Over 40 Years Ago, The Far Side Revealed the "Real Reason Dinosaurs Became Extinct" (Why the Joke Hits Even Harder Today)

Among the most fondly remembered comics Gary Larson ever produced during The Far Side's run in publication is his "Smoking Dinosaurs" panel, which reveals to readers "the real reason dinosaurs went extinct" was that they smoked cigarettes. It is perhaps one of Larson's most straightforward jokes – and that has at least something to do with its success.

The Far Side regularly flummoxed readers, but in a sense, it can be argued that Larson's tendency toward layered, esoteric humor had a way of making its simplest jokes stand out when they did appear.

"Smoking Dinosaurs" is one such example. If The Far Side was often "niche" in its comedy, the panel is a stark exception, delivering an unmistakable punchline. The cartoon is, in fact, elevated by its accessibility, just as, conversely, Larson's most absurd and obscure comics are elevated into the pantheon of "greatest Far Side entries" by how inscrutable they are.

Gary Larson's "Smoking Dinosaurs" Cartoon (Why Is It So Funny? Why Is It So Memorable?)

First Published: 1982

"Smoking Dinosaurs," like many of the best Far Side comics, starts from an amusing premise: dinosaurs were killed off by cigarettes, rather than an asteroid, or an Ice Age. The caption, "the real reason dinosaurs went extinct," adds a subtle note of conspiracy; if this is the "real" reason, what the reader knew previously is some kind of cover-up. What makes this a great Far Side cartoon, though, rather than just a good one, is the illustration itself – with the dinosaurs' body language reflecting that of youths smoking illicitly.

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"Cow Tools" is widely considered the hardest to decipher Far Side cartoon of all time; even decades after its release, it still confuses readers.

What makes it memorable, once more, comes back to its simplicity, at every level. By the time of the cartoon's publication in the early 1980s, the average reader would generally be aware of the dangers of smoking; likewise, the average reader was likely to have at least some kind of knowledge about dinosaurs, and what killed them – if not to the extent of a generation later, following the release of Michael Crichton's novel Jurassic Park, and the ensuing Spielberg film adaptation. In other words, the punchline of this Far Side dinosaur comic immediately connects with readers.

"Smoking Dinosaurs": The Perception Of This Fan-Favorite Far Side Comic, Then Vs. Now

The Changing Perception Of Gary Larson's Work

In 1982, readers might have been largely well aware of smoking's perils – but the cultural shift on the topic of cigarettes was still very much in the process of shifting toward the more safety-conscious attitudes of today. In other words, Gary Larson's "Smoking Dinosaurs" Far Side cartoon would have contributed to an ongoing discourse that was very much in the zeitgeist at the time. This made it more than just funny at the time; "Smoking Dinosaurs" was socially relevant, and its impact has only become more pronounced with time.

In a way, "Smoking Dinosaurs" equates the idea of smoking, despite the available data about how dangerous it is, with being a dinosaur. Although Gary Larson rarely, if ever, liked to admit that Far Side cartoons carried any kind of "message," this cartoon is certainly as close to a public service announcement that the artist ever produced. Even if it doesn't seek to influence its readers, beyond provoking an immediate reaction, "Smoking Dinosaurs" still suggests a strong anti-smoking stance, one which will speak even more plainly to successive generations of new Far Side fans.

In fact, it is worth wondering what smokers thought of the cartoon at the time. The Far Side was not without its share of controversy during its run, as fans will know, but over the years, an interesting phenomenon can be observed with the comic, and readers' reactions to it. Some Far Side cartoons that were deemed controversial in the 1980s and '90s will barely phase modern readers, but the flip side of that is a number of jokes that were innocuous at the time of their publication are likely to strike contemporary fans as insensitive, and occasionally, outright offensive.

How "Smoking Dinosaurs" Reflects Far Side Creator Gary Larson's Perspective

How Larson Left An Impression

With The Far Side, Gary Larson was never didactic, and even though his interests and opinions motivated many of his jokes, he didn't use the cartoon as a soapbox – at least, not in the way a comic like Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury did. Larson's worldview manifests on the page more overtly than say, Jim Davis' does in Garfield, or Charles Schulz's does in Peanuts, but the true extent to which he poured himself onto the page remains a topic that is open to debate, given the artist's somewhat reclusive nature.

The Far Side Complete Collection

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Fans of the far side can't pass up this master collection of Gary Larson's finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired. 

That is to say, Larson often started with his own opinion, but subverted it to achieve the final form of a particular Far Side joke. It is not out of the question, for example, that Larson himself was a smoker – at one time, or even when "Smoking Dinosaurs" was published – and that he was chiding himself, as much as the smokers among his readership. Without a doubt, however, the clear point that the panel makes, whatever its motivations, is what has made it unforgettable to so many readers.

Exploring The Counterfactuals Of The Far Side's Approach To Comedy

Audting Gary Larson's Career Legacy

Custom Image by Robert Wood (from Gary Larson)

Of course, when talking about Gary Larson and The Far Side, the discussion is always framed, to some extent, within the context of the artist and his art's legacy, decades after the end of the strip's time in publication The Far Side had a notable impact on popular culture – the extent of which is still being traced to this day – but as many "What-the?" questions as the cartoon prompted during its run, there are also a number of "What-if?" questions that can be asked about its success and popularity.

That is, it is worth at least contemplating whether The Far Side would have been more or less successful if more of its cartoons had been closer in style and content to "Smoking Dinosaurs." If Gary Larson had calibrated his comedy for a more general audience, it is possible the strip would have been even more highly acclaimed – though perhaps not longer-lived, as Gary Larson's exhaustion with public notoriety came on quick, and nagged at him until he finally retired.

Conversely, it is possible that without its reputation for being bizarre and incomprehensible, The Far Side would not have stood out from its peers on the funny pages. The virtue of The Far Side was that Gary Larson offered something wildly different from everything else in newspaper comics at the time, or before, or since. While he might have stumbled into a joke with mass appeal, like "Smoking Dinosaurs," on occasion, to lean too much into that brand of humor would have gone against his natural instincts, and perhaps kept The Far Side from achieving its true greatness.

The Far Side

The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.