This article was published on July 10, 2012

What If? xkcd’s Randall Munroe launches new Q&A site to answer your hypothetical questions every Tuesday


What If? xkcd’s Randall Munroe launches new Q&A site to answer your hypothetical questions every Tuesday

Well known for his hilarious xkcd comic strip, CNU graduate and physics degree holder Randall Monroe has today launched “What If?” a new website dedicated to “answering your hypothetical questions with physics, every Tuesday.”

Think of it as a Q&A website, but questions are hypothetical and have a distinct physics twist.

So far, Munroe has answered two questions: “What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?” and “What if everyone who took the SAT guessed on every multiple-choice question? How many perfect scores would there be?”

Both questions are visitor submitted and answers are supremely detailed. Munroe takes time to explain his points, accompanying them with traditional xkcd style illustrations (as you can see below).

How did What If? come to be? Munroe explains:

I get a surprising number of questions by email — “Hey, my friends and I were arguing about this and we thought you might be able to settle it …” kind of things and I have fun with that so I decided to make a blog for them.

Visitors are encouraged to submit their questions via email, with Munroe posting a new question and answer each week.

If you’re a fan of xkcd and you want more of it in your life, give What If? a bookmark and check back every Tuesday.

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