Where Babies Come From
People always seem excited by those little bundles of joy. I guess it’s a different matter entirely if you find out you’re a father when you answer the door. Expect a package, end up with another mouth to feed. Who do these storks think they are, anyway?
And where are they getting all these human babies? Do they have some secret laboratory in which they create and raise their adorable payload? Why don’t they just let humans do what they’re supposed to and get it on, as they say? This blog post hasn’t got many answers, only more questions, it seems.
I’m not sure about how it goes for the rest of the world, but here in the good ol’ US of A, it’s pretty commonplace to tell kids any number of wild stories about where babies come from. For many of us, we’re told that the majestic Stork delivers them to parents’ doorsteps (or in some terrifying iterations, down the chimney) when the time is right for them to have a child. Others hear that babies come from a seed, often a watermelon or similar fruit, that grew into a child in its mother’s stomach. There are a great many versions of this concept all driving toward the same point: deceiving our children about the mysteries of sex.
Sex is an incredible thing and has been seen as a powerful act for thousands of years across the entire globe. While there have been generations in the past that were clearly much more open with each other and with their children about just what, exactly, all the fuss is about, there have also been generations that exhibited the same, less enthusiastic, public attitudes present today in America. One of the more confusing aspects for people today to look back on is the world of sexual and fertility symbolism. Take the stork, for example, most people today aren’t entirely sure why a stork is used in the fairy tales we tell our kids about babies, but if we examine the origins and the animal itself, it makes sense. Storks have been seen as fertility symbols for quite some time in areas all across Europe. An excellent parent, the stork tends to its children for longer than other birds. It also gives the appearance of fidelity to a single stork partner, due to certain nesting habits. Add to this the fact that storks often returned to Europe from Africa around the time that the majority of people were giving birth in a year, and you’ve got one great symbol of fertility and parenting.
The stork certainly isn’t the only fertility symbol out there. Though it may seem strange to many of us today, frogs have long been seen as symbols of fertility, as well. Many other creatures have taken on this role throughout history.
So if you’re not quite ready for kids and typical contraception doesn’t seem like enough to you, just keep an eye out for storks, frogs, and the rest of their fertile ilk. You never know if one of them might be coming to drop off a little package at your house!
Hey check it out, some new fan-art from Byron Chapman featuring a Dire Owl! We need more comics with them, don’t we?
Haven’t checked out the fan-art section yet? Do so here.
If you’d like to do your own, email me (k@10km.org) with your artwork and a link if you’d like me to include one! Thanks to all you awesome people who have done some!
“babies stacked like firewood” may be my new favourite tag
The good news is that they’ll never get cold! “Come on, honey. Let’s toss another baby on the fire.”
The best news is that they’ll never hungry! [Insert generic baby back rib-joke, mmmmmm]
Remember Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal”
All I can think of is “a wave of babies”
http://www.hrwiki.org/w/images/thumb/7/7c/Wave_of_Babies.PNG/180px-Wave_of_Babies.PNG
I found this delightful article about the future mythology of reproduction. I think you may find it a similarly fascinating subject.
http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2011/05/reproductive-futures.php
They look like baby fruit roll ups.
The most delicious fruit roll ups.
I keep forgetting which email I use for these comments…Must leave my beautiful avatar.
i thought the arex post without the avatar was an imposter! double arex D:>
We must defeat him!
Onward Lizgigg!
I honestly don’t know which is worse…getting a paper bag of dog poop on fire on your door step or a baby. I’d probably take the dog poop
Those faces…little baby burrito logs..Hilarious.
I’d take the bag of dog poo also, dang babies are poo producers. =p
Oh yeah, thanks again for putting up my fanart. My site is http://www.chapiescomics.com if people want to burn their eyes out with horribly written and drawn webcomics and other things =p ‘Course I should finish one of my stories someday. I also have a webcomic that you wouldn’t want to show your mother to so if you have the humor of a young teenage boy then you might like it =p If you want the link I will email it. =) THANKS K! =D
It’s really great! Thank YOU for doing it! I added your link so people can check out your comic! 😀
In NYC, there’s a new trend where babies come down garbage chutes and magically appear in the trash bins at the bottom.
How is babby formed?
how is babby formed
how girl get pragnent
In Canada, kids used to be told that the indians (Natives) brought them. I know, pretty racist right?
Dude, I discovered your blog through a friend. I was frequenting some other comic-blogs before, but this is something else! It’s not only the ingenuity of the comics, but every single one is enriched with a great and interesting cultural resume. Great job!
One: I love your comics. No WORDS.
Two: The ironic part about your reference to frogs as fertility symbols is that they’re refusing to breed and are now going extinct.
So, on that cheerful note…
Assuming that they are stacking the kids in a pyramid, there would be 30 kids in that one room you see. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 in descending order plus the one in the blokes arms, all equaling to 30 kids in total. The irate attitude to the deliveries made by Stork Incorporated is very justifiable when you have to feed 30 newborns in what I assume is a three bed, one bath, one en suite, one kitchen, one garage house.