Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for January 11, 2022

Calvin’s parents must have been Jimmy Carter supporters.

(I consider this a historical comment, not a political one.)

When I was a kid, I noticed his arms looked fatter than usual in the last panel, and assumed the cold had somehow caused his arms to swell as well.

“Heat costs money! There’s two ways to get on me bad side boys: I don’t like kids playing in me yard, and nobody but me touches me thermostat!

Why not snuggle up with Hobbes? He’s as fountian of warmth.

Women usually have the thermostat cranked way too high

THAT got mom boiling hot!

I always have the heat blasting high enough for me to comfortably lounge around the house in jeans and a t-shirt. I can’t help it.

When I was the parents’ age, we used sweaters inside in the winter, and were fine with that. Nowadays, we run a portable heater in the bathroom before showering. In the summer.

This is the same Calvin that likes to play in the snow?

Calvin, do you know the Fox kids? They have the same problem with their Mom.

A nice, icy cold sweater.

Just remember the hat and scarf…..

Do they have a fireplace? They could build a nice, cheery fire to keep warm—and burn their bills!!

Here in Texas we have the opposite problem; thermostats set way too low in the summer. Have been having June meetings where people went to get their jackets because the conference room was about 69F.

This strip hit home real hard when I read it as a kid. :)

Go outside for a while, then come back in. It will feel plenty warm.

Could his pants get any shorter?

I might be part polar bear. I do OK in the cold. I would run around the house in shorts and a T-shirt even in winter.

I remember saying as a kid, “OK, mom, I put on a sweater. Do you feel warmer now?”

ironic this cartoon appears on one of the coldest days the nation has seen in years

That was my father – if one sweater wasn’t enough he’d say put on another one.

When the Mama Bear roars the baby bear doesn’t know whether to move close for comfort or run away in fear. Running away is usually the best option. Friendly fire hurts just a much as enemy fire.

I have a heat pump – $253 for electricity last month. My SS is $1600 and Medicare went up 14.5% to cover an Alzheimer drug that doesn’t do anything except transfer money from the Feds to a drug company back to the Congress critters.

Reminds me of my youth. Dad said do NOT touch the thermostat (under penalty of death). One of my siblings turned it up to 90 to get the house warm but forgot to turn it back to 60 or 55. Dad had a fit. Finally, Mom said I think I might have turned it up and forgot to set it back. Still don’t know to this day 60 yrs ago.

Today’s reprint reminds me of a later strip in which Calvin asked Dad why they didn’t turn up the thermostat. Dad gave an answer about preserving the polar ice cap which Calvin could understand and agree with. Dad then added “Besides, being cold builds character,” and Calvin shouted “I knew it!”

6/10

Let me try this

I lived with some guys, one of whom refused to turn on the heat well into Nov (we were in MA). When the temp dropped to the 50’s (approx 10-12 C) in our living room, I decided it was time to turn on the heat.

Today’s strip reminds me of Foxfire on how cold it is in the house.

his father is a lawyer. Turn it up to at least 69

Mom: Now why didn’t I think of that…

Next scene: Calvin in his room warming his hands over a campfire fueled by chairs and old comic books

That’s what Calvin gets for always wearing short-sleeved T-shirts in the winter…

We keep the house at 19C (66F) and currently it’s -30C (-22F) outside so the furnace is working well.

If they can’t afford heat, how can they afford a child (to use a nice term for you-know-who)?

Dad always “If your cold put some clothes on!” or mom would assign chores that she made sure we did…like haying the cows, digging the garden to get it ready to plant, or cleaning the house. Any chore that made you sweat she came up with. We did learn to just dress in layers during the Texas winters.

Andy Fox and Calvin’s mom would get along great.

she’s cheaper than mr.K

dog are cool

also in a lio comic lio found a stuffed tiger, a skeleton of a small child, and a broken sled

We getting a cross over with Fox Trot?

or big nate where big nate tries to teach him

My Russian wife cranks the thermostat down to -20

@Wizard of Ahz-no relation In NYC to day was predicted to have a high of 19. Today the prediction has improved to a high of 21. Hurray!

As my landlord is mingy with the heat I’m in the LibraryWhere I only have to wear one jacket.

That’s cold of Mom, but icy why she did it.

I knew when I made Mom get up from the couch I was in trouble!

Heat does indeed cost money but I definitely budget that extra money for cold snaps cuz being cold sucks rocks.

The mom is not being cheap. Calvin wants the heat turned up to 75 so it is probably already over 70. If you are not warm enough at 70 degrees put on more clothes, don’t waste energy.

As a kid, I couldn’t tell whether Calvin’s last bit of dialog was perfectly honest or an excuse to give in to Mom’s demand.

There is heavy frigidity in that house. It affected the mom’s brain so much she cannot remember her own name!

Calvin has a future as a spin doctor. He made wearing a sweater into his idea.

Hobbes might strongly disagree with turning up the heat.

What’s wrong with wearing a sweater (or jumper as called in Commonwealth English) indoors? They make you itchy?

I consider room temperature to be 65 degrees. Ironically, I happen to have just put on a sweater before I sat down. (Okay, okay, I admit I cranked up the heat to 67, too, but only because of the cold snap.)

Now we know Calvin’s parents are Jews.

When I was in the US in the 90s we had to have both sweaters and tshirts in summer and winter. Sweaters indoors at the malls in summer and tshirts in winter, vicaversa for outdoors. It always struck me as insane.

Cheapskate parents

Uhm did he just turn his head all the way around?

My thermostat goes to 90 too and right now it’s not even at 75! It’s at 70, the middle.