# xkcd xkcd is a stick-figure webcomic started by former NASA robotics contractor Randall Munroe in 2005, built around jokes about math, science, programming, and online life. The strip's cult audience among coders and scientists turned specific installments like Little Bobby Tables, Click and Drag, and Password Strength into their own standalone internet memes. ## Origin Randall Munroe, a physics graduate who worked as a robotics contractor for NASA, registered the xkcd.com domain on January 25, 2003. In a 2006 interview with Red Hat Magazine he explained that the four-letter string came from an instant messenger handle he picked specifically because it had no pronunciation and no prior meaning[2]. For about two and a half years the site sat mostly empty. In September 2005, Munroe started scanning stick-figure doodles out of his school notebooks and posting them to xkcd.com, and that doodle feed quickly took over the entire site to become its only focus[3]. From there the strip settled into a Monday, Wednesday, Friday publishing cadence that it still keeps. - **Platform:** xkcd.com (self-published webcomic) - **Creator:** Randall Munroe - **Date:** 2005 ## Overview Each xkcd strip features stick figures acting out jokes about programming, mathematics, physics, linguistics, and online life, with a hover-over title text under the mouse that acts as a second punchline or aside[1]. Munroe draws from a small cast of visually interchangeable characters: a bald figure sometimes called Cueball, a woman with black hair often referred to as Megan, a Beret Guy, a Black Hat trickster, and a White Hat straight man[9]. The strip's dry tone and willingness to pack real equations, flowcharts, or research citations into gag panels made it a reference point for programmers and scientists[2]. Several strips grew past the regular readership into standalone memes. Comic 327, "Exploits of a Mom," introduced Little Bobby Tables, a child whose full name Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;-- is still quoted every time an SQL injection story breaks[9]. Comic 256, "Online Communities," mapped the social web as a fictional continent sized by population, and the strip spawned a sequel map after the shape of those networks changed[6]. Comic 936's "correct horse battery staple" argument for passphrases shaped how a generation of security educators taught password choice. The strip is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 license, which lets readers legally reprint, translate, remix, and teach from the comics as long as they don't sell them[5]. That permissive setup is a big part of why xkcd panels show up in slide decks, textbooks, and conference talks. ## How to Use References to xkcd typically take the form of linking a specific comic by number for a specific joke. Common conventions include dropping comic 327 whenever SQL injection or input sanitation comes up, pointing to comic 936 in password discussions, and linking comic 256 when mapping any community space online[6]. Readers often check the volunteer-run explain xkcd wiki when a strip's math, in-joke, or title text lands outside their field, since it writes a breakdown for every published comic[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is xkcd? xkcd is a long-running stick-figure webcomic by Randall Munroe about math, science, programming, and internet culture, published at xkcd.com[1]. ### Where did xkcd come from? Munroe registered the domain in January 2003 and began posting scanned stick-figure doodles from his school notebooks in September 2005[3]. ### What does xkcd mean? Nothing. Munroe took the four letters from an instant messenger handle he chose specifically because the string had no pronunciation and no prior meaning[2]. ### How do you use xkcd? Readers typically link a specific xkcd by its comic number as shorthand for a joke, often pairing it with the explain xkcd wiki for context[4]. ### Is xkcd still popular? Yes. New strips are still published on the same Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, and the explain xkcd wiki writes a fresh entry for each one[4]. ### Who is Randall Munroe? Munroe is a former NASA robotics contractor and physics graduate who draws xkcd and also writes the "What If?" column answering absurd physics questions[3]. ### Who are the stick figures in xkcd? Recurring characters include a bald figure called Cueball, a dark-haired woman often called Megan, Beret Guy, Black Hat, and White Hat[9]. ### What is Little Bobby Tables? He is the son in comic 327 whose full name Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;-- is used as a shorthand joke about SQL injection[9]. ### Can I reprint xkcd comics? Yes, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 license you can copy and share the comics, but you can't sell them[5]. ### What is Click and Drag? Comic 1110, published in August 2012, is a single enormous explorable panel that readers drag through to reveal a huge hand-drawn landscape[7]. ### What is explain xkcd? It is a volunteer wiki that writes an annotated entry for every xkcd strip and runs a weekly project to polish older explanations[4]. ## References 1. [https://xkcd.com]() 2. [https://www.redhat.com/magazine/025nov06/features/xkcd/]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xkcd]() 4. [https://www.explainxkcd.com/]() 5. [https://xkcd.com/license.html]() 6. [https://xkcd.com/256/]() 7. [https://xkcd.com/1110/]() 8. [https://xkcd.com/961/]() 9. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Xkcd]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/xkcd Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library