Tom Gauld’s weekly cartoon for New Scientist is titled “Trust me, it’s safe.” The phrase is a familiar one in science and technology, often spoken by experts, inventors, or authority figures. In Gauld’s hands, it becomes a punchline about how easily that reassurance can ring hollow.
The cartoon works because the words are both comforting and suspicious. They promise safety without offering evidence, and that tension is the joke. Gauld’s deadpan style leaves the scene open, letting readers imagine the worst.
As a single source, the cartoon offers no broader argument beyond its own satire. But its placement in a science magazine gives it extra bite: even in a field built on evidence, “trust me” can still be the final word.