2012-08-18
Explanation
This comic features a distinguished-looking Victorian gentleman in a top hat and cravat with a gold chain hanging from his pocket. While a woman in a green dress is mid-conversation ("So, I told him I don'''t think--"), he interrupts her with "Just a moment." He then pulls out what is revealed to be a rubber duck attached to the end of his gold chain -- where a pocket watch would normally be -- inspects it, and announces "Still a duck. Very good." He then returns to the conversation with "You were saying?" while the woman looks stunned.
The joke is a simple absurdist sight gag built on the visual expectations of the Victorian gentleman archetype. The gold chain dangling from a waistcoat pocket universally signals a pocket watch, and the ritual of pulling it out to check the time is an iconic gesture of refinement. By replacing the watch with a rubber duck and having the gentleman check on it with the same gravity and seriousness one would check the time, the comic creates humor through the collision of extreme formality and childish absurdity. The caption at the bottom reads: "FACT: Everything looks classy on the end of a gold chain," which serves as both the thesis statement of the joke and a surprisingly defensible observation.
The votey shows a rubber duck with a chain attachment loop, captioned "Free duck! (Chain not included)" -- a playful merchandise-style callback suggesting the reader can replicate this distinguished look, though the classy part (the chain) is sold separately.