"I once heard two ladies going on and on about the pains of childbirth and how men don't seem to know what real pain is. I asked if either of them ever got themselves caught in a zipper"

This quote by Emo Philips is a humorous method of mentioning the double basic between men and women when it pertains to pain. The 2 girls were talking about the discomforts of giving birth, and how men don't appear to comprehend what real discomfort is. Philips' reaction is an ironical method of recommending that men do understand what genuine pain is, and that it can be simply as extreme as the pain of giving birth. He indicates that guys have actually experienced pain in other ways, such as getting caught in a zipper. This quote is an amusing method of highlighting the reality that males and females experience pain in a different way, which both genders can comprehend the strength of pain. Philips' comment is an easy going method of making a serious point about the different methods males and females experience pain.