Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Probe

2021-01-01 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
Probe
Votey panel for Probe
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

The Joke

A human has been abducted by aliens and nervously asks, "Aliens! Oh no! Are you going to probe my anus?" The aliens confirm: "Yes." The human asks what comes after that, and the aliens say a "full body scan." When the human suggests that the full body scan should be detailed enough on its own, the aliens explain that there are "probably lots of ways to gather data" -- including at an atomic level. The human protests: "I just don't want you at your home planet going 'come check out this unique anus!'" The aliens respond: "Why do humans always make this weird?"

The joke inverts the classic alien abduction trope. Rather than the probing being some sinister or perverted alien act, the aliens treat it as completely routine and clinical -- like a normal medical examination. It's the human who keeps bringing up and fixating on the anal probing, making the situation awkward. The aliens are the professional, composed ones, while the human is the one being weird about it.

The Humor

The comic flips the standard alien abduction narrative on its head. In the usual telling, the alien probing is presented as the terrifying or humiliating part, imposed by creepy aliens on helpless humans. Here, the aliens are matter-of-fact scientists conducting a thorough examination, and it's the human whose mind keeps going back to the anus. The final line -- "Why do humans always make this weird?" -- is perfect because it reframes the entire alien probing trope as a human projection. The aliens aren't obsessed with human anuses; humans are obsessed with their own anuses. The comedy comes from the reversal of who is the "weird" party in this encounter.

References

Alien anal probing is one of the most well-known elements of UFO abduction lore, popularized in accounts from alleged abductees beginning in the 1960s and becoming a cultural meme through shows like "The X-Files" and comedies like "South Park." The trope has been so widely parodied that it has become almost synonymous with alien abduction stories. This comic takes the meta approach of acknowledging how strange it is that this particular element has become so central to the cultural narrative around aliens.

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