2012-10-25
Explanation
This comic presents a made-up food rule called "The Detroit Rule," which states that any food sounds tastier when prefaced by a location name. One woman explains the rule to another, who tests it out: "Vermont carrots. Ottawa beef. Chilean salmon." She confirms that it works -- each food does sound more appealing with a geographic qualifier, because it implies the food is a regional specialty or comes from a place known for quality.
The punchline comes when someone asks why it is called "The Detroit Rule." The answer: "It's named after the one exception." The humor relies on Detroit's well-known reputation (particularly around 2012) as a struggling, economically depressed American city. The implication is that prefacing any food with "Detroit" -- as in "Detroit pizza" or "Detroit steak" -- would actually make it sound less appetizing rather than more, making Detroit the exception that proves the rule. This is ironic because Detroit-style pizza is actually a well-regarded regional food tradition, though the joke relies on the city's broader negative associations.
The votey panel adds an international twist: "In China, it's the Shenzhen Rule." This extends the joke by suggesting that every country has its own equivalent -- a city whose name, when attached to food, makes it sound worse. Shenzhen, known primarily as a massive industrial and manufacturing hub rather than a culinary destination, serves as the Chinese counterpart to Detroit in this framework.