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Let’s face it, as funny as Gary Larson’s masterpiece, The Far Side, is, it’s got a few gags that can easily go over someone’s head. Larson’s strip infamously reveled in the line between the surreal and the minutia of daily life and that magic touch of his created dozens, if not hundreds, of funny gags.
But some gags are just downright perplexing. Whether it’s cows acting like people or people acting like children, some Far Side strips are just plain hard to explain, at least to some. Read on to see just how confusing some Far Side strips really are.
10
If Pets Wore Hats
Publication Date: December 12th, 1981
If there’s one thing The Far Side does well, it’s anthropomorphize animals for a lark. While this gag doesn’t have mankind’s furry friends holding down jobs or talking about life, it does humanize them in one particular way. This strip posits a study where pets wear hats. The dogs wear baseball caps, the cats wear fedoras and a bird inside a house wears a sombrero way too big for its cage.
And that’s it. Is the joke that the animals would all just wear hats that reflect them? Dogs get baseball caps for their rough-and-tumble lifestyle, while the more serious felines get more serious fedoras? Then why does a bird get a sombrero? Or is this Far Side gag a commentary on pointless and wasteful studies? As silly as the scenario is, it’s hard to get the intended joke.
9
Bewitched
Publication Date: August 19th, 1982
Despite the timeless nature of most Far Side strips, even Larson couldn’t help occasionally using pop culture to help him craft a gag. In this particular tip of the cap to Hollywood, it showcases a writers’ room for the show Bewitched, and one writer is enthusiastically describing a plot for an episode (a formulaic one at that) while one of the writers internally notes that she likes the idea for the episode.
This strip does require one to know about the usual set-up of a Bewitched episode, but is Larson pointing out that there’s no real need for a writing room for a sitcom which generally does the same thing over and over? Then what’s the point of the one writer saying that she likes it? It’s got The Far Side’s style, but its humor here is a bit more subtle.
8
Cheetah Wheelies
Publication Date: January 12th, 1985
The Far Side can usually say a lot without saying much. In this strip, Larson takes readers to a plain where a couple of antelope are watching a coalition of cheetahs. But instead of the cheetahs trying to pursue the antelope, they’re all just having the time of their lives, running around and popping ‘wheelies’. The thing is, none of them are riding motorcycles, so their wheelies are just them running around on their hind legs with their front ones in the air.
Sure, The Far Side is meant to be absurd and the idea of cheetahs goofing off while doing mock wheelies is one that can make a hardened person crack a grin. But is it just the absurdity here or is there a deeper pun or joke about cheetahs pretending to pop wheelies like cyclists?
7
Mr. Sun
Publication Date: June 25th, 1983
One of the funnier aspects of The Far Side is seeing scientists or other academic professionals behave in ways that people wouldn’t imagine they’d act like. For this strip, Larson has two astronauts deep in space and in deep trouble. Their capsule is far off-course and one of the astronauts highlights the gravity of their situation. Not only are their controls jammed, but they are heading straight for the sun or, as the astronaut refers to it as, ‘Mr. Sun’.
Maybe this is a case of overthinking and the joke is that this is an incredibly grave matter and the astronaut is referring to the impending disaster in such a childish way. But is there anything else here or does the humor of this Far Side gag come from what should be a trained professional suddenly regressing in the face of danger?
6
How Flowers See Themselves
Publication Date: July 9th, 1984
It’s clear from his numerous strips that Gary Larson absolutely loves nature. This Far Side strip is divided into two sections, the first one taking a look at a group of regular, ordinary daisies and labeled “How we see flowers”. Right below it is another panel labeled “How they see themselves” and the five daisies now all have faces with long noses and big teeth, making them look more like traditional Far Side characters.
This is definitely a harder one to understand. There’s no real clever visual gag and the daisies, while they’ve all got goofy appearances, aren’t that funny-looking, at least, compared to any other Far Side character. Maybe the joke has to do with perspective, but it’s hard to tell what Larson was going for with this strip.
5
Bad Haircut
Publication Date: January 29th, 1985
Again, The Far Side revels in the absurd. But this gag goes a bit further and posits a wild and perplexing scenario. Here, a woman is talking with a barber, who explains what happened during her (presumably) husband’s recent haircut. Apparently, their conversation got political and during the trim, the barber took a little too much off the top until Roy’s head was nothing more than a tiny mass on top of his shoulders.
The joke is probably just Larson taking a humorous scenario and taking it to the extreme. But is that really it? Was this a bigger commentary on how political discourse can negatively affect working relationships? Or was The Far Side just using this to remind readers to not piss off their barber while in the chair?
4
The Other Side
Publication Date: June 12th, 1981
Sometimes The Far Side isn’t about trying to make readers laugh, but rather, think. So with this strip, Larson pulls out one of the oldest gags in the book, asking why the chicken crossed the road. But, in true Far Side style, it gives it a unique twist. Here, the chicken is on one side of the road, while the other has a billboard advertising ‘The Other Side’, which has the tempting slogan “Do you need a reason?”.
Does the humor of this Far Side strip come from the chicken as he gawks at a sign that tempts him so? Or is Larson using this strip in a more meta sense, asking the reader if they really need a reason to know why the chicken crossed the road?
3
The Big Horse
Publication Date: July 12th, 1985
Some Far Side strips are just so wild and out-there, readers have no choice but to go along with the logic in them. This strip is set in the Wild West days and a bank robber has just gotten away with cash. The sheriff doesn’t seem too worried about the robbery, nor that the thief is getting away, and he points out to his deputies that they can take “the big horse”.
And yes, he means that literally, as the sheriff’s department has a horse three times as big as an average-sized equine. The idea of a ‘big horse’ is comical, sure, but why exactly is it needed now, especially when the robber is just getting away? The Far Side has a lot of interesting ideas, but sometimes it’s too abstract for its own good.
2
Late Squid
Publication Date: June 21st, 1985
The Far Side presents a world where the mundane meets the surreal, and nothing says that better than this offbeat strip. A ship is under attack by a giant squid, and its passengers are swimming for their lives. However, the squid pauses in their attack, noting that it’s already 6:30 and that they’re in trouble.
Who exactly is the squid in trouble with? And why the arbitrary time, like 6:30? Are they late for an appointment or another attack or is some unseen authority requesting their presence? Perhaps there’s nothing deeper to this strip, and it’s just a delightful mix of real life and surrealism. But if there’s a deeper meaning to this Far Side strip, it’s kind of hard to find.
Publication Date: October 28th, 1982
What other joke in The Far Side’s entire history has stirred up more debate among fans than this incredibly infamous gag? The idea is incredibly simple. It shows a farm where a cow, a Far Side staple, has assembled a collection of roughshod imitations of tools like saws and hammers. The cow stares on blankly and the caption simply reads ‘Cow Tools’, leaving it up to the viewer to determine the joke.
Is it because these tools are what cows are capable of making, given their limitations? Or are these the tools cows would use in The Far Side’s world? Many readers have been stumped over the true meaning of what Larson was going for with this Far Side strip and chances are, people will be debating it for years to come.
- Writer
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Gary Larson
- Colorist
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Gary Larson
Summary
Written and drawn by Gary Larson, The Far Side is a comic strip series that ran from December 1979 to January 1995. A worldwide hit, The Far Side explores life’s surreal side and uses a mix of humans and anthropomorphic animals. As of 2020, Gary Larson decided to pick his pencil back up again and has started The Far Side up, circulating the comics on his official website.
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