2009-10-28
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows a woman speaking to two couples at what appears to be a social gathering. She says: "Now, he may claim otherwise, but every boy's desire is to return to a soft warm womb. That's why I made this zip-up sleeping bag designed to look just like mommy." She appears to be presenting something to the boy in the scene. The caption reads: "Practical Joke of the Year: Convincing your friends you're a child psychologist."
The joke works by presenting an absurd and creepy piece of pseudo-Freudian psychology -- the idea that boys want to return to the womb -- taken to its most literal and disturbing conclusion: a sleeping bag shaped like their mother. The humor comes from the caption reveal that this person is not actually a child psychologist at all, but is playing an elaborate practical joke on her friends. The parents in the scene appear to be uncomfortably going along with the "expert" advice, which makes the prank even funnier because it highlights how people tend to defer to anyone who claims professional authority, even when the advice is obviously unhinged.
The votey shows the fake psychologist saying "And look! It's reversible!" with an uncomfortable expression, implying the sleeping bag has an even more disturbing alternate configuration -- pushing the absurdity one step further while leaving the exact nature of the "reversed" version to the reader's horrified imagination.