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Wikipedia

Randall Munroe

May 02, 2024

Not to be confused with Randy Monroe or Rendall Munroe.

Randall Patrick Munroe (born October 17, 1984)[1][2][3] is an American cartoonist, author, and engineer best known as the creator of the webcomic xkcd. Munroe has worked full-time on the comic since late 2006.[4] In addition to publishing a book of the webcomic's strips, titled xkcd: Volume 0, he has written four books: What If?, Thing Explainer, How To, and What If? 2.

Randall Munroe
Munroe speaking at re:publica in 2016
BornRandall Patrick Munroe
(1984-10-17) October 17, 1984 (age 39)
Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater
GenreWebcomics, popular science
Notable works
Signature
Website
www.xkcd.com

Early life and education edit

Munroe was born in Easton, Pennsylvania,[5] though he grew up in Virginia.[6] His father has worked as an engineer and marketer.[5] He has two younger siblings, including a brother named Doug,[7] and was raised as a Quaker.[5][8] He was a fan of comic strips in newspapers from an early age,[4] starting with Calvin and Hobbes.[9]

After graduating from the Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill in Midlothian, Virginia, he graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2006 with a degree in physics.[10][11][12]

Career edit

NASA edit

Munroe worked as a contract programmer and roboticist for NASA at the Langley Research Center,[13][9] before and after his graduation with a physics degree.[5]

In late 2006, he left NASA, and moved to Boston to focus on webcomics full time.[14][13]

Webcomic edit

Main article: xkcd
 
"Wikipedian Protester", published on xkcd.com with all-caps title-text (tooltip): "Semi-protect the Constitution".[15] On Wikipedia, semi-protected pages may not be edited by new or unregistered users. "Citation needed" is a tag added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added.

Munroe's webcomic, entitled xkcd, is primarily a stick figure comic. Its tagline describes it as "A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language".[16]

Munroe had originally used xkcd as an instant messaging screenname because he wanted a name without a meaning so he would not eventually grow tired of it.[17] He registered the domain name, but left it idle until he started posting his drawings, perhaps in September 2005.[9][third-party source needed] The webcomic quickly became very popular, garnering up to 70 million hits a month by October 2007.[18] Munroe has said, "I think the comic that's gotten me the most feedback is actually the one about the stoplights".[18][19]

Munroe now supports himself by the sale of xkcd-related merchandise, primarily thousands of t-shirts a month.[4][17] He licenses his xkcd creations under the Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial 2.5, stating that it is not just about the free culture movement, but that it also makes good business sense.[17]

In 2010, he published a collection of the comics.[20] He has also toured the lecture circuit, giving speeches at places such as Google's Googleplex in Mountain View, California.[21]

The popularity of the strip among science fiction fans resulted in Munroe being nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 2011 and again in 2012.[22] In 2014, he won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for the xkcd strip "Time".[23]

Other projects edit

Munroe is the creator of the now defunct websites "The Funniest",[24] "The Cutest",[25] and "The Fairest",[26] each of which presents users with two options and asks them to choose one over the other.[citation needed]

In January 2008, Munroe developed an open-source chat moderation script named "Robot9000". Originally developed to moderate one of Munroe's xkcd-related Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels, the software's algorithm attempts to prevent repetition in IRC channels by temporarily muting users who send messages that are identical to a message that has been sent to the channel before. If users continue to send unoriginal messages, Robot9000 mutes the user for a longer period, quadrupling for each unoriginal message the user sends to the channel.[27][third-party source needed] Shortly after Munroe's blog post about the script went live, 4chan administrator Christopher Poole adapted the script to moderate the site's experimental /r9k/ board.[28] Twitch trialed R9K mode as a beta feature,[29] and eventually introduced it under the name "unique-chat mode".[30]

In October 2008, The New Yorker magazine online published an interview and "Cartoon Off" between Munroe and Farley Katz, in which each cartoonist drew a series of four humorous cartoons.[31]

In early 2010, Munroe ran the xkcd Color Name Survey, in which participants were shown a series of RGB colors and asked to enter a suitable name for each specific color. Munroe wanted to identify colors which were given identical or highly similar names by a large number of survey participants, which would then serve as an approximate list of the most common colors rendered similarly across a range of computer monitors. Over 200,000 people eventually completed the survey,[32] and Munroe published the resulting list of 954 named RGB web colors[33] on the xkcd website. They have since been adopted as conventional color identifiers in various programming and markup languages, including Python[34] and LaTeX.[35]

In 2015, The New Yorker published "The Space Doctor's Big Idea", an article by Munroe explaining general relativity using only the 1,000 most common English words.[36]

What If? edit

Main article: What If? (book)
 
Munroe explaining one of the scenarios from What If? 2 while promoting the book in Norwood, Ohio, in 2022

Munroe has a blog entitled What If?, where he has answered questions sent in by fans of his comics. These questions are usually absurd and related to math or physics, and he explains them using both his knowledge and various academic sources.[37] In 2014, he published a collection of some of the responses, as well as a few new ones and some rejected questions, in a book entitled What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.[20] Starting in November 2019, Munroe began writing a monthly column in The New York Times titled Good Question, answering user-submitted questions in the same style as What If.[38]

A sequel, What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, was published in September 2022.[39]

Radioactivity visualization edit

 
Munroe's 2011 chart on various doses of radioactivity in sieverts, ranging from negligible to lethal

In response to concerns about the radioactivity released by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, and to remedy what he described as "confusing" reporting on radiation levels in the media, Munroe created a radiation chart of comparative radiation exposure levels.[40] The chart was rapidly adopted by print and online journalists in several countries,[citation needed] including being linked to by online writers for The Guardian,[41] and The New York Times.[42] As a result of requests for permission to reprint the chart and to translate it into Japanese, Munroe placed it in the public domain, but requested that his non-expert status be clearly stated in any reprinting.[43]

Munroe published an xkcd-style comic on scientific publishing and open access in Science in October 2013.[44]

Thing Explainer edit

Main article: Thing Explainer

Munroe's book Thing Explainer, announced in May 2015 and published later that year, explains concepts using only the 1,000 most common English words.[20][45][46] The book's publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, saw these illustrations as potentially useful for textbooks, and announced in March 2016 that the next editions of their high-school-level chemistry, biology, and physics textbooks will include selected drawings and accompanying text from Thing Explainer.[47][48]

How To edit

Main article: How To (book)

In February 2019, Munroe announced his next book, How To, which was released in September of that year. The book deals with everyday problems by using physics to find absurd, and generally extreme, solutions to them.[49][8]

YouTube edit

On 31st August 2023, Munroe created a YouTube channel called xkcd's What If?, where he first uploaded on 29th November of the same year. On the channel Munroe answers questions from the What If? book series, accompanied by xkcd-style animations.[50]

Influence edit

In September 2013, Munroe announced that a group of xkcd readers had submitted his name as a candidate for the renaming of asteroid (4942) 1987 DU6 to 4942 Munroe. The name was accepted by the International Astronomical Union.[51][52]

Personal life edit

As of May 2008, Munroe lives in Somerville, Massachusetts.[4]

In October 2010, Munroe's fiancée was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer; there had been no prior family history.[53][54] The emotional effect of her illness was referenced in the comic panel "Emotion", published 18 months later in April 2012.[55] In September 2011, he announced that they had married.[56] In November 2012, he published a comic entitled "Two Years", and in December 2017, Munroe followed this with a comic entitled "Seven Years".[57] He revisited the subject in November 2020 in a comic entitled "Ten Years".[58]

His hobbies and interests include kite photography, in which cameras are attached to kites and photographs are then taken of the ground or buildings.[59]

Publications edit

Publications by Munroe edit

  • xkcd: volume 0. Breadpig. 2009. ISBN 9780615314464.
  • What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. London: John Murray. 2014. ISBN 9781848549579.
  • Thing Explainer. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. ISBN 9780544668256.
  • How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems. John Murray. 2019. ISBN 9780525537090.
  • What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. Riverhead Books. 2022. ISBN 9780525537113.

Publications with contributions by Munroe edit

  • North, Ryan; Matthew, Bennardo; Malki, David (2010). (PDF). ISBN 9780982167120. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

References edit

  1. ^ Chamberlin, Alan. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". JPL Solar System Dynamics. from the original on March 5, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  2. ^ Ly, Chen (October 12, 2022). "Randall Munroe on answering the strangest scientific questions". New Scientist. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Cavna, Michael (September 12, 2022). "The world's funniest former NASA roboticist will take your questions". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Cohen, Noam (May 26, 2008). "This Is Funny Only if You Know Unix". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d Tupponce, Joan (November 24, 2009). "A Cartoonist's Mind". Richmond Magazine. from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions". Scientific American. 311 (3): 146. August 19, 2014. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0914-92b. ISSN 0036-8733. I grew up in Virginia
  7. ^ "Pillar". xkcd. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Martinelli, Marissa (September 6, 2019). "Xkcd Creator Randall Munroe on the Joys of Overthinking Everything". Slate. from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Munroe, Randall (December 11, 2007). Authors@Google: Randall Munroe (@Google Talks Adobe Flash video). Mountain View, California: Google. Event occurs at 24:13, 48:05, other timepoints. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2008. ...Calvin and Hobbes was the first comic that I discovered. / ... I'm pretty sure I started [posting drawings] in September 2005
  10. ^ Munroe, Randall. "About". xkcd. from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2008.[third-party source needed]
  11. ^ Munroe, Randall (October 6, 2006). "Many news things, some overdue". xkcd: The blag of the webcomic. WordPress. Job. from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014. My about page mentions that I work for NASA — I'm technically a contractor working repeated contracts for them. However, they recently ran out of money to rehire me for another contract, so I'm done there for now.[third-party source needed]
  12. ^ "Voyages 2012". December 2014.
  13. ^ a b Lineberry, Denise (2012). . NASA. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  14. ^ Harvkey, Mike (August 5, 2019). "Cartoonist Randall Munroe Will Be Your Answer Man". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 266, no. 31. p. 49. ProQuest 2268106353. Retrieved November 16, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  15. ^ Munroe, Randall. "Wikipedian Protester". xkcd.com. from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  16. ^ Munroe, Randall. "xkcd". xkcd. from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c Fernandez, Rebecca (October 12, 2006). . Red Hat Magazine. Raleigh, North Carolina: Red Hat. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  18. ^ a b So, Adrienne (November 13, 2007). "Real Geek Heart Beats in Xkcd's Stick Figures". Wired. San Francisco: Condé Nast Publications. ISSN 1059-1028. from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  19. ^ Randall Munroe (June 15, 2007). "Long Light". xkcd. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c Alter, Alexandra (November 23, 2015). "Randall Munroe Explains It All for Us". The New York Times. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  21. ^ Spertus, Ellen (December 21, 2007). . Beyond Satire. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  22. ^ Hugo Staff. . Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  23. ^ Hugo Staff (April 18, 2014). "Hugo Awards 2014 nomination". from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  24. ^ Munroe, Randall. . Archived from the original on December 5, 2006.
  25. ^ Munroe, Randall. . Archived from the original on May 28, 2010.
  26. ^ Munroe, Randall. "The Fairest". from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  27. ^ Munroe, Randall (January 14, 2008). "ROBOT9000 and #xkcd-signal: Attacking Noise in Chat". blog.xkcd.com. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  28. ^ Petersen, Kierran (October 2, 2015). "A short history of /r9k/ — the 4chan message board some believe may be connected to the Oregon shooting". Public Radio International. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2018. Surprisingly enough, however, the /r9k/ board, otherwise known as ROBOT9001, was originally conceived as a way to increase the quality of messages on the wildly popular webcomic xkcd. It used a type of auto-moderation that prevented people from posting the same comment multiple times. [...] 4chan eventually moved the idea and software behind ROBOT9000 on to its site. They just added a one.
  29. ^ "What Does R9K Mode Mean - Twitch - Streamer Tactics". streamertactics.com. September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  30. ^ "Twitch Unique Chat Mode - Twitch - Streamer Tactics". streamertactics.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  31. ^ Katz, Farley (October 15, 2008). . The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015.
  32. ^ "Color Survey Results". xkcd. May 4, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  33. ^ "954 most common RGB colors (xkcd color survey results)". xkcd.com. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  34. ^ "Specifying colors - Matplotlib 3.7.0 documentation". Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  35. ^ "CTAN: Package xkcdcolors". ctan.org. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  36. ^ Munroe, Randall (November 18, 2015). . The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 1, 2023.
  37. ^ "What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  38. ^ "Good Question". The New York Times. from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  39. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (January 31, 2022). "XKCD's Randall Munroe announces What If? 2, with more scientific answers to life's most absurd hypothetical questions". The Verge. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  40. ^ "Radiation dosage chart". xkcd.com. from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  41. ^ Monbiot, George (March 21, 2011). "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power". The Guardian. London. from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  42. ^ Revkin, Andrew (March 23, 2011). "The 'Dread to Risk' Ratio on Radiation and other Discontents". Dot Earth blog. The New York Times. from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  43. ^ Munroe, Randall (March 19, 2011). "Radiation Chart". www.xkcd.com. from the original on July 5, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  44. ^ Munroe, Randall (October 4, 2013). "The Rise of Open Access". Science. 342 (6154): 58–59. Bibcode:2013Sci...342...58.. doi:10.1126/science.342.6154.58. PMID 24092724.
  45. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (May 13, 2015). "XKCD has a new book about explaining complicated subjects in simple ways". The Verge. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  46. ^ Alderman, Naomi (December 17, 2015). "Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe – funny, precise and beautifully designed". The Guardian. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  47. ^ Chang, Kenneth (March 22, 2016). "Randall Munroe, XKCD Creator, Goes Back to High School". New York Times. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  48. ^ Jao, Charline (March 23, 2016). "XKCD Creator Randall Munroe Making Content For High School Textbooks". The Mary Sue. from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  49. ^ Munroe, Randall. "how to". xkcd. from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  50. ^ "xkcd's What If?". youtube.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  51. ^ . Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. July 29, 2013. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  52. ^ Munroe, Randall (September 30, 2013). "Asteroid 4942 Munroe". xkcd | The blag of the webcomic. from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  53. ^ Munroe, Randall (November 5, 2010). "November - 2010 - xkcd". blog.xkcd.com. from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  54. ^ Munroe, Randall (June 30, 2011). "Family Illness". from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  55. ^ Munroe, Randall. "xkcd: Emotion". xkcd.com. from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  56. ^ Munroe, Randall (September 12, 2011). "<3". Blog. XKCD. from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  57. ^ Munroe, Randall (December 13, 2017). "Seven Years". Webcomic. XKCD. from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  58. ^ Munroe, Randall (November 16, 2020). "Ten Years". Webcomic. XKCD. from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  59. ^ Kuchera, Ben (July 2, 2007). "The joys of kite photography". Ars Technica. from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2017.

External links edit

  • Official website

May 02, 2024
randall, munroe, confused, with, randy, monroe, rendall, munroe, randall, patrick, munroe, born, october, 1984, american, cartoonist, author, engineer, best, known, creator, webcomic, xkcd, munroe, worked, full, time, comic, since, late, 2006, addition, publis. Not to be confused with Randy Monroe or Rendall Munroe Randall Patrick Munroe born October 17 1984 1 2 3 is an American cartoonist author and engineer best known as the creator of the webcomic xkcd Munroe has worked full time on the comic since late 2006 4 In addition to publishing a book of the webcomic s strips titled xkcd Volume 0 he has written four books What If Thing Explainer How To and What If 2 Randall MunroeMunroe speaking at re publica in 2016BornRandall Patrick Munroe 1984 10 17 October 17 1984 age 39 Easton Pennsylvania U S Alma materChristopher Newport University BS GenreWebcomics popular scienceNotable worksxkcdWhat If Thing ExplainerHow ToSignatureWebsitewww wbr xkcd wbr com Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 NASA 2 2 Webcomic 2 3 Other projects 2 3 1 What If 2 3 2 Radioactivity visualization 2 3 3 Thing Explainer 2 3 4 How To 2 3 5 YouTube 3 Influence 4 Personal life 5 Publications 5 1 Publications by Munroe 5 2 Publications with contributions by Munroe 6 References 7 External linksEarly life and education editMunroe was born in Easton Pennsylvania 5 though he grew up in Virginia 6 His father has worked as an engineer and marketer 5 He has two younger siblings including a brother named Doug 7 and was raised as a Quaker 5 8 He was a fan of comic strips in newspapers from an early age 4 starting with Calvin and Hobbes 9 After graduating from the Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill in Midlothian Virginia he graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2006 with a degree in physics 10 11 12 Career editNASA edit Munroe worked as a contract programmer and roboticist for NASA at the Langley Research Center 13 9 before and after his graduation with a physics degree 5 In late 2006 he left NASA and moved to Boston to focus on webcomics full time 14 13 Webcomic edit Main article xkcd nbsp Wikipedian Protester published on xkcd com with all caps title text tooltip Semi protect the Constitution 15 On Wikipedia semi protected pages may not be edited by new or unregistered users Citation needed is a tag added by Wikipedia editors to unsourced statements in articles requesting citations to be added Munroe s webcomic entitled xkcd is primarily a stick figure comic Its tagline describes it as A webcomic of romance sarcasm math and language 16 Munroe had originally used xkcd as an instant messaging screenname because he wanted a name without a meaning so he would not eventually grow tired of it 17 He registered the domain name but left it idle until he started posting his drawings perhaps in September 2005 9 third party source needed The webcomic quickly became very popular garnering up to 70 million hits a month by October 2007 18 Munroe has said I think the comic that s gotten me the most feedback is actually the one about the stoplights 18 19 Munroe now supports himself by the sale of xkcd related merchandise primarily thousands of t shirts a month 4 17 He licenses his xkcd creations under the Creative Commons attribution noncommercial 2 5 stating that it is not just about the free culture movement but that it also makes good business sense 17 In 2010 he published a collection of the comics 20 He has also toured the lecture circuit giving speeches at places such as Google s Googleplex in Mountain View California 21 The popularity of the strip among science fiction fans resulted in Munroe being nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 2011 and again in 2012 22 In 2014 he won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for the xkcd strip Time 23 Other projects edit Munroe is the creator of the now defunct websites The Funniest 24 The Cutest 25 and The Fairest 26 each of which presents users with two options and asks them to choose one over the other citation needed In January 2008 Munroe developed an open source chat moderation script named Robot9000 Originally developed to moderate one of Munroe s xkcd related Internet Relay Chat IRC channels the software s algorithm attempts to prevent repetition in IRC channels by temporarily muting users who send messages that are identical to a message that has been sent to the channel before If users continue to send unoriginal messages Robot9000 mutes the user for a longer period quadrupling for each unoriginal message the user sends to the channel 27 third party source needed Shortly after Munroe s blog post about the script went live 4chan administrator Christopher Poole adapted the script to moderate the site s experimental r9k board 28 Twitch trialed R9K mode as a beta feature 29 and eventually introduced it under the name unique chat mode 30 In October 2008 The New Yorker magazine online published an interview and Cartoon Off between Munroe and Farley Katz in which each cartoonist drew a series of four humorous cartoons 31 In early 2010 Munroe ran the xkcd Color Name Survey in which participants were shown a series of RGB colors and asked to enter a suitable name for each specific color Munroe wanted to identify colors which were given identical or highly similar names by a large number of survey participants which would then serve as an approximate list of the most common colors rendered similarly across a range of computer monitors Over 200 000 people eventually completed the survey 32 and Munroe published the resulting list of 954 named RGB web colors 33 on the xkcd website They have since been adopted as conventional color identifiers in various programming and markup languages including Python 34 and LaTeX 35 In 2015 The New Yorker published The Space Doctor s Big Idea an article by Munroe explaining general relativity using only the 1 000 most common English words 36 What If edit Main article What If book nbsp Munroe explaining one of the scenarios from What If 2 while promoting the book in Norwood Ohio in 2022 Munroe has a blog entitled What If where he has answered questions sent in by fans of his comics These questions are usually absurd and related to math or physics and he explains them using both his knowledge and various academic sources 37 In 2014 he published a collection of some of the responses as well as a few new ones and some rejected questions in a book entitled What If Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions 20 Starting in November 2019 Munroe began writing a monthly column in The New York Times titled Good Question answering user submitted questions in the same style as What If 38 A sequel What If 2 Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions was published in September 2022 39 Radioactivity visualization edit nbsp Munroe s 2011 chart on various doses of radioactivity in sieverts ranging from negligible to lethal In response to concerns about the radioactivity released by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 and to remedy what he described as confusing reporting on radiation levels in the media Munroe created a radiation chart of comparative radiation exposure levels 40 The chart was rapidly adopted by print and online journalists in several countries citation needed including being linked to by online writers for The Guardian 41 and The New York Times 42 As a result of requests for permission to reprint the chart and to translate it into Japanese Munroe placed it in the public domain but requested that his non expert status be clearly stated in any reprinting 43 Munroe published an xkcd style comic on scientific publishing and open access in Science in October 2013 44 Thing Explainer edit Main article Thing Explainer Munroe s book Thing Explainer announced in May 2015 and published later that year explains concepts using only the 1 000 most common English words 20 45 46 The book s publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt saw these illustrations as potentially useful for textbooks and announced in March 2016 that the next editions of their high school level chemistry biology and physics textbooks will include selected drawings and accompanying text from Thing Explainer 47 48 How To edit Main article How To book In February 2019 Munroe announced his next book How To which was released in September of that year The book deals with everyday problems by using physics to find absurd and generally extreme solutions to them 49 8 YouTube edit On 31st August 2023 Munroe created a YouTube channel called xkcd s What If where he first uploaded on 29th November of the same year On the channel Munroe answers questions from the What If book series accompanied by xkcd style animations 50 Influence editIn September 2013 Munroe announced that a group of xkcd readers had submitted his name as a candidate for the renaming of asteroid 4942 1987 DU6 to 4942 Munroe The name was accepted by the International Astronomical Union 51 52 Personal life editAs of May 2008 update Munroe lives in Somerville Massachusetts 4 In October 2010 Munroe s fiancee was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer there had been no prior family history 53 54 The emotional effect of her illness was referenced in the comic panel Emotion published 18 months later in April 2012 55 In September 2011 he announced that they had married 56 In November 2012 he published a comic entitled Two Years and in December 2017 Munroe followed this with a comic entitled Seven Years 57 He revisited the subject in November 2020 in a comic entitled Ten Years 58 His hobbies and interests include kite photography in which cameras are attached to kites and photographs are then taken of the ground or buildings 59 Publications editPublications by Munroe edit xkcd volume 0 Breadpig 2009 ISBN 9780615314464 What If Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions London John Murray 2014 ISBN 9781848549579 Thing Explainer Boston Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2015 ISBN 9780544668256 How To Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real World Problems John Murray 2019 ISBN 9780525537090 What If 2 Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Riverhead Books 2022 ISBN 9780525537113 Publications with contributions by Munroe edit North Ryan Matthew Bennardo Malki David 2010 Machine of Death PDF ISBN 9780982167120 Archived from the original on January 2 2023 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link References edit Chamberlin Alan JPL Small Body Database Browser JPL Solar System Dynamics Archived from the original on March 5 2017 Retrieved August 24 2020 Ly Chen October 12 2022 Randall Munroe on answering the strangest scientific questions New Scientist Archived from the original on January 19 2024 Cavna Michael September 12 2022 The world s funniest former NASA roboticist will take your questions The Washington Post Retrieved September 13 2022 a b c d Cohen Noam May 26 2008 This Is Funny Only if You Know Unix The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved September 25 2008 a b c d Tupponce Joan November 24 2009 A Cartoonist s Mind Richmond Magazine Archived from the original on March 27 2020 Retrieved January 28 2020 What If Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Scientific American 311 3 146 August 19 2014 doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0914 92b ISSN 0036 8733 I grew up in Virginia Pillar xkcd Retrieved April 25 2023 a b Martinelli Marissa September 6 2019 Xkcd Creator Randall Munroe on the Joys of Overthinking Everything Slate Archived from the original on September 10 2019 Retrieved September 11 2019 a b c Munroe Randall December 11 2007 Authors Google Randall Munroe Google Talks Adobe Flash video Mountain View California Google Event occurs at 24 13 48 05 other timepoints Archived from the original on December 19 2021 Retrieved September 25 2008 Calvin and Hobbes was the first comic that I discovered I m pretty sure I started posting drawings in September 2005 Munroe Randall About xkcd Archived from the original on May 23 2019 Retrieved September 26 2008 third party source needed Munroe Randall October 6 2006 Many news things some overdue xkcd The blag of the webcomic WordPress Job Archived from the original on August 24 2013 Retrieved January 1 2014 My about page mentions that I work for NASA I m technically a contractor working repeated contracts for them However they recently ran out of money to rehire me for another contract so I m done there for now third party source needed Voyages 2012 December 2014 a b Lineberry Denise 2012 Robots or Webcomics That was the Question NASA Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved December 11 2015 Harvkey Mike August 5 2019 Cartoonist Randall Munroe Will Be Your Answer Man Publishers Weekly Vol 266 no 31 p 49 ProQuest 2268106353 Retrieved November 16 2022 via ProQuest Munroe Randall Wikipedian Protester xkcd com Archived from the original on March 22 2019 Retrieved April 5 2010 Munroe Randall xkcd xkcd Archived from the original on February 3 2020 Retrieved February 5 2020 a b c Fernandez Rebecca October 12 2006 xkcd A comic strip for the computer geek Red Hat Magazine Raleigh North Carolina Red Hat Archived from the original on March 6 2007 Retrieved September 25 2008 a b So Adrienne November 13 2007 Real Geek Heart Beats in Xkcd s Stick Figures Wired San Francisco Conde Nast Publications ISSN 1059 1028 Archived from the original on October 11 2008 Retrieved September 25 2008 Randall Munroe June 15 2007 Long Light xkcd Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved April 18 2020 a b c Alter Alexandra November 23 2015 Randall Munroe Explains It All for Us The New York Times Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved February 23 2017 Spertus Ellen December 21 2007 Randall Munroe s visit to Google xkcd Beyond Satire Archived from the original on October 5 2008 Retrieved September 25 2008 Hugo Staff Hugo Awards 2012 nomination Archived from the original on April 9 2012 Retrieved April 7 2012 Hugo Staff April 18 2014 Hugo Awards 2014 nomination Archived from the original on September 6 2015 Retrieved April 20 2014 Munroe Randall The Funniest Archived from the original on December 5 2006 Munroe Randall The Cutest Archived from the original on May 28 2010 Munroe Randall The Fairest Archived from the original on June 12 2010 Retrieved September 26 2008 Munroe Randall January 14 2008 ROBOT9000 and xkcd signal Attacking Noise in Chat blog xkcd com Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved September 28 2018 Petersen Kierran October 2 2015 A short history of r9k the 4chan message board some believe may be connected to the Oregon shooting Public Radio International Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved May 18 2018 Surprisingly enough however the r9k board otherwise known as ROBOT9001 was originally conceived as a way to increase the quality of messages on the wildly popular webcomic xkcd It used a type of auto moderation that prevented people from posting the same comment multiple times 4chan eventually moved the idea and software behind ROBOT9000 on to its site They just added a one What Does R9K Mode Mean Twitch Streamer Tactics streamertactics com September 30 2022 Retrieved September 30 2022 Twitch Unique Chat Mode Twitch Streamer Tactics streamertactics com November 18 2022 Retrieved November 26 2023 Katz Farley October 15 2008 Cartoon Off XKCD The New Yorker Archived from the original on April 1 2015 Color Survey Results xkcd May 4 2010 Retrieved October 22 2021 954 most common RGB colors xkcd color survey results xkcd com Retrieved October 22 2021 Specifying colors Matplotlib 3 7 0 documentation Retrieved March 2 2023 CTAN Package xkcdcolors ctan org Retrieved March 2 2023 Munroe Randall November 18 2015 The Space Doctor s Big Idea The New Yorker Archived from the original on April 1 2023 What If Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions www goodreads com Retrieved January 17 2021 Good Question The New York Times Archived from the original on June 16 2020 Retrieved June 18 2020 Gartenberg Chaim January 31 2022 XKCD s Randall Munroe announces What If 2 with more scientific answers to life s most absurd hypothetical questions The Verge Retrieved February 1 2022 Radiation dosage chart xkcd com Archived from the original on November 22 2019 Retrieved January 28 2020 Monbiot George March 21 2011 Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power The Guardian London Archived from the original on June 26 2015 Retrieved March 29 2011 Revkin Andrew March 23 2011 The Dread to Risk Ratio on Radiation and other Discontents Dot Earth blog The New York Times Archived from the original on March 26 2011 Retrieved March 29 2011 Munroe Randall March 19 2011 Radiation Chart www xkcd com Archived from the original on July 5 2011 Retrieved March 29 2011 Munroe Randall October 4 2013 The Rise of Open Access Science 342 6154 58 59 Bibcode 2013Sci 342 58 doi 10 1126 science 342 6154 58 PMID 24092724 Kastrenakes Jacob May 13 2015 XKCD has a new book about explaining complicated subjects in simple ways The Verge Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved May 14 2015 Alderman Naomi December 17 2015 Thing Explainer Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe funny precise and beautifully designed The Guardian Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved December 12 2016 Chang Kenneth March 22 2016 Randall Munroe XKCD Creator Goes Back to High School New York Times Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved March 22 2016 Jao Charline March 23 2016 XKCD Creator Randall Munroe Making Content For High School Textbooks The Mary Sue Archived from the original on April 14 2016 Retrieved April 6 2016 Munroe Randall how to xkcd Archived from the original on March 29 2019 Retrieved February 6 2019 xkcd s What If youtube com Retrieved December 5 2023 4942 Munroe 1987 DU6 Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology July 29 2013 Archived from the original on September 6 2014 Retrieved June 11 2013 Munroe Randall September 30 2013 Asteroid 4942 Munroe xkcd The blag of the webcomic Archived from the original on October 3 2013 Retrieved June 11 2013 Munroe Randall November 5 2010 November 2010 xkcd blog xkcd com Archived from the original on March 25 2019 Retrieved June 3 2018 Munroe Randall June 30 2011 Family Illness Archived from the original on May 21 2018 Retrieved June 3 2018 Munroe Randall xkcd Emotion xkcd com Archived from the original on March 8 2019 Retrieved June 3 2018 Munroe Randall September 12 2011 lt 3 Blog XKCD Archived from the original on November 3 2011 Retrieved September 12 2011 Munroe Randall December 13 2017 Seven Years Webcomic XKCD Archived from the original on March 4 2019 Retrieved January 6 2018 Munroe Randall November 16 2020 Ten Years Webcomic XKCD Archived from the original on November 17 2020 Retrieved November 17 2020 Kuchera Ben July 2 2007 The joys of kite photography Ars Technica Archived from the original on January 12 2012 Retrieved June 14 2017 nbsp Biography portal nbsp Comics portal nbsp Physics portal nbsp United States portalExternal links editRandall Munroe at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Data from Wikidata Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Randall Munroe amp oldid 1221112609 Other projects, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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