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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Science Imitates (Comic Book) Art |
| 2007-06-24 |
| "Now this end is called the thagomizer, after the late Thag Simmons." thagomizer, n. The cluster of spikes at the end of a Stegosaurus’s tail. Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side, crossed over into anatomical nomenclature with a 1982 comic in which a caveman teaches a class this faux-scientific word. (Larson later joked, "Father, I have sinned—I have drawn dinosaurs and hominids together in the same cartoon.") But when fossil evidence suggested that the dinosaur used its stego-tail as a weapon, scientists co-opted the moniker. Ken Carpenter, a paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, was the first to use the term professionally, quipping, "And now, on to the thagomizer," when describing a specimen with broken tail spikes at a 1993 meeting. These days, the word appears in reference books and museum exhibits. It’s no surprise that scientists adopted Larson’s terminology, says Carpenter. "He has a completely warped mind, which we absolutely love." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #9 At Cal State, Sacramento both sides of the lobby in the science building feature a perpetual exhibit of Larson's cartoons (or it did the last time I was there). You can spend hours just in the lobby there alone. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-06-24 19:00 |
| #8 1988 Larson visited Gombe Streams National Park and was attacked by Frodo What'd he do, try to take his ring? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-24 17:44 |
| #7 Overheard somewhere I shouldn't have been: "I'm not warped, I'm PERVERTED - there's a difference!" |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-06-24 17:28 |
| #6 One of my favorite "Larson Lores" - from Wikipedia One of Larson's more famous cartoons shows two chimpanzees grooming. One finds a blonde human hair on the other and inquires, "Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?" The Jane Goodall Institute thought this was in bad taste, and had their lawyers draft a letter to Larson and his distribution syndicate, in which they described the cartoon as an "atrocity". They were stymied, however, by Goodall herself, who revealed that she found the cartoon amusing. Since then, all profits from sales of a shirt featuring this cartoon go to the Goodall Institute. Goodall wrote a preface to The Far Side Gallery 5, detailing her version of the "Jane Goodall Tramp" controversy. She also praised Larson's creative ideas, which often compare and contrast the behavior of humans and animals. In 1988 Larson visited Gombe Streams National Park and was attacked by Frodo, a chimp described by Goodall as a "bully". Larson escaped with cuts and bruises. |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2007-06-24 17:27 |
| #5 No relation. I'm only partly warped, myself. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2007-06-24 16:47 |
| #4 Larson's ability to combine scientifically valid nomenclature with utterly bent-axle humor has endeared him to uncountable technologists. The Far Side was, and remains, the finest single-panel cartoon strip in newspaper history. Bizzaro ocassionally rivals it for overall weirdness, but nobody can match Larson for such consistent lunacy. Legend has it that a pair of enterpreneurs had designed a computer desktop calendar using Far Side themes such as a meteor bursting through opened windows, dinosaurs and cows marching across the screen and other favorite icons of the strip. They approached Larson's agent in Seattle who promptly turned them down citing how Larson refuses to commercialize his work. This pair of stubborn fans immediately set to work and found out where Larson played pick-up basketball at a local park. They followed him home and got his residential address. Then these two trotted off to a scientific specimen supply house and an exotic floral importer. They assembled a bouquet that included carnivorous flowers, parasitic tropical plants and blossoms that reeked of rotting flesh. Upon this macabre tableau they pinned collector grade stick insects and other grotesque entomological specimens. This entire assemblage was left on Larson's doorstep with their calling card. They got a call the next morning and the contract was inked swiftly thereafter. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-06-24 15:38 |
| #3 ;-) thanks for the ....er...compliment |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-06-24 15:36 |
| #2 These days, the word appears in reference books and museum exhibits. ItÂ’s no surprise that scientists adopted LarsonÂ’s terminology, says Carpenter. "He has a completely warped mind, which we absolutely love." Thank God for the completely warped minds of the Gary Larsons', Shipmans' and the Franks' of this here world! ;-) |
| Posted by: RD 2007-06-24 15:12 |
| #1 Larson is a genius. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-06-24 15:12 |