A good one indeed, and very appropriate.

I wish I could help you with this but I used to be a total typo-geek, so I'm just as biased (?) as you. Still, I'm afraid the joke will be lost on most people as they probably have no idea what kerning is in the first place.

Just a thought: In a language where "rn" is pronounced as "m", this would probably be a valid ligature :)

I am no typo-geek, and I knew right away what this was, and why it was funny! I read things that way all the time, I just thought it was my eyesight!

The joke is brilliant, but I'm afraid it is worse than lost on the general public.
Most people are not simply unconcerned about rn - m misunderstandings in what they read or write: they don't have the slightest notion about kerning because they are unaware of the problem and thus unable to think of the solution.

I think it's true that most people have no concept of kerning or other typography techniques, but that's just like many other specialized area of design. When done right, it's not remarkable, and people take it for granted.

At SXSW I saw two zip-up hoodie sweatshirts with "KERN" in big block letters on the front. You see, if you unzipped it partway, you could separate the letters!

josh: You are right: kerning, like all of typography, is meant to be completely invisible. And I've seen ads for those sweatshirts: funny!

That's a good one :D

I'm not a font geek -- for me typesetting begins and ends with LaTeX. However, I found it rather amusing. Next up, ligature puns?

@Lorenzo: it's lost on the general public for sure, but so is kerning itself. People that know what kerning is, will see the joke and appreciate the new term. I know I do!

Even though, as a cartoonist, I actively engage in kerning when lettering, I had no idea what it was called. I think that yes, it's a font geek thing. Cute though!

I'm not a font geek, and I laughed. FWIW :)