26 May 2009

Anti-I.Q. I.Q.

    Have you ever taken an IQ test? I know given the “opportunity”, I’d bomb it, even with a sense of pride, given my skepticism towards the value of such a test. But when I saw the New Yorker cartoon IQ test, I couldn’t pass up the chance.  After all, cartoons are funny, and humor IQ is probably the anti-IQ IQ. The ones below aren’t  funny as New Yorker cartoons go, and I missed one, but not enough to keep me from blogging this.

    CARTOON I.Q. TEST: I DON'T GET IT!

    Here are five recent cartoons that confounded our readers. It’s up to you to determine whether the original rationale is any less silly than the others.

    You answered 4 out of 5 questions correctly.

    1.

    clip_image001

    (a) "Airy" is a terrible consistency for meatballs. Ideally, you want them to be dense and chewy.

    (b) She is being sarcastic. The meatballs have made her sick and now she is off to the hospital, posthaste.

    (c) In high society, it is impolite to speak ill of meatballs, no matter how over spiced they may be.

    (d) It is funny that meatballs were served at such a fancy dinner party.

    Correct. You answered D.

    2.

    clip_image002

    (a) The cowboy just realized the terrible faux pas he made earlier by calling the Native Americans "Indians."

    (b) The cowboys' enemies are lighting the arrows in order to burn down the nearby rocks and cactus.

    (c) The enemies are lighting their arrows, but, for the cartoon to make sense, the men should have been in a fort or some other structure that can actually burn down.

    (d) These cowboys are spying on Native Americans who are attacking some other cowboys, in a faraway fort.

    Incorrect. The correct answer is C.

    3.

    clip_image003

    (a) The two woman are suffering from heat stroke—they actually believe that they are eighty years old.

    (b) Just as "hang ten" refers to a surfing maneuver, "turning eighty" is young people's slang for playing in the water.

    (c) Modern technology and plastic surgery have made eighty the new thirty.

    (d) Each woman is turning forty years old, for a combined age of eighty.

    Correct. You answered C.

    4.

    clip_image004

    (a) The text was not meant to be printed in the magazine but, rather, is a reminder that the artist wrote to himself about his podiatrist appointment next week.

    (b) Life is short and precious. It's important to get outside and enjoy nature, especially on Tuesdays around ten.

    (c) Hats are making a resurgence, and one man is not happy about it.

    (d) The cartoon is poking fun at the interchangeability of events. Next Tuesday around ten is the same as next Friday around four.

    Correct. You answered D.

    5.

    clip_image005

    (a) In lovemaking, as in all things, practice makes perfect.

    (b) Yoga is so popular these days it's everywhere—even in the bedroom.

    (c) Sometimes spouses can be deliberately and aggravatingly passive-aggressive.

    (d) The man represents Obama and the woman represents McCain, or vice versa.

    Correct. You answered C.

    Pasted from <http://www.newyorker.com/humor/polls/cartoonidontgetit/081103sh_shouts/results/?entryId=7456076>

No comments: