Caption Contest Commentary

Vaughan Tomlinson has put a sick twist on what was already a pretty depraved custom: wearing a rabbit’s foot on a chain for good luck. In the cartoon, the rabbit is wearing a severed human foot the size of the rabbit’s entire body on a chain around his neck. I first focused on the weight…
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Beth Lawler, who co-hosts the Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast, immediately recognized this drawing by Jason Patterson. “This week’s contest,” she wrote to Bob Mankoff and me, “[features] a published New Yorker cartoon from 2005.” She urged us to refrain from choosing the published caption as the winning entry and even suggested that we scrap this…
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In this cartoon, Gahan Wilson drew a doctor who’s addressing a patient covered in mushrooms. Because a mushroom is a fungus, and a fungal infection is a medical condition, I came up with these captions: “I’m prescribing an antifungal medication.” “It appears to have spread from your toenail.” “It’s a fungal infection.” My last caption…
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This collaboration between David K. Ostow (the cartoonist) and Dan J. Salomon (the idea man) is set in a police station. On the wall is an investigation board covered with push-pins connected by strings. On the floor is a cat in a police uniform who’s playing with the end of one string. A plainclothes detective…
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The late, great Leo Cullum’s cartoon is set in what appears to be an attorney’s office. The lawyer is a human man, and seated across from him are a dog and a cat, who are anthropomorphic. The dog is wearing a business suit, while the cat is wearing a sweater over a blouse.  The dog…
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This contest provided a rare opportunity to collaborate with our own Bob Mankoff. In his cartoon, two boys are getting ready to play or practice baseball. One is normal-sized, wearing a glove on his left hand, and staring at the body of the other one, who has a bat and is built like a tank….
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