Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

2012-08-08

2012-08-08 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
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2012-08-08
Votey panel for 2012-08-08
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Explanation

This comic depicts an awkward "sex talk" between a mother and her young daughter. The mother nervously begins, "Okay, sweetie, it'''s uh... it'''s time we had the sex talk." Struggling to find an analogy, she grabs a USB cable and says, "Men and women are like... uh... like this USB cable!" She then fumbles through the explanation: "The, uh... the boys are like this part and the, uh... girls are like that part." The daughter, looking uncomfortable, says, "I think I get it."

The punchline comes in a panel labeled "5 years later" where the daughter, now a teenager, is in bed with a partner. She says, "Uh... should I maybe slow down?" and the partner responds, "Nah. If you try three times, it'''ll go in." This is a reference to the universal frustration of plugging in a USB cable -- it famously never goes in on the first try and seems to require flipping it over multiple times before it fits. The daughter has internalized her mother'''s USB analogy a bit too literally.

The votey panel continues the USB joke with someone saying, "Dammit. Try flipping over," which is exactly what everyone does with a USB connector that will not plug in, further extending the metaphor into awkward physical comedy.

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