Since the last time I published here regularly, I took up the hobby of submitting entries in the New Yorker‘s Cartoon Caption Contest. Recently, I won it – for the second time! I guess that means I’m funny now, but it has taken at least a few hundred entries to score these wins; still, it’s gratifying.
If you would like to see the cartoon and my entry (I believe copyright prevents me from reproducing the artwork here), you can check out this database on the judging of the entries for the week I won (my winning caption was “You say “flood” like it’s a bad thing.”).
For reference, my first win is represented on this page (my winning caption there was “I sent my wife up an hour ago about the noise. Have you seen her?”).
Early in my attempts, I captioned a cartoon depicting a ship’s captain petting a cat; my caption had the sailor say “He calls it Ishmael.” So very highbrow. My wife suggested I change it to “Ishmeow,” which I rejected as too corny. Of course, someone submitted “Ishmeow” and won. I had been determined to win ever since.
To make up for the lack of images in a post about winning a cartoon caption contest and get around copyright issues, I did have AI (Craiyon.com) make an attempt at a “New Yorker Cartoon.” Here’s the result; feel free to submit your own caption.
Frankenshtain!