happiness-spigot
Original: happiness-spigot on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Older man (the dad): Imagine you could install a happiness spigot in your house.
Panel 2:
Older man: And you can activate the spigot just by looking at it.
Panel 3:
Older man: But... the spigot requires constant maintenance, emits loud noise, and at random will suddenly release sewage.
Panel 4:
Older man: Overall, that's still a pretty good deal.
Younger man: Exactly.
Panel 5:
(The dad gestures with both hands while explaining; the younger man stands listening.)
Panel 6:
(The two men, now seen in profile, share a knowing look and smile.)
Panel 7:
Caption box: Earlier...
Younger man: Dad, what's it like having kids?
Votey:
(Close-up of the dad's face, angry/wide-eyed.)
Dad: Now wait till you're 40.
Older man (the dad): Imagine you could install a happiness spigot in your house.
Panel 2:
Older man: And you can activate the spigot just by looking at it.
Panel 3:
Older man: But... the spigot requires constant maintenance, emits loud noise, and at random will suddenly release sewage.
Panel 4:
Older man: Overall, that's still a pretty good deal.
Younger man: Exactly.
Panel 5:
(The dad gestures with both hands while explaining; the younger man stands listening.)
Panel 6:
(The two men, now seen in profile, share a knowing look and smile.)
Panel 7:
Caption box: Earlier...
Younger man: Dad, what's it like having kids?
Votey:
(Close-up of the dad's face, angry/wide-eyed.)
Dad: Now wait till you're 40.
Alt text
A seven-panel SMBC comic about parenthood. An older bald man with glasses (the dad) talks to a younger man. The dad says: "Imagine you could install a happiness spigot in your house. And you can activate the spigot just by looking at it. But... the spigot requires constant maintenance, emits loud noise, and at random will suddenly release sewage. Overall, that's still a pretty good deal." The younger man replies, "Exactly." The two share a knowing smile. A final caption reads "Earlier..." revealing the conversation started when the younger man asked, "Dad, what's it like having kids?" The spigot metaphor was the dad describing what it's like to raise children. Votey aftercomic: an extreme close-up of the dad's face, eyes wide and angry, snapping, "Now wait till you're 40." implying the kid metaphor only gets worse with age.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.