# I had to have this Onion article explained to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863 "2010-05-18T04:57:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/1 "2010-05-18T04:57:08Z")
[http://www.theonion.com/articles/what-can-this-lumberjack-teach-us-about-ovarian-ca,17433/](http://www.theonion.com/articles/what-can-this-lumberjack-teach-us-about-ovarian-ca,17433/) Now I think it’s hilarious 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/2 "2010-05-18T16:08:23Z")
“Article” ? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/3 "2010-05-18T16:16:09Z")
I think the **OP** was talking about the cover and not an article. I’m still trying to get it. I’m guessing the joke is that the photographer meant to take pictures of something that sounded like _lumber jack_, but was actually an expert in ovarian cancer? Something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/4 "2010-05-18T16:18:09Z")
I thought the joke was that the photographer fucked up the ovarian cancer patient pictures so they had to put the lumberjack on the cover. If there’s something else happening, I don’t get it either. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/5 "2010-05-18T16:20:34Z")
The closest I can come is that arboriculturalist sounds like oncologist. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/6 "2010-05-18T16:20:42Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > I think the **OP** was talking about the cover and not an article. I’m still trying to get it. I’m guessing the joke is that the photographer meant to take pictures of something that sounded like _lumber jack_, but was actually an expert in ovarian cancer? Something like that? I think it’s simpler than that: the photographer was meant to send in something to illustrate ovarian cancer, but sent in entirely the wrong picture. And therefore is in big trouble. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/7 "2010-05-18T18:00:16Z")
I gotta sign on and see if someone comes up with a better one. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/8 "2010-05-18T18:22:14Z")
That’s a tough one. I keep wanting to link it to gynecologist somehow. “Gyne” could be misheard as “guy in a,” so if there’s a gyne- word out there that makes sense, like gyneflannelshirt or something… 😛 It’s still funny without the connection, if there’s even one to be made. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/9 "2010-05-18T18:35:07Z")
The Onion’s humor is usually fairly direct, so having to go through a lot of gyrations to get the point is unusual for them. That said, I’m wondering if the Monty Python “I’m a lumberjack and that’s okay” connection points anywhere. So far, I’m siding with > [@Marley23](#): > > I thought the joke was that the photographer fucked up the ovarian cancer patient pictures so they had to put the lumberjack on the cover. If there’s something else happening, I don’t get it either. But **Bosstone** may be onto something, or at least the “gyneflannelshirt” is a hoot in itself! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/10 "2010-05-18T19:43:10Z")
There’s also the fact that the photographer is getting chewed out in the form of a subhead on the magazine cover. Normally that would be done face-to-face. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/11 "2010-05-18T19:48:26Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > There’s also the fact that the photographer is getting chewed out in the form of a subhead on the magazine cover. Normally that would be done face-to-face. Right. And the Onion is made up of fake stories and things that would not normally be in print. Gyneflannel shirt is kind of funny but it doesn’t make sense. Half the word sounds completely different from gynecologist, and while a gynecologist might help diagnose ovarian cancer, he wouldn’t treat it. An oncologist would. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/12 "2010-05-18T19:55:13Z")
My interpretation was that the photographer/journalist was supposed to go interview someone appropriate about ovarian cancer, but through some sort of mixup, ended up with a lumberjack, and had to go with, screw it, let’s see what he knows about it. The humor lies in the fact that it’s nearly impossible what sort of mixup would result in someone accidentally ending up with a lumberjack instead of a medical professional or whatnot. Now that it’s been fully explained, I expect you all to find it hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/13 "2010-05-18T20:03:58Z")
I thought it was hilarious right off the bat. **Smeghead’s** explanation is pretty much why. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/14 "2010-05-18T20:06:52Z")
I think it’s just the juxtaposition – a lumberjack is a masculine, he-man kind of guy. Ovarian cancer is a disease that only strickes women. The photographer was supposed to get a picture to represent “ovarian cancer” but screwed up and sent in a lumberjack picture – about as wide a miss as he could have possibly made. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/15 "2010-05-18T20:39:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Right. And the Onion is made up of fake stories and things that would not normally be in print. Gyneflannel shirt is kind of funny but it doesn’t make sense. Half the word sounds completely different from gynecologist, and while a gynecologist might help diagnose ovarian cancer, he wouldn’t treat it. An oncologist would. _shrug_ That wasn’t intended to _be_ the joke, I was just pointing out the possibility that a real word beginning with gyne- might have been misheard by the photographer as “guy in a” something. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/16 "2010-05-18T20:54:48Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > My interpretation was that the photographer/journalist was supposed to go interview someone appropriate about ovarian cancer, but through some sort of mixup, ended up with a lumberjack, and had to go with, screw it, let’s see what he knows about it. The humor lies in the fact that it’s nearly impossible what sort of mixup would result in someone accidentally ending up with a lumberjack instead of a medical professional or whatnot. > > Now that it’s been fully explained, I expect you all to find it hilarious. Yup, that’s the joke. It may be called “The Onion” but there are rarely any finely crafted layers to sift through in these jokes, folks. Also - the editors of the Onion do not lurk here. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/17 "2010-05-18T21:05:11Z")
I think what made a few of us think there was more to it was the way the OP was phrased. Had I saw it before someone mentioning it was hilarious once it’s explained, I don’t imagine I would have thought there was anything more to it. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/18 "2010-05-19T15:29:17Z")
Did no one see the WKRP episode where Herb was supposed to hire a photographer to photograph Venus Flytrap for an ad for some black hair-care product? He did it himself instead, and sent in a roll with a zillion pictures of Venus and one of himself wearing a chef hat and checkered apron, obviously doing BBQ, a goofy grin on his face. Then he didn’t check the proofs, and of course you can guess which photo they used. So he gets called into Carlson’s office, where there’s a stand-up cutout of BBQ Herb and a quote saying, “I’m Venus Flytrap, and I love Cool Bro Hair Creme” (or whatever). Then Venus comes in to kill Herb, because now everyone’s going to think Venus is a goofy-looking white dude. I think they were going for something like this. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/19 "2010-05-19T15:32:52Z")
**Smeghead** ’s got it, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863/20 "2010-05-19T15:53:44Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > **Smeghead** ’s got it, IMHO. Yeah, I think so too. “You sent us a lumberjack!” “Yeah, so?” “We wanted something to do with ovarian cancer!” “Oh. My bad.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-had-to-have-this-onion-article-explained-to-me/539863.md?page=2)