Frazz by Jef Mallett for July 11, 2010
July 10, 2010
July 12, 2010
Transcript:
girl: What's this one? A Monarch? Frazz: Yup! Wait. Nope. It's a Viceroy. girl: You got fooled by a bug? Frazz: That's the whole idea. Birds like Viceroy's, but Monarchs make them sick. So the one does it's best to look like the other, and the smart bird doesn't take any chances. Scientists call that "Batesian mimicry." girl: I'd hurl if I ate either one. Frazz: Oh. That's Mullerian mimicry.
I know others have commented on this before, but one of the things I love about Frazz is having to look up new stuff in order to understand the joke. I think that might well be part of Jef’s intention. (Some people look them up and then post their findings, but I think that defeats the purpose, not to mention taking away the fun of finding out for oneself.)