In Shannon Wheeler’s cartoon, an ape and his son hold hands while looking at a giant unpeeled banana. The father is speaking.
I first thought the banana could serve multiple purposes: “And when I die you can bury me in it.”
I then thought of the advice given to people who are trying to lose weight: “Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.”
My next three captions allude to modern works of art like Maurizio Cattelan’s sculpture “Comedian” and Andy Warhol’s album cover for The Velvet Underground and Nico, both of which feature bananas:
- “The brochure calls it a trenchant critique of our consumer culture, but all I see is a banana.”
- “Warhol’s lost his fucking mind.”
- “I hate pop art.”
Finally, I suggested that the characters in Wheeler’s cartoon were not apes but prehistoric hunters who used the sexual division of labor to avoid hard work:
- “Let’s leave the gathering to your mother.”
- “Gathering is women’s work.”
Now let’s see how you did:
This caption is very similar to one of mine: “Let this be a lesson, never shop when you’re hungry.” The first five words, however, are unnecessary. Eliminate them, and you have a superior caption to my version of the same joke.
This entry highlights the problem posed by such a large and perishable fruit: “Wish they didn’t spoil so quickly.” While this caption suggests a solution: “Banana bread, banana pudding, banana muffins, banana pancakes…”
As I did, a few of you made references to Cattelan and Warhol:
- “That would make a great album cover.”
- “It’s only valuable stuck to a wall with duct tape.”
- “I like it, but is it Art?”
- “I don’t get Pop art either, son.”
That last caption would be better without the last two words. They’re unnecessary, and they detract from the punch line.
The next three entries take a spiritual approach:
- “I don’t know if we should eat it or worship it.”
- “Son, this is how a new religion starts.”
- “There is a God.”
Like I did, a couple of you came up with homo erectus jokes:
- “Gathering is the harder part of our job.”
- “We’ll have to skin it first.”
This entry cleverly suggests that the banana may not be as large as it appears: “Did I mention we’re incredibly small?”
And here are the two best examples of taking a common phrase and giving it a new and fitting meaning within the context of the cartoon:
- “I liked them even before they were big.”
- “I’ve seen bigger.”
As usual, I’ll end with a couple of entries that don’t fit neatly into any category but deserve recognition:
- “I told your mom not to stand under the banana tree.”
- “Unfortunately, I hate bananas.”
This week’s winner is, “I liked them even before they were big.”
Lawrence Wood has won The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest a record-setting seven times and been a finalist four other times. He has collaborated with New Yorker cartoonists Peter Kuper, Lila Ash, Felipe Galindo Gomez, and Harry Bliss (until Bliss tossed him aside, as anyone would, to collaborate with Steve Martin). Nine of his collaborations have appeared in The New Yorker, and one is included in The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons.