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Gary Larson's The Far Sidehas always served up interesting, often unnerving takes on everyday life by showcasing otherwise ordinary circumstances through an abjectly absurdist lens. Throughout The Far Side's run, cartoonist Gary Larsonfound a handful of settings and character types to fall back on with great frequency, and the realm of science and scientists was one of the best of them.
Between poking fun at the inner workings of the scientific community and borrowing its members for one-off gags, The Far Side finds a plethora of ways to turn what would normally be a very serious set of professionals into some of the funniest recurring characters of all time. Whether it's running to get ice cream or pulling mean pranks, scientists in The Far Side will always get a chuckle.
Professor Glickman Is a Mean Practical Joker
Hydrochloric Acid Is a Corrosive Acid
Hydrochloric acid is a compound whose availability is restricted for industrial use, such as in the production of fertilizers, dyes, and rubber products. It is a highly corrosive acid that can burn skin, eyes, or mucus membranes. In other words, hydrochloric acid is unsuitable for practical jokes, except when used by scientists in The Far Side.
Actually, a better description here might be "mad" scientist. Professor Glickman either has it out for Professor Bingham or he's just a truly awful person. Of course, as part of his joke, he puts the acid right between the shoulder blades where Bingham can't reach it. Gary Larson's running gag about scientists throughout The Far Side's run is that they are too wrapped up in theory to comprehend real-world complications. Here, that gag has painful implications.
Scientists Discover the Purpose Of the Universe
The Grand Total Is Nothing
Larson didn't just poke fun at science and scientists. Larson also has several jokes about God and the afterlife in The Far Side, indicating that he sees the shortcomings, or at least the opportunities for a good gag, of both. In The Far Side, scientists tend to double their efforts while losing sight of the goal. Here, two scientists stand before a chalkboard with satisfied looks on their faces.
They have finally expressed in mathematics the purpose of the universe. Readers can see a large, complicated equation on the left side of the board. Then there is an equal sign with the number zero to the right of it. This could be Larson's way of saying that there is no purpose to the universe. But more likely, it's Larson's way of saying that purpose is something mathematics can't quantify.
Idioms Are Literal In The Far Side
If Cats Were Scientists, They'd Be Dead
Larson is fond of taking idioms like "don't count your chickens until they're hatched" for The Far Side and making them literal. He is also very fond of using tropes from TV shows. In this panel, he combines the two, making one of the classic Far Side comics about cats. In this panel, Larson draws a room where dead cats are scattered about in various poses of demise.
At the doorway stands a detective and a police officer. As the two look on, the detective talks pedantically to the police officer, guiding him through the clues in the room, just as a detective might do in a mystery on TV. Once one adds up the theoretical scribblings and lab equipment, there is only one conclusion to draw. Curiosity killed these cats.
Medieval Scientists Study Armor
Cardboard Isn't Going to Work Out
A subcategory of Larson's jokes in Far Side about scientists includes scientists from different periods of history. Primitive scientists make an appearance in this category. Here, the scientists of Medieval times are shown studying the merits of cardboard armor. In the panel, Larson portrays the person in cardboard armor with a classic cartoon expression of fear as he faces the knight in real armor.
As the two prepare to joust, readers see that, in a humorous anachronism, the scientists themselves are dressed in lab coats and carrying clipboards. There may be a joke about alchemy, the study of how to change common metals into precious ones, buried here. But in all likelihood, Larson is just poking fun at scientists testing something to discover the obvious.
Scientists Test If Animals Kiss
They Get Some Surprising Reactions
In this panel, Larson shows modern-day scientists conducting a decidedly useless experiment. In the background is the ubiquitous chalkboard with one scientist writing down the results. In the foreground, some other scientists crowd around one who is kissing what looks like an anteater who seems to passively accept its fate while the dispassionate scientists observe and make notes on their clipboards.
The whole premise is silly enough for the joke to come off. But what really makes it is the incident going on in the background next to the chalkboard. It's almost easy to miss. Larson portrays a cow in the middle of punching another scientist whose glasses are flying off his head. Apparently, this Far Side cow doesn't want to be kissed.
Even Scientists Scream for Ice Cream In The Far Side
There's a Child Inside Everyone
Of all the advancements in technology throughout human history, artificial refrigeration is one of the most important and underappreciated. It isn't just because such technology changed how people process, transport, and keep their food, but because these technologies made entire categories of food rarely seen before, something that could be enjoyed by the masses year round. Regarding the specific foods that became available with the advent of refrigerator technology, there is no doubt that ice cream is king.
Ice cream is so popular that entire songs are dedicated to how beloved the frozen treat truly is. "You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream" is a near-ubiquitous verse that people worldwide are intimately familiar with. In contrast, the call of an ice cream truck is so enticing that not even the dedicated scientists of this The Far Side comic can resist its song.
Common Idioms Are Worth Exploring In The Far Side
Larson Puts a Twist on This One
The advancements made in medical science over the past few centuries account for some of the most important in human history. That being said, there are still a great number of medical marvels and mysteries that even the most modern technologies and methods have not been able to explain. Researchers must do whatever they can to uncover the truth.
This is especially true for the medical practitioners of this The Far Side strip, who heard that laughter was the best medicine and have decided to explore it as an option for themselves. Unfortunately for their patients, it doesn't seem like such methods are proving to have any real efficacy. At least, that is how things appear from the outside looking in. Maybe it's because the intent of the idiom is for the patient to laugh, not the doctors.
Not Everyone's a Rocket Scientist In The Far Side
Not Even Scientists Are Rocket Scientists
It isn't uncommon to hear someone say, "I'm not a rocket scientist," when posed with a question or problem that puts them out of their element. At this point, the phrase is so long-lived that it has been rewritten and riffed on countless times. Of course, that doesn't make the underlying idea behind it any less true when it is invoked in earnest, though rarely, if ever, has that occurred in a literal sense outside of The Far Side.
There are plenty of stories of homemade rockets and amateur aeronautics gone wrong. Still, it isn't every day that there is a tale of apparent professionals undertaking such a task with no actual understanding of the science involved. While there is a chance that this rocket could get off the ground, it is never going to end up where it is supposed to go. Then again, there is always the chance that this was a passion project, which would at least give readers some hope that these scientists aren't planning on unleashing their creation upon the rest of the world.
The Far Side's Stone Age Scientists Employ Any Methods Necessary
They'll Even Make a Microscope
Modern science has given rise to plenty of miraculous discoveries. Still, long before the age of microchips and artificial intelligence, humanity made milestone discoveries using a decidedly less sophisticated set of tools. Or rather, they did outside of The Far Side, whereas the Prehistoric scientists of Gary Larson's iconic comic strip found a way to scale things up to fit the needs of any given study or experiment.
This is precisely the driving thought behind the creation of these ambitious ancient humans' oversized microscope. Or just a plain old microscope. Maybe mammoth-scope, considering the subject under its lens, although the fact that it was a necessary invention in the first place raises bigger questions than what to call it.
The Far Side Scientists Aren't Above Grade School Pranks
Even the Smartest People Can Be Childish
Mathematicians are well known for their love of numbers and for highlighting all of the interesting ways in which various equations can be utilized creatively. Of particular note is the art of translating various messages and concepts into mathematical functions. But not all of these translations are highbrow, nor are they all meant to be harmless in The Far Side.
For these prank-loving mathematicians, the phrase of the day is "kick me." Even if not everyone is going to pick up on the joke, their immediate peers most certainly will. That being the case, it is only a matter of time before someone takes this sign up on its instructions, which will all but assuredly result in at least one HR meeting and what could easily be the most ridiculous string of emails ever sent from within a scientific institute.
The Far Side's Dog Scientists Try to Understand Door Knobs
It Could Benefit Canine's Everywhere
On the surface, dogs have the perfect life. Their owners provide them with food, shelter, and companionship, and they ask very little in return. At the same time, there are certain pitfalls to life in a human home that dogs cannot overcome, and rounded door handles are among the worst.
This is precisely where the dog scientists of The Far Sidehave put their greatest minds to work to learn about door handles. Whether they will ever successfully uncover the secrets to these household horrors remains to be seen, but there is little doubt that they will do everything in their power to get to the bottom of them. And, if those efforts don't prove fruitful, there is always scratching at the door until someone opens it for them.
Ethics Becomes an Exact Science In The Far Side
Unfortunately, It Still Comes Up Short
Ethics and morality are major sticking points for scientists all over the world. Apart from the implications of their various experiments regarding long-term impact and effects, there is the question of what kinds of testing and experimentation are considered reasonable. Where the scientific method is pure, scientists themselves are still fallible.
Luckily, one scientist from Gary Larson's The Far Sidehas taken it upon himself to put "two wrongs don't make a right" to the test. As it turns out, two wrongs do not, in fact, make a right. However, there is a formula for turning wrongs into a right, and so long as the math checks out, it could change everything — presumably for the worse.
The Far Side's Dogs Have a Lot to Say
But They Don't Have Many Words
Dog owners can always count on their canine companions to be right by their side. At times, it can even seem like dogs understand everything that their owners say. This can make it that much harder when those same owners don't understand what their dogs are trying to tell them.
As luck would have it, one intrepid The Far Side scientist has just the answer to that dilemma. To the surprise of no one, dogs don't have much to say. Maybe it is just because the dogs in question don't personally know said scientist, though their collective reaction does imply a great deal about their overall demeanor.
The Thagomizer Is The Far Side's Greatest Scientific Accomplishment
That Is Literally True
Just as scientists are a recurring set of characters in The Far Side, Gary Larson often used humanity's prehistoric ancestors for comedy. On their own, these sets of characters were the source of some truly unforgettable comics. When the Stone Age scientists took center stage, however, truly historic things could happen.
In the case of the infamous Thagomizer edition of The Far Side, a throwaway gag starring Laron's Stone Age scientists ended up having a lasting real-world impact. "Named for the late Thag Simmons," the term "Thagomizer" has gone from being a joke in and of itself to an informally accepted term within paleontology. This was due to its use by professional paleontologist Kenneth Carpenter, whose lighthearted reference to the comic cemented its place within the very real circle of academia that Larson was lampooning.
The Far Side's Last Big Bang Began With a Pop
Moments Before Disaster
Some Far Side scientists are Neanderthals and some are dogs. However, some are simply bored with the tedious work they have been toiling away at and need to let loose through some classic workplace antics. Depending on the workplace, some antics are more dangerous than others, and some have rather obvious consequences that make for some of the funniest Far Side comics ever.
Tragically, this scientist has taken it upon himself to break the doldrums of the day by popping a paper bag behind his coworker's back at the absolute worst time possible. At best, this poorly timed joke will kick off some major tension. At worst, it will be the littlest *pop* ever to kick off an incredibly big bang, one that no one in The Far Side will have any hope of surviving.
