{"id":8993,"date":"2023-06-05T15:12:24","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T19:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/?p=8993"},"modified":"2026-01-04T05:22:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:22:47","slug":"closeted-brains-caption-contest-commentary-with-lawrence-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/closeted-brains-caption-contest-commentary-with-lawrence-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"“Closeted Brains” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CartoonStock<\/p>\n

In Amy Kurzweil<\/a>\u2019s cartoon, a young woman in a bathrobe is showing another woman, who\u2019s fully though casually dressed, her bedroom closet. Inside the closet, neatly arranged on the shelves, are several large jars, each of which contains a human brain floating in some kind of solution and attached to tubes. The woman in the bathrobe is holding up her right index finger and speaking. Kurzsweil\u2019s original caption puts a spin on a common phrase<\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/i>\u201cHold on, let me change.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u2014by suggesting that the woman will be changing not her outfit but her personality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next six entries transform other ordinary phrases into fitting captions:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. \n
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    • \u201cI change my mind a lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
    • \u201cI prefer brains over brawn.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
    • \u201cI got the brains of the family.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
    • \u201cMy sister got the beauty.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
    • \u201cI wish I had your brains.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
    • \u201cI\u2019d love to pick your brain.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      One of you took a common line and modified it by changing just the last word: <\/span>\u201cLet me slip into something a little more thoughtful.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

      While someone else changed the last <\/span>two<\/span><\/i> words: <\/span>\u201cLet me change into something a little less depressed.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

      This entry refers to the color of the preserved organs: <\/span>\u201cI feel like my wardrobe has too much gray.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

      The next two entries reinforce tired sexist stereotypes, but they also made me laugh:<\/span><\/p>\n

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      • \u201cI expected to solve anti-gravity, but they\u2019re just interested in sports.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
      • \u201c\u2026and I still can\u2019t balance my checkbook.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Here\u2019s the week\u2019s best pun: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m racking my brains.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

        Best sex joke: <\/span>\u201cI do let them keep their testicles.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

        Best lawyer joke: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve always had really good divorce attorneys.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

        And best reference to \u201cHowl,\u201d by Allen Ginsberg: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve seen the best minds of my generation closeted in jars, destroyed by madness, hysterical to be unplugged.\u201d<\/i><\/b> That was Kurzweil\u2019s favorite entry.<\/span><\/p>\n

        This next entry is brilliant, as it reconciles the drawing\u2019s disparate elements (women\u2019s clothing, especially intimate apparel, and the horror of collecting and preserving human brains) by playing on the punchline\u2019s double-meaning: <\/span>\u201cHere\u2019s where I keep my unmentionables.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

        Here are two decent jokes that would be much stronger without the introductory clause or phrase:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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        • \u201cIt\u2019s a puzzle, Deb. Why do men get so awkward around girls with brains?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
        • \u201cI swear\u2014I don\u2019t just want you for your body.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          That last caption was the only entry to suggest a romantic relationship between the two women.<\/span><\/p>\n

          This next caption explains, better than most of the other entries, why the woman in the bathrobe is holding up her index finger:<\/span> \u201cNow, before I show you my collection, I want you to keep an open mind.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

          The next two captions work because they acknowledge the shocking nature of the situation while intentionally ignoring the shocking element:\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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          • \u201cMy lack of closet space is horrifying.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
          • \u201cTell no one about these slippers.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Bob Mankoff is tired of this kind of caption because it\u2019s formulaic. Once you understand the formula\u2014surprise the reader by ignoring the obvious\u2014it\u2019s easy to apply it to any captionless drawing. I understand Bob\u2019s point, and I agree that formulaic captions are less interesting, but \u201cslippers\u201d still made me laugh.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            This entry cleverly alludes to an idiom while drawing a distinction between different parts of the human anatomy: <\/span>\u201cNope. Not skeletons.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

            I don\u2019t care for the next caption, but the other panelists (Bob Mankoff, Trevor Hoey, and Joel Mishon) really like it: <\/span>\u201cThey\u2019re not worth a damn until they\u2019ve had their coffee.\u201d<\/i><\/b> I still don\u2019t get it.<\/span><\/p>\n

            This caption focuses on the method of preservation: <\/span>\u201cWhy stop at pickles?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

            The next two entries clarify that the woman in the bathrobe is a cold-blooded murderer:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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            • \u201cWith that brain-snatching serial killer on the loose, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re staying here tonight.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
            • \u201cI\u2019m sorry about last night. I don\u2019t know who that person was.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              This entry downplays the horror of the situation by comparing it to a much more common method of preservation: <\/span>\u201cNo one questions the eggs in the fridge.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

              Congratulations to ANDREW WELHOUSE, who submitted this month\u2019s winning entry: <\/span>\u201cLet me slip into something a little more thoughtful.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

              Here are the five runners-up:<\/span><\/p>\n

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              • \u201c\u2026and I still can\u2019t balance my checkbook.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
              • \u201cHere\u2019s where I keep my unmentionables.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
              • \u201cNo one questions the eggs in the fridge.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
              • \u201cI got the brains of the family.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
              • \u201cThey\u2019re not worth a damn until they\u2019ve had their coffee.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Watch the Judging Process<\/h3>\n

                For those of you who want to see how we made our selections, we recorded the process and that discussion is posted below – be sure to click through to part 2<\/p>\n

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