The Awful Story Of Cow Tools

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  • Опубліковано 3 сер 2021
  • Cow tools is one of the most infamous cartoons of all time, with its bewildering appearance hanging over the reputation of “The Far Side” for years.
    Professor Jelly in this video talks about the cartoon and it’s impact on society and creator Gary Larson.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 117

  • @GeoffreyToday
    @GeoffreyToday 2 роки тому +240

    It's a pretty simple comic. They're cow tools. Tools designed by cows for cows to use. A cow looks at those tools and understands them. We are not cows, which is why we look at those tools and don't understand them. Just as a cow would not understand a table full of human tools.

  • @dirtyredcommie
    @dirtyredcommie 3 роки тому +118

    Don't talk shit about cow tools - it's a work of art

    • @dustria
      @dustria 10 місяців тому +1

      The more misunderstood it is, the more of a work of art it is. There are lots of people that literally believe that.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +2

      ​@@dustriathat's not how that works at all
      The only feelings it transmits is a sense of superiority to people who think they get it

    • @hawawah8671
      @hawawah8671 3 місяці тому

      If he never said what it was supposed to mean people would discuss it in college art classes.

  • @themostfabulousthing5269
    @themostfabulousthing5269 2 роки тому +218

    "Awful comic" My friend you are starting at a work of art above all else, curve your tounge!

    • @Lem_On_Lime
      @Lem_On_Lime 2 роки тому +8

      The idiom is "Curb your tongue", btw, as in 'keep it within it's boundaries.'
      Also, I agree, calling this art "awful" is a rough start.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +1

      ​@@Lem_On_LimeI genuinely cannot tell, why would it be funny?

    • @SugerFreeJazz
      @SugerFreeJazz 5 місяців тому

      ​@diamondmemer9754 cows can't build tools. Its just an absurd idea to think a cow built a bunch of crappy tools. That's all, that's why it's funny. The beauty is in the simplicity.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 5 місяців тому +1

      @@SugerFreeJazz this is the type of joke an AI would make, it literally lacks the spark that makes it human
      If you laugh at this, you would laugh at a robot generating random words
      Just think about that

    • @SugerFreeJazz
      @SugerFreeJazz 5 місяців тому

      @@diamondmemer9754 your still not getting it. It's in the vain of jokes like the aristocrats. Its "anti-humour" and like all good forms of humour It subverts expectations, it does it here by being nothing more then it is.

  • @matthewmoran7033
    @matthewmoran7033 2 роки тому +45

    "This isn't even a cow, it has horns!" As if cows don't have horns...

    • @danebradbury5940
      @danebradbury5940 9 місяців тому +1

      Bulls

    • @orfeo793
      @orfeo793 7 місяців тому +9

      @@danebradbury5940 female cows too, they are just removed most the time in the US

    • @NebulaRanger
      @NebulaRanger 16 днів тому

      ​​@@orfeo793"female cow" is reduntant, all cows are female (cattle is the term for the entire species)

  • @JakobSins
    @JakobSins 2 роки тому +39

    simple answer to this video: the cow made tools

  • @hamurabi1066
    @hamurabi1066 3 роки тому +36

    cows have horns. many US farmers clip them, but cows do in fact grow horns.

  • @LoganSmith1
    @LoganSmith1 2 роки тому +113

    The fact that you don't get the joke makes it even funnier

    • @waydehollis3606
      @waydehollis3606 2 роки тому +12

      Norm MacDonald is smiling

    • @sandy4747
      @sandy4747 Рік тому +4

      Exactly. If there had ever been anyone on this planet who understood this panel, it would have been Norm.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +5

      That is the opposite of how jokes work, that's called a false sense of superiority

    • @awkwardukulele6077
      @awkwardukulele6077 5 місяців тому

      Jesus, you don't stop at not getting _the_ joke, you don't even understand *jokes.* As a whole.
      It's not a false sense of superiority if everyone else actually _is_ better than you, bud. @@diamondmemer9754

  • @nullname0
    @nullname0 2 роки тому +94

    Cow tools was ahead of it's time in humor.

    • @breakbreakbreakbreakbreak
      @breakbreakbreakbreakbreak 10 місяців тому +2

      yeah i can't tell if jelly really just doesn't appreciate the cleverness of it, or is just trying to do the same thing with this pointless video. well it did come up with looking up cow tools, so... success?

    • @Johnmrobinson-vb5vd
      @Johnmrobinson-vb5vd 8 місяців тому

      It was the precursor to shit posts

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +3

      ​@@breakbreakbreakbreakbreakhow exactly is it clever?
      It's like one of those shitposts you see hundreds of on any site who are only occasionally funny just because they make fun of how ridicolous shitposts are

    • @maxdavis7722
      @maxdavis7722 7 місяців тому +1

      @@breakbreakbreakbreakbreakit’s clever?

  • @misterpootisbird5027
    @misterpootisbird5027 2 роки тому +16

    The joke is that cows aren’t very good at making tools

  • @matbillings2533
    @matbillings2533 2 роки тому +33

    Cows have hooves. Have you ever tried to make a tool with hooves?! If I was a personified cow with hooves my tools would probably also look like they were made out of mashed play-dough lol!

  • @elmerfudd5738
    @elmerfudd5738 2 роки тому +19

    "Cow Tools" was pure bovine genius

  • @alanguile8945
    @alanguile8945 2 роки тому +21

    One of his funniest cartoons and its reassuring you don't have a clue!

  • @villageidiot181
    @villageidiot181 2 роки тому +20

    It’s not a bad cartoon 💀

  • @leecowell8165
    @leecowell8165 Рік тому +10

    Larson was way before your time and pretty sick. beyond sick at times. Two polar bears are looking through the top of an igloo. One says to the other "I love these things crunchy on the outside with a chewy center". Buncha cowboys are sitting around a campfire but one of them has his legs crossed... "Don't do that, Larry". Boneless chicken ranch.. the pane has a buncha chickens drawn around a barn flopped all over the place.. on the road, on the gate, on the roof... no bones. He drew many panes that drew quizzical looks and comments. The guy just thought completely outside-the-box.

    • @janebrown1706
      @janebrown1706 11 місяців тому +1

      Or the ducks(?) commenting that blah blahs house is on fire cos the crocs' mouth is burning.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +1

      I can probably make a funnier joke without even trying

    • @ohno3736
      @ohno3736 6 місяців тому +2

      The first one isn't even hard to get though? Seems to me like you guys are hyping him up for no real reason

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 6 місяців тому +2

      @@ohno3736 yeah people without an ounce on creativity being surprised by the most basic jokes in existence, I don't think they'd be able to handle a cartoon

  • @woodrowmeeks5009
    @woodrowmeeks5009 2 роки тому +6

    Cows do have horns as well as bulls.

  • @seneca983
    @seneca983 2 місяці тому +2

    1:27 Horns don't mean it's not a cow. Cows too have the ability to grow horns. It's just that the horns are often removed because they're an unnecessary hazard.

  • @kriscollinstunes
    @kriscollinstunes Рік тому +3

    1:29 cows can have horns

  • @kensvideos1
    @kensvideos1 2 роки тому +6

    You may not understand cow tools but the cow does, how do you think she built that barn?

  • @metaronin
    @metaronin 2 роки тому +11

    dont diss the mutton hammer

    • @headsupdisplay2189
      @headsupdisplay2189 2 роки тому +2

      The "mutton hammer"? Yes, well done....almost as good as the "Thagamizer"...

    • @metaronin
      @metaronin 2 роки тому +2

      @@headsupdisplay2189 named after the late Thag Simmons

  • @felinusfeline5559
    @felinusfeline5559 29 днів тому +1

    There's a book called "The pre history of the far side: A 10th aniversary exhibit" by Larson that's a sort-of behind the scenes look at his early life, his work on the comic and so on.
    It includes a section on the comics he most regrets making and there is an entire page on Cow Tools.
    There's also a section showing comics that got the most complaints. And it ends with a message that goes something like "And now, my honest response to those who took the time to mail in their complaints" and underneath is a drawing he did of a man pulling a stupid face at the reader.
    Well worth a read.

  • @saravis56
    @saravis56 2 роки тому +5

    Cows have horns.

  • @Merennulli
    @Merennulli 2 роки тому +14

    So was the thumbnail intentionally to try to invoke the same sort of effect?
    I was reading Larson's explanation for his new comics (basically, he tried out digital drawing and got inspired) and googled "Cow Tools" based on him mentioning it because I had forgotten this comic. One of the top Google images was your thumbnail that strangely repeated it like a conveyor belt of more tools and that's what got my attention to read Google's description of it - which is where I saw your video's title and decided to watch.
    Basically, by being weird with the thumbnail in a way I couldn't understand, you got my attention enough that I looked in and watched the video in much the same way you describe Larson's rise the year following Cow Tools. Obviously, being a search result for a 39 year old comic is probably not as effective as being in 70 newspapers already making it into people's homes, but whether intentional or not I thought it was neat this followed a similar pattern.
    I wasn't able to read yet when this comic came out, but I am old enough that it was in my lifetime, and it still seems strange to me that so many people wrote to the newspaper for an explanation of an absurd comic. I guess it's like how today his publisher would be inundated with emails and tweets, but more expensive.

  • @JPiXeL
    @JPiXeL Рік тому +2

    this comic panel belongs in a museum for how inhumanely perplexing it is

  • @schmietwechdeschiet4340
    @schmietwechdeschiet4340 Рік тому +2

    not sure what's worst, people pretending to understand this or darksouls people pretending to know the lore

  • @KicksPregnantWomen
    @KicksPregnantWomen 2 роки тому +7

    cow tools

  • @joshuaevans4301
    @joshuaevans4301 Рік тому +2

    Part of the joy of "Cow Tools" is the people who just don't get it. It's the original shitpost

  • @1badjesus
    @1badjesus Рік тому +1

    FUN FACT: cows have developed ability to use crescent wrenches.

  • @ShaneMorris
    @ShaneMorris 2 роки тому +5

    You don't like Dali either do you?

  • @steve-ph9yg
    @steve-ph9yg 2 роки тому +4

    Aww the kid didn’t get it what a surprise.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +2

      You also don't get it, there's nothing to get

    • @sneggron
      @sneggron 5 місяців тому +2

      ^guy who didn't get it

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 5 місяців тому +1

      @@sneggron explain it then

    • @sneggron
      @sneggron 5 місяців тому +1

      one cannot simply explain art that is transcendental in nature. It must be felt to be understood.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 5 місяців тому +1

      @@sneggron what does this even make you feel? It's not even interesting enough to enjoy it ironically

  • @rendavis25
    @rendavis25 10 місяців тому +1

    Cows can and often do have horns. Not just bulls.

  • @fatwod
    @fatwod 4 місяці тому

    Explain this one...."On a clear day, Eugene rose and looked around him and, regrettably, saw who he was?" Anyone? Totally Stumped!

  • @BigPeterG
    @BigPeterG 3 місяці тому

    "Selling over fourty-five -_- 0_0 MEWLION"

  • @PixelSlayer247
    @PixelSlayer247 7 місяців тому +1

    I got the comic first try as a little kid, does that make me smart or dumb?

  • @Very_Silly_Individual
    @Very_Silly_Individual Рік тому +4

    He was just ahead of his time. None of us could've understood at the time

  • @woodrowmeeks5009
    @woodrowmeeks5009 2 роки тому +1

    Saw, rake, hammer and sander...me thinks.

  • @NebulaRanger
    @NebulaRanger 16 днів тому

    Not to be that guy but I will in a second: Cows can and do often have horns. Horns on cattle aren't determined by gender but by whether or not the farmer decides to remove them. There are also some breeds that don't grow horns at all.

  • @janebrown1706
    @janebrown1706 11 місяців тому

    Oh I love it! Is this the one where public servants wrote in and said their mental health depended on a Daily fix of the cartoon and could he please explain it. When I was broke I cut them out if the paper and put them in a scrap book. That was 1992 and I've still got it. Best one is the Neanderthals and a Phillips rock!

  • @breakfastline
    @breakfastline 2 роки тому +3

    Cattle has horns lmfao?

    • @wytsewolf
      @wytsewolf 2 роки тому +7

      yep they do, if they're not sawn off

    • @jenni4claire
      @jenni4claire 2 роки тому

      Euro cows 🐄

  • @hughgordon6435
    @hughgordon6435 Рік тому

    Its the look of study on the cows face? Almost as if he's actually trying to work out which tool to use

  • @stillWaters137
    @stillWaters137 9 місяців тому +1

    No opposable thumbs or critical thought. Damnable shame. But how did they make the tools, let alone use them? Cows are cute & delicious & curious...that's it. Check out videos of their response to music. It's adorable. Eat a steak. Pet one. The end.

  • @eatatjoes6751
    @eatatjoes6751 Рік тому

    It's simple, but God I hate its reputation - the cow can't use the tools.

  • @lordofnut3272
    @lordofnut3272 2 роки тому +3

    But it looks funny

  • @zammcut
    @zammcut 2 роки тому +4

    Great video man , very well put together

  • @dirtyredcommie
    @dirtyredcommie 3 роки тому

    Thank you

  • @ricardokowalski1579
    @ricardokowalski1579 Рік тому

    "even the hollowest nut wants to be cracked"

  • @tomellis4750
    @tomellis4750 5 місяців тому

    Professor? Of what?

  • @GoodWoIf
    @GoodWoIf 2 місяці тому

    Good video.

  • @milestrius9666
    @milestrius9666 Рік тому

    i have many thoughts i might share later about this “debacle” shame on you

  • @diamondmemer9754
    @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +2

    This is the boomer version of Pickle Rick

  • @zikuronsan6362
    @zikuronsan6362 2 роки тому

    ?????

  • @valcaron
    @valcaron 11 місяців тому

    Far Side is too sophisticated for zoomers.

    • @diamondmemer9754
      @diamondmemer9754 7 місяців тому +2

      Yes, that "joke" is incredibly sophisticated

  • @crazyburkey3677
    @crazyburkey3677 14 годин тому

    Eh🐰🤔🤣They're for cows, we can't understand 😂

  • @Altusfonz
    @Altusfonz 2 роки тому

    Great video bro

  • @Blitzuro
    @Blitzuro 2 роки тому

    How’s this a meme

  • @tvdv3416
    @tvdv3416 2 роки тому +2

    Cows have horns.