Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

This single-panel comic shows a father in bed, apparently elderly or ill, telling his child about a mustard stain on a shirt: "And this is the mustard stain from the hot dog stand we ate at as we watc

This single-panel comic shows a couple in what appears to be a car or tent. The man is telling the woman "I think it's time we took our relationship to the next level. The physical lev--" when he sudd

This comic imagines what would happen if a Dog Language Translator existed, presented as an instant messaging conversation between a human (andrew310) and their dog (familiar1). The conversation start

This comic imagines a scenario where a scientist named Dr. Demaine creates an algorithm that solves all mathematical theorems. The comic then follows the cascading consequences as the algorithm works

This comic presents "The Law of Futurology," a satirical equation: y - t = 0, where y is the approximate number of years left in a futurist's life and t is the number of years the futurist thinks it w

In this comic, a doctor asks a colleague what the most positive way to say "98%" is. Later, the doctor is seen telling a dying patient who asks "What are the odds I don't survive another week?" the an

This comic features a man confronting Jesus, asking why his prayers for world peace were never answered. Jesus sighs and says maybe the man would understand better if he saw Jesus pray. When the man a

In this comic, a steampunk enthusiast in a top hat and goggles explains that he pretends to live in a world with "Victorian aesthetics and futuristic technology," noting it takes a lot of imagination.

This comic uses a mathematical diagram to humorously model the social anxiety of approaching women at a bar. The top half shows increasingly complex geometric shapes representing groups of women (n),

In this comic, the President of the United States announces on television that "Mister Barky," the cutest puppy ever, is going to a terrifying movie-style jail to await trial for a crime he didn't com

This comic addresses the problem of gender disparity in mathematics by contrasting two approaches. The header reads "Problem: There are disproportionately few women in mathematics." The panel is then

This comic takes the famous Serenity Prayer and adds an unexpected coda. A man kneels in bed praying: "Dear God... Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the

This comic plays on the idea that Superman, despite being extraordinarily powerful, would face insecurity in the bedroom. In the single panel, Superman sits shirtless on a bed as a woman walks away. H

This comic uses the "monkey's paw" wish-gone-wrong format. A man finds a mysterious item with a note reading, "You may have anything you wish, but beware... all actions have consequences." He wishes t

This comic imagines Carl Sagan using his famous "starstuff" rhetoric as a parenting tool. In the single panel, a man resembling Sagan speaks to a young boy, delivering a poetic monologue about how eve

In this comic, a scientist proudly unveils his invention, the "Logogen-eplex," which "inserts superfluous syllables *directly* into otherwise clear wording." He demonstrates by taking the simple sente

This comic plays on the classic "wise man on the mountain" trope, where a seeker climbs to a remote mountaintop temple to ask a sage for life advice. The seeker poses a profound question: is it better

This comic takes a real observation from computer science and evolutionary biology -- that even simple machines in evolution simulations develop behaviors like lying and cheating -- and extrapolates i

This single-panel comic is presented as a "Death Tip," offering advice on how to make the most of your final moments if you know you are about to die. A man on his deathbed, surrounded by what appears

This comic reimagines the Arthurian legend of the sword in the stone from a political perspective. In the original myth, whoever pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone is destined to be king of Engl

This comic plays on the idea of "lady geeks" and the intersection of sexuality and nerd culture. The main panel shows a woman's bare back with a tattoo that reads: "Hope you're enjoying yourself" foll

This comic is titled "The Quality of Dr. Chaffin's Science Analogies Diminished Precipitously After His Tenure." It shows a bald, bespectacled professor standing in front of a chalkboard telling his c

This comic presents a visual and conceptual joke about the overlap between pie charts and Venn diagrams. It shows two overlapping circles -- one pink and one blue -- arranged in the classic Venn diagr

This comic explores a humorous solution to Stephen Hawking's time travel paradox. The first panel is set "In the Future" where a scientist explains the classic grandfather paradox: if you travel back

This comic is titled "Fear Itself" and presents a graph plotting two variables over time: the "Dangerousness of Kids' Chemistry Kits" (shown in green) and "Deaths Attributable to Kids' Chemistry Kits"

This comic reimagines the myth of Sisyphus, the figure from Greek mythology who was condemned by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity, only for it to roll back down each time he neared th

This three-panel comic shows a robot breaking up with a woman named Sally at a cafe. The robot says, "It's not you, Sally, it's me. I'm a robot, and therefore incapable of love." Sally is visibly sad,

This comic imagines the development of a plasma forcefield technology. A scientist announces, "It wasn't easy, but we now have the ability to create a plasma forcefield." She explains it can withstand

This comic imagines what it would be like if Dr. Seuss had been a medical doctor (an MD) rather than just using "Dr." as a title. A doctor speaks to a patient in rhyming, Seuss-like cadences: "We will

This comic depicts the internal struggle of a grammar-obsessed nerd during a romantic encounter. A woman says "Ooh... you took off your shirt. How sensoral." The man's thought bubble reveals his agoni

This single-panel comic shows an angry elderly man in a nursing home ranting to two younger women visitors. He aggressively boasts about his inappropriate exploits at the nursing home, using crude and

This comic takes place during a game of Monopoly. One player cheerfully remarks, "If this were real money, we'd be rich!" -- a lighthearted comment that people commonly make while playing the game. Ho

This comic satirizes a common dynamic in relationships where one partner says "nothing" is wrong when something clearly is. A man asks his wife "What's the matter?" She replies "Nothing. What's the ma

This comic offers a humorous alternate take on the Greek myth of Icarus. In the traditional myth, Daedalus crafts wings of feathers and wax for himself and his son Icarus, warning him not to fly too c

In this comic, a young man comes out to his parents by saying "Mom, Dad... I'm gay." Rather than reacting with the emotional responses one might expect, his mother immediately asks "How gay are we tal

This comic explores the cultural association between cats and sexuality. The narration begins: "For some reason, cats are associated with sexuality," showing a woman in a cat-ear costume saying "Rar."

This two-panel comic reimagines the Grinch's famous epiphany from Dr. Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." In the top panel, the Grinch (drawn in green with a Santa outfit) ponders the classic li

This comic shows a scene where a bald monk or religious authority figure peers in to discover a red-haired man who shouts, "It's not sex! It's vagina-aided masturbation!" The caption below reads: "I a

This comic is presented as an "SMBC Papercraft" project: "Make Your Own Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Flipbook." It shows a sequence of images depicting Maslow's famous pyramid -- which ranks human need

This comic features God (depicted as a golden sun-like figure with a face) responding to a man who has asked the classic philosophical question "Why is there something instead of nothing?" The top pan

This comic personifies loneliness as a shadowy, menacing figure confronting a red-haired man. The man exclaims, "No! I thought I destroyed you with masturbation!" The shadowy figure of loneliness resp

This three-panel comic depicts a debate between two scientists about which field of science is the coolest. A woman (representing fields like biology and chemistry) tries to list impressive achievemen

This comic features a man dressed in Victorian-era clothing with a bow tie, speaking in a formal manner: "Do not be alarmed! I am a time traveler from the future! From the strange world of 1892!" The

This comic contrasts the mythologized version of scientific discovery with a more honest (and crude) depiction of how scientists actually feel about their breakthroughs. The top panel, labeled "Myth,"

This comic plays on the stereotype of the ideal lifestyle for engineers. Two men with glasses are sitting together, and one asks "Wanna have sex and play video games all day?" The other responds with

This comic reimagines the Garden of Eden story from Genesis with a comedic twist. In the first panel, God tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, warning that the tree will give them

This comic plays with the classic sci-fi trope of identifying which of two identical people is a robot impostor. A woman holds a gun and faces two identical red-haired men, declaring she cannot tell w

This comic contrasts how a "Normal Person" and an "Economist" react to the same statement about valuing children'''s lives. In the top panel, a normal person at a podium earnestly declares: "You canno

This comic presents a "Psychology Pro Tip" about treating phobias. A menacing psychologist wearing dark sunglasses holds a knife to a patient'''s face and threatens him: "You will get on a plane and y

Titled "Do Not Date a Mathematician," this comic shows a woman telling her friend that she dumped her fiance. When asked why, she explains: "He demonstrated a poor understanding of probability." The s