2014-06-25
Original: 2014-06-25 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Child: MOM! I WANT MONEY TO BUY TOKENS TO GET TICKETS TO TRADE FOR A FUN GEE CHOCOLATE BAR.
Panel 2:
Mother: WITH THE MONEY YOU COULD BUY YOU TEN POUNDS OF CHOCOLATE.
Panel 3:
Mother: YES, BUT YOU WON'T DIRECTLY BUY ME ANY CHOCOLATE. HOWEVER, YOU WILL GIVE ME MONEY TO BUY TOKENS TO WIN TICKETS TO PURCHASE CHOCOLATE. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE IT'S STILL A NET GAIN. YOU'RE THE ONE BEING ECONOMICALLY IRRATIONAL.
Panel 4:
Mother: YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT'S SO SMART. HERE'S MONEY FOR BEING SO SMART.
Panel 5:
Caption: SOON.
Child: THREE OUNCES OF CHOCOLATE.
Panel 6:
Caption: SHE SITS QUIETLY FOR HOW MUCH? WHAT SHOULD I GIVE HER?
A man and a woman stand talking; the child sits nearby with a small sign.
Child's sign: NOT EXACTLY A-SLOT-MACHINE-O-RAMA!
Votey:
The child (now grinning widely): GOT MOM TO SHUTUP FOR SIX HOURS AND ALL I GOTTA DO IS PLAY THIS GAME.
Child: MOM! I WANT MONEY TO BUY TOKENS TO GET TICKETS TO TRADE FOR A FUN GEE CHOCOLATE BAR.
Panel 2:
Mother: WITH THE MONEY YOU COULD BUY YOU TEN POUNDS OF CHOCOLATE.
Panel 3:
Mother: YES, BUT YOU WON'T DIRECTLY BUY ME ANY CHOCOLATE. HOWEVER, YOU WILL GIVE ME MONEY TO BUY TOKENS TO WIN TICKETS TO PURCHASE CHOCOLATE. FROM MY PERSPECTIVE IT'S STILL A NET GAIN. YOU'RE THE ONE BEING ECONOMICALLY IRRATIONAL.
Panel 4:
Mother: YOU'RE RIGHT. THAT'S SO SMART. HERE'S MONEY FOR BEING SO SMART.
Panel 5:
Caption: SOON.
Child: THREE OUNCES OF CHOCOLATE.
Panel 6:
Caption: SHE SITS QUIETLY FOR HOW MUCH? WHAT SHOULD I GIVE HER?
A man and a woman stand talking; the child sits nearby with a small sign.
Child's sign: NOT EXACTLY A-SLOT-MACHINE-O-RAMA!
Votey:
The child (now grinning widely): GOT MOM TO SHUTUP FOR SIX HOURS AND ALL I GOTTA DO IS PLAY THIS GAME.
Alt text
A six-panel comic. A child asks her mother for money to buy tokens to get tickets to trade for a chocolate bar. The mother points out that with that same money the child could just buy ten pounds of chocolate. The child argues that since the mother won't directly buy chocolate but will fund the convoluted tokens-tickets-chocolate chain, it is still a net gain for the mother, who is the economically irrational one. The mother is convinced, says 'That's so smart,' and rewards the child with more money for being smart. Caption: 'Soon.' The child now offers 'three ounces of chocolate.' In the final panel a man and woman discuss what to give the child, who sits quietly with a little sign reading 'Not exactly A-Slot-Machine-O-Rama!' Votey: a close-up of the child grinning broadly, thinking 'Got mom to shutup for six hours and all I gotta do is play this game.' The joke: the child has reinvented a profitable rigged arcade/gambling-token racket and conned the parent into bankrolling it.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.