1. Somehow this is how mermaids are made. They sew their own tail fins.
2. There cartoonist’s view is that mermaids do not exist, but this cynical woman plans to get a lot of people excited thinking they saw one, when she wears these homemade fins and goes in the water.
If this one is as old as it looks, then it might have been a little funnier when it was originally published. The idea is that she’s knitting herself a mermaid suit, but anyone who has gone to a kids’ swimming pool in the last few years has probably seen a little girl wearing a similar “Ariel” outfit (based on Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”). The basic concept is insane, the stocking prevents the kid from using her feet to rescue herself by standing: they really should be classified as “felony child endangerment”. That said, the outfit this woman is knitting (!) will be even worse, since the knitted fabric will become incredibly heavy under water. Are we supposed to laugh at the fact that she’s about to drown in the ocean?
I took it that this is a mermaid enjoying her summer vacation.
Oh yeah, “FIN” — the last thing you saw on the movie screen.
There is a subculture of mostly women and the occasional man who swim in mermaid (or merman) tails. The gold standard is silicon tails, which look much more realistic, but are heavy and expensive. Those who either can’t afford or aren’t strong enough swimmers for them swim in fabric tails. This woman is knitting her own tail.
Combining the knitting hobby with the mermaiding hobby, but where’s the humor in that?
I think I recall reading that the aquarium at the Mall of America has a resident professional “mermaid” of this sort. Of course, I may be thinking of some other aquarium, and I’m not even sure the Mall of America does in fact have one (I know one was planned a few years ago but don’t recall if the plans came through). I’ve only been to the thing three times, always to show visiting guests, the last time twenty or so years ago.
Knitted mermaid tails were quite the fad for a while, although they seem to have dropped in popularity. However, as a knitter I’m cringing at this. When working a tube –aka “knitting in the round”–you use 4 or 5 double-pointed needles (“DPNs”), or one circular (needles connected by a cable). She’s using regular needles which (like a wizard’s staff) have a knob on the end, and are used for knitting things that are flat. She’s also holding them wrong. Where the heck is the working yarn? Why are there no stitches on either needle? And what the heck is going on with her feet???
Comics I Don't Understand 
1. Somehow this is how mermaids are made. They sew their own tail fins.
2. There cartoonist’s view is that mermaids do not exist, but this cynical woman plans to get a lot of people excited thinking they saw one, when she wears these homemade fins and goes in the water.
If this one is as old as it looks, then it might have been a little funnier when it was originally published. The idea is that she’s knitting herself a mermaid suit, but anyone who has gone to a kids’ swimming pool in the last few years has probably seen a little girl wearing a similar “Ariel” outfit (based on Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”). The basic concept is insane, the stocking prevents the kid from using her feet to rescue herself by standing: they really should be classified as “felony child endangerment”. That said, the outfit this woman is knitting (!) will be even worse, since the knitted fabric will become incredibly heavy under water. Are we supposed to laugh at the fact that she’s about to drown in the ocean?
I took it that this is a mermaid enjoying her summer vacation.
Oh yeah, “FIN” — the last thing you saw on the movie screen.
There is a subculture of mostly women and the occasional man who swim in mermaid (or merman) tails. The gold standard is silicon tails, which look much more realistic, but are heavy and expensive. Those who either can’t afford or aren’t strong enough swimmers for them swim in fabric tails. This woman is knitting her own tail.
Combining the knitting hobby with the mermaiding hobby, but where’s the humor in that?
Also see https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mermaid+swimming
OK, that search somehow got mostly kids. Hopefully this one will have the grownups better represented: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mermaid+tail+swimming
I think I recall reading that the aquarium at the Mall of America has a resident professional “mermaid” of this sort. Of course, I may be thinking of some other aquarium, and I’m not even sure the Mall of America does in fact have one (I know one was planned a few years ago but don’t recall if the plans came through). I’ve only been to the thing three times, always to show visiting guests, the last time twenty or so years ago.
Knitted mermaid tails were quite the fad for a while, although they seem to have dropped in popularity. However, as a knitter I’m cringing at this. When working a tube –aka “knitting in the round”–you use 4 or 5 double-pointed needles (“DPNs”), or one circular (needles connected by a cable). She’s using regular needles which (like a wizard’s staff) have a knob on the end, and are used for knitting things that are flat. She’s also holding them wrong. Where the heck is the working yarn? Why are there no stitches on either needle? And what the heck is going on with her feet???