Mick Stevens’ cartoon is set in a room where a caveman and a cavewoman sit on the floor watching a small fire. The door to the room is closed. The woman is smiling and speaking.
My first caption highlights the risk of indoor flames: “Now try inventing a smoke alarm.”
My final two captions refer to cave paintings::
- “We need some paintings.”
- “You’re usually not one to leave the walls blank.”
Now let’s see how you did:
Many of you focused on the location of the fire:
- “Technically, it is central and it is heating”
- “There’s nothing like central heating.”
- “I’ve always wanted central heating.”
- “So glad we have central heating.”
- “I love the central heating.”
Others focused on the closed door:
- “Too bad we have no idea how to get out of here.”
- “Any chance you know how to open a door?”
And one of you focused on the fact that we can’t see the cavewoman’s right arm or the caveman’s left arm: “Lost my arm to a saber-tooth. You?”
Here are two variations on my smoke alarm joke:
- “Let’s not ruin it by inventing a smoke alarm.”
- “What’s that blaring, beeping sound?”
I’d like that last caption even more without the word “blaring,” which is unnecessary.
Here’s another entry that focuses on the problem with indoor flames: “I bet you’re glad we went with the high ceilings now.” I wish the word “now” appeared at the beginning of that entry because the caption should end with the punchline, which is “high ceilings.”
This entry suggests that the caveman’s not just a Neanderthal, but a neanderthal: “I suppose now you expect me to cook.”
Like I did, many of you focused on the blank walls:
- “This place will feel more like home once you draw on the walls.”
- “We should draw something on the walls.”
- “The landlord said something about not drawing on the walls.”
That last entry reminds me of one of my collaborations with Lila Ash, which appeared in the December 16, 2019 issue of The New Yorker:
This next caption goes after the same joke, but from a slightly different angle since the problem here is not defacing the walls but creating a fire hazard: “We’re not getting our deposit back.”
Any caption contest featuring a caveman will elicit a lot of jokes about inventing something. This contest was no exception, and the best entries in that category were:
- “Sure, Ed invented fire, but you invented minimalism.”
- “I told you there would be a wait at the patent office.”
- “Maybe you can invent a place to put it.”
- “Now let’s invent a sectional.”
The next two entries explain what was used to start the fire:
- “Do you think we’re the only people that can’t assemble IKEA?”
- “We weren’t using the furniture anyway.”
These entries suggest that the fire enhances the room:
- “I love how it really ties the room together.”
- “We should get one of these for the den.”
- “It really brightens the room!”
The next two captions highlight the room’s improvement over the couple’s last accommodation:
- “Yes, much better than the cave.”
- “I love modern living.”
These entries have the cavewoman thinking about home improvements:
- “I’m thinking about granite countertops.”
- “We’ll carpet around.“
And here are the week’s best puns:
- “Seems like old times.”
- “This takes me back.”
The last nine captions deserve extra points for being consistent with the cavewoman’s smiling expression. (None of mine were.)
As usual, I’ll end with some strong captions that don’t fit neatly into any category:
- “Next time, use the fireplace.”
- “I miss the bats.”
This week’s winner is, “I love the central heating.”