What is so funny about this? I don't get it

[Petzbreeder]

I found a Dexter's Laboratory clip where Dexter is telling a joke.

I don't get it. Could someone explain it to me?

[Lord Raven]

I did a quick google search on it, and here's what I found.

It actually is a joke! One of my pharmacy professors explained it to us once and it is hilarious.

The joke is that the physics professor and the assistant are actually taking aspirin (presumably for a headache). Aspirin is a salicyclic acid that has a hydroxyl ion added to it (which is liberated when you ingest it).

Once you've taken aspirin, its breakdown occurs when plasma esterases hydrolyze (giving it an hydroxyl ion) the salicylic acid, thus stopping its effects and giving you your headache back.

When the professor says "that's no hydroxyl ion, that's my wife!" He's saying that its not the breakdown of the aspirin that's making his headache return, it's his wife!

edit TL;DR: His wife is giving him a headache

https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/k7ecz/does_this_joke_from_dexters_lab_actually_make/c2i337u/?st=j3z99yzi&sh=1b39a0e8

[Petzbreeder]

I didn't know what salicylic acid or a hydroxyl ion was until now, that is probably why it didn't make sense to me before. I've never been any good at science.

I used to think the "That's my wife" part had something to do with the wife being fat or something.