2010-08-17
Explanation
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 watched the sun set over the Pacific." The father is sentimentally describing the stain as a cherished memory, treating the dirty shirt like a scrapbook of meaningful life experiences.
The caption delivers the punchline: "I really hate when dad wears the shirt I was conceived in." The child realizes that among the many romantic memories attached to this shirt, one of those memories is the night they were conceived. What the father sees as a treasured garment representing a lifetime of romantic moments, the child sees as a horrifying reminder of their parents' intimate life. The humor comes from the collision between the father's innocent nostalgia and the child's uncomfortable realization.
The votey panel shows a letter that reads: "Dear Zach, You can't end your sentence with a preposition. I care not if it sounds better, Betrayer! Sincerely, Your Grammar Conscience." This is a meta-joke about the caption ending with the preposition "in" ("the shirt I was conceived in"), with Zach's own grammar conscience scolding him for the construction, even though avoiding the dangling preposition would make the sentence sound awkward and overly formal.