Comic fans know thatThe Far Sidecan be critical of humanity, but a handful of strips have a lot to say about how far (or rather, little) people have come since the dawn of mankind. Out of all the frequently recurring gags inGary Larson’s iconic strip, his use of cavemen made for some of the series’ best gags.
The Far Sideloved lampooning human behaviorin various over-the-top ways. But nothing was better than seeing Larson use people’s common ancestors to poke fun at human foibles. Whether they show how basic people actually are or the behaviors humanity’s never been able to overcome, the following10Far Sidestripsshow how much of a mistake evolution was.
10Primitive Spelling Bees
Publication Date: January 31st, 1986
The Far Sidewas often painfully relatable, even when using characters and settings that juxtaposed with the scenario Larson was presenting. Here, a couple of cavemen are competing in a spelling bee when one is wrapping up his selected word ‘cave’, while his rival internally bemoans that he’ll likely get a more complex word like australopithecus.
As much as people may not like it,everyone has that feeling of envy during competition. While cavemen had bigger concerns other than spelling bees, thisFar Sidestrip makes a solid point that the competitive nature of people is something that dates all the way back to when our ancestors had to compete against one another.
9Mammoth Microscope
Publication Date: November 24th, 1983
The Far Sidewas always great at presenting ludicrous scenarios that were both somehow unbelievable, yet incredibly relatable. Here, a couple of cavemen ‘scientists’ have somehow chiseled up a functioning microscope and are using it to analyze a specimen. Thing is, what they’re analyzing is a mammoth. Not a sample, but a fully-grown, obvious mammoth.
Larson wasn’t afraid to say that people, for lack of a better word, could be dumb. Even today, it’s not unusual to make observations that seem insightful, but are actually incredibly obvious to the people around them.The Far Sideis always in good fun, butit loves mocking people’s more negative aspects.
8Early Plumbers
Publication Date: December 1st, 1992
The Far Siderarely looked down on anyone’s profession, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t at least make a joke about certain professionals. Here, Larson conjures up the image of what ‘early plumbers’ must have looked like anda caveman is priming his clients for a pricey job(even though their toilet is a hole in the ground).
No one likes being taken advantage of, but less scrupulous professionals padding their bills is a tale as old as time.The Far Sideputs a comical spin on that idea by positing that even humanity’s forerunners weren’t that different and also tried to pull one over on their ignorant clients.
7Air Spear
Publication Date: Unknown
If there’s one thing that Gary Larson knows about people, it’s thatthey can be real jerks sometimes. In this strip, a caveman is doing his best to hit a mammoth with a spear, only to be egged on by a couple of other neanderthals who are chanting ‘air spear’, mockingly.
The Far Sidehas plenty of strips that showcase just how mean people can be. While people may like to think that rudeness is a more modern social ill, the truth is that even those that came before weren’t that much better, and they could be just as big a jerk as people today.
6The Barrow
Publication Date: July 24th, 1985
If there’s one thing that’s clear aboutThe Far Side’scaveman strips, it’s that Larson thinks that people are incredibly dim-witted. So much so that this strip runs with the incredibly outrageous idea that, before humanity invented the wheel, the act of pretending someone is a wheelbarrow ended up with them flat on their face.
While it is wild to see humanity being portrayed as that dumb, the truth is that people can be pretty ignorant and end up hurting themselves. That’s just as true today as it was back then and, truth be told, it’s something that’sgoing to keep happening as long as humanity is around.
5Parking Meter
Publication Date: July 18th, 1988
The Far Sidedidn’t just critique jerks and dummies. It also lampooned the opportunistic nature of people. Here, Larson shows off the invention of the wheel, a moment that should be a key point in history. But this moment is ruined by a nearby caveman,who has just invented the parking meter.
The sad truth is that for every advancement, no matter how much it could benefit society as a whole, someone is going to see it as nothing more than a way to make money. It’s unfortunate to say, but Larson is right on the money that this trait is deeply ingrained into humanity.
4Prank on Teacher
Publication Date: May 28th, 1991
Everyone knows that kids can be mischievous sometimes. In thisFar Sidestrip, Larson presents a hypothetical scenario involving a school for neanderthals. Unfortunately for the teacher, her pupils have recreated the old ‘tack on the chair’ gag, but upped the ante with the spikes of a nearby dinosaur’s tail.
Kids are going to be kids, but it’s funny to see Larson suggest that this is an aspect of mankind that has been with it since the very beginning. Of course, neanderthal kids likely weren’t doing pranks like this,butThe Far Sideprobably isn’t too far from the truth.
3Early Checkers
Publication Date: November 26th, 1991
The Far Sideclearly loved using cavemen, because it gave Larson the opportunity to skewer just how dim people could be sometimes. Here, the strip shows readers what ‘early checkers’ may well have been like, and they’re at a stalemate. Thing is, there’s only one possible move, butone of the cavemen is afraid of making the ‘wrong’ one.
Larson knows that people can sometimes not be very bright, but this is beyond the pale. With only one possible move in checkers, it’s hard to imagine how anyone could screw it up. Yet, this caveman is finding a way, proving that over-thinking was, unfortunately, never rooted out in evolution.
2Zog’s Revolution
Publication Date: December 10th, 1981
All it really takes to change the world is one forward-thinking person, andThe Far Sideproves that. Here, several cavemen are cooking up meat around the fire, though they’re doing it by sticking their hands straight into the flame. But they notice that their buddy Zog had the brilliant idea ofusing a stick to assist his cooking.
One would think that ‘survival of the fittest’ would have taken over here. But Larson suggests that the common sense of those like Zog helped people like his friends survive. While it’s nice to see how humanity learned to adapt, one must wonder how these cavemen’s hands even withstood previous attempts at cooking.
1Invention of the Wheel
Publication Date: October 23rd, 1984
The Far Sidecan’t let a monumental moment like the invention of the wheel pass by without adding in Larson’s twisted sense of humor. Here, he shows a group of cavemen experimenting with a wheel for transport. But instead of affixing it to a means of conveyance, they’ve tied one of their own to the stone wheel.
If there’s one thing these caveman-focused strips prove,it’s that humanity is going to hurt itself, and it’s all because of the short-sighted actions of its ancestors. Sadly, the line of thinking shown in this strip isn’t too far removed from the kind of short-sighted ways we see people hurting themselves today.
