2013-05-31
Explanation
This comic presents a pie chart titled "Leading Causes of Death in the USA" with "Source: NIH" written below the title, lending it a veneer of official authority. The chart includes real categories like cancer, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, accidents, diabetes, flu, and Alzheimers. However, the largest slice is labeled "Heart Disease and/or Stampede of Clowns," sneaking an absurd cause of death into an otherwise legitimate-looking infographic. Below the chart, the text reads "STAY SAFE" in large letters.
The joke works on multiple levels. First, the casual insertion of "stampede of clowns" as though it were an equally plausible cause of death alongside heart disease is inherently absurd. Second, by grouping it with heart disease using "and/or," the chart makes it impossible to tell how many deaths are from each cause, which is a satire of how statistics can be manipulated by combining categories. Third, the earnest "STAY SAFE" warning at the bottom implies readers should be worried about clown stampedes just as much as heart disease.
The votey shows a close-up of an angry clown face with bloodshot eyes and a large red nose, reinforcing the absurd menace of the clown stampede threat and adding a touch of genuine creepiness to the gag.