this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2025
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xkcd
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Stupid question… are these RPMs true??
Everything in XKCD is based on truth. That's what makes it so funny... to geeks, at least.
Edit: God damn it, he put 72 instead of 78 RPM. I guess he does make mistakes after all...
He also put 33 instead of 33 and ⅓. Get the pitchforks!
Just a random thought, I always knew that 33 multiplied by 3 is 99 and 33 1/3 multiplied by 3 is 100, but I never considered that 33 is 99% of 33 1/3.
Woah...
He's made typos a few times in the past too: https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=typo&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go
I mean, technically, the record will play just fine. Everything will be slightly slower and lower pitched, but it'll work. Think doom metal meets 1930s jazz.
Maybe I'm dense but shouldn't the clock be:
Yep, I'm a dumb, realized after a cup of coffee. Confirmed by the reply below.
I think I'm just going to go back to bed and skip today
Yes, you're dense lol. The speeds are correct: the second hand that does one full Revolution Per Minute, the minute hand does one full Revolution Per Hour and the hour hand does one Revolution Per 12 Hours.
Oh my god I'm full of caffeine and still wondered this same thing. In my defense it's Friday afternoon and I'm tired.
The sidereal telescope mount one seems to be right (approx 1 rotation per day).