Gary Larson’s The Far Side was famous for strange animals, baffled humans and jokes that rewarded careful attention. But alongside its clever scientific references and surreal observations, Larson also enjoyed an exceptionally ordinary pun.
That contrast is part of the appeal. A sophisticated setup might be followed by a deliberately silly wordplay gag, creating the comic equivalent of a sudden bonus round on an arcade blog. These seven examples show Larson turning familiar phrases into wonderfully foolish cartoons.
7. When tar pits become carpets
Tar pits are natural pools formed when asphalt deposits combine with petroleum. The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles are particularly well known for their fossil discoveries and paleontological research.
Larson takes the phrase “tar pits”, notices its similarity to “carpets”, and imagines people being swallowed by flooring. The joke is remarkably basic, yet the visual result is exactly the kind of absurd turn that makes a simple pun work.
6. An inconvenience store
A convenience store is designed for quick access to everyday necessities. Larson’s imaginary alternative offers the same sort of goods, except everything has been positioned inconveniently out of reach.
It is a neat example of taking a familiar retail phrase literally, then reversing its meaning with one small prefix. Even the most straightforward joke can become effective when the drawing commits completely to the premise.
5. The origins of boneless chicken
This sight gag predates a similar recurring character from the late-1990s animated series Cow and Chicken. That show featured Boneless Chicken, a character whose defining feature was, quite literally, having no bones.
Larson had already explored the same visual idea more than a decade earlier. The humour comes from treating “boneless chicken” not as a description of prepared food, but as a biological condition.
4. Meet Cowmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer and actor who became a major Hollywood star during the 1940s. She was especially recognisable for elaborate fruit-covered headpieces.
Later generations often encountered her through impressions by Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters. Larson’s contribution is characteristically literal: a cow wearing fruit and carrying the name “Cowmen Miranda”.
3. A sketch that is genuinely sketchy
This joke operates on two levels. The word “sketchy” is interpreted in the most direct possible way, while the cartoon also pokes fun at the nature of comic-strip drawing itself.
It is silly because of its literalism and clever because it quietly examines the medium delivering the joke. That combination is one reason Larson’s weakest-looking ideas can still have an extra layer.
2. Missing trains
For many years, photographs and details of missing children, including runaways, appeared on milk cartons. The word “runaway” is also commonly associated with trains.
Larson combines those two uses by placing runaway trains on milk cartons. The gag needs only a familiar phrase, a familiar object and a completely unexpected subject.
1. The cartoon Larson disliked most
In The Complete Far Side, Larson included a note identifying this cartoon as his own candidate for the worst one he had ever drawn. He admitted that he still cringed at it.
That self-criticism is part of the story, but the gag’s deliberately poor construction is also what makes it memorable. Whether it deserves the bottom ranking is debatable; compared with the “La Brea Carpets” idea, it may not even be the silliest entry here.
Why the deliberately bad jokes work
Larson’s strongest pun cartoons understand that a joke does not need complicated mechanics to be effective. A phrase is misheard, a familiar expression is made literal or two unrelated ideas are pushed together until the picture becomes unavoidable.
That visual commitment is similar to the appeal of a good compact arcade: the concept may be simple, but presentation turns it into something people want to revisit. For readers building a games room, the same spirit can carry into a DIY arcade project or a display featuring arcade buttons and parts.
The result is comedy that can be both brainy and gloriously dumb. Larson knew when to make readers work for a punchline—and when to let a terrible pun do all the heavy lifting.
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