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130 | the yard | Two women are looking out a window. There is snow outside, and there is a snowman with human arms. | A snowman has branches for arms, not human arms. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowman",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human"
] | [
"Is there a man stuck inside?"
] | He has a summer job as a scarecrow. | scene: the yard description: Two women are looking out a window. There is snow outside, and there is a snowman with human arms. uncanny: A snowman has branches for arms, not human arms. entities: Snowman, Human. caption: He has a summer job as a scarecrow. | The real man inside of the snowman is apparently the sort of person who will take a seasonal job as a seasonally-appropriate anthropomorphic sculpture, e.g., a snowman in winter, or a scarecrow in the summer. It's funny because this isn't a real job, and even if it was, the type of person who would accept it is very odd. | 60 | 62ccf347365fcaad455f9d11267ce10a |
|
338 | a residential home | A man and a woman are in a room with a regular looking bookshelf and regular sized books on the wall. In the middle of the room the man is pointing to text written on a giant open book which covers the entire floor. He is talking while the woman watches from the doorway. | It is unusual to see such a giant book. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novel",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant"
] | [
"Why is the book so big?",
"What is written in the book?"
] | You promised me you would stop after you lost your arm from that paper cut! | scene: a residential home description: A man and a woman are in a room with a regular looking bookshelf and regular sized books on the wall. In the middle of the room the man is pointing to text written on a giant open book which covers the entire floor. He is talking while the woman watches from the doorway. uncanny: It is unusual to see such a giant book. entities: Novel, Giant. caption: You promised me you would stop after you lost your arm from that paper cut! | The person writing in the giant book only has one arm pictured, so it's plausible that the other one is lost: specifically, the joke is that this person really likes to write in a big book despite the fact that the giant pages caused a giant paper cut which caused the person's arm to entirely get cut off. This is much more damange than would be caused by a smaller paper cut from a smaller book. It's not clear why they are so intent on writing in this book, and their partner wishes they would stop before they lose their second arm. | 103 | 90ec8eabd70643ba4dcbe4c79264a459 |
|
619 | a corporate office | There are two men in suits standing at the door of an office both looking at a desk with a medieval sword stuck into the middle of the desk. One man is talking. | It is unusual for a sword to be sticking out of an office desk. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businessperson"
] | [
"Why is there a sword stuck in an office desk?",
"What is the man saying?"
] | The pen is mightier, but that looks awesome. | scene: a corporate office description: There are two men in suits standing at the door of an office both looking at a desk with a medieval sword stuck into the middle of the desk. One man is talking. uncanny: It is unusual for a sword to be sticking out of an office desk. entities: Sword, Businessperson. caption: The pen is mightier, but that looks awesome. | A reference to the saying "the pen is mightier than the sword" which says that laws/written words are more powerful than physical force in the modern world. These people are questioning that saying: upon seeing the sword out-of-place in the desk, they are in awe of its physical appearance/strength. This is a funny push-back on the common adage. | 59 | d0e7e4deed741964d642361d243f2ecb |
|
217 | an office room | There is a pool in an office. A man is going to dive into it. His clothes are hung up. | There is a huge pool in an office and someone is diving into it. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_pool",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businessperson"
] | [
"Why is there a pool in an office building?"
] | My wife won't let me put one in the back yard. | scene: an office room description: There is a pool in an office. A man is going to dive into it. His clothes are hung up. uncanny: There is a huge pool in an office and someone is diving into it. entities: Swimming_pool, Businessperson. caption: My wife won't let me put one in the back yard. | Couples sometimes argue about whether or not they should add a pool to the backyard. Here, the wife said no, so instead of giving up on the pool, the husband put one in their home office. Technically, it's not in the back yard, so the husband didn't disobey his wife's request. | 52 | 351d0ea8e64914291a556dd35bcffdb7 |
|
711 | the living room | 3 baseball players appear to be playing baseball in a living room. A fourth person sits on a coach behind them, watching and talking on the phone | It's unusual to see games of baseball being played inside houses | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_call",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obliviousness"
] | [
"Why are those people playing baseball in a living room?"
] | All his pitches have been inside. | scene: the living room description: 3 baseball players appear to be playing baseball in a living room. A fourth person sits on a coach behind them, watching and talking on the phone uncanny: It's unusual to see games of baseball being played inside houses entities: Baseball, Telephone_call, Obliviousness. caption: All his pitches have been inside. | A play on words. An "inside pitch" in baseball usually means a pitch that is close to the batter. But here, "inside" literally means inside a house --- the woman on the phone is exasperatedly explaining that she's tired of her spouse, the pitcher, playing baseball inside their house. | 50 | d11cfc0914483e80acfafdb220e9799a |
|
71 | doctor's office | A body in three parts is on an exam table in a doctor's office with the body's arms crossed as though annoyed. The doctor is looking at the body with his mouth wide open as if he's shocked. He has a clipboard and looks like he paused in the middle of writing. | It is strange to see the body split into three parts, but still appears to be functioning given the position of the arms and legs. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawing_a_woman_in_half",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_(illusion)"
] | [
"Why did the patient get split apart?"
] | This is the most advanced case of Surrealism I've seen. | scene: doctor's office description: A body in three parts is on an exam table in a doctor's office with the body's arms crossed as though annoyed. The doctor is looking at the body with his mouth wide open as if he's shocked. He has a clipboard and looks like he paused in the middle of writing. uncanny: It is strange to see the body split into three parts, but still appears to be functioning given the position of the arms and legs. entities: Sawing_a_woman_in_half, Magic_(illusion). caption: This is the most advanced case of Surrealism I've seen. | Surrealism is an art style which focuses on incongruent, impossible, and unnerving scenes; here, that art movement is repurposed as a disease --- and if someone was infected with surrealism, in the advanced stages, their body might separate in similarly impossible/un-nerving ways like impossibly having a separated head, torso, and legs. | 52 | 2979b3cd5b64024d23b12d88a558c5ec |
|
712 | an office building | A dinosaur is talking to another dinosaur in an office. He is handing him some papers. An asteroid is approaching Earth outside. | The dinosaurs are acting like business people and they have an office. Dinosaurs are not that intelligent. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteoroid"
] | [
"Why are the dinosaurs dressed like this?"
] | Tell me about a time you identified a problem that others didn't see coming. | scene: an office building description: A dinosaur is talking to another dinosaur in an office. He is handing him some papers. An asteroid is approaching Earth outside. uncanny: The dinosaurs are acting like business people and they have an office. Dinosaurs are not that intelligent. entities: Dinosaur, Meteoroid. caption: Tell me about a time you identified a problem that others didn't see coming. | In job interviews, people will often ask behavioral questions like this one. However, usually, the skillset they are asking about isn't one that the candidate is using in real time. Here, the interviewer literally doesn't see the giant asteroid coming down from space because he's facing away from it. In contrast, the interviewee can identify it. It's funny because the interview question is easy to answer because they can just describe the present moment, but they both may die because of asteroid impact. | 84 | 6145ab5989b4325cbc8532ec67abc7a8 |
|
61 | doctor's office | There is a doctor sitting at a desk in his office who is leaning over to physically check the pulse of a giant hand and wrist coming in from the door. The hand is the same size as the doctor's desk. | It is unusual for a human hand to be this size. The doctor would have to be the size of a doll in a doll house. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician"
] | [
"What is the pulse reading of the giant hand?",
"How the the hand become so big?"
] | Really God, you worry too much. | scene: doctor's office description: There is a doctor sitting at a desk in his office who is leaning over to physically check the pulse of a giant hand and wrist coming in from the door. The hand is the same size as the doctor's desk. uncanny: It is unusual for a human hand to be this size. The doctor would have to be the size of a doll in a doll house. entities: Hand, Physician. caption: Really God, you worry too much. | The giant hand belongs to god, and the doctor (who looks rather bored) is telling god that his health is fine. This is unusual because presumably, god wouldn't be prone to mortal health problems and wouldn't need a doctor/wouldn't worry about this sort of thing. | 46 | 96699ab062f505bc2e513a99e793dc47 |
|
230 | a road | Columns are shaped in numeral numbers. Two people drive near it on the road. | There isn't a known statue of numeral numbers. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_numerals",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Roman_architecture"
] | [
"Why are there statues of numeral numbers?"
] | If you think this is annoying, just wait. In a few miles, they switch to binary. | scene: a road description: Columns are shaped in numeral numbers. Two people drive near it on the road. uncanny: There isn't a known statue of numeral numbers. entities: Roman_numerals, Ancient_Roman_architecture. caption: If you think this is annoying, just wait. In a few miles, they switch to binary. | The road signs here are in roman numerals, which are notoriously difficult to read. However, on this unusual road, the signs get even more difficult to read, because, according to the female passenger, the numbers will soon be binary, i.e., sequences of ones and zeros that are difficult to immediately translate into values for the driver. | 57 | 05e230bd083e854a20b9f8892b3cc73e |
|
355 | a fenced area | Two turkeys are in a fenced in area. One of them has women legs with fishnets and high heels. | Turkeys do not have human legs and do not wear high heels with fishnets. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-heeled_shoe"
] | [
"Why is the turkey dressing up?"
] | I'm up here. | scene: a fenced area description: Two turkeys are in a fenced in area. One of them has women legs with fishnets and high heels. uncanny: Turkeys do not have human legs and do not wear high heels with fishnets. entities: Turkey_(bird), High-heeled_shoe. caption: I'm up here. | A play on the common trope that men's gaze can drift to revealing parts of a woman's body if their are sexually interested in them. The trope states that the woman will sometimes say "my eyes are up here" --- but here, while the male turkey is looking at the human-like legs in fishnets, because of how a turkey's entire body is above the legs, instead of "my eyes are up here", it gets reduced to "I'm up here," i.e., "most of my entire body is above where you are looking." | 92 | 1c9d80e376eef0c852d6801fe7842629 |
|
384 | a meeting room | a monster is outside of an office building. A meeting was taken place and everyone looks shocked besides one man. | Giant monsters do not terrorize office buildings. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-collar_worker"
] | [
"why is there a monster?"
] | I wish they would just go back to tapping our phone lines. | scene: a meeting room description: a monster is outside of an office building. A meeting was taken place and everyone looks shocked besides one man. uncanny: Giant monsters do not terrorize office buildings. entities: Godzilla, White-collar_worker. caption: I wish they would just go back to tapping our phone lines. | Governments sometimes tap phone lines (as in: the patriot act). But this goes a step further: instead of just listening in via tapping the phone lines, the government has literally deployed an army of monsters to watch everyone to make sure everyone is behaving. | 45 | 85579c9bc4656807388e4bf80fabe034 |
|
276 | a restaurant | There is a man and a women sitting at a nice dinner table with a bottle of wine and two glasses as well as flowers on the table. The women is gazing adorably to the man who is tied to his chair with rope and has his wrists tied up also. His face looks expressionless. | It is not common to see someone sitting at a nice dinner table who is bound with rope to his chair and has his wrists bound also. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_restraint"
] | [
"Why would anyone have to be bound to a chair in order to get them to have dinner?",
"What kind of wine are they drinking?"
] | Relax. The DVR is set. You can catch the game tomorrow. | scene: a restaurant description: There is a man and a women sitting at a nice dinner table with a bottle of wine and two glasses as well as flowers on the table. The women is gazing adorably to the man who is tied to his chair with rope and has his wrists tied up also. His face looks expressionless. uncanny: It is not common to see someone sitting at a nice dinner table who is bound with rope to his chair and has his wrists bound also. entities: Dating, Physical_restraint. caption: Relax. The DVR is set. You can catch the game tomorrow. | The man would rather be watching the sports match than go out to dinner with his partner on a date. The woman is re-assuring him that they are recording the game so he can watch it tomorrow, but he still needs to be tied down to his chair. It's funny partly because of the stereotype that men sometimes prefer sports to romantic evenings. | 64 | 7c9ee8c6243dad91ce64bcff089843db |
|
418 | a living room | A couple of people are sitting on a couch that resembles a monster. The monster has razor sharp teeth and claws. | Couches are not monster like at all. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couch"
] | [
"Why is the couch a monster?"
] | You bought the sofa, you find the remote. | scene: a living room description: A couple of people are sitting on a couch that resembles a monster. The monster has razor sharp teeth and claws. uncanny: Couches are not monster like at all. entities: Monster, Couch. caption: You bought the sofa, you find the remote. | It's a common occurrence that a TV remote gets lost in the sofa, and one must find it to change the channel. But here, the sofa is scary and dangerous monster. The wife is telling the husband that it's his job to find the lost remote in the sofa, which would be a risky job considering, e.g., if you reached your arm into this couch it might bite it off. | 71 | 090147a5bdb2d8095a5e21f60de64202 |
|
582 | road | A man and woman are riding on a tandem bicycle but this bicycle is extremely long. They are both on their cell phones and it's likely that they are talking to each other. | The length of the bike that the cyclists are riding is much longer than it should be. It would not be realistic to be able to safely ride it. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_bicycle#:~:text=A%20tandem%20bicycle%20or%20twin,not%20the%20number%20of%20riders.",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_cycling"
] | [
"Are the people on the bike speaking to each other on their cell phones?",
"Why would they choose a bike that long to ride?"
] | Look, you agreed to a trial separation. | scene: road description: A man and woman are riding on a tandem bicycle but this bicycle is extremely long. They are both on their cell phones and it's likely that they are talking to each other. uncanny: The length of the bike that the cyclists are riding is much longer than it should be. It would not be realistic to be able to safely ride it. entities: Tandem_bicycle#:~:text=A%20tandem%20bicycle%20or%20twin,not%20the%20number%20of%20riders., Road_cycling. caption: Look, you agreed to a trial separation. | A play on the idea of trail separation not being as definitive as divorce. This couple agreed to live apart temporarily without becoming divorced, but are still attached both by marriage, and in this case, literally by a tandem bike. The bike is a somewhat awkward not-full-separation, just like a trial separation. | 53 | bd1893b1799a0b3fb22f0ad7fc018f1a |
|
240 | home | A man is cutting some hedges. All the hedges are shaped like him in various poses. A woman stares out the window at him. | There are hedges of the man everywhere and normally these would be animals or other people. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_sculpture",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscaping"
] | [
"Why is the man so obsessed with his own image?"
] | That's it. I'm returning those narciscissors today! | scene: home description: A man is cutting some hedges. All the hedges are shaped like him in various poses. A woman stares out the window at him. uncanny: There are hedges of the man everywhere and normally these would be animals or other people. entities: Garden_sculpture, Landscaping. caption: That's it. I'm returning those narciscissors today! | "narciscissors" is a mashup of the words narcissist and scissors. If there was a product called "narciscissors": the narcissist part might cause someone to make flattering hedge trimmings of themselves. This might be annoying to the wife who has to live in a house with these ridiculous sculptures of her husband. | 52 | 7419079fe26bed14d280d35133944789 |
|
739 | outside | There is a man in a t-shirt and jeans who is holding hands with his son on the left and a dog wearing human clothes on the right. The dog is standing straight up and looking at the little boy who looks angry. The man is talking to the little boy. | It is unusual that a man is holding hands with a dog who is wearing clothes and walking upright. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fashion",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenting"
] | [
"Why is the dog walking and wearing clothes like a person?",
"What is the man saying to the little boy?"
] | Once tax season is over, you can go back to being the only child. | scene: outside description: There is a man in a t-shirt and jeans who is holding hands with his son on the left and a dog wearing human clothes on the right. The dog is standing straight up and looking at the little boy who looks angry. The man is talking to the little boy. uncanny: It is unusual that a man is holding hands with a dog who is wearing clothes and walking upright. entities: Dog_fashion, Parenting. caption: Once tax season is over, you can go back to being the only child. | Your taxes can be reduced in the US if you have children: by claiming more dependents on your tax return, you get to pay less to the government, which everyone tries to do. Here, the man is humorously bending the tax rules by treating the family dog as a human child to save tax money. The human child is not happy about it, but the parent assures the kid that it's only for tax season that they need to do this charade. | 83 | 85532be24dbd5aa17eaaa9d51b14f5dc |
|
518 | a rooftop | A man is crawling across a sandbox. Two kids look on, wanting to play. | The man is acting like he's crawling weakly through a desert. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandpit",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert"
] | [
"Is the man mentally ill?"
] | Isn't this the same guy who got shipwrecked in our wading pool? | scene: a rooftop description: A man is crawling across a sandbox. Two kids look on, wanting to play. uncanny: The man is acting like he's crawling weakly through a desert. entities: Sandpit, Desert. caption: Isn't this the same guy who got shipwrecked in our wading pool? | A man who gets lost in a sandbox as if he were stranded in the desert, as depicted, is not so bright because it's difficult to put oneself in a dire situation within a benign children's play area. The kids refer to another analogous situation when the same man put himself in a dire situation (shipwreck) within a benign children's play area (wading pool). | 65 | adf1cc2135f4197f77d402f6ff9ec6d4 |
|
143 | an office building | Two businessmen are walking down a hall. One of them is carrying a blow up doll. | A blow up doll is not something most people would carry around in public. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_doll",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businessperson"
] | [
"Why is he carrying that?"
] | I couldn't find a real naked woman to ride with me in the H.O.V. lane. | scene: an office building description: Two businessmen are walking down a hall. One of them is carrying a blow up doll. uncanny: A blow up doll is not something most people would carry around in public. entities: Sex_doll, Businessperson. caption: I couldn't find a real naked woman to ride with me in the H.O.V. lane. | The H.O.V. lane is a prioritized traffic design that allows cars with multiple occupants their own lane. Here, the man wants to go in the lane, but only with a naked woman passenger. Possibly because of the oddity of this request, no one took him up on it, and so, he has a naked doll instead to trick police offers to not giving him a ticket for illegally driving alone in the H.O.V. lane. | 75 | 4a505e7be3ee9991dc179e18c9251b41 |
|
78 | prison | There are two people in bed in a jail. The woman is smoking a cigarette. | There is a huge bed in a small jail cell and the people are having sex. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex"
] | [
"Why is there a huge bed in a jail cell with two people having sex?"
] | How about we just stay in tonight? | scene: prison description: There are two people in bed in a jail. The woman is smoking a cigarette. uncanny: There is a huge bed in a small jail cell and the people are having sex. entities: Prisoner, Sex. caption: How about we just stay in tonight? | To "stay in tonight" usually means for a couple to relax/get take-out food/stay in bed instead of going out to restaurants and bars. But here, the people don't have a choice of going out: they are in prison. The funny part is that the statement implies that they had a choice and are simply selecting this of their own free will when they're not. | 65 | cae6f3c979072c1f066fc8c99ad45d49 |
|
214 | a corporate executive's office | A man without a head is on the desk of another man who is looking at him. They are in an office and have normal expressions on their faces. | It is not normal for someone to be headless. Humans need body parts in order to survive. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapitation",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_search"
] | [
"Why is the man headless?"
] | Please use a coaster. | scene: a corporate executive's office description: A man without a head is on the desk of another man who is looking at him. They are in an office and have normal expressions on their faces. uncanny: It is not normal for someone to be headless. Humans need body parts in order to survive. entities: Decapitation, Chief_executive_officer, Executive_search. caption: Please use a coaster. | People use coasters to prevent glasses from damaging wood surfaces like desks --- but here, the object that needs a coaster is a disembodied head. One would think that a person in this situation would comment on the disembodied head, but the man behind the desk is most worried about preserving the desk, and simply asks the head to use a coaster. | 63 | 568bce98d3ff8f22eaa8718c7ee806c1 |
|
459 | an office | There is a board meeting in an office with four people in business attire. Three of the people are sitting in chairs which are on top of a conference table while the fourth sits in a chair which is on the floor. The man in the chair on the floor is looking up to the other three and is talking. | It is unusual to see people in a meeting sitting in chairs which are on top of a conference table. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desk",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting"
] | [
"Why are the people on top of the table?",
"What is the man sitting in a chair on the floor saying to the people on top of the table?"
] | Would you at least use coasters? | scene: an office description: There is a board meeting in an office with four people in business attire. Three of the people are sitting in chairs which are on top of a conference table while the fourth sits in a chair which is on the floor. The man in the chair on the floor is looking up to the other three and is talking. uncanny: It is unusual to see people in a meeting sitting in chairs which are on top of a conference table. entities: Desk, Meeting. caption: Would you at least use coasters? | The man not sitting on the table is asking the three people on the table to use coasters. It's unusual to put chairs on a table like this during a meeting, and the man likely didn't join them because of how weird it is. While he's weirdly accepted that they will sit on the table, he's asking them to at least not scratch the surface with their chairs by using coasters. It's funny because it's unclear why the people wanted to be on the table. | 86 | 51e9a68c8a2da3cb3537e5ac4bfdf5ca |
|
692 | store | A wolf is trying on sheep's clothing and other outfits in a shop. A man is helping him. He is carrying a bunch of costumes. | There is a wolf in sheep's clothing in a costumer shop. Wolves are not this smart. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_in_sheep%27s_clothing",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannequin"
] | [
"Why is the wolf trying on costumes?"
] | I'll take this and the granny dress. | scene: store description: A wolf is trying on sheep's clothing and other outfits in a shop. A man is helping him. He is carrying a bunch of costumes. uncanny: There is a wolf in sheep's clothing in a costumer shop. Wolves are not this smart. entities: Wolf_in_sheep%27s_clothing, Mannequin. caption: I'll take this and the granny dress. | A reference to the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. A "wolf in sheeps clothing," as depicted, is an idiom meaning a nefarious actor who appears innocent: here the wolf is the same (also nefarious) wolf as in Little Red Riding Hood: who kills a grandmother and wears her clothes as a disguise. | 54 | 712a8c17a114f6a03eaab3ee4bd86732 |
|
327 | a swimming pool | A dragon is in the pool while everyone ignores it. The dragon looks angry as everyone looks calm. | People would not be calm if a terrifying monster was in their pool. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_tanning"
] | [
"Why is the dragon in the pool?"
] | Your tattoo escaped. | scene: a swimming pool description: A dragon is in the pool while everyone ignores it. The dragon looks angry as everyone looks calm. uncanny: People would not be calm if a terrifying monster was in their pool. entities: Leviathan, Sun_tanning. caption: Your tattoo escaped. | A surreal joke about a tattoo coming to life. People sometimes get dragon tattoos --- if such tattoos could come to life, that would offer a reasonable explanation for how this enormous dragon could be in this pool. The nonchalance of the statement makes it funnier --- as if tattoos escaping like this happens often. | 56 | 015552cadf0438b64c27f4d4c5cb2837 |
|
457 | a galley ship | A number of bedraggled men are rowing in the hull of a slave ship. One of them is a businessman. | The businessman is out of place in this time. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowing",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businessperson"
] | [
"Why is the businessman rowing?"
] | Your last job sounds terrible. | scene: a galley ship description: A number of bedraggled men are rowing in the hull of a slave ship. One of them is a businessman. uncanny: The businessman is out of place in this time. entities: Rowing, Slavery, Businessperson. caption: Your last job sounds terrible. | The people rowing the boat are slaves --- their conditions seem dire and their job terrible. But, even the rowers take pity on the businessman, who they judge to have an even more terrible job previously. This surprising conclusion is joke is about how modern jobs are cushy, but might still feel like slavery in some ways (even though they aren't really comparable). | 64 | 3fac2f65a722a71e27de58207116495d |
|
480 | street | There is a shootout outside of a saloon. A cowboy is facing off against a bearded man holding a balloon. | The bearded man has a balloon instead of a gun. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shootout",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noon#Solar_noon"
] | [
"Why doesn't he have a weapon?"
] | That's why they call him The Kid. | scene: street description: There is a shootout outside of a saloon. A cowboy is facing off against a bearded man holding a balloon. uncanny: The bearded man has a balloon instead of a gun. entities: Shootout, Noon#Solar_noon. caption: That's why they call him The Kid. | A reference to the outlaw "Billy the Kid", who got his name because his face/appearance looked useful, but this person is called "The Kid" because they are acting like a child by bringing a balloon to a shootout in the wild west town. It's humorous partly because we expect him to lose the duel with the person with a gun, but he has somehow survived long enough to get a nickname. | 72 | e2dec50ae9afdbb787e6f61815da0d39 |
|
46 | a convention center | There is a stockholder meeting. A panel is facing an audience. | All the people on stage are nude. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_general_meeting",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudity"
] | [
"Why are they naked?"
] | If all goes well, we'll get them back after the audit. | scene: a convention center description: There is a stockholder meeting. A panel is facing an audience. uncanny: All the people on stage are nude. entities: Annual_general_meeting, Nudity. caption: If all goes well, we'll get them back after the audit. | This company has done some extremely shady financial activities, so much so, that external auditors have comically taken away even their clothing. It's funny to think of a shareholder meeting for a company that's doing so obviously badly, and yet, they are happy to do their best and continue with the presentation naked. | 54 | bde9953ce1f98aee2a60fb3967a749ad |
|
591 | a therapist's office | A man is in a bath sub with scared look on his face and another man with facial hair is sitting on a couch looking towards the other man with a brush in his hand. | Two men in a bathroom with one man watching the other seems to be unusual. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy"
] | [
"Was the man forced to go into the bath tub?"
] | I can give you the tools, but you have to do the work yourself. | scene: a therapist's office description: A man is in a bath sub with scared look on his face and another man with facial hair is sitting on a couch looking towards the other man with a brush in his hand. uncanny: Two men in a bathroom with one man watching the other seems to be unusual. entities: Bathtub, Therapy. caption: I can give you the tools, but you have to do the work yourself. | A play on the words "tools" and "work". Therapists often ask for emotional buy-in from their clients: there's no passive cure that they can impart, so while they can provide the emotional tools for healing, the patient has to meet them in the middle by doing the emotional work with the tools. But here, the tools and work are literal, not emotional: the literal tools are soap and a brush, and the work is literally scrubbing, which ties together why the patient is in a bath tub. | 88 | dbe3f90b90e4dc186c348c506f43c647 |
|
512 | a yoga studio | A man and woman are standing facing one another (mirrored) inside of a yoga studio. The man looks upset at what the woman is telling him. The man is carrying a living room rug and the woman is carrying a yoga mat. | It's typical to use a yoga mat in a yoga studio so it's unusual to see someone trying to use a living room heavy rug as their yoga mat. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_mat"
] | [
"Why is the man trying to use a living room rug instead of a yoga mat?"
] | We get it. You're straight. | scene: a yoga studio description: A man and woman are standing facing one another (mirrored) inside of a yoga studio. The man looks upset at what the woman is telling him. The man is carrying a living room rug and the woman is carrying a yoga mat. uncanny: It's typical to use a yoga mat in a yoga studio so it's unusual to see someone trying to use a living room heavy rug as their yoga mat. entities: Carpet, Yoga_mat. caption: We get it. You're straight. | This is a joke about toxic masculinity. The man wants to do yoga, which is seen by some as a feminine activity. To compensate for his insecurity, he brings a manly, big rug instead of a purportedly feminine yoga mat. The instructor's retort addresses his insecurity by saying that his overcompensation is overkill. | 54 | f485ae016ee2c25b8eb49fa8d2d1c049 |
|
128 | a living room | There is a couple in a living room both sitting in recliners and reading a book and newspaper. The man appears to be talking to the woman. Behind them in the background is a giant puppy which fills the entire room. | It is unusual for a puppy to be so big. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_the_Big_Red_Dog",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing"
] | [
"Why is the puppy so big?",
"What is the man saying?"
] | Don't look at me that way—I wanted a giant cat. | scene: a living room description: There is a couple in a living room both sitting in recliners and reading a book and newspaper. The man appears to be talking to the woman. Behind them in the background is a giant puppy which fills the entire room. uncanny: It is unusual for a puppy to be so big. entities: Clifford_the_Big_Red_Dog, Chewing. caption: Don't look at me that way—I wanted a giant cat. | The giant dog is slobbering all over the furniture and the woman is looking to the man for help. The problem here is clearly the size of the dog --- if it were normal sized, it wouldn't be a problem. But, the man fails to recognize that the size is the problem instead attributing their current predicament to the fact that its a dog. It's additionally partly funny because of the tension between cat people and dog people. | 79 | 3cdbb570b69f64e35c8ddbce6aaca961 |
|
472 | debate | A man is trying to give a speech on a podium while he looks annoyed towards his opponent happily juggling chainsaws. Another man is whispering to the one on the podium. | In a speech or debate, it is essential for the parties to be professional. One of the participants is juggling chainsaws which is not the point of the debate and is probably trying to bring all attention to himself. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juggling",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainsaw",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election"
] | [
"Why is he juggling chainsaws?"
] | Wave to him. | scene: debate description: A man is trying to give a speech on a podium while he looks annoyed towards his opponent happily juggling chainsaws. Another man is whispering to the one on the podium. uncanny: In a speech or debate, it is essential for the parties to be professional. One of the participants is juggling chainsaws which is not the point of the debate and is probably trying to bring all attention to himself. entities: Juggling, Chainsaw, Election. caption: Wave to him. | While his political opponent is putting on an impressive show, if the politician getting advice were to wave to the juggling politician, it might distract him enough such that the chainsaws would kill him by sawing into his body. If his political opponent was dead, he would win the election, which makes it good practical (albeit dark) advice | 59 | 1c55085cddbc1193a5f9db5df10f4cae |
|
593 | a living roo | A man is speaking on the phone with someone. There is a note stuck into his back with a knife. | The man has been stabbed and should be keeling over. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_call",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betrayal"
] | [
"Who is he calling?"
] | She left a note. No, I haven't read it yet. | scene: a living roo description: A man is speaking on the phone with someone. There is a note stuck into his back with a knife. uncanny: The man has been stabbed and should be keeling over. entities: Telephone_call, Betrayal. caption: She left a note. No, I haven't read it yet. | An angry wife left her husband, and she left a note, presumably detailing her issues with him. This joke takes the anger one step further, instead of simply leaving the note, she literally stabbed him in the back, leaving the note lodged on the knife. It's funny in part because the man is relatively calm about being literally stabbed in the back, talking to his friend on the phone calmly about his partner's departure. | 75 | f55f668bf3b3595a1c321bd3a861b2b2 |
|
186 | mount sinai | Moses is standing on a hill. He is showing off the Commandments to some people. | The Commandments are written in East Asian lettering. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Chinese_cuisine"
] | [
"Who wrote down these Commandments?"
] | And for you goats—thou shalt not marry a dragon or ox. | scene: mount sinai description: Moses is standing on a hill. He is showing off the Commandments to some people. uncanny: The Commandments are written in East Asian lettering. entities: Moses, American_Chinese_cuisine. caption: And for you goats—thou shalt not marry a dragon or ox. | A joke about the incompatibility of romantic relationships according to Chinese Zodiac signs. The tablets, written in Chinese, have been passed to Moses as eternal rules, like the ten commandments. But, instead of general, eternal principles like "do not kill", god has humorously commanded that people with particular zodiac signs are incompatible: usually, this sort of thing is seen as just superstition, so it's funny to think god is superstitious. | 71 | fb6ad2ae256d7cbd56df670462a7a0ae |
|
651 | a doctor's office | A man is sitting on a table in an examination room while the doctor speaks to him. He is wrapped with a giant snake. | There is a huge snake around the patient. He really should be dead long before he made it there. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boa_constrictor",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor"
] | [
"Why isn't the man dead?"
] | What we have here is a reptile dysfuntion. | scene: a doctor's office description: A man is sitting on a table in an examination room while the doctor speaks to him. He is wrapped with a giant snake. uncanny: There is a huge snake around the patient. He really should be dead long before he made it there. entities: Boa_constrictor, Doctor. caption: What we have here is a reptile dysfuntion. | A play on the term "erectile dysfunction," which is a medical diagnosis that people sometimes receive. In addition to being a simple pun that addresses the snake around the man, there's a slight crudeness to the joke because snakes look somewhat phallic. | 43 | 9bba7284ccc5c95a145af0c86ac924a8 |
|
728 | the beach | A man is relaxing on a small island under a palm tree. Another man with tattered clothes and a briefcase stares at him. | There is a businessman on the island with tattered clothes while another man is just relaxing and looking fine. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_furniture"
] | [
"What happened to the man with tattered clothes?"
] | Thank you for agreeing to meet remotely. | scene: the beach description: A man is relaxing on a small island under a palm tree. Another man with tattered clothes and a briefcase stares at him. uncanny: There is a businessman on the island with tattered clothes while another man is just relaxing and looking fine. entities: Coconut, Beach_furniture. caption: Thank you for agreeing to meet remotely. | To "meet remotely" usually means to meet over a video call, but here, "meet remotely" takes on a second meaning: to meet in-person, but in a remote location. The person with the coconut cocktail is organizing the meeting: he more relaxed than his co-worker, suggesting he might not be as dedicated to his job (or is perhaps his boss with less accountability). | 63 | bcb012a7c6ab8b8122f2530d1306fe43 |
|
440 | a baseball pit | Some baseball players are watching the game from the dugout. One of them has high heels on. | A baseball player is wearing lady shoes. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball#Players",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-heeled_shoe"
] | [
"Why is he wearing that to play baseball?"
] | I hate fashion week. | scene: a baseball pit description: Some baseball players are watching the game from the dugout. One of them has high heels on. uncanny: A baseball player is wearing lady shoes. entities: Baseball#Players, High-heeled_shoe. caption: I hate fashion week. | A joke about an unusual promotion for a baseball team --- "fashion week" is a fashion industry event where many designers showcase new types of clothing with models/runway shows. Here, the owner of the baseball team is forcing a similar promotion on his players, as shown by the player wearing fancy high heels. It's a weird promo in part because wearing high heels probably makes it much harder to play baseball, so the players hate it because the team will lose. | 82 | 9e4f93f2ca2b2277659620f6f4d2413e |
|
138 | a business office | Two people are in an office talking to a man. Beside him is a large tank of water. | The tank is out of place in an office. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract"
] | [
"What is the significance of the tank?"
] | Get naked, jump in, and make this marriage work! | scene: a business office description: Two people are in an office talking to a man. Beside him is a large tank of water. uncanny: The tank is out of place in an office. entities: Aquarium, Contract. caption: Get naked, jump in, and make this marriage work! | A strange piece of advice from the marriage counselor about how the couple might re-kindle their marriage. The couple is skeptical that a naked bath is what's stopping them from having a good marriage, but the purported therapist nonetheless enthusiastically suggests it. The funny part is that this therapist doesn't seem credible. | 53 | b1d5afc13dc2c689bf648224c9b502ac |
|
153 | court room | Three businessmen are in an office. There are dancers doing a routine in the background. | A line of dancers are in a place of business. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawyer"
] | [
"What are the dancers doing there?"
] | I know you have the law and the facts on your side, but I'm going with the dancing girls on this one. | scene: court room description: Three businessmen are in an office. There are dancers doing a routine in the background. uncanny: A line of dancers are in a place of business. entities: Judge, Lawyer. caption: I know you have the law and the facts on your side, but I'm going with the dancing girls on this one. | Judges are supposed to be impartial, but this judge sides with the showiness of the dancers rather than the boring (but correct) lawyer. This is an exaggeration of a concern of the judicial system: that the facts of a case may matter less than a lawyer's presentation. | 48 | 5d40825135da0171328ff04bad2b94d4 |
|
623 | a public park | Some people are flying kites at the park. A police officer with keys is talking to one of them. | One of the kites seems to be a flying rat. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_guard"
] | [
"What does the cop want?"
] | You better hope that was rain I just felt. | scene: a public park description: Some people are flying kites at the park. A police officer with keys is talking to one of them. uncanny: One of the kites seems to be a flying rat. entities: Kite, Security_guard. caption: You better hope that was rain I just felt. | The cop is trying to get the person to stop illegally flying a dog instead of a kite --- the joke is that, unlike kites, dogs can urinate, which might cause the police offer to get urinated on from above. The cop is trying to get the person to stop flying the dog, and it's likely the punishment would be worse for the man if the officer was peed on. The officer points out that the liquid he felt, for the sake of the man's punishment severity, is hopefully rain and not dog pee. | 95 | 82cec4e5050df7d086bc467e64049272 |
|
274 | a bar | A man in a trenchcoat is talking to a bartender, while a ballerina dancer looks on from behind him. The bartender appears to be telling the man something, and the dancer looks upset. | Ballerina dancers usually cannot be found in bars: it's probably the case that the bartender is telling the man in the trenchcoat that the dancer is not welcome at the bar. Also, the man talking to the bartender is dressed a bit like a mobster. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangster"
] | [
"Why is the man trying to bring the ballerina dancer to the bar?"
] | The guy you're looking for waltzed out of here an hour ago. | scene: a bar description: A man in a trenchcoat is talking to a bartender, while a ballerina dancer looks on from behind him. The bartender appears to be telling the man something, and the dancer looks upset. uncanny: Ballerina dancers usually cannot be found in bars: it's probably the case that the bartender is telling the man in the trenchcoat that the dancer is not welcome at the bar. Also, the man talking to the bartender is dressed a bit like a mobster. entities: Ballet, Gangster. caption: The guy you're looking for waltzed out of here an hour ago. | A play on the word "waltzed" --- if a private investigator were looking for a suspect at a bar to be told that the person "waltzed out of there", that would simply mean they left. But, given that the victim of the crime is a ballet dancer, it suggests that the perpetrator may have also been a dancer, and perhaps literally waltzed out of the bar, i.e., danced their way out. | 72 | 86d112977fa21a3149ed679fccb4da26 |
|
226 | doctor's office | An alien doctor is talking to a patient. The patient looks surprised. | Aliens do not exist and cannot be doctors. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_abduction"
] | [
"Why is the doctor an alien?"
] | I’m going to give you something for your humanity. | scene: doctor's office description: An alien doctor is talking to a patient. The patient looks surprised. uncanny: Aliens do not exist and cannot be doctors. entities: Extraterrestrial_life, Alien_abduction. caption: I’m going to give you something for your humanity. | Because the doctor is an alien, they might assume that being an alien is "normal" --- so, being a human is the disease, and the alien apparently has a prescription drug/"cure" to turn the human into an alien. | 39 | 174e81f94c9f9085eeb158de509ce5c9 |
|
392 | a yoga studio | Hulk is smashing a man against the wall. There is a yoga class going on behind him. | Hulk is inside a yoga studio during a class. He is smashing the wall with a person. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence"
] | [
"Why is Hulk inside a yoga studio pummeling a man?"
] | RELAX! | scene: a yoga studio description: Hulk is smashing a man against the wall. There is a yoga class going on behind him. uncanny: Hulk is inside a yoga studio during a class. He is smashing the wall with a person. entities: Hulk, Violence. caption: RELAX! | The hulk is a superhero who becomes a super strong monster when he's angry. It's funny to imagine him trying to teach a yoga class --- if he was mad that someone wasn't relaxing enough to do yoga, he might become the hulk, smash them into the wall, and yell "RELAX"! | 52 | d99d4c9da0dbbf2d42fb1fa715e9f170 |
|
594 | park | A couple is walking through the park. There are two trees with happy faces looking at them. | Trees do not have animated faces. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoji",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree"
] | [
"Why are the trees alive?"
] | I'm so glad that 'lumberjack' is more a look than an occupation these days. | scene: park description: A couple is walking through the park. There are two trees with happy faces looking at them. uncanny: Trees do not have animated faces. entities: Emoji, Tree. caption: I'm so glad that 'lumberjack' is more a look than an occupation these days. | Lumberjacks cut down trees, and so the trees are especially happy that the couple is just wearing plaid ("lumberjack" clothing) instead of trying to chop them down. | 28 | 1ca0d1f1e3e80c639222d4d68a2ac067 |
|
602 | hospital | A doctor and a bunch of chefs are standing around a hospital bed. A gingerbread man is laying in it. | Gingerbread men are not sentient beings. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread_man",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef%27s_uniform"
] | [
"What is wrong with the gingerbread man?"
] | In our opinion, you won't make it past the holidays. | scene: hospital description: A doctor and a bunch of chefs are standing around a hospital bed. A gingerbread man is laying in it. uncanny: Gingerbread men are not sentient beings. entities: Gingerbread_man, Chef%27s_uniform. caption: In our opinion, you won't make it past the holidays. | Gingerbread men are cookies often baked at the holidays. Doctors are often tasked with giving prognoses for difficult medical conditions that involve death. Here, their prognosis of "not making it past the holidays" refers to the probable outcome of the gingerbread man being eaten during the holiday season (and not "making it" past that time). | 56 | 77a0532b26003a7a9015b3ef2ac690a3 |
|
348 | a beach | There are giant, carved Easter Island stones scattered on a beach. All are identical and resemble a regular man but with a combed back hairstyle. In the foreground a tour guide is talking to a single male tourist who has a camera hanging around his neck. | It is unusual to see Easter Island stones which resemble a regular man. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism"
] | [
"Who was the inspiration for the stones?",
"What is the tour guide saying to the tourist?"
] | They keep watch on the offshore accounts. | scene: a beach description: There are giant, carved Easter Island stones scattered on a beach. All are identical and resemble a regular man but with a combed back hairstyle. In the foreground a tour guide is talking to a single male tourist who has a camera hanging around his neck. uncanny: It is unusual to see Easter Island stones which resemble a regular man. entities: Moai, Tourism. caption: They keep watch on the offshore accounts. | Offshore accounts are bank accounts run by island nations where wealthy people keep money to avoid taxes. Here, the Moai statues, which normally are on Easter Island, have haircuts which make them look like wealthy businessmen from the USA. The idea is that these modified Maoi statues' job is to make sure that the wealthy businessmen's money is safe on the island. | 63 | ecf53d04abffa021447fa7018d541591 |
|
608 | a church | A priest is looking up at huge radiator fins inset between stained glass windows in a church. Below the fins is a man seated at an organ, looking at the priest. | Pipe organs tend to use straight pipes instead of radiators. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_(music)",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_organ"
] | [
"Why have the pipe organ pipes been replaced by a huge radiator?"
] | We need to screen our organ donors more closely. | scene: a church description: A priest is looking up at huge radiator fins inset between stained glass windows in a church. Below the fins is a man seated at an organ, looking at the priest. uncanny: Pipe organs tend to use straight pipes instead of radiators. entities: Organ_(music), Pipe_organ. caption: We need to screen our organ donors more closely. | A play on the term "organ donors" --- an organ donor usually refers to someone who opts in to having their organs donated after their death; these folks might be screened for health conditions to make sure transplantation is safe. But here, the organ donor is someone who gave the musical instrument organ to the church; a more close screening process for someone donating a musical instrument would have presumably caught the fact that the organ isn't an instrument, it's a radiator. | 83 | f11f339119a21ea8958f9e294b36c85e |
|
171 | a butcher shop | In a butcher shop, there is a lady looking to buy some meat. In the display case are designs of women doing the can-can dance. | The can-can dance is out of place because it has nothing to do with meat. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can-can",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butcher"
] | [
"Why is there a can-can dance display?"
] | I'd suggest you keep them away from the gingerbread men. | scene: a butcher shop description: In a butcher shop, there is a lady looking to buy some meat. In the display case are designs of women doing the can-can dance. uncanny: The can-can dance is out of place because it has nothing to do with meat. entities: Can-can, Butcher. caption: I'd suggest you keep them away from the gingerbread men. | These odd female dancers are being sold at the meat counter as a product: while this remains unexplained, the butcher's advice is to keep these women away from gingerbread men, which are a type of cookie shaped like men. One would want to keep the men and the women apart because romantic hi-jinks between the men and women might occur. | 61 | ca607862a6b7debf453b92f9166f81eb |
|
728 | an island | A man is relaxing on a small island under a palm tree. Another man with tattered clothes and a briefcase stares at him. | There is a businessman on the island with tattered clothes while another man is just relaxing and looking fine. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_tanning",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castaway"
] | [
"What happened to the man with tattered clothes?"
] | Thank you for agreeing to meet remotely. | scene: an island description: A man is relaxing on a small island under a palm tree. Another man with tattered clothes and a briefcase stares at him. uncanny: There is a businessman on the island with tattered clothes while another man is just relaxing and looking fine. entities: Sun_tanning, Castaway. caption: Thank you for agreeing to meet remotely. | To "meet remotely" usually means to meet over a video call, but here, "meet remotely" takes on a second meaning: to meet in-person, but in a remote location. The person with the coconut cocktail is organizing the meeting: he more relaxed than his co-worker, suggesting he might not be as dedicated to his job (or is perhaps his boss with less accountability). | 63 | 264cd8b3532fa78a196c549b6579d1cf |
|
531 | a living room | Two giraffes are in a house. One is on the couch watching TV. | Giraffes are doing human things. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe"
] | [
"What are they talking about?"
] | Sorry I'm late. I hit every traffic light coming home. | scene: a living room description: Two giraffes are in a house. One is on the couch watching TV. uncanny: Giraffes are doing human things. entities: Television, Giraffe. caption: Sorry I'm late. I hit every traffic light coming home. | A play on the phrase "hit every traffic light" --- usually, "hit" is a figurative expression someone would say if they encountered lots of red lights at traffic stops driving home: this would cause them to be late because red lights cause drivers to stop. But here, "hit" takes on a literal meaning: because the giraffe is the one coming home and giraffes are tall with long necks, they literally physically hit their head on every single traffic light. | 80 | d309a452c46b1691369f53cf8f766358 |
|
292 | the backyard | A man and a woman are outside grilling and about to eat. There is another couple grilling, except they are upside down and they're all staring at one another. | There is a mirror image of the couple hanging upside down from the sky. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-gravity",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighbourhood"
] | [
"What are the couples thinking?"
] | We never should have sold those air rights, Ed. | scene: the backyard description: A man and a woman are outside grilling and about to eat. There is another couple grilling, except they are upside down and they're all staring at one another. uncanny: There is a mirror image of the couple hanging upside down from the sky. entities: Anti-gravity, Barbecue, Neighbourhood. caption: We never should have sold those air rights, Ed. | The couple on the bottom apparently sold the air rights above their property, not realizing that whoever they sold the rights two would be able to construct an entire parallel house/property above them. The people on the bottom have a more cramped property now that their vertical neighbors live so close. It's funny in part because of the contrast between the benign/everyday nature of legal concerns vs. the whimsical idea that an upside-down house could be constructed. | 78 | 61b5ccd37cbc651415dba5bdb05ed046 |
|
630 | beach | A man and woman in swimsuits are under an umbrella. There is water all around them up to their arms. | The man and woman are surrounded by water up to their arms at the beach. It is flooded, which is not supposed to be that way. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella"
] | [
"Why is the beach flooded?"
] | I clearly recall choosing hell over high water. | scene: beach description: A man and woman in swimsuits are under an umbrella. There is water all around them up to their arms. uncanny: The man and woman are surrounded by water up to their arms at the beach. It is flooded, which is not supposed to be that way. entities: Flood, Umbrella. caption: I clearly recall choosing hell over high water. | A reference to the idiom: "hell or high water": in this case, they were literally given the choice, and despite apparently choosing "hell", they were given "high water", as depicted. | 31 | f1f6fd3ef2ae23670c8a6abb4e9c74f7 |
|
141 | heaven | Two angels are on a cloud. They are having a conversation. | One of the angels has black wings. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon"
] | [
"Is the angel evil?"
] | It just looked so uncool to wear a seat belt in the Batmobile. | scene: heaven description: Two angels are on a cloud. They are having a conversation. uncanny: One of the angels has black wings. entities: Angel, Demon. caption: It just looked so uncool to wear a seat belt in the Batmobile. | A dark joke about batman dying in a car crash. We know the angel on the right is batman because the black wings are similar to accents on the batmobile, and we know he died because he's in heaven talking about how he didn't wear a seatbelt. | 48 | 38b8c6788b47d7bcaa41279144a1d7c8 |
|
592 | classroom | Two people in lab coats are in what looks like a lecture hall. Ducks are seated where the students would be with laptops open in front of them. | Ducks are in the seats in place of humans. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laptop",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem"
] | [
"What does a duck need to learn?"
] | Take away the computers and they’re just sitting ducks. | scene: classroom description: Two people in lab coats are in what looks like a lecture hall. Ducks are seated where the students would be with laptops open in front of them. uncanny: Ducks are in the seats in place of humans. entities: Duck, Laptop, Infinite_monkey_theorem. caption: Take away the computers and they’re just sitting ducks. | A play on the phrase "sitting ducks" --- figuratively, sitting ducks are vulnerable people. The joke from the professor is that, if computers were taken away from their students, they would be incapable and vulnerable, a reference to dependence on technology. But, because the students are literally ducks, if you took the computers away, you would literally be left with a room full of ducks sitting down. | 68 | 9c38825734a596642635922fe948c437 |
|
51 | the courtroom | In a courtroom, there are three serious men in suits. The man sitting on a sofa chair has a hook hand and is being interrogated by a man standing up and holding a paper. The judge looks at this man sitting on the sofa. | It is unusual for people these days to have very backwards prosthetic hands. Hook hands were a relic of the past and were attributed to pirates, so this man might be in court for piracy. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogation",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness"
] | [
"Why does the man use a hook hand?"
] | When did you first encounter my client's balloon? | scene: the courtroom description: In a courtroom, there are three serious men in suits. The man sitting on a sofa chair has a hook hand and is being interrogated by a man standing up and holding a paper. The judge looks at this man sitting on the sofa. uncanny: It is unusual for people these days to have very backwards prosthetic hands. Hook hands were a relic of the past and were attributed to pirates, so this man might be in court for piracy. entities: Interrogation, Witness. caption: When did you first encounter my client's balloon? | A man with a hook for a hand is on trial. Apparently, his crime was popping a balloon, which he did either purposefully or accidentally, with his hook. It's funny partly because it's unclear what type of balloon popping crime would be significant enough to put him on trial. | 50 | b31182e4fcdf78ac3fecc37a912fb3cf |
|
450 | a meeting room | A bunch of executives are in a board room. They are dancing on top of the table. | People don't dance on tables in an office. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twist_(dance)",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting"
] | [
"Why are they dancing?"
] | Honestly, I’m not sure you’re partner material. | scene: a meeting room description: A bunch of executives are in a board room. They are dancing on top of the table. uncanny: People don't dance on tables in an office. entities: Twist_(dance), Meeting. caption: Honestly, I’m not sure you’re partner material. | A play on the word "partner" --- in the context of a law firm, a "partner" is a high ranking lawyer at the firm. But here, everyone at the law firm is dancing on a table, and so "partner" takes on the second meaning of dancing partner. Here, the lawyer might not achieve law partner possibly because he isn't a good dancing partner. | 64 | e45b348e2fd364495c2ef6c252dae18a |
|
321 | a bedroom | there are holes all over the bedroom floor as a couple sleeps peacefully in bed. | What caused the holes would have woken up the couple but they are fast asleep. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep"
] | [
"Why are there holes in the ground?"
] | Why don't you get the coffee this morning? | scene: a bedroom description: there are holes all over the bedroom floor as a couple sleeps peacefully in bed. uncanny: What caused the holes would have woken up the couple but they are fast asleep. entities: Earthquake, Sleep. caption: Why don't you get the coffee this morning? | This bedroom is quite dangerous --- there are holes in the floor that would be easy to fall into. These two people are apparently taking turns navigating these hazards, and one is saying it's the other person's turn to brave them to grab them both coffee to bring back to the safe bed. It's funny because it's not clear why they are trying to live normally in this overtly dangerous place. | 72 | 4562cf78489f008b4273901dcc827f05 |
|
735 | a counter | There is a man in a tuxedo who is frowning while looking at a cake which is topped with figurines of a marrying couple. The cake also shows a face on the bottom tier which is looking at the man and talking. | It is unusual for a cake to have a face on the side which can talk. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_cake",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism"
] | [
"What is the cake saying to the frowning man?"
] | I can keep it together during the ceremony. The reception is where I fall to pieces. | scene: a counter description: There is a man in a tuxedo who is frowning while looking at a cake which is topped with figurines of a marrying couple. The cake also shows a face on the bottom tier which is looking at the man and talking. uncanny: It is unusual for a cake to have a face on the side which can talk. entities: Wedding_cake, Anthropomorphism. caption: I can keep it together during the ceremony. The reception is where I fall to pieces. | A play on "keep it together" and "fall to pieces" --- people at weddings will often get wrapped up in the emotion of the event, and end up crying: that is, they figuratively don't "keep it together" and do "fall to pieces." However, both these take on a literal crumbling interpretation for a wedding cake: it's easy to keep it together for a cake during the ceremony because no one is eating cake yet. But, during the reception when people eat the cake, the cake literally is cut into different pieces to serve. | 94 | b9173f74ad7cc4659e1681260f79cfd9 |
|
432 | a kennel | Two people are in cages at a dog kennel. A dog is in the cage next to them. One person is reading. | There are people in kennel cages at a pound. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliophilia",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime"
] | [
"Why are the people in cages in a pound?"
] | Last time I'll book a discount vasectomy, for sure. | scene: a kennel description: Two people are in cages at a dog kennel. A dog is in the cage next to them. One person is reading. uncanny: There are people in kennel cages at a pound. entities: Bibliophilia, Crime. caption: Last time I'll book a discount vasectomy, for sure. | Spaying/neutering pets is a commonly performed operation for animal sterilization performed at animal shelters; the human equivalent sterilization procedure is called a vasectomy and is usually more expensive due to higher quality, human medical requirements. But here, the two men are trying to save money by having their operations done at an animal shelter. It's funny in part not only because this is an unusual way to save money, but also, because vasectomies only are performed once per person, so this is literally the last time the person will do this procedure, even if they liked it; the quote implies they aren't enjoying being locked in an animal cage. | 110 | b8e72f2ce71c2a54eeb578fdaee73975 |
|
381 | a hill | A man is pushing a boulder uphill. Another man is pushing a stroller beside him. | The two men belong in separate times. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_transport"
] | [
"What are they talking about?"
] | You call THAT pushing? | scene: a hill description: A man is pushing a boulder uphill. Another man is pushing a stroller beside him. uncanny: The two men belong in separate times. entities: Sisyphus, Baby_transport. caption: You call THAT pushing? | A joke about childbirth. The woman is pushing her kids up the hill in the stroller, but the quote references the pushing associated with the pain of labor/giving birth. The woman has had a few kids and is unimpressed with the "pushing" the man is thus unimpressed with the man who is only pushing a rock up a hill. | 60 | 94deabecc29ea574561e164ec96971c3 |
|
535 | the ocean | A couple is in the car. A whale is in the backseat of the car. | A whale is in back of the car. The whale couldn't survive outside the water or fit in the car. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale"
] | [
"Why is there a whale in the car?"
] | He wants to know if you can move your seat up. | scene: the ocean description: A couple is in the car. A whale is in the backseat of the car. uncanny: A whale is in back of the car. The whale couldn't survive outside the water or fit in the car. entities: Car, Sperm_whale. caption: He wants to know if you can move your seat up. | Moving a front seat up is an everyday request from people sitting in the backseat of cars if they don't have enough room. The whale is making this request: the contrast between how unusual it is that the whale is in the backseat and the benign-ness of the request is what makes it funny. | 55 | a27a50a1a8ce45a913aebfba6c535fb4 |
|
580 | a kingdom | A king is in his castle in a hammock. He is talking to a nearby soldier. | The king is in a hammock. Hammocks are usually found outside in modern times. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammock",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_guard"
] | [
"Why is there a hammock in a castle?"
] | Technically, I'm guarding two posts. | scene: a kingdom description: A king is in his castle in a hammock. He is talking to a nearby soldier. uncanny: The king is in a hammock. Hammocks are usually found outside in modern times. entities: Hammock, Royal_guard. caption: Technically, I'm guarding two posts. | A play on words: to guard a "post" usually means to patrol a location, but here, the guard in the hammock is just relaxing and not working. However, in another sense he is guarding the two literal posts his hammock is attached to, which he argues means that he's technically doing twice the expected work. | 56 | 65229948a0482c4bbb111925880c0543 |
|
86 | golf course | Two golfers are carrying their golf bags through a course. Down the hill, many tanks are lined up. | There are a bunch of tanks on a golf course. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_warfare"
] | [
"Why is the military there?"
] | If we truly believe in golf, I don't think we have much of a choice. | scene: golf course description: Two golfers are carrying their golf bags through a course. Down the hill, many tanks are lined up. uncanny: There are a bunch of tanks on a golf course. entities: War, Tank, Trench_warfare. caption: If we truly believe in golf, I don't think we have much of a choice. | Armed conflicts are usually between two sides with opposing ideals; in this case, the golfers fighting the army would mean that they are standing up for their core principle: golf. This is not a core principle worth risking violence for, but they are considering it. | 46 | d75ddb56cbf97376ae7a3cd5dd790013 |
|
476 | a psychiatrist office | A psychiatrist is having a session in her offce. There is a casket sitting on her couch. | A casket is taking the place of a patient. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer"
] | [
"What is she saying to the casket?"
] | Any final thoughts? | scene: a psychiatrist office description: A psychiatrist is having a session in her offce. There is a casket sitting on her couch. uncanny: A casket is taking the place of a patient. entities: Coffin, Customer. caption: Any final thoughts? | A therapist might say "any final thoughts" prior to a session ending, but here, "final thoughts" refers to death. The therapist is a bit late to ask about these though, because her client has died and is in a coffin. It's funny in part because she seems to not have noticed yet, despite looking intently directly at it. | 59 | d39b82ef838a0b0e7ac2d6404171a585 |
|
725 | a field | A boy is standing next to a tree with a cherry on his head. A man is standing away from him with a bow. | The cherry is the only thing in color. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_practice"
] | [
"Why is the cherry colored in?"
] | I'm just saying, after this haircut, it's difficult to trust you. | scene: a field description: A boy is standing next to a tree with a cherry on his head. A man is standing away from him with a bow. uncanny: The cherry is the only thing in color. entities: Archery, Target_practice. caption: I'm just saying, after this haircut, it's difficult to trust you. | A joke about precision with sharp objects. Here, the archer apparently gave this person their haircut, and they think it's ugly. They are planning to shoot an apple off the other person's head, which requires deft coordination with a sharp object, i.e., the arrow. But the person with the haircut doesn't trust their capacity with sharp objects, because the scissors used to cut their hair weren't used skillfully, as the haircut turned out ugly. | 75 | 37790bba8398a5b0a4b4201706674f15 |
|
208 | a car | There are two people in a car. They are using paddles to steer. | There are two people driving a car with paddles. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowing",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stall_(engine)"
] | [
"Why are the people using paddles to drive a car?"
] | This would work out a lot better if we had kids. | scene: a car description: There are two people in a car. They are using paddles to steer. uncanny: There are two people driving a car with paddles. entities: Rowing, Stall_(engine). caption: This would work out a lot better if we had kids. | This couple’s car probably broke down, and, unusually, now they are rowing from the car’s windows to move it which would be quite difficult. Not only is it absurd to think using oars will help move a car at all, but, it's funny that the proposed solution to their prediciment is to get more people to row, i.e., their hypothetical children, instead of, e.g., calling a mechanic. | 68 | aa255e98af1e246a1cbda578073e2998 |
|
413 | an alleyway | In an alley, a man and woman are walking. An elderly couple are holding them up with a gun. | The man looks happy for some reason even though he's being robbed. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbery",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age"
] | [
"Why are they robbing him?"
] | This is what we get for walking down a dark alley before 5 p.m. | scene: an alleyway description: In an alley, a man and woman are walking. An elderly couple are holding them up with a gun. uncanny: The man looks happy for some reason even though he's being robbed. entities: Robbery, Old_age. caption: This is what we get for walking down a dark alley before 5 p.m. | There's a trope that young people may rob you if you walk down a dark alley at night. But, this caption suggests that if you go down before 5PM during the day old, people would rob you --- this references that old people tend to go bed early. This is funny because 1) we usually don't expect old people to be criminals (particularly these folks who look well off); and 2) the man seems quite nonchalant about the situation, accepting that it was their fault. | 86 | 2339d48cfcb4f65ac3256e6edaf306b4 |
|
693 | a laboratory | Two scientists are in a lab, observing a maze. Their lab rat is trying to get to the cheese. | The rat has a little jet pack. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_pack",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze"
] | [
"Who build that jet pack and why?"
] | Let's just give him the damn cheese. | scene: a laboratory description: Two scientists are in a lab, observing a maze. Their lab rat is trying to get to the cheese. uncanny: The rat has a little jet pack. entities: Mouse, Jet_pack, Maze. caption: Let's just give him the damn cheese. | Scientists often run mice through mazes as part of science experiments, but here, the mouse in the experiment has not only solved the maze, but has solved the maze by transcending the experiment and building a jet pack --- the scientists decide that this subject has done more than enough, and should just be given the cheese which acts as a reward in the maze because this mouse has gone above and beyond. | 74 | 165d8f3b1472803c53fb556abfc5348c |
|
101 | the side of a building | Three men are standing out on the ledge of a tall building. They are a priest, police officer, and a fireman. Another man is standing by the window and speaking to them. | Three people are outside on the ledge of a building together. It is a dangerous place to be and they're not trying to save each other. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefighter",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_officer",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_joke"
] | [
"Why are the three men out on the ledge together?",
"What is the man on the left saying to them?"
] | Fellas, your empathy for victims is outstanding. | scene: the side of a building description: Three men are standing out on the ledge of a tall building. They are a priest, police officer, and a fireman. Another man is standing by the window and speaking to them. uncanny: Three people are outside on the ledge of a building together. It is a dangerous place to be and they're not trying to save each other. entities: Firefighter, Police_officer, Bar_joke. caption: Fellas, your empathy for victims is outstanding. | A dark joke: firemen, police officers, and priests might all be involved if someone was to commit suicide by jumping off a building, and in the process, they might build empathy for victims. But here, they take their empathy too far and literally step out on the edge to understand the victim. | 53 | 4e63d1d76e6fb7436fe601f07db48d35 |
|
749 | rooftop | A woman is sitting at a table on a roof. A magician is pulling a rabbit out of his hat and people watching from their windows are applauding. | It's an odd place to have a magic act. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hat-trick_(magic_trick)",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating"
] | [
"Why is he putting on a show on the roof?"
] | 4B wants you to make her husband disappear. | scene: rooftop description: A woman is sitting at a table on a roof. A magician is pulling a rabbit out of his hat and people watching from their windows are applauding. uncanny: It's an odd place to have a magic act. entities: Hat-trick_(magic_trick), Dating. caption: 4B wants you to make her husband disappear. | Magicians can often perform illusions to make objects disappear. In this case, the man is putting on a magic show for an entire apartment block -- because the magic show has intersected with people's living situations, they are making requests having to do with their home life via texting the magician's spouse (next to him on the roof). One person, the resident of apartment 4B, is experiencing marital troubles and has requested that her husband be disappeared to solve her problems. | 82 | 611bec3ce682922d8ca67ff52eb7f8f2 |
|
247 | a living room apartment | A man is looking into a giant barrel of monkeys. Someone just delivered it. | There is a huge barrel of monkeys. Normally this is a kid's game and very small. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_of_Monkeys",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_company"
] | [
"Why is the barrel of monkeys so huge?"
] | Personally, I think Prozac is a lot easier. | scene: a living room apartment description: A man is looking into a giant barrel of monkeys. Someone just delivered it. uncanny: There is a huge barrel of monkeys. Normally this is a kid's game and very small. entities: Barrel_of_Monkeys, Moving_company. caption: Personally, I think Prozac is a lot easier. | "As funny as a barrel of monkeys" is an idiom that refers to the plastic barrel of monkeys that's a children's toy. The delivery man is assuming that the other person ordered a barrel of monkeys to make himself happier, and quips that he feels that prozac, and antidepressant, might have the same effect, but be easier to use. | 60 | cf45e6749d1ea0dbed1a2708a35bfb48 |
|
23 | two branches | Two butterflies are standing on the ends of branches facing each other. The wings of the one on the right resemble a stained glass window. They appear to be having a conversation. | The wing on the butterfly to the right is a pattern that is very unusual for a butterfly. It is square blocks such as what you might see in a stained glass window. It is uncommon for butterflies to talk to one another. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_art",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian"
] | [
"What are the two butterflies talking about?"
] | But how will we raise the kids? | scene: two branches description: Two butterflies are standing on the ends of branches facing each other. The wings of the one on the right resemble a stained glass window. They appear to be having a conversation. uncanny: The wing on the butterfly to the right is a pattern that is very unusual for a butterfly. It is square blocks such as what you might see in a stained glass window. It is uncommon for butterflies to talk to one another. entities: Butterfly, Abstract_art, Piet_Mondrian. caption: But how will we raise the kids? | Ideological differences, e.g., religion, between parents are often considerations prior to two people having kids because it's desirable to have a consistent moral framework to raise kids with. In this case, the ideological difference is about geometric art. | 39 | a80baa01d022be658eff92bd84f18a21 |
|
383 | an alleyway | Devils are herding people in the middle of a street. A manhole is open and there is fire below. | Devils in the middle of a city are pretty out of place, and hell being in the sewers is too. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(architecture)",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhole"
] | [
"Are these people still alive?"
] | Watch your step, I think this street is paved with Good Intentions. | scene: an alleyway description: Devils are herding people in the middle of a street. A manhole is open and there is fire below. uncanny: Devils in the middle of a city are pretty out of place, and hell being in the sewers is too. entities: Portal_(architecture), Hell, Manhole. caption: Watch your step, I think this street is paved with Good Intentions. | A play on the figurative saying "The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions" --- this saying means that good intentions, left unchecked, can often lead to the worst outcomes. But here, the street is literally a path to hell, and so the man is saying it must be the street from the saying. | 56 | 9d92769b1a63c64d3f74fc54e035ce09 |
|
679 | kingdom | There is a king in a chair. He is surrounded by cacti. A knight looks on. | There is a king surrounded by cacti. The cacti are potted, which wouldn't be the case back then. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King"
] | [
"Why is the king surrounded by cacti pots?"
] | Well, after you beheaded the groundskeeper, we had to go with something low-maintenance. | scene: kingdom description: There is a king in a chair. He is surrounded by cacti. A knight looks on. uncanny: There is a king surrounded by cacti. The cacti are potted, which wouldn't be the case back then. entities: Cactus, King. caption: Well, after you beheaded the groundskeeper, we had to go with something low-maintenance. | The king doesn't like the cacti decorating his throne room, but cacti are low-maintenance plants that don't require a lot of water, and grow easily. They had to switch to low-maintenance plants because he had the groundskeeper killed so there wasn't anyone to take care of the plants, but it seems like he regrets this decision. | 57 | 0b9fa694bd16d3e2ad11b044b0b4c2e2 |
|
402 | plains | Two cavemen are hiding in the bushes. They are hunting animals but the animals are stickfigure drawings. | Animals are more defined than stick figured. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveman",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_painting"
] | [
"Where did the stick figure animals come from?"
] | I'm really more of a painter-gatherer. | scene: plains description: Two cavemen are hiding in the bushes. They are hunting animals but the animals are stickfigure drawings. uncanny: Animals are more defined than stick figured. entities: Caveman, Hunting, Cave_painting. caption: I'm really more of a painter-gatherer. | A play on the phrase "hunter-gatherer" --- the deer these two cavemen are hunting look like cave paintings instead of actual deer. So, instead of hunting normal deer, they prefer to interact with the painting deer, and they are "painter-gatherers," as a result. | 44 | c97b5e7e81a9e93a98f85f820bc42d08 |
|
702 | a barber shop | A man has come into a barber shop for a haircut. The man has a pigeon sitting on top of his head. The barber is looking at the customer with a confused expression. | The man needing a haircut has a pigeon that has nested in his hair. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_dove",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesting_instinct"
] | [
"Why doesn't the man just remove the pigeon on his own?",
"How long has the pigeon been there?"
] | Could you trim the sides but leave it feathered on top? | scene: a barber shop description: A man has come into a barber shop for a haircut. The man has a pigeon sitting on top of his head. The barber is looking at the customer with a confused expression. uncanny: The man needing a haircut has a pigeon that has nested in his hair. entities: Rock_dove, Nesting_instinct. caption: Could you trim the sides but leave it feathered on top? | A play on the word "feathered" --- it's possible to cut and style hair in a "feathered" fashion, which refers to a particular look. Here, "feathered" takes a literal meaning, because there's a pigeon on the man's head: in this case, "leave it feathered on top" is a request to the barber that humorously means that the bird should be left alone. | 63 | c67a7c4cd9e009cf42962460066cb806 |
|
443 | a demolition site | A couple of men stand by a crane as they prepare to demolish a bowling ball alley. The bowling bowl alley place has pins on the top of the roof and the wrecking ball is black like a bowling ball. | Wrecking balls are not used to knock down places that look like bowling pins. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_alley",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrecking_ball"
] | [
"Why are they going to wreck the bowling ally?"
] | Remember that domino factory? | scene: a demolition site description: A couple of men stand by a crane as they prepare to demolish a bowling ball alley. The bowling bowl alley place has pins on the top of the roof and the wrecking ball is black like a bowling ball. uncanny: Wrecking balls are not used to knock down places that look like bowling pins. entities: Bowling_alley, Wrecking_ball. caption: Remember that domino factory? | A joke about an unusual construction company which demolishes buildings that have humorous interactions with the wrecking ball. Here, the wrecking ball is similar to a bowling ball knocking over the pins, and the workers are discussing the previous jobs. Like bowling pins, dominos are also knocked down after being arranged, and the wrecking ball accordingly played the same role at the domino factory. | 65 | 21745844d7bfe69c3aa9c1e602044d67 |
|
571 | restaurant | There is a huge anchor in a cafe. People are staring at it. A pirate is the cashier. | There is a pirate and huge anchor inside a cafe. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor"
] | [
"Why is there a huge anchor in a cafe?"
] | There's mutiny in the air. Also Viennese dark roast, but mainly mutiny. | scene: restaurant description: There is a huge anchor in a cafe. People are staring at it. A pirate is the cashier. uncanny: There is a pirate and huge anchor inside a cafe. entities: Pirate, Anchor. caption: There's mutiny in the air. Also Viennese dark roast, but mainly mutiny. | Pirates, like the one working at the cash register, often would mutiny if they felt they were being mistreated by their captain; you can say that there's a broad consensus a a mutiny is coming by saying it's figuratively "in the air". But, in this coffee shop, the smell of Viennese dark roast is literally in the air: this contrast of figurative serious mutiny threat and literally coffee both being in the air is funny. | 76 | e81097cab0a30f11ef6246a3f051f6c8 |
|
348 | easter island | Two men stand facing each other on a beach. Many easter island-esqe stone heats with elvis haircuts are on the beach behind them | It's unusual to see easter island heads with elvis haircuts on them | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism"
] | [
"Why are the statues set up with hair on them?"
] | They keep watch on the offshore accounts. | scene: easter island description: Two men stand facing each other on a beach. Many easter island-esqe stone heats with elvis haircuts are on the beach behind them uncanny: It's unusual to see easter island heads with elvis haircuts on them entities: Moai, Tourism. caption: They keep watch on the offshore accounts. | Offshore accounts are bank accounts run by island nations where wealthy people keep money to avoid taxes. Here, the Moai statues, which normally are on Easter Island, have haircuts which make them look like wealthy businessmen from the USA. The idea is that these modified Maoi statues' job is to make sure that the wealthy businessmen's money is safe on the island. | 63 | 46b7c39b2b264285832addfee740935a |
|
127 | a dock | Two men are ice fishing on a frozen lake. The hole in the ice is shaped like a person. | The hole has an odd shape. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_fishing",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_pond"
] | [
"Did someone fall through the ice?"
] | I put some beer on the hook. I figure if that's what got him into this mess it should be able to get him out. | scene: a dock description: Two men are ice fishing on a frozen lake. The hole in the ice is shaped like a person. uncanny: The hole has an odd shape. entities: Ice_fishing, Ice_pond. caption: I put some beer on the hook. I figure if that's what got him into this mess it should be able to get him out. | A man fell through the ice because he was drunk (indicated by the body outline in the ice), and his friend, instead of trying to save him by diving in, humorously thinks that fishing with a beer as bait will be sufficient to save his drunken friend. Also, a partial play on the saying: "I got myself into this mess, and I can get myself out." | 67 | 4a1a554e3ec5bf1219e8ad7b96547064 |
|
208 | a car | Two people are in the car using paddles. They are rowing like they are in a boat. | rowing is for boats. To drive a car you need to press the gas. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowing",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stall_(engine)"
] | [
"Why are they trying to row a car?"
] | This would work out a lot better if we had kids. | scene: a car description: Two people are in the car using paddles. They are rowing like they are in a boat. uncanny: rowing is for boats. To drive a car you need to press the gas. entities: Rowing, Stall_(engine). caption: This would work out a lot better if we had kids. | This couple’s car probably broke down, and, unusually, now they are rowing from the car’s windows to move it which would be quite difficult. Not only is it absurd to think using oars will help move a car at all, but, it's funny that the proposed solution to their prediciment is to get more people to row, i.e., their hypothetical children, instead of, e.g., calling a mechanic. | 68 | cf8b93773b60250d015c50e82345d6a1 |
|
659 | a restaurant | A man and woman is sitting at a dining table with food on the table. Man's head is essentially a blender spinning at high speed and woman is watching that with a confused look. | Most out of place element is the blender on the man's head. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blender",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating"
] | [
"Why is man's head turned into a blender?"
] | Remember when your rubber seal broke? I'm pregnant. | scene: a restaurant description: A man and woman is sitting at a dining table with food on the table. Man's head is essentially a blender spinning at high speed and woman is watching that with a confused look. uncanny: Most out of place element is the blender on the man's head. entities: Blender, Dating. caption: Remember when your rubber seal broke? I'm pregnant. | Condoms are a common form of birth control referred to as "rubbers". In this case, the woman is dating a blender, which also has a rubber seal and is notorious for leaking, e.g., smoothies. The joke connects these two disjoint rubber things in a way that makes sense in a world where women date blenders. | 56 | 3ac964ea2dada494c174f818038aea7b |
|
27 | work office | A group of executives in suits are sitting around a table, with one standing at the end, his arms crossed, and the man closest to him is engaged in conversation with his colleague to his left. The men have parrots on their shoulders. | It's unusual to see a group of men in suits in a board room with parrots on their shoulders. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workforce",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrot"
] | [
"Why do the men have parrots on their shoulders?",
"Why doesn't the man who is standing have a parrot on his shoulder?"
] | We have to find a better way to record our meetings. | scene: work office description: A group of executives in suits are sitting around a table, with one standing at the end, his arms crossed, and the man closest to him is engaged in conversation with his colleague to his left. The men have parrots on their shoulders. uncanny: It's unusual to see a group of men in suits in a board room with parrots on their shoulders. entities: Workforce, Parrot. caption: We have to find a better way to record our meetings. | Meeting recordings usually happen, e.g., via note taking, via video recording, etc. The goal is to provide an exact reference of the discussion for future interested parties. But this company has humorously employed a set of parrots to listen in --- this type of bird is technically capable of repeating human speech. But, it's likely to be inefficient --- the parrots memorize and repeat incompletely and at their own discretion, and are difficult to control, defeating the point of the meeting recording. | 83 | f4caef986bf8901cc9dd5e9f3882ccef |
|
337 | an island | Two men are sitting on a small island. A toll booth with a man in it is on the island. | There is a toll booth on the island. The island is too small for that. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollbooth",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fence"
] | [
"Why is there a toll booth on the small island?"
] | Yes, I asked very politely. But he still says the rest room in there is for employees only. | scene: an island description: Two men are sitting on a small island. A toll booth with a man in it is on the island. uncanny: There is a toll booth on the island. The island is too small for that. entities: Tollbooth, Fence. caption: Yes, I asked very politely. But he still says the rest room in there is for employees only. | It's unusual that a desert island would have guards around it; instead of explaining why these people are being carefully guarded despite how remote the island is, the people nonchalantly are most annoyed by not being able to use the employees-only bathroom. | 43 | 79069678217947186e12397fb757bbd1 |
|
500 | plains | Two cowboys are talking at a ranch. One of them is riding a seahorse. | Seahorses come from the ocean, and can't live on land. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seahorse",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy"
] | [
"Why is he riding a seahorse?"
] | It's big and blue. You can't miss it. | scene: plains description: Two cowboys are talking at a ranch. One of them is riding a seahorse. uncanny: Seahorses come from the ocean, and can't live on land. entities: Seahorse, Cowboy. caption: It's big and blue. You can't miss it. | A lost cowboy riding a seahorse might be looking for the ocean, which is what the other cowboy is providing directions towards. The ocean is what is big and blue, and because it's so big, it's difficult to miss. It's funny that the seahorse cowboy could find himself so far from the ocean because it would be hard to get this far without trying to. | 66 | 2675fa728258c1371a87d3852ec14303 |
|
478 | bedroom | A woman and man are in bed together. It is raining on half the picture. | It is only raining on the man's side. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_relationship"
] | [
"Why is it raining indoors?"
] | An optimist would see the room as half dry. | scene: bedroom description: A woman and man are in bed together. It is raining on half the picture. uncanny: It is only raining on the man's side. entities: Rain, Intimate_relationship. caption: An optimist would see the room as half dry. | A play on the "glass half full/empty" thought experiment, which is used to identify optimists (who see a glass as half full) vs. pessimists (who see a glass as half empty). The wife who is on the dry side is telling her spouse to look on the bright side/be optimistic and stop complaining about the rain on his half. It's funny because her dismissiveness is partly driven by the fact that she's not experiencing the rain, so doesn't really understand where he's coming from. | 85 | 06103a552e9b480343b3dd10d986d870 |
|
427 | a zombie apocalypse | A man and a woman are living in the zombie apocalypse and surrounded by them. The woman is aiming a shotgun at some of the undead, while the man is wearing an oven mitt and an apron, and offering the ghouls some fresh baked cookies. One of the zombies is already nibbling on a cookie, while another one is selecting one for itself. | While there are both slow (Romero) and fast zombies, they don't tend to stop altogether and contemplate fresh baked goods. Additionally, zombies prefer fresh brains to fresh cookies. It's also odd for someone not to be scared out of their wits when surrounded by the hungry dead. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookie",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger"
] | [
"How did the man get the zombies to eat cookies?",
"What type of cookies did he bake?"
] | Let’s hope for some nut allergies. | scene: a zombie apocalypse description: A man and a woman are living in the zombie apocalypse and surrounded by them. The woman is aiming a shotgun at some of the undead, while the man is wearing an oven mitt and an apron, and offering the ghouls some fresh baked cookies. One of the zombies is already nibbling on a cookie, while another one is selecting one for itself. uncanny: While there are both slow (Romero) and fast zombies, they don't tend to stop altogether and contemplate fresh baked goods. Additionally, zombies prefer fresh brains to fresh cookies. It's also odd for someone not to be scared out of their wits when surrounded by the hungry dead. entities: Cookie, Hunger. caption: Let’s hope for some nut allergies. | These two people are defending themselves against a crowd of zombies using two very different methods. One has a standard gun to shoot and kill zombies. The other has baked cookies with nuts in them in the hopes that some of the zombies have severe nut allergies and will die after eating the cookies. It's funny because cookies usually aren't used as a weapon, and it's not clear why the baker thought this would be more effective than a gun. | 81 | 796c08511550d4e32cbeb130a7aeeaa0 |
|
274 | the bar | A man faces a bartender across a bar. Behind the patron, a woman stands in a dancer's outfit. | It's unusual to see a woman in a dancer's outfit in a ar | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet_dancer",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barre_(ballet)"
] | [
"Why is that woman wearing that outfit?"
] | The guy you're looking for waltzed out of here an hour ago. | scene: the bar description: A man faces a bartender across a bar. Behind the patron, a woman stands in a dancer's outfit. uncanny: It's unusual to see a woman in a dancer's outfit in a ar entities: Ballet_dancer, Barre_(ballet). caption: The guy you're looking for waltzed out of here an hour ago. | A play on the word "waltzed" --- if a private investigator were looking for a suspect at a bar to be told that the person "waltzed out of there", that would simply mean they left. But, given that the victim of the crime is a ballet dancer, it suggests that the perpetrator may have also been a dancer, and perhaps literally waltzed out of the bar, i.e., danced their way out. | 72 | 3892ee96a7c4c43936817eb889cd881f |
|
347 | the bedroom | A mysterious looking guy in a trenchcoat and fedora is laying in bed with a couple. the couple seems to ignore the stranger as they are having a conversation. | People do not wear a trenchcoat and hate to lay down with a couple in their bedroom. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detective",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threesome"
] | [
"What is the strange man doing there?"
] | I think my wife is having us tailed. | scene: the bedroom description: A mysterious looking guy in a trenchcoat and fedora is laying in bed with a couple. the couple seems to ignore the stranger as they are having a conversation. uncanny: People do not wear a trenchcoat and hate to lay down with a couple in their bedroom. entities: Detective, Threesome. caption: I think my wife is having us tailed. | The man is cheating on his wife with this other woman, and apparently she has noticed. Sometimes, to prove their partner is cheating someone will hire a private investigator to spy on the cheating spouse --- however, this private investigator is not being subtle, he is literally in the middle of the bed while the cheaters are in the act of cheating. It's funny because the man has somehow not noticed the obvious investigator until this point, and still seems unsure of his existence. | 85 | 54531aa23c096eedf55acb873234e5e7 |
|
308 | a cave | There are two cavemen sitting on the ground of their cave. They both appear to have very full stomachs.On the ground around the are round wheels, possibly made of stone and it seems like one cavemen is eating one. | It looks as though the caveman is eating solid rock. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveman"
] | [
"Why is the caveman eating a rock?",
"Which food does the caveman think the rock it?"
] | You're gonna have to roll me outta here. | scene: a cave description: There are two cavemen sitting on the ground of their cave. They both appear to have very full stomachs.On the ground around the are round wheels, possibly made of stone and it seems like one cavemen is eating one. uncanny: It looks as though the caveman is eating solid rock. entities: Wheel, Doughnut, Caveman. caption: You're gonna have to roll me outta here. | After eating too much, people sometimes feel bloated like a balloon, and exaggerate by saying that they need to be "rolled out" because they feel unable to even walk. But here, while the people are eating a lot, "rolled out" takes on a second meaning, because they are eating wheels, which are capable of literally rolling. | 57 | c366065afe654dd2159351448a1e045f |
|
354 | the doctor's office | A man is in an examination room sitting on a table. There are leaves growing out of him. The doctor is in front of him and appears to be amused. | Humans don't grow leaves out of their skin. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_examination"
] | [
"What is wrong with the patient?"
] | You’re in luck! It's cannabis. | scene: the doctor's office description: A man is in an examination room sitting on a table. There are leaves growing out of him. The doctor is in front of him and appears to be amused. uncanny: Humans don't grow leaves out of their skin. entities: Leaf, Physical_examination. caption: You’re in luck! It's cannabis. | The man has an unusual medical condition that causes plants to grow from his skin. Instead of curing him of this condition, the doctor points out that the plants are marijuana plants, which would be good either because he could sell what he grows, or he could smoke it and enjoy using drugs. A doctor that sees these upsides of his condition (rather than curing them) comes across as humorously untrustworthy. | 72 | bc6eb3bbaa08120e13e7fe0e0af45961 |
|
546 | an island | Two men are on a small island. The island next door is made of dolphins. | The dolphins are forming an island. Dolphins cannot line up like that. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimicry"
] | [
"Why are the dolphins forming an island?"
] | I knew they were smart. I didn't know they were sarcastic. | scene: an island description: Two men are on a small island. The island next door is made of dolphins. uncanny: The dolphins are forming an island. Dolphins cannot line up like that. entities: Dolphin, Mimicry. caption: I knew they were smart. I didn't know they were sarcastic. | The dolphins are sarcastically reveling in the stranded doom of the two people on the island. Instead of trying to help the pair of people, they are making fun of them by replicating the island, tree, and people with an elaborate pose. This pose requires a lot of smarts to do, but, the people didn't realize that dolphins were smart enough to be sarcastic. | 65 | c2ffc64009f6da9655abe13cba0fce6f |
|
32 | an office | A man dressed as a rabbit is reading a paper and carrying a briefcase. Some people at an office stare at him. | There is a man wearing a rabbit costume in an office. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businessperson"
] | [
"Why is the man wearing a rabbit costumer in an office?"
] | Well, at least somebody remembered about casual Good Friday. | scene: an office description: A man dressed as a rabbit is reading a paper and carrying a briefcase. Some people at an office stare at him. uncanny: There is a man wearing a rabbit costume in an office. entities: Rabbit, Businessperson. caption: Well, at least somebody remembered about casual Good Friday. | A playful combination of the phrases "Good Friday" and "casual Friday". "Good Friday" is a christian holiday that takes place close to Easter, as represented by the Easter bunny costume. Casual Friday is a common office policy that encourages people to wear less formal clothes to the office, which the Easter bunny costume would be. So, on casual Good Friday, an Easter bunny outfit being worn to work would be appropriate. | 72 | d649fe8d588ce85edc31c3b09e606876 |
|
583 | office | There is a man and woman in office attire walking through the lobby of a building with other office workers in the background. The man is talking to the woman while they both watch another office worker to the far right side with his hands and head locked up in a stockade. | it is unusual for an office worker to be locked up in a stockade in a lobby setting. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillory",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment"
] | [
"Why is the office worker locked up in a stockade in a lobby?",
"What is the man saying to the woman?"
] | It was a very hostile takeover. | scene: office description: There is a man and woman in office attire walking through the lobby of a building with other office workers in the background. The man is talking to the woman while they both watch another office worker to the far right side with his hands and head locked up in a stockade. uncanny: it is unusual for an office worker to be locked up in a stockade in a lobby setting. entities: Pillory, Punishment. caption: It was a very hostile takeover. | A hostile takeover in the business world happens when a company attempts to acquire another against the boards wishes. But here, the hostility of the takeover is literal and exaggerated: the old board members are put in the pillory as a form of public humiliation, in addition to having their company taken over. | 54 | d227760492bf23b9d89a1a80f5da566b |
|
145 | a building | A monster hangs on the side of a building as a man talks on the phone from the inside. The man seems relatively calm as he holds a glass of wine. | People who see monsters would not be as calm. They would run away from it. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone"
] | [
"Why is the monster climbing the building?"
] | Better make that a large pizza. | scene: a building description: A monster hangs on the side of a building as a man talks on the phone from the inside. The man seems relatively calm as he holds a glass of wine. uncanny: People who see monsters would not be as calm. They would run away from it. entities: Monster, Telephone. caption: Better make that a large pizza. | The nonchalance of the man is funny: he's aware that a monster is about to break into his apartment, but he continues to calmly sip wine and only reacts by casually upgrading his pizza order to accommodate the monster's appetite. | 41 | 321343ea02940d5df89788fd6659f26d |
|
179 | a doctor's office | A doctor is standing up with bandages on. A patient in a gown sits on the table. | The doctor is covered in bandages, which it should be the patient. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthopedic_cast"
] | [
"What happened to the doctor?"
] | So a doctor walks into a bar—this is not a joke by the way. | scene: a doctor's office description: A doctor is standing up with bandages on. A patient in a gown sits on the table. uncanny: The doctor is covered in bandages, which it should be the patient. entities: Patient, Orthopedic_cast. caption: So a doctor walks into a bar—this is not a joke by the way. | "So a doctor walks into a bar" is often the beginning of a bar joke --- but here, the doctor is physically injured and telling his patient about it. We can deduce that the doctor must have walked into a literal physical bar of some kind, and experienced these injuries as a result. | 54 | 44cd6ece8ea5c9e2d709aab25814a7db |
|
308 | a cave | Two cavemen are seated in a cave. Several finished wheels are sitting in the cave with them, and one of the cavemen is holding a half of a wheel in his hand. | It's unusual to see cavemen sitting in a cave with a bunch of stone wheels | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveman"
] | [
"What are the cavemen doing with those wheels?"
] | You're gonna have to roll me outta here. | scene: a cave description: Two cavemen are seated in a cave. Several finished wheels are sitting in the cave with them, and one of the cavemen is holding a half of a wheel in his hand. uncanny: It's unusual to see cavemen sitting in a cave with a bunch of stone wheels entities: Wheel, Doughnut, Caveman. caption: You're gonna have to roll me outta here. | After eating too much, people sometimes feel bloated like a balloon, and exaggerate by saying that they need to be "rolled out" because they feel unable to even walk. But here, while the people are eating a lot, "rolled out" takes on a second meaning, because they are eating wheels, which are capable of literally rolling. | 57 | 00fa3250b464e688bd3925accc03f51f |
|
559 | a pirate ship | A man is doing a dive off a plank from a ship. The pirates on the ship look shocked. | The man is doing an Olympic dive off a pirate plank. Usually people are tossed in the ocean. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_the_plank",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_(sport)"
] | [
"Why is a man doing an Olympic dive off a pirate plank?"
] | I can't believe my eye! | scene: a pirate ship description: A man is doing a dive off a plank from a ship. The pirates on the ship look shocked. uncanny: The man is doing an Olympic dive off a pirate plank. Usually people are tossed in the ocean. entities: Walking_the_plank, Piracy, Diving_(sport). caption: I can't believe my eye! | A person doing a fancy dive off the end of a plank is unusual, because this is usually used as a method of execution; so pirate on the ship is surprised, but instead of saying "I can't believe my eyes," a normal expression indicating surprise, he says "my eye" because he's a pirate wearing a traditional pirate eyepatch, which causes him to only be able to see out of one eye. | 72 | f7e80b05f75e550d06d5b30be7bb5f0d |
|
193 | a living room | There is a woman and man with puppet strings coming out of them in a house. The woman is dressed up and holding the wooden part. | Marionettes are not life-size or real like this. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppeteer"
] | [
"Why are there people with strings coming out of them in a house?"
] | Free will is overrated. | scene: a living room description: There is a woman and man with puppet strings coming out of them in a house. The woman is dressed up and holding the wooden part. uncanny: Marionettes are not life-size or real like this. entities: Puppet, Puppeteer. caption: Free will is overrated. | This couple looks normal, except for the fact that they are controllable like marionettes using the lines attached to them. They seem happy: they enjoy being controlled (by an unknown puppeteer) and having no free will. This joke plays on the idea that free will has downsides: making decisions can be difficult. | 53 | 2db02c8395e40769d04c37b9e9cdf27e |
|
218 | a bathroom | There are two adult men laying down in both levels of a prison cell bunk bed. The prisoner on the top bunk is reading and appears to be talking while the other prisoner on the bottom relaxes in a foamy bathtub disguised as a bunk bed. | It is unusual for a bunk bed to act as a bathtub. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunk_bed",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub"
] | [
"Why is the lower bunk converted to a bathtub?",
"What is the prisoner on the top bunk saying?"
] | So you're the infamous Sudsy Malone. | scene: a bathroom description: There are two adult men laying down in both levels of a prison cell bunk bed. The prisoner on the top bunk is reading and appears to be talking while the other prisoner on the bottom relaxes in a foamy bathtub disguised as a bunk bed. uncanny: It is unusual for a bunk bed to act as a bathtub. entities: Bunk_bed, Bathtub. caption: So you're the infamous Sudsy Malone. | A play on "Bugsy Malone", which is the name of a fictional gangster. "Sudsy" sounds like "Bugsy", but refers to the suds associated with taking a soapy bath. So: the person in the bottom bunk/bath is "Sudsy Malone". | 39 | 4afd63f5fe8a375a5327a2ad6a436289 |
|
728 | an island | A man lays on his beach chair, drinking a coconut drink, and enjoys the sun while a man with tattered clothes looks miserable. They look to be stranded on a small island. | Both men are stranded on the island but only one of them seem to not have eaten while the other is well fed. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_tanning",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castaway"
] | [
"Why is the other man so destitute?"
] | Thank you for agreeing to meet remotely. | scene: an island description: A man lays on his beach chair, drinking a coconut drink, and enjoys the sun while a man with tattered clothes looks miserable. They look to be stranded on a small island. uncanny: Both men are stranded on the island but only one of them seem to not have eaten while the other is well fed. entities: Sun_tanning, Castaway. caption: Thank you for agreeing to meet remotely. | To "meet remotely" usually means to meet over a video call, but here, "meet remotely" takes on a second meaning: to meet in-person, but in a remote location. The person with the coconut cocktail is organizing the meeting: he more relaxed than his co-worker, suggesting he might not be as dedicated to his job (or is perhaps his boss with less accountability). | 63 | df236e097227019614deb19d46679ebf |
|
501 | a sailboat | Two sailors are on the boat. They are talking while raising flags. | The flags have odd symbols on them. | [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoji",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag"
] | [
"What is up with the weird emblems?"
] | We've been struggling to enlist millenials. | scene: a sailboat description: Two sailors are on the boat. They are talking while raising flags. uncanny: The flags have odd symbols on them. entities: Emoji, Flag. caption: We've been struggling to enlist millenials. | The sailors are trying to recruit millennials using these new flags. Millennials are broadly tech savy because they grew up with the internet, and so the sailors think the best way to communicate with them is using emojis. | 39 | ef3737f808b265294312b79961485c02 |
Dataset Card for New Yorker Caption Contest Benchmarks
Dataset Summary
See capcon.dev for more!
@inproceedings{hessel2023androids,
title={Do Androids Laugh at Electric Sheep? {Humor} ``Understanding''
Benchmarks from {The New Yorker Caption Contest}},
author={Hessel, Jack and Marasovi{\'c}, Ana and Hwang, Jena D. and Lee, Lillian
and Da, Jeff and Zellers, Rowan and Mankoff, Robert and Choi, Yejin},
booktitle={Proceedings of the ACL},
year={2023}
}
If you use this dataset, we would appreciate you citing our work, but also -- several other papers that we build this corpus upon. See Citation Information.
We challenge AI models to "demonstrate understanding" of the sophisticated multimodal humor of The New Yorker Caption Contest. Concretely, we develop three carefully circumscribed tasks for which it suffices (but is not necessary) to grasp potentially complex and unexpected relationships between image and caption, and similarly complex and unexpected allusions to the wide varieties of human experience.
Supported Tasks and Leaderboards
Three tasks are supported:
- "Matching:" a model must recognize a caption written about a cartoon (vs. options that were not);
- "Quality ranking:" a model must evaluate the quality of a caption by scoring it more highly than a lower quality option from the same contest;
- "Explanation:" a model must explain why a given joke is funny.
There are no official leaderboards (yet).
Languages
English
Dataset Structure
Here's an example instance from Matching:
{'caption_choices': ['Tell me about your childhood very quickly.',
"Believe me . . . it's what's UNDER the ground that's "
'most interesting.',
"Stop me if you've heard this one.",
'I have trouble saying no.',
'Yes, I see the train but I think we can beat it.'],
'contest_number': 49,
'entities': ['https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three_(writing)',
'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_joke',
'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_institute'],
'from_description': 'scene: a bar description: Two priests and a rabbi are '
'walking into a bar, as the bartender and another patron '
'look on. The bartender talks on the phone while looking '
'skeptically at the incoming crew. uncanny: The scene '
'depicts a very stereotypical "bar joke" that would be '
'unlikely to be encountered in real life; the skepticism '
'of the bartender suggests that he is aware he is seeing '
'this trope, and is explaining it to someone on the '
'phone. entities: Rule_of_three_(writing), Bar_joke, '
'Religious_institute. choices A: Tell me about your '
"childhood very quickly. B: Believe me . . . it's what's "
"UNDER the ground that's most interesting. C: Stop me if "
"you've heard this one. D: I have trouble saying no. E: "
'Yes, I see the train but I think we can beat it.',
'image': <PIL.JpegImagePlugin.JpegImageFile image mode=L size=323x231 at 0x7F34F283E9D0>,
'image_description': 'Two priests and a rabbi are walking into a bar, as the '
'bartender and another patron look on. The bartender '
'talks on the phone while looking skeptically at the '
'incoming crew.',
'image_location': 'a bar',
'image_uncanny_description': 'The scene depicts a very stereotypical "bar '
'joke" that would be unlikely to be encountered '
'in real life; the skepticism of the bartender '
'suggests that he is aware he is seeing this '
'trope, and is explaining it to someone on the '
'phone.',
'instance_id': '21125bb8787b4e7e82aa3b0a1cba1571',
'label': 'C',
'n_tokens_label': 1,
'questions': ['What is the bartender saying on the phone in response to the '
'living, breathing, stereotypical bar joke that is unfolding?']}
The label "C" indicates that the 3rd choice in the caption_choices
is correct.
Here's an example instance from Ranking (in the from pixels setting --- though, this is also available in the from description setting)
{'caption_choices': ['I guess I misunderstood when you said long bike ride.',
'Does your divorce lawyer have any other cool ideas?'],
'contest_number': 582,
'image': <PIL.JpegImagePlugin.JpegImageFile image mode=L size=600x414 at 0x7F8FF9F96610>,
'instance_id': 'dd1c214a1ca3404aa4e582c9ce50795a',
'label': 'A',
'n_tokens_label': 1,
'winner_source': 'official_winner'}
the label indicates that the first caption choice ("A", here) in the caption_choices
list was more highly rated.
Here's an example instance from Explanation:
{'caption_choices': 'The classics can be so intimidating.',
'contest_number': 752,
'entities': ['https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature',
'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solicitor'],
'from_description': 'scene: a road description: Two people are walking down a '
'path. A number of giant books have surrounded them. '
'uncanny: There are book people in this world. entities: '
'Literature, Solicitor. caption: The classics can be so '
'intimidating.',
'image': <PIL.JpegImagePlugin.JpegImageFile image mode=L size=800x706 at 0x7F90003D0BB0>,
'image_description': 'Two people are walking down a path. A number of giant '
'books have surrounded them.',
'image_location': 'a road',
'image_uncanny_description': 'There are book people in this world.',
'instance_id': 'eef9baf450e2fab19b96facc128adf80',
'label': 'A play on the word intimidating --- usually if the classics (i.e., '
'classic novels) were to be intimidating, this would mean that they '
'are intimidating to read due to their length, complexity, etc. But '
'here, they are surrounded by anthropomorphic books which look '
'physically intimidating, i.e., they are intimidating because they '
'may try to beat up these people.',
'n_tokens_label': 59,
'questions': ['What do the books want?']}
The label is an explanation of the joke, which serves as the autoregressive target.
Data Instances
See above
Data Fields
See above
Data Splits
Data splits can be accessed as:
from datasets import load_dataset
dset = load_dataset("jmhessel/newyorker_caption_contest", "matching")
dset = load_dataset("jmhessel/newyorker_caption_contest", "ranking")
dset = load_dataset("jmhessel/newyorker_caption_contest", "explanation")
Or, in the from pixels setting, e.g.,
from datasets import load_dataset
dset = load_dataset("jmhessel/newyorker_caption_contest", "ranking_from_pixels")
Because the dataset is small, we reported in 5-fold cross-validation setting initially. The default splits are split 0. You can access the other splits, e.g.:
from datasets import load_dataset
# the 4th data split
dset = load_dataset("jmhessel/newyorker_caption_contest", "explanation_4")
Dataset Creation
Full details are in the paper.
Curation Rationale
See the paper for rationale/motivation.
Source Data
See citation below. We combined 3 sources of data, and added significant annotations of our own.
Initial Data Collection and Normalization
Full details are in the paper.
Who are the source language producers?
We paid crowdworkers $15/hr to annotate the corpus. In addition, significant annotation efforts were conducted by the authors of this work.
Annotations
Full details are in the paper.
Annotation process
Full details are in the paper.
Who are the annotators?
A mix of crowdworks and authors of this paper.
Personal and Sensitive Information
Has been redacted from the dataset. Images are published in the New Yorker already.
Considerations for Using the Data
Social Impact of Dataset
It's plausible that humor could perpetuate negative stereotypes. The jokes in this corpus are a mix of crowdsourced entries that are highly rated, and ones published in the new yorker.
Discussion of Biases
Humor is subjective, and some of the jokes may be considered offensive. The images may contain adult themes and minor cartoon nudity.
Other Known Limitations
More details are in the paper
Additional Information
Dataset Curators
The dataset was curated by researchers at AI2
Licensing Information
The annotations we provide are CC-BY-4.0. See www.capcon.dev for more info.
Citation Information
@article{hessel2022androids,
title={Do Androids Laugh at Electric Sheep? Humor "Understanding" Benchmarks from The New Yorker Caption Contest},
author={Hessel, Jack and Marasovi{\'c}, Ana and Hwang, Jena D and Lee, Lillian and Da, Jeff and Zellers, Rowan and Mankoff, Robert and Choi, Yejin},
journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2209.06293},
year={2022}
}
Our data contributions are:
- The cartoon-level annotations;
- The joke explanations;
- and the framing of the tasks
We release these data we contribute under CC-BY (see DATASET_LICENSE). If you find this data useful in your work, in addition to citing our contributions, please also cite the following, from which the cartoons/captions in our corpus are derived:
@misc{newyorkernextmldataset,
author={Jain, Lalit and Jamieson, Kevin and Mankoff, Robert and Nowak, Robert and Sievert, Scott},
title={The {N}ew {Y}orker Cartoon Caption Contest Dataset},
year={2020},
url={https://nextml.github.io/caption-contest-data/}
}
@inproceedings{radev-etal-2016-humor,
title = "Humor in Collective Discourse: Unsupervised Funniness Detection in The {New Yorker} Cartoon Caption Contest",
author = "Radev, Dragomir and
Stent, Amanda and
Tetreault, Joel and
Pappu, Aasish and
Iliakopoulou, Aikaterini and
Chanfreau, Agustin and
de Juan, Paloma and
Vallmitjana, Jordi and
Jaimes, Alejandro and
Jha, Rahul and
Mankoff, Robert",
booktitle = "LREC",
year = "2016",
}
@inproceedings{shahaf2015inside,
title={Inside jokes: Identifying humorous cartoon captions},
author={Shahaf, Dafna and Horvitz, Eric and Mankoff, Robert},
booktitle={KDD},
year={2015},
}
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