2010-02-04
Explanation
This comic shows a couple in conversation. One person says "Happy Valentine'''s Day! I made you this!" and the other responds "Gyah! Why can'''t you just buy a card!?" The first person explains: "Do you have any idea how little money a med student makes?" Below the dialogue panel is the homemade Valentine'''s card itself: a heart-shaped piece cut from a medical journal. The card contains a graph labeled "Fig. 6.3" showing the "Incidence of rectal prolapse in elderly population" over time, with the words "my love for you!!" scrawled over the rising curve. Surrounding text fragments from the medical paper discuss "external anal" topics and related clinical details.
The humor comes from the collision of romantic intent and horrifying source material. The med student, too poor to buy a proper card, has cut a heart shape out of whatever paper was available -- which happened to be a medical journal article about rectal prolapse. They then repurposed the graph, reinterpreting the rising curve as a representation of their growing love. The result is simultaneously sweet in its effort and deeply unromantic in its content.
The votey shows the med student saying "I'''m inside out in love with you!" while their partner replies "You people are gross," continuing the theme of medical students being unable to separate their clinical knowledge from their romantic lives.