biochemistry

A three-panel comic between a woman in glasses and a man in glasses, both chemists. Panel 1: The woman complains that biochemists get a special name because they deal with living stuff; the man replies that he is an "inorganic" chemist, defined by NOT dealing with living stuff. Panel 2: She says that's just the history of language and there's nothing he can do about it; he replies "Oh, yeah?" Panel 3: The man, now riled up, declares "SOON, I call to order the first meeting of THE DEPARTMENT OF NECROCHEMISTRY!" The joke: rather than accept being defined by absence, he reframes non-living chemistry with the dramatic prefix "necro-" (death). Votey (aftercomic): a handwritten list extending the bit to other fields by adding the "necro-" prefix: Taxonomy becomes Necrobiology, History becomes Necrosociology, Latin becomes Necrolinguistics, Engineering becomes Necroengineering.