CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION CONTESTS CONTINUE! Another week, another caption/anti-caption confluence.

Among the three nominees in Caption Contest #56 (operation on a large bomb), there's

"Damn it, I'm a brain surgeon, not a rocket scientist!"

by Richard Haspel of Brookline, Massachusetts. Compare that with the anti-caption

"Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a rocket scientist!"

by the amazing Tim C.

The Star Trek retread is up against

"We thought it would look better with big breasts."

by Peter Orazem of Ames, Iowa and

"It's the worst case of projectile dysfunction I've ever seen."

by Jack Deitch of Austin, Texas.

My loser:

"We'll have your roach problem solved in no time."

As for this week's winners, top honors in Caption Contest #54 (loopy man looking at wristwatch in desert) go to Damien Licata of Keene, New Hampshire for

"And, best of all, it's completely waterproof!"

As the map shows, that's the second win for li'l ol' New Hampshire!

Over at Anti-Caption Contest #57 (man with sleeve in mounted fish's mouth), the winner is Vance with

"I really wish I hadn't chosen the novelty framed-carnivorous-fish option for replacing my right hand. I mean, the only time it looks even slightly reasonable is when I put my hand up on the wall here, like this, see?"

My losers:

"Good thing I'm left-handed."

"Of course I'm wearing herringbone. Why do you ask?"

"Now you can see why I'm glad about the one that got away."

"Quick! Draw the cartoon now!! It looks like the fish is eating my hand!!! Ha!!!!"

"You see? This is what can happen when you have a hook instead of a hand. So I'm glad you came to see me prior to your elective surgery."

Caption Contest #58 is here. Anti-Caption Contest #58 is here.

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state, represented using a map format here.

12 California

6 New York (all New York City)
6 Pennsylvania

3 Massachusetts
3 New Jersey

2 Illinois
2 New Hampshire
2 North Carolina
2 Texas
2 Utah

1 Arizona
1 Connecticut
1 Georgia
1 Maryland
1 Minnesota
1 Mississippi
1 Missouri
1 New Mexico
1 Ohio
1 Oklahoma
1 Oregon
1 Rhode Island
1 Vermont
1 Washington, DC

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone