2013-02-19
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows an elderly insect (possibly a mayfly or similar short-lived bug) sitting in an armchair, speaking to a younger insect. The elder says: "'''Course, that was back 12 hours ago, when parents knew how to raise their children." The caption or context implies a nostalgic, cranky grandparent figure reminiscing about "the good old days."
The joke is a play on the common trope of older people complaining that things were better in their day and that modern parents don'''t know how to raise children properly. The twist is that the speaker is an insect with an extremely short lifespan -- for many insect species, the adult stage lasts only hours or days. So "back 12 hours ago" is the insect equivalent of a human saying "back in my day, 50 years ago." The comic highlights the absurdity of nostalgic generational complaints by compressing them into an impossibly short timeframe, suggesting that the impulse to idealize the past and criticize the present is so universal that even a creature with a 24-hour lifespan would do it.
The votey panel features two people, with one asking "Do you miss The Far Side?" and the other responding "So. Much." This is a reference to Gary Larson'''s beloved comic strip "The Far Side," which frequently featured anthropomorphized insects and animals in single-panel gag formats. The comic itself is a clear homage to that style, and the votey acknowledges the influence directly.