2010-09-11
Explanation
A man proudly announces he has created an algorithm that converts images to only two colors. His friend eagerly demands it, explaining that his parents are colorblind and this would help them. The creator, seemingly touched, hands it over. In the final panel (set "soon" after), someone discovers a folder labeled "XXX" on the parents' computer containing thousands of videos of a green screen. When corrected that it should be a red screen, the discoverer reacts with horror, realizing the implications.
The joke hinges on the reveal that the colorblind parents were not using the two-color algorithm for accessibility at all -- they were using it to watch pornography in a way that would be unrecognizable to anyone who walked in, since the algorithm reduced explicit videos to just two flat colors. The disagreement about whether the screen is green or red confirms the parents are colorblind (they see colors differently), while the sheer volume of "thousands of videos" makes the discovery even more disturbing. The son's supposedly wholesome motive for wanting the algorithm was actually to help his parents hide their viewing habits in plain sight.