For as long as humanity has been telling jokes, elephants have made for unusually reliable punchlines. The metaphorical elephants in the room give comedians plenty to work with, but add in trunks, tusks, their reputation for never forgetting a moment, and the fact they look all around ridiculous trying to do anything remotely human, and there’s practically an endless supply of material.
That material is something Gary Larson understood better than most. Throughout the cartoonist’s 15-year run on The Far Side, elephants showed up at cocktail parties, crime scenes, watering holes, and phone booths, usually behaving just enough like people to make the whole situation considerably stranger. Some of Larson’s best works leaned on familiar stereotypes about the animals, while others simply dropped them into situations where an elephant had absolutely no business being — and we’ve collected the best of the best.
7
Eat or Don’t Eat
Image: Gary Larson
Larson imagines early humans trying to keep track of whether or not they can safely consume elephants, complete with primitive tally boards. Unfortunately for these folks, the enormous test subject standing behind them makes the whole experiment feel slightly less academic.
6
Long-Distance Problems
Image: Gary Larson
Tackling the horrific idea of poaching head-on, an elephant makes a long-distance call only to find out their leg’s been turned into a waste basket.
5
Ivory Keys
Image: Gary Larson
A party is going perfectly well until an elephant spots an ivory piano keyboard. Considering where ivory traditionally comes from, the mood change is immediate — and completely understandable.
4
An Elephant Never Forgets
Image: Gary Larson
Larson takes the old saying literally, imagining an elephant’s drinking to forget but discovering he simply can’t. It’s a perfectly miserable little joke built directly around one of the animal’s most famous traits.
3
Tiny Hands
Image: Gary Larson
Edgar tries to hide a strange ailment from the other elephants, but there’s one obvious giveaway: he’s suddenly grown a tiny human hand.
2
The Butler Did It
Image: Gary Larson
A detective confidentally annoucnes that the butler murdered the Colonel by gorin and trampling him. The elephant sitting quietly among the suspects makes the conclusion just a little suspicious.
1
Armed and Dangerous
Image: Gary Larson
Safari hunters are typically worried about an elephant’s size, tusks, and temper. Larson, somehow, makes the situation worse by giving one an itty-bitty knife as if that should be the primary worry.