One of the greatest reactions a Far Side comic can get out of readers is a double-take. Whether it is the product of confusion, or outrage, or incredulity, feeling compelled to give a Far Side cartoon further attention is the sign that Gary Larson got his hooks into the reader, and so how and why this occurred is worth studying in more detail.

The Far Side evokes a wide range of response, of course, and accordingly, there are different types of double-take cartoons, from that make them exclaim “My God!”, to the Far Side s that straight-up live in fans heads rent free for years on afterward.

Depending on the , readers may need to look away from a Far Side for a moment because it is hard to understand, or maybe because it is borderline disturbing, or simply because they need to gather themselves for a moment before facing the absurdity.

10 This Far Side Comedy Of Errors Will Capture Your Imagination

First Published: November 27, 1993

This Far Side cartoon isn't confusing or controversial, but for a single still image, it contains a lot of moving parts, and the result is a comic that invites readers to spend an extra beat looking at it. Captioned "for several hours, confusion reigned," the features a group of blind activists attempting to picket "Acme Industries", but accidentally surrounding the "Center for Illiteracy" building next door, leaving the people inside to wonder in dismay why anyone would protest their attempts to learn to read.

The signs of the picketers, with the "click" moment of the gag being the most pleasurable part.

What makes this Far Side comic so engaging is that moment of having to navigating its humor, of the reader having to put the joke together for themselves, their eyes first absorbing the caption, and then pinging between the Acme and Center for Illiteracy signs, and the signs of the picketers, with the "click" moment of the gag being the most pleasurable part.

9 This Far Side Comic Proves You Don't Want Gary Larson In Charge Of Community Outreach

First Published: January 28, 1991

Many people have at least that one friend, the one whose sense of humor relies heavily on getting a "wait, did they really just say that?" reaction. For fifteen years, Gary Larson was kind of this friend, or at least the funny pages equivalent for newspaper readers. That is, part of the fun of following The Far Side, which turned it into a national phenomenon as it was published was the inability to anticipate what Larson would come up with next, such as "innovative concepts in exposing city kids to nature."

The innovative concept in question here? A "scorpion petting zoo," with the illustration featuring one freshly-stung kid, looking at his hand with concern, while another reaches out toward a scorpion, with the encouragement and guidance of a chaperone. It is a gloriously "What the?" Far Side joke from premise to execution, one that will get a head-shaking kind of double-take.

8 This Far Side Comic Takes You On A Tour Of Canine Cuisine

First Published: June 4, 1990

Dogs acting like humans was a Far Side staple, and this is one in which Gary Larson fully immerses readers in a hypothetical canine society, depicting the dog version of the supermarket, specifically the "table scraps" aisle, which features selections such as "misc. bones," "gristle & fat," and "who knows?"

Sans a caption, this Far Side cartoon perhaps lacks a "strong" punchline, though the details of the dog grocery store are certainly amusing, and there is an added touch of humor in the wild-eyed look on the face of the baby dalmatian sitting in the cart as its parent wheels them into the aisle. A character's face could make or break a Far Side , and it is definitely one of the most stand-out aspects of this cartoon.

7 This Far Side Cartoon Will Remind You To Stay Grounded

First Published:First Published: October 22, 1987

Captioned "blimp near-misses," this Far Side comic features the iconic Goodyear blimp cutting off another dirigible in the sky above a city, prompting an angry exchange between the engers of both airships. Except this last detail, the people in both blimps, are tiny caricatures, hardly discernible on first glance, requiring readers to take a second, closer look at this Far Side cartoon if they want to have a fuller appreciation for what makes it funny.

Gary Larson was often great at capturing action in a static illustration, but given the volume of work he produced, along with many successful attempts came plenty of not-quite-successes, and even the occasional failure. This Far Side cartoon arguably fits into that middle range; the spatial requirements of the joke come across just enough to be understood, while the finer details don't immediately pop, but require some patience.

6 The Far Side Shows You What Canine Homeowners Are Sniffing Around For

First Published: May 5, 1986

In another a relatable Far Side cartoon, one that captures the spirit of the familiar experience of house-hunting through the skewed perspective of anthropomorphic animals.

The visual absurdity of the , in contrast with the straightforward tone of the caption, as the realtor opens up a door in the house to reveal a fully-grown tree for the residents' personal use; for dogs.

What makes this such a great cartoon, and one that will get an amused double-take out of many readers, is the visual absurdity of the , in contrast with the straightforward tone of the caption, as the realtor opens up a door in the house to reveal a fully-grown tree for the residents' personal use; for dogs, this is as appealing as a roomy shower and his-and-hers sinks, and the connection will crack Far Side fans up.

5 The Far Side Reminds You Not To Sip, Not Slug, At A Cocktail Party

First Published: April 17, 1985

"Some slugs have a few drinks and just go nuts!" is an objectively hilarious line, in almost any context, and it serves as the perfect punchline to this outrageously funny Far Side cocktail party cartoon, as someone observes, "crimony! Kevin's oozing his way up onto the table," while a googly-eyed, well-inebriated invertebrate does precisely that.

The "getting up on the table and dancing" trope will be recognizable to most Far Side readers, even in mollusk form, and so once more, this is an example of Gary Larson delivering a low-key jab at a trope of modern socialization, yet the surface-level absurdity of a slug getting out of control at a party is enough to get a laugh even if this deeper layer takes a second look for readers to .

4 You Know Nobody Did "Wrong Place/Wrong Time Humor" Like The Far Side

First Published: December 5, 1984

In another captionless Far Side cartoon, Gary Larson depicts the ill-timed convergence of man and beast, as two sets of footprints, one set bear, the other human, trailing off into the distance converge at the end of a long tree line, coming together in a splatter mark, where the human tracks end, while the bear's resume, making it evident that the bear mauled the human and carried them off.

It is a simple joke, but if Larson had a knack for anything, it was at times obscuring even the most straightforward joke, making it so that it required an extra moment of attention from readers. Once the reader puts two-and-two together here, though, it becomes yet another very memorable Far Side cartoon that will leave them grinning.

3 Your Childhood Will Never Be The Same After This Far Side Hunting Joke

First Published: October 16, 1984

The Far Side served up its share of macabre renderings of fairy tales and nursery rhymes, with this being an all-time great example. Gary Larson doesn't name-check the Seven Dwarves here, instead leaving that for the reader to put together as a park ranger cites a hunter for shooting one too many of the woodland creatures, explaining that "the limit on those things is half a dozen" and adding, "looks like you're one over," as he writes the man a ticket.

It's not a difficult joke to get, and for most readers they will understand the reference almost immediately, but there is that flash, that split-second of having to connect the dots, no matter how obvious, which to Larson's credit, makes this one of The Far Side's more well-crafted punchlines.

2 You Know This Far Side Married Couple Had A Conversation About "The Lamp" Before Company Came Over

First Published: October 8, 1982

"For heaven's sake, Andrew," a woman says to her spouse as he embarrasses her in front of company, by pulling out a lamp in the shape of a human head and going for the outlet, with his wife imploring him, "you're not going to plug that horrible thing in, are you?" The punchline is funny for the way it effectively captures a familiar dynamic between married couples, a familiar Far Side subject, but what makes this a certified Far Side double-take comic is the imagery of the human head lamp.

This is because of a deliberate creative choice Gary Larson makes here; the four actual people are all depicted wearing glasses, their eyes obscured, but the lamp is depicted with a goofy expression on its face, eyes wide and slightly crossed, a carefree grin on its face. It is this detail decision that takes this from a good to a great Far Side .

1 "You Go Tell Billy's Mother": This Comic Contains One Of The Far Side's Funniest Lines Of Dialogue

First Published: August 27, 1982​​​​​​​

In this early Far Side "My God!" comic, two boys stand on the bank of a river and try not to panic, after a shark has just jumped up and devoured their friend as he was swinging over the water on a tire swing. Hilariously, the kids' plan to deal with the situation is two-fold: "You go tell Billy's mother," one of the boys tells the other, "and I'll start looking for another old tire."

The aftermath of a shark attack on a child is what makes this Far Side cartoon double-take worthy, and while the outrageous quality of this premise will get a dark chuckle in its own right. That said, what makes this cartoon truly genius is the idea that one of the kids will have to tell his friend's mother about her child's tragic death, while the other will focus on replacing their lost swing. It is a hilarious Far Side punchline, one that might be slightly too subtle, but for those that get it will hold up as an iconic cartoon.