# July 10 Bizarro: ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558 "2009-07-10T14:41:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/1 "2009-07-10T14:41:34Z")
I can’t seem to find a link, but anyone get today’s (July 10) Bizarro? It’s a man coming home to women’s clothes on the floor, an open window, and what may be a firecracker on the sofa. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/2 "2009-07-10T14:50:07Z")
Okay, that’s fucking weird, and extremely creepy. Note that the firecracker wouldn’t be part of the joke–whatever _that_ may be–it’s just one of Piraro’s recurring icons. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/3 "2009-07-10T15:17:24Z")
[Looking at the man’s face](http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/bizarro.asp), I guess he thinks it’s one of those “follow the trail of clothes on the floor for a good time, honey” type scenarios. However instead of the trail leading into the bedroom, it’s leading to an open window. Now this leads to two questions: [ol] [li]Did the wife jump? If so, why? I confess for some reason a naked woman plummeting out of a high-rise window is amusing. But I’m weird.[/li] [\*]Did the wife lay a trap, hoping her husband would be stupid enough to jump out the window? This, I think, is the more likely gag.[/ol] ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/4 "2009-07-10T15:36:57Z")
Maybe she stepped out to get the slice of pie? (A piece of pie on a plate is another recurring element in _Bizarro_.) We’ve got the alien, K2 and the dynamite, but where’s the pie? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/5 "2009-07-10T15:49:20Z")
[quote=“Maus\_Magill, post:3, topic:502558”] [li]Did the wife lay a trap, hoping her husband would be stupid enough to jump out the window? This, I think, is the more likely gag.[/list][/li][/QUOTE] Ah, that must be it. ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/6 "2009-07-10T15:52:20Z")
Looks like that’s the one. Damn that’s weird, though. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/7 "2009-07-10T16:14:58Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Maybe she stepped out to get the slice of pie? > > (A piece of pie on a plate is another recurring element in _Bizarro_.) > > We’ve got the alien, K2 and the dynamite, but where’s the pie? No pie, but I did find the upside-down bird. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/8 "2009-07-10T16:50:07Z")
After following the clothes, he will be leaning out of the window, then the firecracker goes off, causing him to jump in surprise and then fall out of the window? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/9 "2009-07-10T16:59:14Z")
I think it’s dynamite not a firecracker. The woman stripped naked, left the dynamite on the couch, and jumped out the window. The man thinks he’s getting into a wild sex scene but he’s actually entering a murder-suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/10 "2009-07-10T17:34:13Z")
The dynamite’s just decoration, it has nothing to do with the “gag”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/11 "2009-07-10T17:38:20Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > …Did the wife lay a trap, hoping her husband would be stupid enough to jump out the window? This, I think, is the more likely gag. This is how I took it, too. The dynamite stick is an odd touch, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/12 "2009-07-10T17:42:33Z")
My take on it is that he thinks his wife (?) has left a trail of clothes for him to follow into the bedroom… but in actuality, she took of her clothes and jumped out the window. The smile is what sells it for me- he’s looking forward to some surprise nookie (band name!), but is about to find out his wife committed suicide. I got nothin’ for the firework on the couch, though. I’m not even sure it’s supposed to be a real firework- it kinda looks like it’s embroidered on the pillow. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/13 "2009-07-10T18:09:52Z")
No, she didn’t jump out the window. That’s what I assumed, too, which I why I thought it was creepy. She just laid a trap for her husband. Murder = funny; suicide = creepy. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/14 "2009-07-10T19:11:20Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I got nothin’ for the firework on the couch, though. I’m not even sure it’s supposed to be a real firework- it kinda looks like it’s embroidered on the pillow. Look at the cartoons for previous days. The creator puts random items in each cartoon, like a UFO, an upside-down bird, a piece of pie, a stick of dynamite, etc. They have nothing to do with the main joke, they’re just there. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/15 "2009-07-11T02:37:40Z")
Creepy! Either it’s a suicide or his wife is Ladyhawke. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/16 "2009-07-11T09:39:03Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > My take on it is that he thinks his wife (?) has left a trail of clothes for him to follow into the bedroom… but in actuality, she took of her clothes and jumped out the window. The smile is what sells it for me- he’s looking forward to some surprise nookie (band name!), but is about to find out his wife committed suicide. I agree. Especially, since where he is standing (just inside the doorway), the door is blocking his view of the window, so he doesn’t yet see where the trail of clothing ends. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/17 "2009-07-11T11:00:53Z")
[quote=“Maus\_Magill, post:3, topic:502558”] [Looking at the man’s face](http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/bizarro.asp), I guess he thinks it’s one of those “follow the trail of clothes on the floor for a good time, honey” type scenarios. However instead of the trail leading into the bedroom, it’s leading to an open window. Now this leads to two questions: [list=1] [li]Did the wife jump? [/li][/QUOTE] I think the wife left a trail for her husband to follow, and backing up to the window, she fell accidentally. She didn’t jump deliberately. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/18 "2009-07-12T14:24:23Z")
Well, I figured I’d bump this w/ the answer from ([Dan Piraro’s own blog](http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/2009/07/nude-diving.html)/), and his answer is: > [@](#): > > The cartoon is meant to be a guy coming home from work and, seeing the trail of clothing, assumes his wife wants to have sex. Instead, she has jumped out the window, presumably to her death. Hence, ‘Nude Diving’. If Dan isn’t just ‘funning’ with us w/ that explanation (and I don’t think he is), then we can definitely put this one in the Full-Creepy Category - better luck next time, Mr. Piraro. I did know about the different visual puns he adds in (bird, rabbit, k2, etc), but what I didn’t know is he provides a count for the comic above his signature: > [@](#): > > More than a few people asked about the firecracker on the sofa pillow wondering if it figured into the joke, a couple thought it was a syringe. If you are among those readers who have never noticed, I hide little symbols like that in virtually all my comics for no good reason. The current list is: Firecracker/dynamite, eyeball, pie, alien, bunny, K2, upside down bird, a man’s loafer, a fish tail, a crown, and the exceedingly rare arrow in the back. The number above the signature tells you how many symbols to look for, a la Al Hirschfeld. - so I did learn something (for the comic in question, K2 is the apartment number, there are pictures of a UFO and a Rabbit, and the contraversial firecracker - so 4, just like its printed above his signature). ---
**Author:** ![Watcher\_of\_the\_Skies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@Watcher\_of\_the\_Skies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Watcher_of_the_Skies)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-10-bizarro/502558/19 "2009-07-12T23:09:19Z")
Thanks for this thread, Bizarro is my favorite comic and that one threw me. I’m actually sorry that Piraro defined it, because a better explanation might be that perhaps the wife/gf laid the clothes on the floor as her own joke on the husband/bf, and that no one necessarily jumped/fell out the window.