Butterfly
Original: Butterfly on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Man with flame-like orange hair: Yeah, vaccines are interesting, BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT every major romance language has a different word for butterfly?
Panel 2:
Man with flame-like orange hair: French: papillon. Italian: farfalla. Spanish: mariposa. Portuguese: borboleta. Romanian: fluture.
Panel 3:
Man with flame-like orange hair: Linguists EXPECT US TO BELIEVE that all these languages that all evolved in the same region AT THE SAME TIME had a different word for BUTTERFLIES? No.
Panel 4:
Man with flame-like orange hair: The only explanation is that 'butterflies' arrived AFTER THE FALL OF the Roman Empire. WHEN? WITH THE FIRST CREATION OF MECHANICAL AUTOMATA.
Panel 5:
Close-up of the orange-haired man, intense expression, hands raised.
Panel 6:
Two silhouetted figures in front of a bright window.
One figure: Whoaaa...
Caption below comic:
Weekend activity:
Replacing frightening conspiracy theories with merely stupid conspiracy theories.
Votey:
Speech bubble at top: BEEP BEEP
Below it, a butterfly is drawn whose wings are formed by elaborate looping mechanical-looking lines, suggesting a clockwork/automaton butterfly.
Man with flame-like orange hair: Yeah, vaccines are interesting, BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT every major romance language has a different word for butterfly?
Panel 2:
Man with flame-like orange hair: French: papillon. Italian: farfalla. Spanish: mariposa. Portuguese: borboleta. Romanian: fluture.
Panel 3:
Man with flame-like orange hair: Linguists EXPECT US TO BELIEVE that all these languages that all evolved in the same region AT THE SAME TIME had a different word for BUTTERFLIES? No.
Panel 4:
Man with flame-like orange hair: The only explanation is that 'butterflies' arrived AFTER THE FALL OF the Roman Empire. WHEN? WITH THE FIRST CREATION OF MECHANICAL AUTOMATA.
Panel 5:
Close-up of the orange-haired man, intense expression, hands raised.
Panel 6:
Two silhouetted figures in front of a bright window.
One figure: Whoaaa...
Caption below comic:
Weekend activity:
Replacing frightening conspiracy theories with merely stupid conspiracy theories.
Votey:
Speech bubble at top: BEEP BEEP
Below it, a butterfly is drawn whose wings are formed by elaborate looping mechanical-looking lines, suggesting a clockwork/automaton butterfly.
Alt text
A six-panel SMBC comic. A man with flame-like orange hair excitedly lectures another, bearded man. Panel 1: 'Yeah, vaccines are interesting, but did you know that every major romance language has a different word for butterfly?' Panel 2: he lists them: 'French: papillon. Italian: farfalla. Spanish: mariposa. Portuguese: borboleta. Romanian: fluture.' Panel 3: 'Linguists expect us to believe that all these languages that all evolved in the same region at the same time had a different word for butterflies? No.' Panel 4: 'The only explanation is that butterflies arrived after the fall of the Roman Empire. When? With the first creation of mechanical automata.' Panel 5: an intense close-up of the orange-haired man with his hands raised. Panel 6: two people stand silhouetted against a bright window, one saying 'Whoaaa...' Caption: 'Weekend activity: Replacing frightening conspiracy theories with merely stupid conspiracy theories.' The joke parodies anti-vaccine conspiracy logic by applying it to butterflies, concluding they are man-made clockwork automata. Votey: a butterfly drawn with looping, mechanical-looking wing lines like a clockwork automaton, with a speech bubble reading 'BEEP BEEP.'
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.