2014-05-06
Explanation
The Joke
Two pearlfish are talking. One says, "I've been thinking of moving somewhere new." The other asks, "Oh, really? Why?" The first fish pauses, and the second one reminds him: "We're pearlfish, Gally. We all live inside anuses." The final panel shows them sitting in awkward silence.
The Humor
The joke is based on the real biological fact that pearlfish (family Carapidae) are known for living inside the bodies of sea cucumbers, specifically entering through the anus and residing in the respiratory tract or body cavity. The comic anthropomorphizes the fish and treats this arrangement as if it were a housing situation. When one fish expresses a desire to move, the other points out the uncomfortable truth that, as pearlfish, all of their housing options are anuses. The humor comes from the fish's existential resignation to its biological niche -- no matter where it "moves," it will still be living inside an anus. The awkward silence in the final panel suggests the first fish was hoping to avoid confronting this reality.
References
- Pearlfish (Carapidae) are a family of small, slender fish, several species of which are known to live as commensals or parasites inside the body cavities of sea cucumbers, entering through the host's cloaca (anus). This is one of the more unusual symbiotic relationships in marine biology.