2010-07-20
Explanation
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 be performing a vivisection of your erection for detection of infection in connection with erection imperfection." The sentence is structured with the relentless rhyming scheme characteristic of Dr. Seuss books, but the content is a deeply uncomfortable medical procedure description.
The caption reads: "Sometimes I wish Dr. Seuss had an MD." The humor lies in the contrast between the playful, childlike rhyming style of Dr. Seuss and the serious, clinical nature of medical diagnoses. The rhyming makes the terrifying medical procedure sound almost whimsical, which is both funny and horrifying.
The votey panel continues the Seuss-style medical visit with the doctor saying "First, please dunk your junk in this chunk gunk" -- maintaining the absurd rhyming pattern while describing increasingly unpleasant medical procedures. The joke escalates the discomfort of imagining a Dr. Seuss-style bedside manner applied to real medicine.