Cartoon prototypes

In The Conlanger's Lexipedia, Mark Rosenfelder (Zompist) writes: "(I might add that if you ask a cartoonist to draw it, they’ll probably draw the prototype. From this we can learn that the prototypical hunk of cheese is Swiss, with really big holes.)"

Taking on this, here are the cartoon prototypes -- the way a typical member of various types of things or people is stereotypically drawn -- for many nouns.

Foods

Cheese

A hunk of Swiss cheese, with big holes

Apple

A bright red apple, probably a Red Delicious, with long stem and sometimes a worm

Ice cream

A perfectly conical, hatched cone with big scoops of vanilla ice cream on top

Pizza

A circle of cheese and red pepperoni pizza, with one slice being taken out

Hamburger

Tall, has a sesame seed bun with lettuce and tomatoes decked around the patty

Taco

Hard-shelled, with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and beef

Sushi

A squircular piece of shiny, white rice with pink ambiguous seafood inside

Grocery bag

Always has a loaf of French bread sticking out

Vehicles

Airplane

Plump and white, with a big puffy contrail coming out the back

Car

Bright red, fast

Noah's Ark

A brown wooden boat (not a box as in the Bible), with animals sticking their heads out of the windows and some on the deck; giraffes and elephants will ALWAYS be present

Clothes

Pajamas

Vertical red and white stripes

Animals

Bird

Songbird perching and singing a song

Monkey

Brown, hangs from tree by versatile tail, funny/jocular expression on face

Cow

A Holstein cow, with cowbell

Horse

Brown with a black mane

Dinosaur

A big, green sauropod

People

Baby

In diaper, big head, pink skin, one tooth, little hair, hairbow if a girl, crying loudly

Boy (child)

Blue eyes, red-and-white-striped T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers, baseball cap, a little on the fat side

Girl (child)

Blonde hair in pigtails, blue eyes, pink dress, carries doll or teddy

Boy (teenage)

Brown hair is loose and messy, blue eyes, freckles, either a red-and-white-striped T-shirt or a polo with green and blue stripes or blue with one thick white stripe across the middle, skinny

Girl (teenage)

Blonde hair in ponytail, blue eyes, freckles, pink sweatshirt, blue jeans, prominent breasts

Young man (twentysomething)

Black hair, beard, black clothes, looks like a millennial hipster

Young woman (twentysomething)

Blonde hair in ponytail, physically fit, black tank top, prominent breasts

Doctor

Wears band with circle over head and lab coat, carries either stethoscope or tube of miracle medicine

Pirate

Jolly Roger cap, eye patch, red-and-white-striped T-shirt, hook for hand, peg leg, parrot on shoulder, beard

Burglar

Long-sleeved shirt with horizontal stripes, raccoon-like mask over eyes, carries a bag with a dollar sign on it

Basketball player

Very tall, African-American, good-looking, wears shorts and numbered tank top in matching colors

Quarterback

White male, large hunk build, wears shoulder pads, numbered football uniform, golden smile, princely good looks

Soccer player (male)

Hispanic, physically fit and energetic-looking, shiny black hair, dressed in team's colors

Soccer player (female)

Shiny black hair in ponytail, physically fit and energetic-looking, dressed in team's colors

Tennis player

Black hair, head band, polo shirt and preppy clothes, thin, ponytail if female