. The Trojan War had been dragging on for ten years, so the Greek king Odysseus suggested building a huge wooden horse large enough to hold a select force of soldiers, including Odysseus himself. The Greeks left the horse outside the walled city of Troy and pretended to sail away. The Trojans pulled the horse inside the city, and later that night the Greek soldiers crept out of the horse and opened the gates of the city for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of darkness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn Dator\u2019s drawing, two soldiers standing outside the walled city (are they Greeks or Trojans?) are looking up at two giants in a pantomime horse costume, and one of the soldiers is speaking. Dator\u2019s original caption, which suggests the soldiers are Greek, was, \u201c<\/span>If you guys don\u2019t work out, we\u2019ll try putting the whole army in there<\/span><\/i>.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s nothing clever,\u201d Joe told us. \u201cJust a verbal button on the visual gag to emphasize the absurdity, as is often my preference.\u201d Joe\u2019s too modest. I think that\u2019s a very clever caption.<\/span><\/p>\nSome of this month\u2019s best entries suggested that the two giants in the horse costume were part of an initial and deeply flawed attempt to gain entry to the walled city by using a giant horse:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cThis is the last time I take the low bid.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cFrankly, we expected more of you.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI don\u2019t like the odds.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cOdysseus\u2019s plan was better.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I love that last caption, especially because it credits the right person with the idea for the successful military strategy, but Odysseus is not a name that trips off the tongue, and it interrupts the flow of the caption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe following entry suggests that the soldiers don\u2019t think much of the giants\u2019 plan but are nevertheless trying to let them down easy: <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ll be Plan B.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nThe next two entries suggest that building and transporting a huge wooden horse, as Odysseus proposed, would have been too challenging or expensive:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cIt turns out, shipping a wooden horse is a logistical nightmare.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cDamn budget cuts.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The next two captions suggest that there never was a wooden horse, and that (as Dator\u2019s drawing implies) the Greeks used a giant cloth horse costume to win the war:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cExcuse me, can my friends and I borrow your costume?\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI hope history remembers this differently.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
That last entry deserves extra points for suggesting that the Greek soldiers were embarrassed by their strategy, even if it ultimately proved successful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThis entry suggests that there\u2019s no need for subterfuge when you have giants on your side: <\/span>\u201cJust go knock the gate down and grab the king.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nThis month\u2019s best pun is also the best sex joke: <\/span>\u201cTroy isn\u2019t going to fall for a pair of big boobs.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nHere\u2019s the second best pun: <\/span>\u201cYou both made a huge ass of yourselves.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nAnd here\u2019s the best vulgar entry: <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t want to know where your army is hiding.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nAs noted above, the drawing has an ambiguous element. Are the soldiers Greek and working on a plan to storm the walled city, or are they Trojans who are defending the city? Most of you assumed they\u2019re Greek, but here are a few entries suggesting they\u2019re Trojans;<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cYou may enter, as long as there\u2019s not a company of little soldiers in your pants.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m afraid Helen isn\u2019t available at the moment, but you\u2019re welcome to leave a message.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cYou had us fooled until you did the song and dance number.\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cWell, as long as you\u2019re not really a giant horse\u2026\u201d<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Th following entry highlights the discrepancy between the comic absurdity of the pantomime horse costume and the death and destruction of the Trojan War: <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s really more tragedy than comedy.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nFinally, we have a caption that suggests the giants are performers who are struggling to get into character and, in the process, trying the Greek soldiers\u2019 patience: <\/span>\u201cYour pay. That\u2019s your motivation.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\nCongratulations to EDO STEINBERG, who submitted this month\u2019s winning entry: <\/span>\u201cI hope history remembers this differently.\u201d<\/i><\/b> That was also the top-rated entry in crowdsourcing, a fact we discovered only after making our selections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHere are the five runners-up:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cExcuse me, can my friends and I borrow your costume?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cJust go knock the gate down and grab the king.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cThis is the last time I take the low bid.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cFrankly, we expected more of you.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cYou\u2019ll be Plan B.\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 will post it below<\/p>\n
![\"CartoonStock](\"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/trojanhorsecostume_CC-joedatorsmaller-1-300x222.jpg\")
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