History Trivia / TheFarSide

** One particular case that he offers up involved a penguin among his hundreds of identical brethren singing "I Gotta Be Me," that the syndicate inkers decided to color yellow (since the image was just penguins and ice, and thus didn't exactly require a lot of color), which still worked as a minor heartwarmer (i.e. "He's singing because he's ''unique!''"), but also utterly ruined Larson's joke (i.e. "He's singing because he's ''not'' unique.").

*** The name itself was a result of this; When his strip ''Nature's Way'' got accepted for syndication, they asked him if it could get changed to ''The Far Side'' as they felt it would be more appealing. Larson felt this was a much more positive change, saying "They could have called it ''Revenge of the Zucchini People'' for all I cared".

** On the other hand, a Danish translation of a strip that had a whale singing "Louie Louie" changed the song to "I'm Singing In The Rain." Larson didn't mind this one as much, theorizing that "Louie Louie" was only a hit in the U.S. and didn't register in Denmark. He also admits that having the whale sing "I'm Singing In The Rain" is ActuallyPrettyFunny.
** The name itself was a result of this; When his strip ''Nature's Way'' got accepted for syndication, they asked him if it could get changed to ''The Far Side'' as they felt it would be more appealing. Larson felt this was a much more positive change, saying "They could have called it ''Revenge of the Zucchini People'' for all I cared".

** [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools However]], in the same book, he expresses his displeasure whenever strips were altered without telling him first. One particular case that he offers up involved a penguin among his hundreds of identical brethren singing "I Gotta Be Me," that the syndicate inkers decided to color yellow (since the image was just penguins and ice, and thus didn't exactly require a lot of color), which still worked as a minor heartwarmer (i.e. "He's singing because he's ''unique!''"), but also utterly ruined Larson's joke (i.e. "He's singing because he's ''not'' unique.").

* ApprovalOfGod: Anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall was a longtime reader of the strip, and she in particular enjoyed one fairly controversial comic that poked fun at her famously close relationship with chimpanzees. She was horrified to find that the executive director of her wildlife institute had unilaterally threatened Larson with legal action for the perceived harm done to its and Goodall's reputation by the cartoon, without her knowledge, and went to some lengths to make amends.
** It was arranged to use Larson's cartoon on a t-shirt that profits the institute, while Goodall went on to write a four-page foreword to the anthology ''The Far Side Gallery 5'', which strongly hints that the "''then'' executive director" had not lasted much longer in her post... Larson in turn visited Goodall at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania -- where he was set upon by a rambunctious adolescent "bully" of a chimp ([[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings named Frodo]]), meaning that, karmically, he had been more or less HoistByHisOwnPetard.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Averted. According to ''A Prehistory of The Far Side'' the only cartoon that comes directly from Gary Larson's personal experiences is the one where a guy knocks himself unconscious by installing an extending bar in his doorway and doing a pull-up.
** He admits, though, that some other cartoons of his took indirect inspiration from personal experiences. For example, one depicting a recently shorn sheep going on its first date was based on an embarrassing experience in Larson's youth where his dad cut his hair short right before his first date at a time when [[SeventiesHair longer hair was cool]].

!! This comic is the TropeNamer for:
* CowTools
* FarSideIsland
* FlockOfWolves

!! Other Trivia:

** He admits, though, that some other cartoons of his took indirect inspiration from personal experiences. For example, one depicting a recently sheered sheep going on its first date was based on an embarrassing experience in his youth where his dad cut his hair short right before his first date, at a time when [[SeventiesHair longer hair was cool]].

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Averted. According to ''A Prehistory of The Far Side'' the only cartoon that comes from Gary Larson's personal experiences is the one where a guy knocks himself unconscious by installing an extending bar in his doorway and doing a pull-up.

* ApprovalOfGod: Jane Goodall was a longtime reader of the strip, and she in particular enjoyed one fairly controversial comic that poked fun at her.

!! Provides the [[QuoteSource Page Quote]] for:

* FalloutShelterFail
* FeatherFingers
* IAteWhat

** The name itself was a result of this; When his strip ''Nature's Way'' got accepted for syndication, they asked him if it could get changed to ''The Far Side'' as they felt it would be more appealing. Larson felt this was a much more positive change.

* MustHaveCaffeine: In ''The Prehistory of the Far Side'', Larson says that one of the key ingredients in coming up with cartoon ideas is caffeine: "I get a couple cups of coffee in me and things start happening."