2014-08-26
Explanation
The Joke
A man bursts into a tattoo shop explaining that he has no ability to form new memories. He needs the tattoo artist to tattoo information on his body so he can remember things. The tattoo artist agrees. In the final panel, we see the result: the tattoo artist has tattooed "THIS HAND IS NOT FOOD" on the man's hand, along with what appears to be other basic survival reminders.
The Humor
The comic parodies the premise of the movie Memento (2000), in which the protagonist Leonard Shelby uses tattoos and notes to track information because he cannot form new short-term memories. In Memento, the tattoos contain critical clues about his wife's murder.
The joke subverts this dramatic premise by imagining what would actually happen if someone with no short-term memory walked into a tattoo parlor. Rather than getting profound or useful investigative information tattooed, the tattoo artist has written absurdly basic reminders like "THIS HAND IS NOT FOOD" — suggesting that without any memory, you would need reminders about things far more fundamental than solving a mystery. The humor lies in the gap between the cool noir premise of Memento and the mundane reality of what anterograde amnesia would actually require.
References
- Memento (2000): Christopher Nolan's neo-noir film about a man with anterograde amnesia who uses tattoos and Polaroid photos to hunt for his wife's killer. The film is famous for its reverse chronological storytelling.