"I like fruit baskets because it gives you the ability to mail someone a piece of fruit without appearing insane. Like, if someone just mailed you an apple you'd be like, 'huh? What the hell is this?' But if it's in a fruit basket you're like, 'this is nice!'"

Demetri Martin uses humor to highlight the power of context in shaping our perceptions of ordinary things. When he comments on fruit baskets, he’s pointing out how an object as simple as a piece of fruit can be perceived very differently depending on how it’s presented. Sending an apple alone through the mail strikes us as odd, even alarming, perhaps prompting confusion or suspicion about the sender's intentions. The act appears so unorthodox that it feels almost irrational or even “insane.” Yet, once the apple is placed in a wicker basket among other fruits and possibly some decorative ribbon, the entire gesture is immediately accepted as thoughtful and friendly. Suddenly, the peculiar has become “nice.”

This observation is not just a joke about fruit baskets but a broader reflection of human social conventions. The way things are packaged changes how people interpret motives and actions. Presentation signals intention, wrapping a mundane item in the trappings of a “gift” lends it legitimacy and social acceptability. It transforms an otherwise questionable act into an appropriate, even appreciated, form of communication. Martin’s humor reveals the unspoken rules of etiquette: it’s not always what you give, but how you give it, that determines the reaction.

Moreover, the quote subtly comments on the absurdity of these social cues, how easily appearances alter meaning. It exposes a gap between substance and perception: nothing about the apple itself changes, only its context. In this way, Martin slyly invites us to question how many other things in our lives are only seen as “normal” or “nice” because of preconceived expectations about presentation and social rituals. By playing with the idea of sending fruit, he’s ultimately poking fun at how fragile and arbitrary our sense of normalcy can be.