Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for September 20, 2010

Don’t let discouragement stand in your way, Calvin.

Not get discouraged!

Calvin’s compass is set on tilt.

Time to give Calvin his own compass. Or to show him, how to build one!

You’re a dead man again Calvin!

I’d rather it be a compass broken then instead of a GPS now!

G’Morning Mike, Marg & Grog!

An old girlfriend once told me the picture of earth published in the paper many years ago, taken by the astronauts, proved that the north pole was “up” and the south pole was “down”. I still miss her sometimes.

Dad, there have to be some sacrifices in the way of scientific advances.

Well at least Calvin is showing an interest in learning.

Calvin, I think you definitely proved that the compass came from up ‘North’ on top of the tree to down ‘South’ to the ground. Consider yourself a great success. That the compass did not survive is merely a side issue with which you need not be bothered..

This seems familiar: government continually funds science to keep breaking things.

For those of you who asked. We spent time in Frankfurt and Munich, went to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, did a seven day bike trip in Holland, spent a week on a house boat in Amsterdam and worked our way down the Rhine from Cologne to Mainz. It was a great five weeks.

Calvin scores another break through.

Calvin’s dad was readind a book “how to raise your kid to be a scientist,: guess it working????

@TINELI, MARG is the main squeeze!!! plus that bunny is actually as in “PLAYBOY BUNNY”

SHE’S THE QUEEN LADIES BEFORE GENTLEMEN……

Did Calvin accidentally discover……….gravity?

Well, I’d rather see a kid play with a compass and break it, than play with a playstation and get too involved.

A six year old (boy or girl) should have their own compass and also a magnifying glass. They’re cheap as chips and ones designed for kids are tough.

I agree he should have his own compass and put him in Cub Scouts or another club for his age group. I think the reason he’s in trouble all the time is he’s bored. Maybe they have a Junior Scientist or similar club in their area. I know if they did it would make the comic boring, sorry I’m overthinking it again!

Meanwhile, Calvin will work on his junior scientist nuclear weapon.

OK, think fast, Calvin - which pole is visible in the following photograph?

Calvin, another fun scientific experiment involves cats always landing on their feet.

Scientific experiment–Test, repeat, repeat, repeat.

LUVH8 & LITTLE SISTER* Need I say more.

Dino I don’t know if boy scotts would want Calvin perhaps more hobbes. Calvin might do damage.

This is Calvin’s revenge for all those wilderness camping trips.

Compasses don’t grow on trees.

Are chicanery and shenanigans always necessary to make an interesting comic strip? Is the comic compass going south when good behavior, kindness and thoughtfulness prevail? Perhaps some people need to have a Calvin. Then it might not be so funny!

Calvin in Arizona we have a dry river that flows from south to north. Honest.

LeslieAnne, What happened to your bubble bath? Did the pizza get cold? I heat the individual pieces in a microwave anyway. Pizza gets cold quickly, even in normal circumstances. Did you call the police? Were you able to contact your roommate before she got home so she wouldn’t encounter the would-be intruder? It sounds like a good plot for a ‘Twilight Zone’ type show if I may make light of it at this point.

Thirty-five years ago my best friend and I tested the theory that cats always land on their feet. Fortunately the window in question wasn’t all that high – but I think we could do the experiment but once, since we couldn’t catch the cat for a second try!

Hobbes would have something to say if Calvin started experimenting on his feline relations. Anyway, whatever his faults, Calvin isn’t the sort to be cruel to dumb animals (except for parents)

@Jonathan The south Pole

Anyways, i had this thing that was a compass, magnifying glass, mirror, and binoculars in one. Worked amazingly well at all 4 points

Calvin: The longest river in the world flows from south to north. Must be that north is somewhat down.

Actually there are a LOT of dry river beds in Arizona that flow more or less from south to north. That’s how the general watershed runs in the southern half.

Same with the Nile (which may or may not be the longest known river now, thanks to recent measurements of the Amazon). Where else could it flow?

@Yukoner Sounds GREAT!

well, ummm… Arizona isn’t actually in the southern Hemisphere. And I’m not sure, but I think water generally flows downhill irregardless of direction. In the Central U.S. for example, many rivers have their headwaters in the rocky mountains and flow either east or west from the continental devide. If a river bed is dry, how can you be certain which way it is “flowing”? Water won’t flow south to north if the lay of the land doesn’t permit. Or north to south either.

@Carless, and others, the border of North Dakota and Minnesota is the upper half of the Red River, which also flows North, into Hudson Bay. In August, it gets pretty low, but rarely gets completely dry.

It makes for some cliff-hangers with floods when it starts thawing from upstream every spring.

In olden times, maps were oriented–that is, East (Orient) was at the top.

I learned so much from the stuff I screwed up as a kid. It probably cost my parents as much as a collage education, (new lawn mower, new tv,etc.) I use this knowledge every day. Thanks Dad.

Puddleglum2… I skipped the bubble bath, the pizza got cold, but we ate it anyways, and no my phone was dead! I had no contact with anyone. Absolutely make light!! My family does so all the time. I still laugh when I tell that story, realizing all the mistakes I made.

And for the record I have no idea how to use a compass. They confuse me, the needle never stays pointed in one direction.

Tineli, I think Marg goes in under several aliases and flags anyone who is in the first spot which when deleted will move her up! LOL

Geez, Puddleglum, lighten the heck up. (Unless, like your namesake from Narnia, you’re incapable of doing so.) It’s a COMIC strip, for heaven sakes, not a Sunday school lesson. It just takes the normal behavior of boys that age and amplifies it for amusement purposes. If you don’t like it, don’t read it!

By the way oldnmoldy, there is no such word as “irregardless”

UBUBOBU - That means that the middle is higher than everything else, right?

Actually, a4skyhawk, it is a non-standard adverb:

[Probably blend of irrespective and regardless.] Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.

Because everyone knows what is meant when a person uses it.

This could be more than a temporary setback,you have to have a compass to go camping,dont you ?

So was the conclusion that rivers flow north in the southern hemisphere and south in the northern hemisphere? Meaning they flow towards the equator?

I find it strange that the equator is the lowest average point on the planet. Must be some kind of gravity parallex? Any engineer out there that can confirm?

i suspect there’s a prize for being the first to comment. it’s a secret tho, or maybe a broken compass.

nice to see the usage police in full cry and the p&l chat room going strong today. An excellent start to the week!

not sure calvin can be discouraged that easily

Jrcarter……the flow of a river is due to gravity, not the equator.

jrcarter, the equatorial region is actually higher relatively speaking. The earth is not a perfect sphere. It bulges around the middle due to the centrifugal force of the earths rotation (shaped more like a pumpkin). Plus water and that other brown stuff only flows down hill, compass direction has nothing to do with it no matter where on earth (snow melt flows down all sides of a mountain).

I am sorry for the double posst, but I wanted to clarify my last. Rivers flow downhill, and it is that gravity that directs the river.

and Dad looked so hopeful and smiling in picture three..

A TRUE scientist! It does my heart good!

Gypsy214, Who said I don’t like it? It’s definitely one of my favorites. I was reacting to people who keep saying that C&H would be boring if Calvin didn’t misbehave and act up so much. I’d say Calvin’s conduct is an extreme caricature of “normal” behavior, but I appreciate his extensive vocabulary and considerable knowledge in some areas, which is far beyond most boys his age. One of my statements was intended to be mildly amusing. The whole thing was not meant to be as serious as you perceived it to be. I enjoy the (sometimes unintended) droll humor of my namesake from Narnia. That’s one reason I use his name. The foregoing comments compass the gamut of possible eggspostulating on this subject. I had to say that to be in context with the subject of the comic. :o)

dahawk said, about 18 hours ago

jrcarter, the equatorial region is actually higher relatively speaking.

True, but that’s because of the spin. The term that astronomers use is “hydrostatic equilibrium”, which does not look at the shape so much as the gravitational effects of mass, spin, and whatever. By that definition, mean sea level (i.e., removing the tidal bulges) is just that: perfectly level, from equator to poles.

If you check your United Nations Flag it will show that the South Pole is at the TOP. As it should be. And, that country at the Top where I live, looking down on you is known locally as “God’s Own” (Godzone). …Bless you my children

Neill Tyson Degrasse: “Want Scientifically Literate Children? Get Out of Their Way”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIEJjpVlZu0