The other side by Gary Larson has always been home to some of the craziest absurd jokes to grace the comics sections of newspapers. Whether it was astute observations on the absurdity of life or simply strips so fantastical they barely made sense, Larson always found ways to subvert readers’ expectations.

Of course, there are some editions of The other side push the boundaries of the absurd further than others, sometimes even in subtle ways. On the other hand, it was always what The other side did it best, and the following are just some of the best examples from their decades-long run.

10 Family holidays can take place anywhere on the other side

One of The other sideAmong the many recurring gags of were holiday slide shows. Usually the punch line of these strips was that the presenters were aliens, animals, or other unexpected life forms. Sometimes the holiday in question was designed to grab the reader’s attention.

This is the case with this comic: a couple shows photos from their recent trip to hell and back. Apart from being a play on words, this issue of The other side Furthermore, the reader is left wondering how many times this journey has been made before, since neither the husband, nor the wife, nor the literal devil himself seem to find anything strange or repulsive about this scenario.

9 The Far Side proves that marketing is not always everything

At some point, most kids shout, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Whether they learn this from friends, family, or the media doesn’t matter. It’s just been a pervasive part of American culture for so long that it’s hard to avoid it at some point in every child’s life.

What no child does, however, is swear because of asparagus. If anything, they swear because of the asparagus, although it seems as though no one thought to tell the driver of the asparagus truck in this classic The other side funny.

8 The other side Exploring the truth behind everyday technology

Everyday technology like car radios may seem simple, and they probably are, but that doesn’t mean that any layperson would feel comfortable breaking open such a device, taking it apart and putting it back together again. On the other hand, even the most experienced tech wizards would be surprised if they opened up their dashboard and found a miniature tape hidden behind it.

It is not clear what exactly in this particular The other side Comic. The man who conducted the investigation obviously already had his suspicions, but why this is so, what led to it, or what will become of his revelation is something the reader has to figure out for himself.

7 The other side Some disturbing family trees

Family trees are a common concept, and almost every school-aged child has had to create one at some point. Family trees are nothing new, but it’s hard to imagine how Dirk’s family could have evolved the way he depicted it, especially given the specific ancestors he included.

While the theory of evolution is widely accepted, it takes a lot longer than three generations for a single-celled organism to become something much larger, let alone a giant reptile. Likewise, readers have almost as much trouble grasping the idea that these prehistoric animals directly gave rise to early humans as they do figuring out how Dirk could have figured all this out on his own with a little help from his parents.

6 The Far Side’s deepest moments never have to make sense

While The other side Larson’s long-running series often played with everyday tropes and ideas in the most absurd ways, but was always so confident in its execution that there was never any reason to question the obvious non sequiturs. This is especially true of the issue of The other side in which Larson introduces the counterpart to the blue bird of happiness – the chicken of depression.

For many cultures, bluebirds are a welcome sign of good things and a symbol of general happiness. This is still the case today in The other sidebut poor Ned hasn’t seen it in a long time. And when he gets a visit from the Chicken of Depression, which for some reason actually exists, Ned doesn’t question the situation.

5 The other side Redefines classic sporting events

With the 2024 Olympics just concluded, there’s no better time to look back at some of Larson’s classics. The other side Comics that offered readers a sporty version of their favorite comic. Unfortunately, one of those comics happens to mark the debut of an event that, if given the chance, would draw nothing but blank stares from onlookers.

Relay races are nothing new in the world of athletics. Animal humor is nothing new in the world of athletics. The other side. Putting the two together gives the reader the Duck Relay Race, which may not be quite what it initially sounds like, but is easily in the top three or four best guesses almost anyone can make. This strip also features Gary Larson’s unique wordplay, as ducks are sometimes referred to as drakes, which led runners to refer to the annual drake relay races as duck relay races, adding yet another layer to the strip.

4 “Little Women” takes on a literal meaning in “The Far Side”

Although the artistic style and recurring themes of Gary Larson’s The other side The blatantly absurd visual gags and puns evolved over the many years the strips were in print and were present from the beginning, as is clearly evident in this early strip from 1980, which uses the phrase “little woman” as literally as possible.

While everyone else in the one-piece strip is a normal size, the “little woman” is at most a few centimeters tall. Like many other The other side In comics that delve into the same territory, the gag in question is not given any special attention, which only highlights how incredibly strange the setting really is.

3 Dentistry is not an exact science in The Far Side

Many people are afraid of the dentist. Given the poking, bruising, and occasional administration of high-level anesthetics that may be required during dental and orthodontic procedures, fear of such appointments is one of the more reasonable phobias there is.

At the same time, few people are seriously worried that their dentist might do something that can only be described as “weird” during an appointment. And of those who are seriously worried that such a thing might happen, absolutely no one is seriously afraid that their dentist might just shove a tennis ball or similar object in their mouth just to see if they can.

2 The other side Throws ordinary logic out the (airplane) window

Among the many phobias and fears that The other side It was about the fear of air travel, which is also a completely understandable concern for many. Unfortunately for Ted, too much relaxation on the plane was the cause of his and everyone else’s biggest problem.

It doesn’t matter why there was a button to remove the wings right under Ted’s armrest. It doesn’t matter why no one thought to inform Ted about it when he took his seat. What matters is the conclusion that Ted pressed that button during the flight, with catastrophic consequences, the only ones that can arise from such a situation even under the best of circumstances.

“Cow Tools” is undoubtedly the most famous The other side comic book of all time. It has been the topic of conversation among comic book fans, academics, and critics of the medium for decades, so much so that it has become something that slips in and out of the zeitgeist and social media discourse at will.

Larson has openly and honestly said that “Cow Tools” is more than anything a simple piece of absolute absurdity, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming a niche pop culture phenomenon in its own right. If there is one aspect of The other side The only thing that will endure the series’ legacy is surely “Cow Tools,” and that may be the strangest thing of all.