0491: "Twitter"
Moderators: Moderators General, Prelates, Magistrates
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Like this a lot more, if only for introducing me to Burma Shave ads...
Ah, sweet wordplay...
Ah, sweet wordplay...
Thus spake Cartofel.
And yea, there were great rollings of eyes, and shakings of heads.
And yea, there were great rollings of eyes, and shakings of heads.
Spoiler:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
This comic is
The best in weeks
Sadly, though,
My poem reeks
Burma-Shave
The best in weeks
Sadly, though,
My poem reeks
Burma-Shave
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Does Randall have a twitter account?
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
What I thought
When this verse I read:
"Randal, get out
Of my head"
Burma-shave
(No, not really, but it had to be said)
When this verse I read:
"Randal, get out
Of my head"
Burma-shave
(No, not really, but it had to be said)
-
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 4:14 pm UTC
- Location: the jungle called Greece
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I am one of those who needed to do some searching in order to understand the comic, I get it now !
*is proud* I hadn't even heard of twitter before 


-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:24 am UTC
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Proud to say
I registered
Just because
I knew the word
Burma Shave
and twitter. And this comic made me so happy that I needed a place to express my love for it, so here I am. Hello, forum world.
I registered
Just because
I knew the word
Burma Shave
and twitter. And this comic made me so happy that I needed a place to express my love for it, so here I am. Hello, forum world.
-
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:55 am UTC
- Location: Hyperspace
- Contact:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
This comic at first,
I did not get.
But Wiki was there,
So I did not fret.
Burma-Shave
I did not get.
But Wiki was there,
So I did not fret.
Burma-Shave
Mary had a little sheep, little sheep, little sheep.
With the sheep, she went to sleep, went to sleep, went to sleep.
But the sheep turned out to be a ram,
Mary had a little lamb.
With the sheep, she went to sleep, went to sleep, went to sleep.
But the sheep turned out to be a ram,
Mary had a little lamb.
-
- Posts: 194
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 11:22 pm UTC
- Location: The smogbound wastes of northern England
- Contact:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Now, you see, your rhymes
they don't make sense
because they don't
tangentially reference
Burma-Shave
(That's the point, after all, right?)
they don't make sense
because they don't
tangentially reference
Burma-Shave
(That's the point, after all, right?)
The Unofficial "Making xkcd Slightly Worse" Archive [Incomplete]: xkcdsw.com
Articles that fall out of my head about once a month: imrannazar.com
Articles that fall out of my head about once a month: imrannazar.com
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Might be that I'm a European not natively English speaking,
but I think that I speak for a lot of us when I say:
"I don't get it."
And that's the first EVER.
but I think that I speak for a lot of us when I say:
"I don't get it."
And that's the first EVER.
- Cynical Idealist
- Posts: 1124
- Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:48 pm UTC
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I'm happy to say that I immediately got the "burma shave" thing.
I'm even happier to say that I've subverted ads for community college classes on campus into burma shave ads. They didn't exactly fit the format, since there wasn't a verse to them, but it got quite a few laughs from the professors.
I'm even happier to say that I've subverted ads for community college classes on campus into burma shave ads. They didn't exactly fit the format, since there wasn't a verse to them, but it got quite a few laughs from the professors.
The internet removes the two biggest aids in detecting sarcasm:
1)The tone of voice
2)the assumption that the other person is sane
1)The tone of voice
2)the assumption that the other person is sane
Elvish Pillager wrote:See? All the problems in our society are caused by violent video games, like FarmVille.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Have you seen the old British Wool Board ads? They're pretty nifty too.
'Avast, you scum!' cried Captain Bligh
(Three months adrift) 'The shore is nigh!'
He seized his log: 'We owe salvation
To pluck -- to faultless navigation --
To discipline -- to lack of gin --
To wearing wool against the skin.
This last, a most essential rule;
There is no substitute for wool'.
'Quo Vadis?' cried the Palace guard.
'Upstairs!' yelled Nero, running hard.
'My wardrobe must be saved tonight,
Before the looters heave in sight.
Rome's burning brightly now', said Nero,
'But temperatures will drop to zero.
For keeping warm in weather cool,
There is no substitute for wool'.
And so on. Plenty more, as well as some of the story behind them, here and here.
'Avast, you scum!' cried Captain Bligh
(Three months adrift) 'The shore is nigh!'
He seized his log: 'We owe salvation
To pluck -- to faultless navigation --
To discipline -- to lack of gin --
To wearing wool against the skin.
This last, a most essential rule;
There is no substitute for wool'.
'Quo Vadis?' cried the Palace guard.
'Upstairs!' yelled Nero, running hard.
'My wardrobe must be saved tonight,
Before the looters heave in sight.
Rome's burning brightly now', said Nero,
'But temperatures will drop to zero.
For keeping warm in weather cool,
There is no substitute for wool'.
And so on. Plenty more, as well as some of the story behind them, here and here.
- vodka.cobra
- Posts: 370
- Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:50 pm UTC
- Location: Florida
- Contact:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
GodShapedBullet wrote:sje46 wrote:This one reminds me that I don't know that much about internet culture.
Ha ha, they did have culture before the internet, sje46. They had memes and everything.
Shut your filthy liar mouth. You know that culture cannot exist outside of the internet! Why else would I stay at my computer desk for 10 hours per day?
If the above comment has anything to do with hacking or cryptography, note that I work for a PHP security company and might know what I'm talking about.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
This was one of the best xkcds I've seen in a long time.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Alt text: If long tooltips / cut off for you / then upgrade from / Firefox 2 / Burma Shave
I wish I could easily upgrade from Firefox 3 to Firefox 2 - and yes, that way round is the upgrade. FF2 may not wrap alt text, but its rendering engine works better on the sites I visit most.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
XKCD
is crossing borders
Randall Munroe
gives us orders
with
Burma-Shave
audio preview
and such themes
Randall Munroe:
king of memes
- Burma-Shave
is crossing borders
Randall Munroe
gives us orders
with
Burma-Shave
audio preview
and such themes
Randall Munroe:
king of memes
- Burma-Shave
-
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 11:01 am UTC
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
On Florida's Turnpike:
Oil and Vinegar
Windows and Bricks
Drinking and Driving
Do not Mix
I swear I pass by it once a week.
Oil and Vinegar
Windows and Bricks
Drinking and Driving
Do not Mix
I swear I pass by it once a week.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I just watched the Quantum Leap pilot (a lovely pun in of itself) yesterday. GET OUT OF MY HEAD, XKCD!
-
- Posts: 507
- Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:54 pm UTC
- Location: Nottingham during term time, UK
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I still dont properly get this 

The Great Hippo wrote:My dearest, most cherished friend, Paranoid__Android:
... truly, you are a champion among champions. ...
Sincerely and with great fondness,
~The Great Hippo
Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
(sorry for not following the Burma-shave rhyme-meme) After reading the wikipedia article, I got this cartoon.
And for the Dutch readers, certain commercials on Dutch radio and TV use a similar structure:
Ad1 / Ad2 / addition to Ad1 / Ad3 (or addition to Ad2) etc...
Some newspaper ads work the same way.
Ad on page 5 / Addition to Ad on page 7 / Addition to Ad on page 9 / Addition to Ad on page 11... For instance the ads for the Dutch Royal Airforce in today's Metro newspaper follow a similar way. Though not as witty, and certainly not as self-referential.
And for the Dutch readers, certain commercials on Dutch radio and TV use a similar structure:
Ad1 / Ad2 / addition to Ad1 / Ad3 (or addition to Ad2) etc...

Some newspaper ads work the same way.
Ad on page 5 / Addition to Ad on page 7 / Addition to Ad on page 9 / Addition to Ad on page 11... For instance the ads for the Dutch Royal Airforce in today's Metro newspaper follow a similar way. Though not as witty, and certainly not as self-referential.

:)
You are carrying:
- a slightly paranoid Android
- two left feet (not my own)
- a still unfed and very hungry hippo
- broadsword of +5 ridiculousness stained with the blood of the undead souls
- astetson Resistol, cuz stetson Resistols are cool.
You are carrying:
- a slightly paranoid Android
- two left feet (not my own)
- a still unfed and very hungry hippo
- broadsword of +5 ridiculousness stained with the blood of the undead souls
- a
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Today's comic made me SO HAPPY. I first read the Burma-Shave sign collection book, The Verse By the Side of the Road, geez, probably about 35 or 40 years ago. (I'm OLD.) Truly never expected to see it in xkcd. You truly are the master of all media.
- PatrickRsGhost
- Posts: 2278
- Joined: Fri May 04, 2007 5:43 pm UTC
- Location: ZZ9PluralZAlpha
- Contact:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I instantly got
This comic's joke
I must be more knowledgeable
Than some Internet folk
Burma-Shave
I then checked
The Burma Wiki
I see they added
A ref to XKCD
Burma-Shave
This comic is
One of the best
It's probably funnier
Than all the rest
Burma-Shave
I really must
Get back to work
Because my boss is
A big fat $#@%
Burma-Shave
I cannot stop
These funny poems
I've been attacked by
Rhyming gnomes
Burma-Shave
This comic's joke
I must be more knowledgeable
Than some Internet folk
Burma-Shave
I then checked
The Burma Wiki
I see they added
A ref to XKCD
Burma-Shave
This comic is
One of the best
It's probably funnier
Than all the rest
Burma-Shave
I really must
Get back to work
Because my boss is
A big fat $#@%
Burma-Shave
I cannot stop
These funny poems
I've been attacked by
Rhyming gnomes
Burma-Shave
PRG
An important message for you:
010000100110010100100000011100110
111010101110010011001010010000001
110100011011110010000001100101011
000010111010000100000011110010110
111101110101011100100010000001100
010011000010110001101101111011011
1000101110
An important message for you:
010000100110010100100000011100110
111010101110010011001010010000001
110100011011110010000001100101011
000010111010000100000011110010110
111101110101011100100010000001100
010011000010110001101101111011011
1000101110
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
SoapyHobo wrote:Ah, Burma-shave, I thank Bill Bryson for the knowledge of such things.
Great comic!
I too, have Bill Bryson to thank for getting this.
Still don't really know about Twitter though. Some sort of miniblog thingy, methinks.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Yeah, Bill Bryson for me too.
Now I'm going to spend the afternoon writing poetry instead of doing Science. Curse you Randall!
...poetry about Science!
Now I'm going to spend the afternoon writing poetry instead of doing Science. Curse you Randall!
...poetry about Science!
Feeling old now
Usually it is just "Dear SB" that makes me feel old.
Of course I know what Burma-Shave is...
what the hell is Twitter?
Of course I know what Burma-Shave is...
what the hell is Twitter?
- littlesuz13
- Posts: 18
- Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:30 pm UTC
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
In Illinois they gunssavelife.com uses burma shave like signs. Here's an example of one.
When gun control
Has us beat
Criminals will
Own the street
Gunssavelife.com
Here's a link to more of their signs http://www.gunssavelife.com/burma/burmastats.html
When gun control
Has us beat
Criminals will
Own the street
Gunssavelife.com
Here's a link to more of their signs http://www.gunssavelife.com/burma/burmastats.html
"All that we see or seem is just a dream within a dream." - Edgar Allen Poe
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Aw man. I'm going to have to explain Twitter and memes to my parents now. Thankfully they're old enough to remember, and to have told me about, the last decade or so of Burma-Shave signs.
Today's, I think, was the best comic in quite a while.
Today's, I think, was the best comic in quite a while.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I remember the Burma Shave signs. And barns painted with "Chew Redman Tobacco". And "See Rock City" signs. Once in a drunken dare, a few us of followed the "See Rock City" signs for about a week just to see where they led. It was a lesson in "It's the journey, not the destination."
Gawd I feel old.
Gawd I feel old.
- aleflamedyud
- wants your cookies
- Posts: 3307
- Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 7:50 pm UTC
- Location: The Central Bureaucracy
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Looked up the meme. Lame.
"With kindness comes naïveté. Courage becomes foolhardiness. And dedication has no reward. If you can't accept any of that, you are not fit to be a graduate student."
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Moin Moin
I must admit I needed about half an hour to get this one.
I didn't know what twitter is (and simply trying to translate it into german was no use at all),
I've never heard of Burma-Shave (I'm to young and life in the false country I guess),
I didn't what the guy in the comic has in his hands,
and I thougt it had something to do with firefox cutting off the tooltips, which was totally wrong I must admit.
but I think I've got it now.
Just to make sure :
This guy in the comic has a cell phone in his hand.
He gets sms from the social-network-whatever website twitter and this sms are a Burma-Shave meme which is about memes on twitter feeds.
Right ?
This was a really hard one for me
Sebastian
I must admit I needed about half an hour to get this one.
I didn't know what twitter is (and simply trying to translate it into german was no use at all),
I've never heard of Burma-Shave (I'm to young and life in the false country I guess),
I didn't what the guy in the comic has in his hands,
and I thougt it had something to do with firefox cutting off the tooltips, which was totally wrong I must admit.
but I think I've got it now.

Just to make sure :
This guy in the comic has a cell phone in his hand.
He gets sms from the social-network-whatever website twitter and this sms are a Burma-Shave meme which is about memes on twitter feeds.
Right ?
This was a really hard one for me
Sebastian
Last edited by Sebastian on Mon Oct 20, 2008 1:28 pm UTC, edited 1 time in total.
I'm just a poor german student triyng to improve my english.
- toshiro
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:59 am UTC
- Location: One of the mountainous regions of Europe
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I upgraded from FF2 and it still cuts off tooltips.
And I did not know Burma Shave, but then I'm not from or living in the USA. But I smiled when I got the joke... or what I thought the joke was.
And I did not know Burma Shave, but then I'm not from or living in the USA. But I smiled when I got the joke... or what I thought the joke was.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Okay, I admit the comic is funny, after you Wikipedia Burma-Shave. I mean, they quit that ad campaign 19 years before I was born! My dad was in Kindergarten!!!
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Paranoid Android wrote:I still dont properly get this
Ask your grandparents, kids. Probably one of the cleverest advertising campaigns of all time.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Lame. All of them, Twitter, Burma-Shave, this strip and its, alt text.
Looking forward to the next joke about math and love.
Looking forward to the next joke about math and love.
-
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:38 pm UTC
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I knew Burma Shave-but had to look up twitter...
And I'm not OLD!!
And I'm not OLD!!
- Elipongo
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:50 am UTC
- Location: Upper West Side, New York City, NY
- Contact:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
fealuinix wrote:Okay, I admit the comic is funny, after you Wikipedia Burma-Shave. I mean, they quit that ad campaign 19 years before I was born! My dad was in Kindergarten!!!
I've never seen a real Burma Shave ad. I first learned about them via email forwards some years ago (pre-Wikipedia; when you actually had to a search engine to find things on the Internet)
I still get them via email. I just checked my GMail and here's a link I got as recently as January of this year. http://oldfortyfives.com/DYRT.htm
- Sprocket
- Seymour
- Posts: 5943
- Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 6:04 pm UTC
- Location: impaled on Beck's boney hips.
- Contact:
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
YEY Burma Shave!
I just like knowing that some old things are still alive in the minds of the childrens.
I just like knowing that some old things are still alive in the minds of the childrens.
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
I don't get it...
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
Surgery wrote:not entirely sure what twitter is, but if people start posting blogs and such and four stanza verse ending each post with "Burma-Shave" it will be one of the few internet memes that I heartily approve of.
huh, firefox says "memes" isn't a word, and dictionary.com agrees. What's the correct plural of meme? Which firefox also says isn't a word, but here dictionary.com disagrees.
I ended up looking it up, because I thought I knew, but wasn't sure (I didn't know). I came to two conclusions:
1. Holy shit! It's pronounced 'meem'??!
2. Since it's based off of the word 'Gene' in its shortening, the proper plural is most likely "memes".
- Armadillo Al
- Posts: 934
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:17 pm UTC
- Location: Illinois
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
cyberblade wrote:I knew Burma Shave-but had to look up twitter...
And I'm not OLD!!
Same. (Or is 23 old in internet-years now? I can't keep track anymore.)
Compiling.. wrote:xkcd... where EVERYONE loves EVERYONE...
Re: "Twitter" Discussion
6453893 wrote:Didn't grow up in America, so I guess I'm excused for having had no idea what Burma-Shave was until now.
Also how many minutes until this meme is a twitter epidemic? I say 17.
It was already
a twitter meme
archive trawls will
say this thing:
BURMA SHAVE
Return to “Individual XKCD Comic Threads”
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: Pfhorrest and 25 guests