5 Comments

1. 

   Reading the pharmacy comic shortly after “Rae the Doe” led to a brief visual mirage that the customer was a slug.

   P.S. Does anyone else see a problem with the grammar in the fourth panel of the Olympics comic? I think the “relay” event should have been about replacing the carpet in the first panel.

   P.P.S. Today’s Doonesbury (from 2001) has Roland Hedley sporting an English accent:

   

2. 

   Reading the pharmacy comic shortly after “Rae the Doe” led to a brief visual mirage that the customer was a slug.
   Yes! I had experienced exactly the same thing! I think the mention of “salt” was a factor too.

3. 

   
   I confess I thought the “Rae the Doe” was heading for “Deez Nutz” territory. Nice save!
   

   
   In the 6 Chix* comic, what then is the function of “salt”? Is it just skepticism over efficacy for the second medication? Or specifically that it’s a placebo?
   

   
   —
   
   (*) If I’ve identified it correctly. The rotating authorship of 6 Chix makes it hard to see it as having a characteristic style.
   

4. 

   @ Dana (3) – As you guessed, the only purpose of the salt is to complete the pun on “taking something with a grain of salt“, meaning “with appropriate skepticism“.

5. 

   There was a time when “salt pills” and “sugar pills” were commonplace glosses on “placebo”.