proposal
Explanation
The Joke
A man is proposing marriage, but instead of the traditional skywriting or banner, an enormous snake is spelling out "WILL YOU MARRY ME" with its body in the sky above them. The man is holding what appears to be a piece of raw meat, and the caption reads: "The way to a herpetologist's heart is through 700 pounds of raw frozen beef."
The comic imagines what a marriage proposal would look like if tailored to someone who studies reptiles and amphibians (a herpetologist). Instead of flowers, diamonds, or romantic dinners, the grand gesture involves training a giant snake to spell out the proposal -- which apparently required 700 pounds of beef as bait or reward.
The Humor
The joke plays on the old saying "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach," repurposing it for a niche academic specialty. The absurdity of using a massive serpent as a proposal medium -- and the practical detail of exactly how much raw beef it took -- creates a wonderfully specific and ridiculous image. It is a classic SMBC move of taking a romantic cliche and filtering it through an obsessively nerdy lens.