28: Elefino

Elefino

Original title: Monday's Drawing - Elefino

|< < Prev #28 (November 14, 2005) Next > >|

Title text: Hell if I know

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This was the thirty-second comic originally posted to LiveJournal. The previous one was 29: Hitler, and the next one was 31: Barrel - Part 5.

Explanation

This comic presents a common joke or riddle in the format of "What do you get when you cross x with y?", giving three answers. The first answer is in the title of the comic, "Elefino". "Elephino" is a portmanteau of the words "elephant" and "rhino". The second answer is in the title text, "Hell if I know". As with many of the earlier comics, the title text explains the joke rather than adding to it. While it may seem like a normal phrase, reading it aloud at a fast pace makes a sound similar to "Elephino". The third answer in in the comic itself, "I haven't a goddamn clue". This still conveys the same meaning as the title text, but it ruins the joke instead of giving the punchline, because saying it aloud doesn't reveal the answer.

This word play is reminiscent of the final scene in Buster Keaton's 1921 short film The Boat in which the titular boat is named the Damfino, a word play on "Damn if I know". Keaton answers his wife's question "Where are we?" by mouthing the name of the boat in the final scene. The filmmakers relied on audiences to read Keaton's lips, as his answer was not intertitled.

Transcript

Q: What do you get when you cross an Elephant with a Rhino?

[Picture of elephant, mathematical addition symbol, picture of rhino, equals sign, large question mark.]

A: I haven't a goddamn clue.

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Discussion

I would say that you get something Relephant --Akres141.101.92.41 12:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

That's probably relevant 141.101.104.102 05:34, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

I feel like the comparison to Back to the Future is rather pointless, so I'm going to delete it. OriginalName (talk) 04:58, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Elefino is the name of a restaurant in the animated series Bojack Horseman. They make the same pun as this comic. I wonder if the writers of the show had read this comic a decade earlier? 172.70.54.96 (talk) 18:22, 15 June 2021‎ (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
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