If it didn’t make you laugh the first time, I imagine that my explanation will dump this joke’s metaphorical comedic corpse right into the Hudson, but:
Due to this being ‘relatable humour’ rather than a standard joke, the second panel’s gag is the awkwardness created by the patient’s revelation. Not really intended as a punchline to resolve the first panel, but as a connected but distinct situational comedy moment.
It’s a good day here today.
The University I work is shutting down bar absolutely essential roles (campus support, instrument maintenance etc.) for two weeks today. Senior leadership gave everyone three extra holiday days on top of the usual shutdown period.
This means an almost complete mental break for me. I’m standby on one essential maintenance item but that’s it. No “That can wait until raged_norm is back for a fix” etc.
Wednesday I wrote my final exam for the course I took this semester (“Shakespeare’s Tragedies and Histories”). I think I probably did fine… the professor seems to think I am a B+ student and has given me between 75% and 79% on all my assignments, essays, and tests. I suspect my exam will land around the same grade.
I also realized that I had a golden, possibly once-in-a-lifetime chance to write an exam in my pajamas, and didn’t. Curses!
I am now awake at 5:21 because I had a stress dream about work (one of the owners of the game store I work at was lecturing me about how we are no longer allowed to have “Employee Only” or “Restricted Areas” at work, and there was a letter signed by ‘the government’ and Reiner Knizia outlining why it was bad practice, and so now customers were allowed behind the counter…). Hopefully I can get back to sleep soon… Fridays are a long day at work (the doors open 10am and stay open until 8pm, and we take reservations to come into the store but most people can’t be bothered and so there are always too many people in the store and this is the last Friday before Christmas so it’s probably going to be twice as bad).
Explaining this further is probably not going to do any good, but I’m afraid I still don’t understand the explanation: I don’t get why the patient’s statement is a source of awkwardness, I don’t get why the doctor’s saying “What?” is an indication of his finding it awkward, and I have no idea what reaction the patient’s saying “What?” is meant to convey. When I look at panel 2 my personal theory of mind comes up empty.
I’m writing this comment in my bathrobe, but when I take up work in the morning I’m going to get dressed first; it seems to help me get into the right frame of mind. I expect I would do that if I took exams, too.
The doctor is saying “What?” because the patient probably said the line under his breath and then the patient is saying “What?” because he is pretending he didn’t say anything, uncomfortable that his seemingly over the top comment in response (but presumably evidence of despair/unhappiness/frustration) was noticed by the doctor. Its ‘funny’ (more in a relatable “been there!” way rather than laugh out loud) because to make a comment seemingly showing such depth of feeling to an innocuous comment about drinking enough would probably make most people a little embarassed.
I don’t think I’ve ever been there.
I have. 
Just to beat this explanation into the ground, this genre of joke has seen a lot of usage recently. The fundamental element is one character making a normal observation or asking a normal question (“My, isn’t it beautiful today!” or “How are you feeling?”). The second character that says something that any reasonable person would have a response to, usually horror, but sometimes sadness, or sympathy, but something unusual in the element of the response (“Yeah, the smell of the world burning is really delightful!” or “I only cried by myself for seven hours last night!”).
The “What?” - “What?” response that follows is intended to show the difference in perspective of the two characters, and often can be interpreted as “What you said can’t possibly be correct, so I must have misheard it,” - “What I said is completely normal for me and I assumed everyone had similar thoughts/actions.”
In this instance, I read it as “You can’t be serious” - “Doesn’t everyone get water through crying all the time?” and it is the absurdity of the reaction that underlines the humour.
That could be a better explanation than mine, tbf
anyway, I’m still not in great shape. Roll on the end of the day.
I’ve never run into one of those jokes before.
Thanks for the explanation, which actually makes sense.
I’m amused by the meta-level irony of my reaction to this having been “What you said can’t possibly be a joke, so I must have misread it,” or in brief, “What?”
I assumed these type of things were;
Someone says something to someone else, who isn’t really listening and isn’t aware they responded out loud. Hence the confusion of all involved.
I would be shocked if my doctor asked, ‘What?’ in response to something like that. In my experience, they would just mutter, “good, good…” while typing something in their laptop.
My partner and I have been struggling to find a doctor that we like. We once asked for a doctor recommendation from a number of our friends and were unanimously referred to a particular doctor nearby. I always felt as though I was an imposition whenever I went for a doctor’s appointment and, more often than not, she would invariably be ‘unexpectedly busy’ and I wouldn’t actually get to see her, but with the added benefit of being forced to wait 1+ hours in a small, cold room until one of her nurses would come complete the visit (and then I would be billed 2 hours at the doctor’s rate).
After being a patient of this doctor for the better part of 3 years and having regular appointments with her (but usually actually one of her nurse practitioners), I happened to go with my partner to confirm our first pregnancy (this would have been about 3.5 years ago); she looked me straight in the eyes and offered a handshake saying, “I’m Dr. <Such-and-Such>, nice to meet you.” She couldn’t have picked me out of a lineup – and she’s still the doctor that a lot of trusted friends see and recommend.
So, when our first child was born, we felt so lucky to find a great pediatrician who was also a GP (general practitioner… not sure if that term is widely used outside of the US?).
When COVID-19 hit, however, he was forced by the hospital system he worked for to retire (a nurse friend suggested it was probably political, but he was in his 70s so it may have been a liability concern). So, now in addition to desperately trying to find a good GP, we are now struggling to find a decent pediatrician. My partner recently found a nurse practitioner that is highly recommended and also sees pediatric patients, so she has had an appointment and our 3yo also had an appointment with her and that seems to have gone well; I was not permitted to join our 3yo in the appointment because they have a strict 1-parent-only policy due to COVID-19 guidelines (I nearly cried when I thought my daughter would have to get a shot without both her parents present… fortunately no new shots required due to how well our previous pediatrician had managed the vaccination schedule for her)
(that turned into more of a rant than I expected…)
I suppose you could construe it that way, but I’m afraid I don’t see anything funny in any of the resulting conversation.
I think @Marx nailed it with his explanation, and I do appreciate the meta level of you not getting it, as it perfectly represented the comic.
I would call it confusing rather than funny. Although it’s been interesting seeing so many different interpretations.
GP is a term that translates to the UK at least although the role may be different.
The idea of picking a healthcare provider sounds so foreign vs the NHS it is hard to sympathise but that sounds like a total nightmare. In these trying times I think it’s important to keep rules for all our safety but also to keep a general sense of humanity particularly when children are involved.
My wife and my kids have taken part in a Covid research study as she is an NHS worker. At the time she signed up I was proud but scared for her taking them into an environment that was dangerous. (I.e. could have reacted better, and some poorly chosen words). But in honesty the staff over here have been great with them and although they don’t like giving blood or the numbing gel they apply they enjoyed being fussed over by the nursing staff taking the samples and were made to feel special and like they were making a difference and contributing to society.
All of this is a long way of saying it’s difficult to not be there and support them. Although in some small way them getting through these things gives you a sense that you are doing something right as a parent. (I hope that comes across as supportive not condescending to your particular situation).
I know this format often turns into “I have had a hell of a day” but today has been a highlight of the last few months for me. I feel I want to share it in some way.
I currently work for a university/government body and we were generously told today was our last day and we could stop early for Christmas. As such my boss who I’m good friends with chose to have a team bonding zoom call this afternoon.
We all organised our own meal (from our respective takeaways) and ate around the same time. Someone had organised a Spotify playlist we shared and I organised a secret Santa for us all (about 11).
I have garnered a reputation for liking board games (the running joke, which I honestly am on board with, is I’ll force the team to broker peace in Afghanistan o rebuild Lisbon). So it was left to me to organise something incase the conversation started to wain. Having made people play wavelength over zoom before I ventured into setting up a ppt. of code names with me GM’ing and it went down very well. Got 3 games in and I think it created chat and a bit of banter without my intervention. It was a really positive experience and a reminder of why I love board games as a strong social lubricant. It was also the most sociable I’ve been in some time.
As an aside my other fallback was a 10 player variant on secret Hitler ripping off the reskin on BGG to a Harry Potter version, but rough as a badgers arse. As we’re a multi-ethnic team I felt the Hitler theming could be confrontational and best avoided. If anyone wants to borrow it PM me.
For me, the idea of going to an organization, whether governmental or corporate, and being told, “This is the provider we’ve assigned to you,” is the nightmare. That’s why I’ve never signed up for any corporate health care plan or insurance policy that functioned as an HMO (health maintenance organization), such as Kaiser. I want as much ability as possible to choose my own doctor, by my own criteria, and if I don’t like them, then, as Lenny Bruce said, “I go, ‘Frig it, man, I walk.’” Any relationship that you are not free to walk out of can become abusive.