this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2026
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xkcd #3314: Vulnerability

Title text:

Other numbers are largely unaffected, but anyone using '4' for their certificate key is urged to upgrade to '5'.

Transcript:

Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com

Source: https://xkcd.com/3314/

explainxkcd for #3314

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[–] cooltrainer_frank@lemmy.world 37 points 3 days ago (1 children)

And the Danes will think you're talking about 50

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 17 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (6 children)

*Puts on glasses* Akchually, that's only if you're counting 10's, since we count 1's as decimal and 10's in pairs of snes/snaes (20), hence fifty is half three snes or 3*20-0.5*20 = (3-0.5)*20 = 50.

Or if you're talking 1's, aka. decimal, you'd just remove the snes part, since common math is in decimal anyway, so half 3 decimal would be 3*1-0.5*1 = 3-0.5 = 2.5.

EDIT: Fun fact: 100, aka. "en hundrede/one hundred", can therefore also be called "fems" or "fem snes/five snaes". And then there's the ones who actually say "in twenty" instead of "snes", so it'd be "fem i tyvende".

[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

But you never said which game on the SNES these cheat codes actually for.

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 6 points 3 days ago

Oh no, no game, that's how you enable the dev tools in retro-future mode. :p

[–] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's only partly correct.

Write out the name for 50 and it becomes "halv tre sinds tyve", where "sinds" is a old word for multiply. Thus making a complete translation "half three times twenty" https://sproget.dk/sprogviden/spoergsmaal-og-svar/dansk-sprognaevn/sv00000047/

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

Huh? TIL. Well, partly. Didn't actively know about the "sinds".

So, does this mean that "snes" is just a load of bull, or are we talking different ages of counting systems? After all, just like the link explains "fyrre", the Danish counting system seems as an amalgamation of multiple counting systems and words of the time.

[–] sangriaferret@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What is the origin of this system? It's nuts.

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago

It's just pre-imperial. We've left everything else behind for metric, but the snaes still roams the shadows of our counting system.

Everyone knew what a snaes was and everyone measured in snaes enyway, it also happened to be about the amount that we stored fish and eggs as. So, instead of having to count all the fish, we simply asked for one snaes/box of fish. And if you needed 2,5 snaes of fish? well, then you simply asked for half three snaes.

For a very interesting example of modern culture using such improvised counting systems, look no further than the USA's obsession with measuring everything in football fields, elephants, etc..

And for an example for saying "half x"? Ask anyone who has ever said "let's meet at half six".

[–] cooltrainer_frank@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Det ved jeg godt :)

But it's fun to show that meme off. Danish numbers are wild. My bad danish gets me mistaken numbers all the time

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Tænkte det nok x)

It's just fun to blow some non-Danes' minds every now and again. <3

[–] Kanda@reddthat.com 2 points 2 days ago

Every time we take the ferry to get drunk our minds are blown by fem og halv treds

[–] NochMehrG@feddit.org 5 points 3 days ago

So that’s why Duolingo hides numbers from us! (And probably also why Danish people switch to English or German no matter if you start in Danish or not..)

[–] techt@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

puts on novelty slinky eye glasses

Fascinating.

Also, small thing:

3*1 - 0.5*1 = 3 - 0.5 = 2.5 ----------------^

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 days ago

Nice spot ^,^' Seems not even a Dane is danish enough to Dane.

[–] TimeRonin@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I would really like to understand more, why do you simplify 320-0.520 as (3-0.5)*20? Is this system actually insightful into arithmetic? Is there a good tutorial about such and such?

[–] ekky@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 days ago

Well, it is just arithmetics.

The left side of the equation is just the natural expansion of the paranthesis to signify and drive home the point that we're specifically talking half off 20.

The middle is how it's usually represented and follows best practices. Aka. Simplifying the equation without touching the variables and constants.

The right side is the result for calculating the equation.

I'm unsure of any tutorials regarding the danish counting system, though there's bound to be some. :)

Did I misunderstand the question?