2010-01-27
Explanation
Titled "Awkwardness at the Human-Zorblaxian Cultural Exchange," this comic depicts a first-contact scenario between humans and aliens. Two green-skinned Zorblaxian aliens stand at what appears to be a diplomatic or academic forum facing a group of humans. One of the aliens announces: "Our anthropologists have a question. Why do the males attempt to impregnate the shower drain several times a week?"
The joke is that an alien civilization studying human behavior would inevitably discover and ask about male masturbation habits in the most clinical, literal, and publicly embarrassing way possible. The aliens, having observed humanity with scientific detachment, have interpreted the behavior at face value and see no reason not to bring it up in a formal cultural exchange setting. The humor comes from the collision between alien scientific frankness and human social taboos.
The votey panel shows a man whispering urgently, "Shhh! The females don'''t know abo--" only to be cut off by a woman'''s voice responding, "Yes we do." This adds another layer to the joke: not only is the man embarrassed by the aliens''' question, he is also operating under the delusion that women are unaware of this behavior, and he is immediately corrected. The votey punctures both the alien awkwardness and the male self-delusion in one beat.