Tom Toro<\/a> helped judge this month\u2019s contest, which featured his drawing and elicited more than 500 entries. (If you like Toro\u2019s work, you can find two of his best cartoons on pages 115 and 214 of my book on the caption contest.)<\/span><\/p>\nThe drawing is set in the Garden of Eden, where Eve, who\u2019s covered in leaves, is addressing Adam, who\u2019s wearing just one leaf to conceal his genitals. Toro\u2019s original caption alluded to the paradisiacal nature of the Garden while suggesting Eve was more modest than Adam: <\/span>\u201cMy idea of paradise involves less T&A.\u201d<\/span><\/i> That punchline, of course, also suggests that Eve was surprisingly comfortable with vulgar language\u2014an incongruity that adds to the humor and helps explain why Toro initially tried to sell the cartoon not to <\/span>The New Yorker<\/span><\/i> but to <\/span>Playboy<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\nThese captions are similar to Toro\u2019s but less vulgar:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cFrankly, I prefer something a bit more modest.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019ll lead you not into temptation.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This is much more vulgar: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m covered in penises.\u201d<\/i><\/b> That entry made us all laugh out loud, and though it has a certain internal logic\u2014Adam and Eve both use leaves only to cover penises\u2014it doesn\u2019t really make sense.<\/span><\/p>\nIt does, however, allow me to segue into the best of the small penis jokes:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cYou only need one leaf? We\u2019re definitely not in paradise anymore.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cMy last boyfriend had two leaves.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
And the one big penis joke: <\/span>\u201cI can still see it from this angle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThere was a good foreplay joke: <\/span>\u201cWhy do you want me to take them off slowly?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nA great role play joke: <\/span>\u201cNow you pretend you\u2019re a rake.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nAnd a somewhat clever scatological joke: <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019ll want a few extras for wiping.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nWhen my parents were on their honeymoon, my father stepped out of the shower and said to my mother, \u201cWhich towel is mine? The one you\u2019ve wrapped around yourself or the one on the floor?\u201d Maybe that\u2019s why I loved the captions that suggest Eve wants every leaf for herself:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cCould I borrow one more?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019ve been looking for that.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cGive me back my leaf.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI need one more leaf.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As regular readers know, I don\u2019t care much for puns, but I love this one: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m dressed for the Fall.\u201d<\/i><\/b> A decent but still inferior variation on the same joke is, <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s from the fall-of-man collection.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThese two captions suggest that the leaves are like evening clothes:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cGod\u2019s gonna be here any minute. I thought we should dress up.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI thought we were going out tonight.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While the next two suggest that the leaves serve a more practical purpose\u2014protection from the cold:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cA Goddess would\u2019ve made it warmer.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m not ashamed. I\u2019m chilly.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cThey were on sale\u201d<\/i><\/b> is not a bad caption, but I always see it in crowdsourcing when the drawing demands an explanation for why there\u2019s an inordinate number of, for example, goats or sheep or pianos. Also, it suggests that Eve had to buy the leaves, which doesn\u2019t make sense. As Toro pointed out, there was no commerce in the Garden of Eden.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe following entry suggests that Adam and Eve were a married couple who split up, and that the leaves were marital property: <\/span>\u201cI had a much better divorce lawyer.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThese two captions make the exact same joke, but the second version is shorter and better:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cGetting dressed is so much easier for men.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cIt\u2019s so easy for men.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I like this entry\u2014<\/span>\u201cI ate from the Tree of Embarrassment, too.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u2014but the last word is unnecessary. \u201cToo\u201d is not the punchline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe next two captions allude to the way very devout Jewish women dress:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cHow badly do you want me to wear a head covering?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m Orthodox.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you want to split hairs, you could argue that those captions don\u2019t make sense because Adam and Eve were not Jewish\u2014according to Genesis, they lived more than 1,900 years before Abraham came on the scene\u2014but they\u2019re part of the Old Testament so I\u2019m giving the captions a pass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI like the way this next entry highlights a minor detail in the drawing\u2014Eve\u2019s left hand\u2014and suggests that it\u2019s especially alluring because it\u2019s one of the few parts of Eve\u2019s body that is uncovered: <\/span>\u201cWhy are you staring at my hand?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThis caption cleverly suggests that Adam used to be covered in leaves and explains why he suddenly has only one left: <\/span>\u201cThat was some gust of wind.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nI\u2019d like this next entry more if it weren\u2019t a variation on \u201cMy eyes are up here,\u201d a caption that\u2019s been recycled far too many times in previous contests: <\/span>\u201cMaybe now you\u2019ll notice what color my eyes are.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI like this caption\u2014<\/span>\u201cRelax, Tom, they <\/i><\/b>literally<\/i><\/b> grow on trees.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u2014but why is the man named Tom? How does that improve the joke when the drawing is clearly set in the Garden of Eden?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThis next entry cleverly alludes to the fact that Adam and Eve never experienced a certain emotion before the Fall: <\/span>\u201cHave you no shame?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThis caption comes out of left filed and suggests that Eve won all of Adam\u2019s leaves in an adult card game: <\/span>\u201cI think that\u2019s enough poker for today.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThis caption takes a common complaint and turns it into a fitting caption by changing one word: <\/span>\u201cStop defoliating me with your eyes.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nFinally, this caption suggests that Eve is disappointed in Adam\u2019s choice of an outfit:<\/span> \u201cIs that what you\u2019re wearing?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nCongratulations to JOHN KONNO, who submitted this month\u2019s winning caption: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m dressed for the Fall.\u201d<\/i><\/b> John was also a finalist in Caption Contest #184, which featured Sarah Morrissette\u2019s drawing of Goldilocks in a hot tub. John had her saying, \u201cIt\u2019s too wet.\u201d He\u2019s therefore won $600 from CartoonStock in just two months and should inspire all of you to keep entering this contest.<\/span><\/p>\nThe five runners-up for this month\u2019s contest are:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- \u201cA Goddess would\u2019ve made it warmer.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cStop defoliating me with your eyes.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cGive me back my leaf.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cIt\u2019s so easy for men.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m Orthodox.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Watch the Judging Process<\/h3>\n
If you want to see how we made our selections, we recorded the process with Tom and posted it below<\/p>\n
![\"CartoonStock](\"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Small-Adam-and-Eve-CapCon-FINISH-10-14-24.jpg\")
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