2011-12-27

A tall SMBC comic. A woman, Carol, holds a document and tells a man, Steve, that according to "this study" he should move her from the friend zone to the lover zone; she holds a diagram labeled "CAROL & STEVE." Steve happily says it corroborates a hypothesis of his. Carol pauses, then suspiciously asks who funded the study. Steve indignantly insists it doesn't matter who funded it because it's a peer-reviewed study. Carol notes it was published in "The Journal of Carol" and asks if she should be impressed. Steve claims it's a legitimate journal of psychology. Carol points out it's obviously a copy of Popular Science with one article stuck inside and a hand-drawn cover glued to the front. Steve sheepishly says, "Uh, it's called recycling?" A caption reads "Subsequently..." as Carol, writing a peer-review note questioning the study's methodology and asking for her hand back, declares the journal wishes to issue a retraction. She says "Steve..." and Steve triumphantly shouts, "My hypothesis was right!" — the joke being that Carol's rejection (retraction) itself confirmed his self-serving prediction. The bonus votey panel shows Carol looking disgusted and saying, "Eww... I touched your hand."