)''" [[labelnote:Explanation]]"Average Familiarity" is widely used to poke fun about knowledge of a given subject being more obscure to the general population than a community thinks it is, with edits to change what subculture and obscure knowledge is being referenced being common.[[/labelnote]]
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** [[http://www.xkcd.com/396/ This strip]] is even funnier with the knowledge of the plot of the latest [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_3D Ring movie]].
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** [[http://www."[[http://www.xkcd.com/396/ This strip]] is even funnier with The Ring]]" has Cueball upload the knowledge of film's cursed tape onto a video-sharing website. Four years after the strip's publication, the plot of the latest [[http://en.''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_3D Ring movie]].Sadako 3D]]'' involves a cursed video in the vein of the original tape being posted online.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/132/ Comic 132]] is now obsolete thanks to ''VideoGame/GuitarHero: Metallica''.
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** [[http://xkcd.com/132/ Comic 132]] is now obsolete thanks to ''VideoGame/GuitarHero: Metallica''.132]], published in 2006, has Cueball not know about Music/{{Metallica}} because the band was never featured in ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''. Not only was a Metallica song included in the series for the first time in the third installment, which released the following year, but 2009 saw the release of a ''Guitar Hero'' game with nothing but music from Metallica.
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* TheCatchPhraseCatchesOn: The term "nerd sniping", from [[https://xkcd.com/356/ the comic of the same name]], has become widely used among self-professed nerds in general to refer to getting unexpectedly caught up in an interesting problem.
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* TheCatchPhraseCatchesOn: The term "nerd sniping", from [[https://xkcd.com/356/ the comic of the same name]], has become widely used among self-professed nerds in general to refer to getting unexpectedly caught up in an interesting problem.problem. Notably, Creator/TomScott uses it when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d99_h30swtM discussing moiré effect lights and how he got an email about them]].
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** [[https://xkcd.com/2071/ 2071, Indirect Detection]], a strip about seeing a friend's woefully contextless social media posts, has become incredibly popular on sites such as Tumblr and Reddit due to being a pretty perfect summary of the average experience of users on those sites.
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* {{Anvilicious}}: Several strips qualify, but the [[https://xkcd.com/radiation/ Radiation Dose Chart]] is particularly effective in combating irrational opposition to nuclear power, such as pointing out that coal power plants give off more than ''three times'' as much radiation as nuclear power plants and yet somehow no one cares about that. (And to further put it in perspective, even eating a banana exposes you to more ionizing radiation.)
