2014-01-20
Explanation
The Joke
Two friends decide to throw a "time traveler party" — a party specifically designed to attract visitors from the future. They quickly realize the problem: a time traveler would only go to the best party in history, so they need to make theirs the greatest party ever. They begin escalating their efforts: first hiring a DJ, then getting corporate sponsors, then draining the wealth of an entire nation to fund it. The party becomes the biggest event the world has ever seen, with food and music beyond imagination. A woman approaches them and they excitedly ask if she's from the future — but she says no, she's just a "commerce pistachio" (corporate sponsor/businessperson). Then a light appears in the sky, and it turns out time travelers do arrive — but they don't like the party. The time travelers say they came because this was the "beginning of the collapse of civilization," not because of the party. Finally, actual time travelers from even further in the future arrive just to document and take pictures of the "sad, pathetic" people who caused the collapse — treating them as a historical curiosity.
The Humor
The comic takes the real thought experiment proposed by Stephen Hawking (who actually did host a "time traveler party" in 2009 and sent out invitations after the fact) and extends it to its absurd logical conclusion. If time travelers would only attend the greatest party ever, you'd need to keep escalating until the party bankrupts civilization. The ironic twist is that the escalation itself becomes the historically significant event — not as a great party, but as the catalyst for civilizational collapse. The time travelers do come, but only as rubberneckers to witness the beginning of the end. The final layer of time travelers coming to take pictures of the "pathetic" party hosts adds insult to injury — they become a cautionary exhibit in future history.
References
In 2009, physicist Stephen Hawking hosted a "Time Traveler Party" at the University of Cambridge, sending out invitations only after the party had taken place. No one showed up, which Hawking cited as possible evidence that time travel to the past is not possible.