xkcd #3304: Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer
Title text:
“I did briefly visit Venus in August 2025, but I figured out the mistake on my own because it didn’t have any moons.”
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3304/
Are the rapidly increasing font size and the LLM-generated text about something being wrong with the site part of the experience or are they a creative way of fucking with people who run adblockers?
Buddy, that story predates LLMs by about a decade.
Relax and enjoy. :)
So the repetitions of “something is terribly wrong” that start mid-sentence are intended that way? Sorry for suspecting an LLM; it does kinda feel like the output of an early (or badly misconfigured) LLM getting stuck on a token. Wouldn’t be the first time LLMs have cribbed someone’s style.
Damn those LLMs, they’ve even managed to ruin random internet bullshit! shakes fist at cloud computing
Yeah, cause something is terribly wrong. You’re only supposed to see that page for just a moment, before it brings you to the calendar prologue.
Check the banner ads—“something is terribly wrong” and “University of College.”
And please, please just enjoy the story. It predates all LLM models, and I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite novel in English.
Okay, the script failed to execute properly the first time around so I just didn’t get the redirect. That made things a bit… cryptic and vaguely reminiscent of that old Onion “blood everywhere” story. Second time worked, though.
And oh shit, now that I see the story proper I actually remember this. Damn, that’s a fine bit of web nostalgia. Thanks for bringing that back up (and for getting me to try it again).