15 Absolutely Ridiculous Far Side Strips About Goldfish

One of the most iconic recurring elements in The Far Side were its goldfish, which frequently appeared throughout the strip’s run. Given the opportunity, Gary Larson tended to prefer depicting animals over humans – though this was almost always done deliberately as a way of undermining human behavior, in a way that straightforward depictions of them couldn’t quite achieve.

Gary Larson’s goldfish frequently engaged in some of The Far Side’s most absurd scenarios. Despite the limited range of their mobility, Far Side’s fish were among its most enduring characters, in large part because their actions were often such a radical departure from what a pet confined to a small spherical bowl can do. By making a close study of the way Larson used different animals, and different repeated scenarios, in his work, readers can develop a much deeper understanding of why The Far Side continues to get a rise out of audiences to this day.

15
Fish Aren’t The Only Ones Who Look Good Mounted On A Wall

First Published: September 6, 1980

This strip perfectly encapsulates the simplicity of some of Gary Larson’s best Far Side panels. Here, a goldfish floats in the middle of its bowl, smiling pleasantly – as the mounted paw of a cat looms over it, suggesting that this fish’s good-natured look on the surface belies a much deeper darkness. Evidently, a cat’s attempt to get at the fish was brutally thwarted, and the fish kept the cat’s arm, claws extended and all, as a trophy. As simple as the image may be, it contains the grim intensity characteristic of so many Far Side jokes.

14
The Exact Opposite Of Burial At Sea

First Published: September 22, 1980

“I guess he made it,” one fish says to another, regarding their third cohort, who evidently tried to make a break for it. Unfortunately, the fish in the bowl have an obscured view, and don’t realize that the carcass of the other fish lies on the floor at the base of their table. This panel also raises the unintentionally grim question of what kind of pet owners would let a fish rot on the floor for over a week, after it jumped out of its bowl to its death.

13
Life And Death Are No Laughing Matter – Except In The Far Side

First Published: August 6, 1981

In this panel, a goldfish mother berates her son for the thoughtless practical joke of playing dead. “That’s not funny, Malcolm! There will be no more floating belly-up on the surface,” the mom says, as her son looks at her penitently. Throughout The Far Side, Gary Larson’s animals always stood out for their emotive facial expressions, particularly their eyes. The mother goldfish’s eyes are comedically obscured by glasses here, but her son looks truly remorseful – or at least upset that he is being reprimanded for what he thought was a hilarious joke.

12
Just Tell Him What He Wants To Hear

First Published: August 31, 1981

Interactions between animals and humans in The Far Side were often adversarial, with deadly implications for one or the other party. This is one of the darkest examples of that dynamic – but also without a doubt one of the funniest. “So! You still won’t talk, eh?” a kid says to his goldfish, sticking a straw into the nearly-empty fishbowl. Evidently, the kid has sucked out most of the water already, in his attempt to interrogate his pet. Of course, the humor here comes from the absurdity of trying to make a fish talk, but it is driven home by the look of pure alarm on the goldfish’s face.

11
Gary Larson’s Goldfish Have A Surprising Amount Of Agency

First Published: February 28, 1983

“It worked! It worked!” the goldfish in this Far Side panel cry out in satisfaction – as they have successfully sprung a booby trap on their owner, catching her in a rope-trap and suspending her upside down by one foot as she comes home from the grocery store. How the fish engineered this feat, why they wanted to ensnare their owner, and what they intend to do with her now that she’s at their mercy, are all questions Gary Larson leaves to the reader, who certainly can’t help but ask them repeatedly, albeit without hope of a satisfactory explanation.

10
For Goldfish, Weight Distribution Is Key To A Balanced Lifestyle

First Published: March 29, 1983

This Far Side panel depicts the potential hazards of having too many goldfish in one small bowl – as when all of them crowd on one side of their habitat, the bowl starts to tip, potentially spelling disaster for all of them. “Trim the bowl you idiots!” one of the fish cries out in vain, suggesting that they evenly distribute their weight before being toppled out onto the floor. Writer/artist Gary Larson often extracted great humor from asking seemingly mundane questions that no one else saw fit to ask, including pondering what might cause a fish bowl to be upended.

9
Ahab And His Target Go All The Way Back

First Published: May 14, 1983

In one of The Far Side’s more silly references to classic literature, a grandmother takes her grandson “Ahab” to the pet store in order to pick out a fish. Hilariously, all the fish in the panel are painted jet black, except for one white one, which Ahab’s eyes lock excitedly on as his grandma asks: “Which one is it going to be?” The allusion to Moby Dick is amusing – but it is the zealous look on the child’s face, and the hesitant gaze of the white fish in the tank, that make this a truly amazing Far Side entry.

8
Fish Potty Training Seems Particularly Complicated

First Published: November 19, 1984

As with many of the most enduring Far Side strips, this one takes an everyday human issue and filters it through the common household goldfish. Larson’s genius is at work here, as a goldfish father admonishes his son for soiling their bowl’s water, insisting next time, he “use the glass.” Next to their bowl is a glass, apparently their bathroom – in what is, of course, one of the strip’s most amusing bouts of illogic. How the fish get out of the bowl, use the nearby glass to relieve themselves, and get back in the bowl is not explained; in fact, the joke relies on it not being explored further.

7
Is This Experiment Following All Ethical Guidelines

First Published: February 12, 1985

In one of the whackiest Far Side goldfish strips by a long stretch, a fish is subjected to a clinical experiment to determine whether it has feelings. This amounts to putting a microphone in the fish’s bowl, and having a human insult it. “You little bug-eyed greasy sardine, let me tell you something about your sister,” one of the scientist shouts, testing the mic, intent on getting a rise out of the fish. Though there is a lot going on in this panel, once again, one of the funniest elements is the pure look of indifference on the small fish’s face, in response to these insults.

6
Gary Lason Makes It Clear: Don’t Force Guests To Eat At Dinner Parties

First Published: February 18, 1985

Several Far Side goldfish panels use the idea of a dead goldfish floating at the top of the bowl to great comedic effect, but none moreso than this installment. Here, two fish float, evidently having eaten themselves to death at a dinner party, as the owners of the bowl look up at their guests. “Well, the Parkers are dead,” one fish says in a matter-of-fact, grimly noting that, “You had to encourage them to take thirds, didn’t you?” Hilariously, Gary Larson depicts goldfish dinner parties as even more precarious than their human counterparts.

5
The Far Side’s Most Electrifying Goldfish Joke

First Published: February 23, 1985

The Far Side often depicted goldfish in the familiar setting of a fish bowl, while bringing something out of their element into the mix. This panel is one of the most brilliant illustrations of that – as a goldfish goes to plug a speaker into an electrical outlet that has someone inexplicably been built into the wall of their tank. “Bob! You fool!” one fish exclaims at the other. “Don’t plug that thing in!” The hilarity here comes from the tension between the fish’s understanding that an electric current through water will doom them, and the fact that the fishbowl has an outlet in the first place.

4
Maybe They Should Have Tried Playing Badminton

First Published: May 9, 1985

In one of the most infamous Far Side goldfish panels, a pair of fish realize they might’ve doomed themselves with an ill-advised game of baseball in their tank. The absurdity of how they got a tiny bat, ball, and gloves in the first place only serves as the basis for the true humor of the strip, which comes from the looks of alarm on the fish’s faces, as the water rapidly pours from the hole they have smashed in the wall of the bowl. Having potentially doomed themselves, the fish in this strip are a reminder to readers to think through their actions thoroughly.

3
One Of Gary Larson’s Silliest Goldfish Gags

First Published: February 13, 1986

Gary Larson delivers another “slice-of-life” panel here, goldfish-style, as a mama goldfish puts her two children to bed, with one of them outing the other for having “dried his bed again.” The humor in this strip, of course, comes from Larson playing with reversal of the familiar. Human children, who exist on dry land, wet their beds – the key to unlocking the joke of this Far Side goldfish panel is as simple as flipping the two. It invites readers to think about what it might mean to “dry” a bed in a fishbowl, though by design there is certainly no rational answer.

2
Patience Is Key When Training Pets

First Published: April 10, 1986

Some Far Side strips are unmistakably funny – others require a bit of scrutiny, as is the case with this strip. Here, a man holds his pet goldfish on his finger, hollering with excitement to his wife in the kitchen that “he’s doing it! He’s doing it!” Obviously intended to be reminiscent of a bird owner training their avian pet, the humor from this Far Side installment comes on belatedly, as the reader takes a second or two to connect the dots in their mind, before realizing exactly why the scene offered by Gary Larson is amusing.

1
This Is Among The Far Side’s Most Cruel And Unusual Punishment

First Published: April 18, 1986

By far, this is among the most gruesome Far Side panels – not through any depiction of violence, or gore, but because of the uncomfortable prospect at the heart of a joke. The inhabitants of an overcrowded fish bowl lament that their owner is slow to remove the dead body of one of their number, floating on the surface. “Dang, that gives me the creeps…” one fish says, adding that, “I wish she’d hurry up and scoop that guy out.” Their owner’s callous lack of urgency is driven home by her depiction casually reading a newspaper in the background, perhaps making her one of Far Side’s cruelest pet owners.