Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

2010-12-07

2010-12-07 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
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2010-12-07
Votey panel for 2010-12-07
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Explanation

This comic shows two brothers playing "Keep Away" in the middle of a surgical operation. One surgeon is tossing what appears to be an organ while another tries to grab it, as a third surgeon protests: "Stop! Guys, I'm in the middle of surgery! Come on!" A patient lies on the operating table with an open incision.

The bottom panel provides context through a flashback: someone asks one of the brothers, "Why didn't you follow your brothers into med school?" and he responds flatly, "No reason." The humor lies in the implication that he witnessed his brothers' reckless and juvenile behavior in a medical setting and wisely decided medicine was not for him, though he deflects with a nonchalant answer. The comic plays on the idea that sibling rivalry and immaturity do not magically stop just because people enter serious professions.

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