
Google acknowledges XKCD #1361 - asdafa
A TXT record query on Google&#x27;s 8.8.8.8 DNS server returns a link to xkcd 1361:<p>$ dig +short TXT google-public-dns-a.google.com
&quot;http:&#x2F;&#x2F;xkcd.com&#x2F;1361&#x2F;&quot;
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samstave
I thought Google's core product was allowing "ping -t google.com" ICMP traffic
to be the central monitor of my network connectivity and latency to the
internet.

Heck, I even have it aliased as "pg" on all my systems.

~~~
gleenn
Is this a paul graham joke?

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ahunt09
ping google

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ahmett
The command is only:

dig +short TXT google-public-dns-a.google.com

by the way, the "[http://xkcd..."](http://xkcd...") part is the response, but
since @asdafa didn't put \n\n after the command, it's appearing at the same
line.

~~~
waps
They probably did put it in but forgot about markdown.

~~~
asdafa
That is exactly what happened :(

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krick
Maybe a stupid question, but is it monetized somehow? I mean DNS servers.
After all, it's a pretty heavy load… I still don't really understand what is
(is known to be) monetizable and what isn't.

~~~
phaer
I guess, for Google at least, getting all DNS requests of their users is worth
paying for a popular DNS server. That's how they know which sites your like
even if those sites don't use Google Analytics.

~~~
krick
Wow, that's really good idea. So obvious after you said it, but I absolutely
didn't think of it!

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ajtaylor
The funny thing is I had to blackhole 8.8.8.8 on my home router earlier this
week because of a change in the Netflix app on the Roku. Why won't people just
take my money?

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defcon84
[http://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx?action=txt%3agoogle-
publ...](http://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx?action=txt%3agoogle-public-
dns-a.google.com)

very cool :)

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caycep
What's the 8.8.8.8 server?

~~~
ape4
Google's core business.

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arielpts
Do NOT forget 8.8.4.4!

~~~
jpmattia
The tooltip is an integral part of xkcd.

~~~
turnip1979
ROFL! I did not know this. To be specific if you are not an XKCD reader: hover
your mouse over the comic for a second punch line.

~~~
jthol
Or if you are on mobile m.xkcd.com/<number>

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wfjackson
Clickable link for those like me who haven't read it.
[http://xkcd.com/1361/](http://xkcd.com/1361/)

~~~
_zekiel
it's also a DuckDuckGo instant answer (any xkcd comic)
[https://duckduckgo.com/?q=xkcd+1361](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=xkcd+1361)

