![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BigfootMeetsMediasmall.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Cartoonist <\/span>Bill Whitehead<\/b> helped judge last month\u2019s contest, which featured his drawing of a creature who looks like Bigfoot talking to a group of reporters, one of whom has a camera, in the woods. The creature\u2019s nose is unusually large and he looks weary, as though he\u2019s tired of the reporters\u2019 questions.<\/span><\/p>\n Bill\u2019s original caption alludes to the fact that Bigfoot has always remained elusive: <\/span>\u201cThis is all off the record and I\u2019ll need everyone to sign\u00a0non-disclosure agreements.\u201d <\/span><\/i>One of you submitted a punchier and (sorry, Bill) better version of the same joke: <\/span>\u201cThis is off the record.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Many of you noted that Bigfoot\u2019s very existence is the subject of debate:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n That first caption made me laugh out loud, but it doesn\u2019t really make sense. The creature who\u2019s talking about himself is obviously real, but the joke implies he\u2019s not.<\/span><\/p>\n Every drawing of a mythical creature elicits captions like this entry: <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t believe in myself, either.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Another set of entries addressed the unfortunate fact that many people are starting to doubt mainstream news outlets as much as they doubt Bigfoot\u2019s existence:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Over the years, many people have tried to document Bigfoot\u2019s existence with photographic evidence but, as many of you noted, this evidence has always been blurry:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n One of you suggested that the creature is not Bigfoot but a witness to the existence of a different mythical monster: <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s when I saw it\u2014swimming near the shore of the loch.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s another entry that suggests that the subject of the reporters\u2019 interest is not Bigfoot: <\/span>\u201cFor the last time, my name is Bernie Schwartzman. I\u2019m an accountant from Brooklyn and I got separated from my family on a hike.\u201d<\/i><\/b> That caption doubles as the month\u2019s best Jewish joke.<\/span><\/p>\n These captions suggest that the creature poses a threat:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n That second caption is especially good because it alludes to Bigfoot\u2019s elusiveness.<\/p>\n <\/span>In the next three entries, the creature is trying to throw the reporters off the scent:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the month\u2019s best big penis joke: <\/span>\u201cNot just the feet.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n This next caption puts a nice spin on the line that\u2019s used to end many interviews: <\/span>\u201cI won\u2019t be taking any more measurements at this time.\u201d<\/i><\/b> It may also be the month\u2019s second-best big penis joke.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here are some captions that address the size of the creature\u2019s feet:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n That first entry deserves credit for being consistent with the creature\u2019s expression.<\/span><\/p>\n These captions focus on the size of the creature\u2019s nose:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n That first caption would be much better without the last two words, which overexplain and kill the joke.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are two captions that focus on the name \u201cBigfoot:\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n This entry explains why the creature is so large: <\/span>\u201cI have a Thyroid disorder.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a great example of a caption that\u2019s clever\u2014it addresses both the size of the creature\u2019s feet and the fact that he lives an environmentally-friendly existence in the woods\u2014but not funny: <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ll find my carbon footprint is quite small.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n As an author who\u2019s sold just 5,500 of the 19,000 copies of the book his publisher printed, this entry resonated with me: <\/span>\u201cMy publisher said I had a visibility problem.\u201d<\/i><\/b> I hope one of you will buy the remaining 13,500 copies of \u201cYour Caption Has Been Selected\u2014More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About <\/span>The New Yorker<\/span><\/i> Cartoon Caption Contest.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The final caption I\u2019m choosing to highlight\u2014<\/span>\u201cMating season starts in five minutes, so if there are no further questions…\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u2014reminded Bob of an old joke about a hunter and a bear. It\u2019s been told by a young Charles and Camilla on \u201cThe Crown,\u201d by Tilda Swinton\u2019s character in \u201cThe Killer,\u201d and by the late Gilbert Gottfried during one of his stand-up specials. Here\u2019s how Tilda Swinton delivered the joke:<\/span><\/p>\n A hunter goes into the woods and he sees this grizzly. Biggest he\u2019s ever seen. He raises his rifle and fires. The bear falls, the hunter rushes forward, and to his surprise there\u2019s nothing there. There\u2019s no bear, there\u2019s no broken twigs, there\u2019s no blood. And then suddenly the grizzly throws this massive arm around his shoulders and explains, \u201cYou took your shot, you missed, so either I feast, or\u2014and the choice is yours\u2014I sodomize you.\u201d Naturally the hunter chooses life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The next day, the hunter returns to the woods with a much bigger gun, and he spots the bear again. He aims, he fires, the bear falls. The hunter charges. No sign of the bear, until the bear is standing beside him, saying, \u201cYou know the deal.\u201d Indignity ensues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The following day the hunter treks back to the woods, this time with a bazooka. He sees the bear, lines him up in his crosshairs, fires. The recoil from the bazooka throws him backwards. He looks up as the smoke\u2019s clearing, and there\u2019s the bear standing above him, arms crossed. And the bear squints. \u201cYou\u2019re not really out here for the <\/span>hunting<\/span><\/i>, are you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If you think that\u2019s rough, you should hear Gottfried\u2019s version.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Congratulations to EVAN GREY, who submitted the winning caption: <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t think my high school nickname would follow me for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The five runners-up are:<\/span><\/p>\n PETER SERGISON<\/span><\/p>\n NICOLE CHROLAVICIUS<\/span>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n CAROL LASKY<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n BRANDON LAWNICZAK<\/span><\/p>\n VINCENT COCA<\/span><\/p>\n If you’re interested in how we made our selections we recorded the process and you can find it below<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Watch the Judging Process<\/h3>\n
\n