estimate
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows an office setting where a boss tries to give more work to an employee named Dave, but cannot -- because Dave is wearing a shirt with a bold black-and-white geometric pattern that makes it impossible to "correctly estimate your distance or direction of motion." Dave laughs uproariously. The caption below reads: "People who think there's no point in studying history have never learned about Dazzle camouflage."
The joke hinges on Dazzle camouflage, a real and fascinating historical concept from World War I. Dazzle camouflage (also called Razzle Dazzle) was a naval camouflage technique that used bold, contrasting geometric patterns painted on warships. Unlike traditional camouflage, it was not meant to hide the ship -- it was designed to make it difficult for enemy submarines to estimate the ship's speed, distance, range, and heading, thus making it harder to aim torpedoes accurately.
The comic applies this military concept to the mundane workplace: Dave has essentially made himself un-targetable for additional work assignments by wearing a Dazzle-patterned shirt that prevents his boss from estimating where he is or which direction he is moving. The caption elevates the joke by framing it as a defense of studying history -- the implication being that historical knowledge provides unexpected practical applications, like learning an obscure WWI naval camouflage technique and applying it to office survival strategy.