The Far Side and the Evolution of Human Foibles
Comic fans know that The Far Side can 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 in Gary Larson’s iconic strip, his use of cavemen made for some of the series’ best gags. The Far Side loved lampooning human behavior in 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 following 10 Far Side strips show how much of a mistake evolution was.
Primitive Spelling Bees
Published on January 31st, 1986, this strip showcases a couple of cavemen competing in a spelling bee. 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, this Far Side strip 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.
Mammoth Microscope
Published on November 24th, 1983, this strip presents a ludicrous scenario where 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.
Early Plumbers
Published on December 1st, 1992, this strip rarely looked down on anyone’s profession, but that didn’t mean 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 and a 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.
Air Spear
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 Side has 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.
The Barrow
Published on July 24th, 1985, this strip runs with the 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 going to keep happening as long as humanity is around.
Parking Meter
Published on July 18th, 1988, this strip 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.
Prank on Teacher
Published on May 28th, 1991, this strip 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.
Early Checkers
Published on November 26th, 1991, this 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, but one 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.
Zog’s Revolution
Published on December 10th, 1981, this strip shows several cavemen 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 of using 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.
Invention of the Wheel
Published on October 23rd, 1984, this strip showcases 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.
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