Title text:
The plural of anecdote may not be data, but the singular of data is anecdote.
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3262/
this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2026
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Wait Tenerife is not in american airspace.
Correct.
The episode on Tenerife proclaimed it to be "The worst aviation accident in history."
Later episodes of the show about different, unrelated accidents had to start undershooting that mark, like "The worst aviation accident in American history" or "The worst aviation accident in Swiss history" until they start talking about a rough landing in a Beech 1900 where everyone got hangnails and it's "The worst aviation accident at an uncontrolled field to take place during the daytime over a federal holiday weekend involving one twin-engine propeller plane."
Oh I see. I misunderstood the comment slightly. I thought you meant that they referred to the Tenerife incident with the whole long title.
And I see why, I could have phrased it more clearly.