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a-new-kind-of-gym

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a-new-kind-of-gym
Votey panel for a-new-kind-of-gym
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Explanation

The Joke

The comic presents a series of "facts" about human physiology: the sound of baby screaming increases adrenaline, the sight of sexy videos increases testosterone, and nobody has funded the speaker's "porn and wailing gym concept." When a colleague points out that this isn't necessarily an example of market failure, the speaker insists the concept is "without flaw."

The Humor

The humor comes from a man who has taken two loosely related physiological facts and constructed an absurd business plan around them: a gym where people watch pornography and listen to screaming babies simultaneously, on the theory that testosterone and adrenaline are both useful for exercise. He frames the lack of investors as a "market failure" -- an economics term for when free markets fail to allocate resources efficiently -- rather than acknowledging that his idea is simply terrible and deeply unpleasant. The joke plays on the common trope of delusional entrepreneurs who refuse to accept that their idea is bad, instead blaming the market for not recognizing their genius.

View History (1) Original Comic