I used to find the Farside cartoons very delightful and humorous. However, these days I’m discovering they are a bit more frightful than funny.
Among my favorite was the one where a kid was trying to enter the door for the school building for the gifted students; pushing with all his might to open a door labeled “pull”.
This is one of the most clear and decisive reasons that cartoons now scares me. I sit in my shop and watch untold numbers of people that try to push the door open. Most of them push and push and push till they’re frustrated and then they stick their greasy nose on the clean glass to look inside, when they see me inside they start pounding on the door to get my attention. You know, it must be locked as they can’t figure out how to open it… although the door knob is unlatching as they’re trying to push a pull door open.
The most amazing part about these people being that when I do get to the door to open it for them… it’s nearly impossible as they won’t move out of the way and block the door from swinging open more than about two inches and are rather put out that I won’t let them in still.
People, you can’t live with them and you can’t (legally) shoot them.
I have the very same experiences multiple times every single day of my life at work. I’m still confused on why a fairly good sized sign (6×6 inches) that says PUSH HERE is confusing to people. The fool with those lavatory doors over and over before I screech out “just push where it says push” to them. “Oh, yeah, that makes sense” they say. Ugh. I make fun of them. Every time.
I also loved the Far Side.
I remember looking through a book of the comics and on the back was a photo of the author, he was sitting in a lazy boy reclincer watching television, only he was in a cage with the sign “don’t feed the animals”.
Larson’s “Pre-History of the Far Side” is required reading. I have a number of his books in the house, including the title above.
He’s certainly a very twisted fellow.
A good friend of mine is a psychologist and he loves The Far Side. He’s got a goodly collection of my favorites as mugs, including the one in this post and my other favorite, the Boneless Chicken Ranch.
You bring to mind some of my favorite Far Sides. But you bring to light a problem we have faced the last few years at our office. Most people are familiar with pulling to enter an establishment, but our door swing was the opposite. And even though there was a sign that would say to “PUSH,” they would always pull. We have solid glass doors and walls throughout. One day I covertly removed the door stop from the top of the door jamb and now it opens and closes either way. And we later had these open/close signs removed. Simplicity!
I’m not sure whether to be amused or disturbed by your story. Sounds as though you have the same dilemma as you sit in your store watching people not get in.
This is one of my all-time favorite Far Side cartoons.
This is the story of my life. I’m always making an ass of my self in public, that’s why I don’t go out much.
Love ya, and glad you’re back !
DUDE!!! Where are you????????????
Hey, Christopher, what’s happenin’?
I drove through Boone a couple of weeks ago looking for your store. Since I don’t know where it is, I didn’t find it. But I tried! I wanted to stop by (and PULL the door open) and say “hi.”
Hey! Sorry it’s taken me ages to come back here…
My Dad and I love the Farside cartoons – I still get a chuckle out of them.
Yeah, watching the moronics of people day in and day out try to figure out how to open a door, that’s gotta be bad for morale
Ah, the human race. What will become of us?
Hope you’re doing well.
I’m really missing Susan – do you hear from her at all?
Hope you are well,
mel
great stuff. Wish I could find more. Still searching.