2014-04-01
Explanation
The Joke
A man steps on a hairball left by his cat and exclaims "ARGH! Stepped on a hairball." He then pauses, gets a sly grin, and strikes a confident pose saying "Oh yes, ladies." The final panel delivers a "Happiness Tip": "Everything that happens to you is someone's fetish."
The Humor
The comic takes a universally disgusting experience -- stepping barefoot on a wet hairball -- and reframes it as a positive by pointing out that, thanks to the vast spectrum of human sexuality, even the most unpleasant experiences are attractive to somebody out there. The man's sudden shift from disgust to confident seduction after stepping on the hairball is funny because of how quickly he pivots from a negative experience to seeing it as an opportunity.
The broader joke is a parody of self-help "happiness tips" and positive thinking mantras. Instead of offering genuinely useful advice, the comic offers an absurd logical argument: you can always feel good about any bad situation because somewhere in the world, someone finds it arousing. It's a reductio ad absurdum of the "look on the bright side" philosophy.