2013-03-14
Explanation
In this comic, a mother is shown explaining to her child the answer to the classic joke "Why did the chicken cross the road?" But instead of the traditional punchline ("To get to the other side"), she gives a darkly scientific answer involving parasitology. She explains that the chicken had a parasite that needed its host to be eaten by a fox on the other side of the road, so it lesioned the chicken's sensorimotor cortex, causing it to waddle forward uncontrollably. The second panel, labeled "Earlier...", shows the child happily asking the joke, not knowing what awaits.
The humor works on multiple levels. First, it subverts one of the most well-known jokes in English by replacing its famously anticlimactic punchline with an elaborate and disturbing biological explanation. The parasitology is based on real science -- there are many real parasites that manipulate their hosts' behavior to complete their life cycles, such as Toxoplasma gondii (which makes rodents lose their fear of cats) and Ophiocordyceps fungi (which control ant behavior). The comic is also a joke about a certain type of overly literal, scientifically-minded parent who can't resist turning a simple children's joke into a biology lecture, traumatizing the child in the process, as shown by the kid's distressed face in the first panel.