879: Lamp

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Lamp
'That was definitely not in my top three wishes.' 'Who said anything about YOUR wishes?'
Title text: 'That was definitely not in my top three wishes.' 'Who said anything about YOUR wishes?'

Explanation[edit]

Cueball finds a lamp. It has a shape which suggests it is a magic lamp, which might contain a genie. Traditionally, genies grant three wishes to whoever rubs their lamp, thus freeing them. Cueball rubs the lamp, but instead of releasing a genie, the lamp appears to ejaculate. Cueball is grossed out by this and holds the lamp away from him.

The imagery and style of the comic are intentionally similar to male stimulation and ejaculation. The act of rubbing one's genitals to stimulate orgasm is well known and well documented in both literature and science. However, almost anyone would be disturbed by unintentionally giving sexual pleasure to a stranger.

In the title text, a discussion is shown between Cueball and the lamp. Cueball states that what happened was NOT one of the three wishes he would have asked for if a genie had been released, and the lamp retorts, "Who said anything about YOUR wishes?", implying that the lamp's wish was to receive "handy" stimulation (or possibly that the last user of the lamp wished for that to happen to the next owner).

Genies are also mentioned in at least five other comics:

In the song Genie in a Bottle, from 1999 by Christina Aguilera, the sexual comparison of rubbing a genie in bottle is very clear in the song, although here it is a woman genie that needs to be rubbed in the right way to be let out.

Transcript[edit]

[Cueball stumbles on a lamp, lying on the ground.]
[Cueball picks it up.]
Rub rub
[The lamp sprays fluids.]
Splort
[Cueball holds the lamp at arm's length, a puddle of fluid on the ground.]


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Discussion

In the final frame, the orientation of the lamp suggests it has become flaccid. -- ‎74.213.186.41 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

he has a grossed out expression

?

I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait (talk) 23:38, 23 January 2015 (UTC)