Comments include the inevitable jokes about “military intelligence” and the amount of money spent on this research, but offer no clue as to why it might actually be funny.
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It’s like the cartoonist started with the visual cliche of generals gathered around a map table, then made up the dialogue afterwards. Or held a caption contest on their blog.
You’re meant to look at the image of a general pointing with a stick, and think it’s planning a military operation. Then you see the speech balloon and realize it’s just playing with his food.
It would have worked better as a caption at the bottom instead of a speech balloon.
Kung pao is rice, peanuts, and chopped carrots, celery & chicken. Nothing really stabbable. (Stabbable is a fun word, spell check dictionary be damned)
I think it should be “stabable” (one b), in deference to the vowel-consonant-“i/e/y” lengthening rule — “a” doesn’t lengthen the previous vowel, so no need to double to consonant. This I think comes to English via the French. There is a competing vowel shortening rule from the Germanic, where a vowel is long unless followed by a double consonant, which shortens it — I think that’s where your inclination to double the “b” comes from. Chacun à son goût…
It sounds like one of those analogy demonstrations. For instance, put a string down on the table. Pick up one end and try to move the entire string by pushing it. It can’t be done. Pick up the other end and move the string by pulling it. It moves. There, you see, you can’t lead by pushing from the back. You have to lead by pulling from the front.
That said, I have no idea what lesson the general is trying to give. That you need two generals, not just one, to win a battle? That doesn’t make sense.
One chopstick is of no use – 2 are needed. I am guessing that if a piece of chicken was stabbed by the chop stick it might be able to eaten that way with a single chop stick. Perhaps their thought is that by removing half the chop sticks, the food could not be eaten and the other army starved, forgetting about the possibility of one’s hand to eat with rather than with a utensil?
(I would like to point out as – am sure I have mentioned ad nauseam that I am 18th c reenactor – it would not have not be considered proper to eat same with one’s hand if an officer even in the military back then. Proper table manners for officers, was expected – the general army rabble on the other hand would not necessarily be expected to not eat with their hands.)
Comics I Don't Understand 
It’s like the cartoonist started with the visual cliche of generals gathered around a map table, then made up the dialogue afterwards. Or held a caption contest on their blog.
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You’re meant to look at the image of a general pointing with a stick, and think it’s planning a military operation. Then you see the speech balloon and realize it’s just playing with his food.
It would have worked better as a caption at the bottom instead of a speech balloon.
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Kung pao is rice, peanuts, and chopped carrots, celery & chicken. Nothing really stabbable. (Stabbable is a fun word, spell check dictionary be damned)
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I think it should be “stabable” (one b), in deference to the vowel-consonant-“i/e/y” lengthening rule — “a” doesn’t lengthen the previous vowel, so no need to double to consonant. This I think comes to English via the French. There is a competing vowel shortening rule from the Germanic, where a vowel is long unless followed by a double consonant, which shortens it — I think that’s where your inclination to double the “b” comes from.
Chacun à son goût…
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It sounds like one of those analogy demonstrations. For instance, put a string down on the table. Pick up one end and try to move the entire string by pushing it. It can’t be done. Pick up the other end and move the string by pulling it. It moves. There, you see, you can’t lead by pushing from the back. You have to lead by pulling from the front.
That said, I have no idea what lesson the general is trying to give. That you need two generals, not just one, to win a battle? That doesn’t make sense.
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Lennie Peterson, creator of The Big Picture, does dialog contest strips. Winners will see their suggestion in the strip. Today is one such.
https://www.gocomics.com/thebigpicture/2026/03/23
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One chopstick is of no use – 2 are needed. I am guessing that if a piece of chicken was stabbed by the chop stick it might be able to eaten that way with a single chop stick. Perhaps their thought is that by removing half the chop sticks, the food could not be eaten and the other army starved, forgetting about the possibility of one’s hand to eat with rather than with a utensil?
(I would like to point out as – am sure I have mentioned ad nauseam that I am 18th c reenactor – it would not have not be considered proper to eat same with one’s hand if an officer even in the military back then. Proper table manners for officers, was expected – the general army rabble on the other hand would not necessarily be expected to not eat with their hands.)
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