Explain SMBC — the wiki for Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Spice

2021-10-25 View on smbc-comics.com → 1 revision
Spice
Votey panel for Spice
This explanation is incomplete or may contain errors. It was generated by AI and has not yet been reviewed by a human editor.

Explanation

This comic presents a series of "facts" about pumpkin spice in the style of informational panels. The first fact states: "Pumpkin spice is just a spice mix used for pumpkin pie. It has no historical relation to pumpkins." The second fact notes: "Many digbees make use of the same set of spice, including a variety of meat dishes."

Then there's a philosophical aside: "Epson wasn't foolish -- if we could have lived in this better world, but chose not to."

In the final panel, a person at a cafe counter says: "I'd like a large pork-spice cappuccino."

The comic satirizes the cultural discourse around pumpkin spice (especially "pumpkin spice latte" season each fall). The joke builds through pseudo-educational facts pointing out that pumpkin spice is just a spice blend not inherently tied to pumpkins, then takes this to its logical absurd conclusion: if pumpkin spice is just a spice mix used in many dishes, why not apply it to pork? The "pork-spice cappuccino" is the comedic endpoint -- technically consistent with the stated facts but viscerally unappealing, highlighting the arbitrary cultural attachment to "pumpkin spice" as a brand.

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