2013-09-22
Explanation
This comic features a couple learning about fetal development during pregnancy. In the first panel, a woman reads from a book: "According to this, our baby has kidneys as of this week." She then asks about the renal (kidney) system: since the baby has a functioning urinary system, where does the urine go? The answer, she realizes, is that the fetus is essentially floating in its own waste environment. Her partner comments that so the baby, in its hostile environment, has to drink its own pee to survive. The woman concludes: "What a badass."
The humor comes from reframing a normal biological fact about fetal development in dramatic, action-hero terms. It is true that fetuses produce urine in the womb, which becomes part of the amniotic fluid, and they do swallow this fluid as part of normal development. By describing this mundane biological process as though the baby is a tough survivalist thriving in harsh conditions, the parents turn prenatal development into something hilariously heroic.
The votey panel shows a fetus in the womb with the caption "Renal system functioning. Better drink my own piss." This is a direct reference to the Bear Grylls "Better drink my own piss" meme from the TV show Man vs. Wild, where the survival expert frequently resorted to drinking his own urine. The joke connects the fetus'''s biological reality to the famous meme, casting the unborn baby as the ultimate survivalist.