2014-05-20
Explanation
The Joke
An older couple is asked what they would change about parenting if they could do it over. The grandmother says changing diapers gets the best "chore cross section" score because it has two qualities -- it is lawn-mowingly easy and has a high level of perceived difficulty. She explains that if you rate chores on a scale of ease versus perceived difficulty, changing diapers scores a perfect 100. She says she would not call it the easiest thing about parenting, but it is the easiest thing everyone thinks is hard, making it a great way to earn parenting credit. The grandfather then says he would have done all the diapers and told his wife how gross and terrible it was, so she would think he was amazing. His wife realizes he did exactly that, and he simply replies, "You are welcome."
The Humor
The comic satirizes parenting dynamics and the economics of household labor. The grandmother has developed an elaborate analytical framework ("chore cross section") to identify which parenting tasks give you the most credit for the least effort. Diaper changing, she argues, is the ultimate hack: it is actually easy to do, but everyone thinks it is awful, so you get maximum praise for doing it. The punchline reveals the grandfather already figured this out decades ago and exploited it throughout their marriage, earning undeserved admiration from his wife by dramatically complaining about how terrible diaper duty was. The wife"s realization that she was played all along adds a final twist.