27 AMAZING Facts About Comics - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep.49)

[@kimberlyyohn7471]

Mental Floss is the highlight of my Wednesday prep hour. A fantastic mid-school week deep breath to gear me up!

[@atherion0]

I'm glad Bill Watterson never let anyone make Calvin and Hobbes a movie or anything. You couldn't present it any better than how a strip does. The short format is very important to how their stories are told.

[@Urb4n0Ninj4]

The bummer is, all those window stickers, bumper stickers, etc of Calvin peeing on a ford, or whatever...not one is legal, and Bill doesn't see a cent of the sales from them. And he's too nice of a guy to pursue a lawsuit against the sale of them :(

[@DonCDXX]

***** Makes me wonder what Watterson thinks of the stuffed Hobbes on etsy and similar places.

[@atherion0]

Urb4n0Ninj4 That has always aggravated me, as well. I feel it is out of his character, even though they are trying to capitalize on his trouble-making attitude.

[@Crystalvampire66]

My church did a Calvin and Hobbes Christmas pageant. It was pretty good, and the closest there will ever be to a Calvin and Hobbes movie

[@EmilyKBlosser]

Fun fact: Charlie Brown DOES kick the football in the TV special "It's Magic, Charlie Brown!" He is only able to do so after Snoopy turns him invisible after a magic trick gone awry, enabling him to sneak up on Lucy and kick it.

[@Starvingwriter82]

I could handle 27 facts just on Calvin and Hobbes. It was always my favorite.

[@krombopulos_michael]

Fun fact: the American Dennis The Menace and the British Dennis The Menace (as seen in the Beano) were both conceived of completely independent of one another and were both first released on the same date.

[@Jeyricho]

I am very happy that you gave us so many calvin and hobbeses c: I adored that strip as a child, and I definitely still cherish it.

[@leeshajoi]

Having read a lot of interviews with Bill Watterson and read his commentary in the 10th Anniversary collection, I can only say that it's a good thing he's a talented artist, or he would have had to become the Unabomber.

[@durhay]

I really regret reading that collection. Talk about "never meet your heroes "...

[@PopeLando]

28: Bill Murray voiced Garfield for the movie, a role previously created on the TV cartoon by Lorenzo Music. L.Music was the voice on the TV cartoon version of Ghostbusters of Dr Peter Venkman, a role previously created in the film by Bill Murray.

[@SamanthaPortUkulele]

I've known about that for a couple of years now, but it still blows my mind every time I hear it.

[@bahbahkapooyah4527]

did you get that from Rick and Morty

[@Miklos82]

Lorenzo Music was almost the heard but never seen, 'Carlton your doorman' on the MTM spin-off, Rhoda. Bill Murray may be a better actor, But Lorenzo's voice fit sarcastic Garfield to a T !

[@PopeLando]

@@Miklos82 What did you mean by "almost". Was there a time he was seen? Because he was definitely heard.

[@SebbySenpai]

Even as a grown man, I still love Calvin and Hobbes. I don't care if it's immature, I'll never get rid of my C&H books and treasuries.

[@Hope9151]

yeah

[@ssppeellll]

Nothing immature about it. I'm 60, and love it at least as much as when I first found it. My wife and I have very senses of humor, but C&H is one thing we both take delight in. And now my sons, in their tweens, do too.

[@LamanKnight]

I think Calvin and Hobbes is some of the most mature humour out there.

[@mitchell2719]

If anyone ever calls you immature for liking C&H, just bring up the sled/wagon philosophy talks.

[@phonyshoemaker7379]

I am mad that I don't have all of the collections

[@HyrdaRancher]

Disappointed there was not one mention of Boondocks, a comic strip that really challenged what it meant to be a newspaper comic

[@ottodude555]

Another cool Gary Larson fact: he has a biting louse named after him! It's called the Strigiphilus garylarsoni, and a picture of it was tiled on the inside covers of "The Prehistory of the Farside, 10th anniversary".

[@retepbocaj4272]

I think there's also a type of fly named after him (according to my Biology textbook which gives him his very own sentence).

[@Alverant]

You can do a whole Mental Floss episode on Farside.

[@ottodude555]

***** YES

[@alexaliona]

yeah. I so want that

[@hardBoss]

That Jane Goodall strip was hilarious, glad to see she had a sense of humor.

[@TheAyeAye1]

One more fact about Calvin and Hobbes. It was the last great newspaper comic.

[@doodlepony2]

one of my favorite Mental Floss vids ever, for sure!

[@kokoken1]

Dear John ... When I applied for a job once at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, owned by the Pulitzer family, I was told in no uncertain terms that it's pronounced PULL-itzer, as in the opposite of Pushitzer. :)

[@kellyzanella6974]

One thing is for sure, John's new salon remembered to be awesome!

[@lillydane9982]

I love how in the background you have the picture without words from your book!!!!!!!

[@CaptainLorax]

In the very last football gag comic Lucy is the one screaming "AAUGH!" in the last panel because Rerun won't tell her if Charlie Brown kicked the ball or not (Lucy was letting Rerun hold the football when she went inside to eat lunch). I choose to believe that Charlie Brown finally kicked the ball since Rerun is kinder than Lucy.

[@aliceinmansonland448]

The Jim Henson Wizard of Id was awesome, thanks for sharing!

[@jkattz1]

28th fact: Pearls Before Swine is one of the best comics in history! and yeah, the editors of the comics page now a days are stuck in the 50s and will probably never get out

[@JacobHermant]

Did you show a small snippet of the Pearls Before Swine Yiddish strip? That's my favourite comic strip ever. Thank you John!

[@KennyRubenis]

A lot of this was new to me. And I draw comicstrips for a living, so that's saying quite a lot! Great episode :)

[@Jesslovescoffee29]

The one upside to having a raging head cold; I can watch all 49 episodes of Mental floss in one day. Thanks for distracting me from the pain in my head and the cough in my chest. :)

[@bringbackfrankblack]

Only 1 reason why I was ever interested in newspaper comic strips; Silly Putty.

[@jodiwoodring9458]

Mindblowing Question: How would you go about obtaining contact information for a celebrity to ensure they actually receive it?

[@Saitaina]

You can't. Celeberties of any note have screeners who sort their fanmail and only hand a select few over to the star, the rest are studio answered with a form letter. There is no rhyme or reason to what mail gets handed over either, though usually touching or interesting ones do. The best place to reach an actor for most anything is the theatre they're working at/their agent/the studio their show is filmed at (generally addressed as stars name, with the next line being c/of Theatre/agent/studio)

[@Jenn12141983]

Love the schmancy new salon! Also, big thumbs up for the K-9 figure on your shelf :-)

[@pandaseatpie2636]

Ive been watching this channel for a year and never relised it was john green

[@AzureRoxe]

So you never noticed that he says "hi, i'm John Green" every time?

[@justinwlacy]

Two fact I thought deserved mention: 1) There are actually 2 comic strips titled Dennis the Menace- one in the US and one in the UK. They launched within 5 days of each other in 1951 by sheer coincidence. 2) Popeye was originally a one-off character of the comic strip Thimble Theater, but he became so popular he took over as the main character and got the strip named after him.

[@blade831]

I am from Monterey, CA. Playing in Dennis the Menace Park are some of my favorite childhood memories.

[@queenwyntir]

I honestly thought this was going to be about comics/graphic novels when I clicked on this and then John said "newspaper comic strips" and I felt utterly duped and betrayed.

[@FitzKeepsItSimple]

Thanks for letting me know about Garfield minus Garfield. It is hilarious!

[@infxmhc]

Dang it! when I saw "comics" in the title I thought you were going to do a mental floss on comic books. Still a great video. :)

[@JogInTheFog]

I pronounce "Pulitzer" like "pull it, sir." Bam.

[@xDarkTrinityx]

Garfield Minus Garfield is the greatest thing ever. Such a simple idea, but oh so funny. lol

[@GreatGwiaz]

COMICS!!! For my birthday? Thank you John.

[@beplanking]

Mind Blowing Question: If the universe is constantly expanding, then what is it expanding into?

[@rdavieee]

do I spy an adorable little john and sherlock on the wall?

[@theironmountain]

Dang, came in thinking this was going to be for comic books, you know what to do mental floss.

[@drivernjax]

I found out recently that my dermatologist's father was the writer/illustrator for Joe Palooka and Rex Morgan, M.D. Needless to say, you could have knocked me over with a feather when he told me that. (He proves it with a Rex Morgan, M.D. comic hanging on one of his walls in which his father comes right out and congratulates him for graduating from medical school.)

[@BeakerInShortShorts]

I'm relieved to hear just Ontario without Canada added. Thank you from Ontario, Canada.

[@TonksMoriarty]

Okay, now do one about WebComics. Make sure to include a factoid about Freefall!

[@biofungus]

"Spider-Man without Spider-Man"? Isn't that what the Andrew Garfield movies have been?

[@StephanieElizabethMann]

In the '70s in kings cross Sydney Australia there was a paper called the Kings Cross Whisper. The comic section had Randy Clap instead of Andy Cap. A ribald comic strip it was.

[@kwamouflage2515]

I literally saw that last strip at the goodwill today. eerie

[@Chezmeralda]

Omg I remember For Better or Worse. I was trying to remember what it was called, because I remember the show it had on tv. Crazy.

[@jjdrama]

Dennis the Menace Park is the best park I ever visited. It's become progressively safer within the past 20 years which means less fun, but it's still really awesome!

[@LostOmin]

I like the subtle plug for TFIOS back there. Alright already! I'll go see the movie!

[@dajuanvera-byers6788]

Wait is this the same John Green who wrote The Fault in are Stars?

[@adambrown1837]

Da'Juan Vera-Byers Yes.

[@electricmastro]

Da'Juan Vera-Byers Yup.

[@voldlifilm]

+Da'Juan Vera-Byers You planning to do voice work?

[@dajuanvera-byers6788]

yeah

[@LlwtyDeer]

*our

[@Magic_beans_]

Re: #12 - We'll probably see a lot of comments saying that the picture of Dennis the Menace is wrong, but it's not. By a curious coincidence, two cartoonists -- Hank Ketcham of the USA and David Law of the UK -- each created a comic about a mischievous boy and his dog, called it "Dennis the Menace", and began publication in March 1951.

[@funnyboy24789]

1:53 And Charlie Brown did kick a football. It was in a comic around 2000 where the comic was saying goodbye to Charles Schulz because he was leaving. In it, he did kick a ball.

[@leogeo9218]

John i just saw you on the fine bros!!!!

[@micah2.0]

I'm so pleased that there is a Comic Syndicate. Do they compete with the Funnies Cartel?

[@miriamgreen3973]

My dad saved the comics from Toronto Sat Star and sent them to me in college out of town. Then started again when I got married and moved to US. It continued for over 30 years till he had a stroke.

[@trishafur]

The itty bitty Sherlock and John omg :D

[@StokedTrout]

My 8th grade english teacher went to college with this guy

[@IceMetalPunk]

Unfortunately, I can't block KZbin ads on my tablet, and sometimes it doesn't let me skip them. This was one of those times... and holy crap, that was the most sensationalized, emotionally appealed, patronizing anti-GMO ad ever. And it was from Wired! What the hell, humans? Sorry, John, I know you have no control over the ads that show. Just felt the need to get that off my chest. I'll watch your content now :)

[@LevaOrel]

The Dennis the Menace park was my favorite place as a little kid.

[@ToxPhy]

Calvin & Hobbes is one of my favorite comic strips, but let's be honest. Everyone's who has read one of these strips has their own voice for Calvin.

[@michaels4832]

OMG I JUST REALIZED YOU HAVE SHERLOCK ON YOUR WALL! John Green = My New Favorite Person

[@gnewt75]

Do a Facts about Comic Books video next pls!!

[@just_a_girl60]

Actually, I beg to differ on the subject about Charlie Brown never kicking the football! Turns out he DID a few times--just not at the hands of Lucy. On Oct. 9th, 1953, Charlie Brown attempted a field goal as Shermy held the ball. Another instance is from Sept. 12th, 1956, in which Schroeder held the ball as Snoopy looked on. There's also a handful of other examples where Charlie Brown kicked the ball just using a football tee.

[@Flat2theFace]

after learning about garfield minus garfield, i proceeded to spend the next 20 minute on the site. SO FUNNY.

[@romantheflash]

I really like that last story, as if the chimps had read the comic as well :)

[@numunu013]

Was slightly disappointed this wasn't about Comic Book comics. But still good.

[@ChuckEllis]

I forget when exactly, but there was a comic strip of Garfield in the 80s or 90s where he said he had he had 313 good days in the past year. The last panel he simply said, "The Mondays sucked." I remember this causing quite the kerfuffle as a young Garfield fan who had yet to mature and discover humor.

[@Headlock]

0:10- Is that Matt Stone & Trey Parker? If so, why are they sitting with Garry Trudeau? Just asking for some info on this meeting.

[@CrimsonFox36]

Number 28 The most rare, and coveted comic book, Action Comics #1, is actually a compilation of Superman newspaper comic strips pieced together and bound.

[@SkinnerZoo]

So I have played at the Dennis the Menance park within the last couple months and I spent a year and a half with access to Toon Lagoon. Enjoyable, both of them. :D

[@JaredSellickismyname]

When I was younger I had a bit of an obsession with Garfield the cat. I owned like forty books full of tabby glory

[@billswingle2672]

John why no mention of Berkely Breathed author of Bloom County? One of my personal favorites.

[@SharKCS11]

Hey! You didn't put a coin in the pig when you mentioned _Pearls before Swine_ !!

[@mahivyas4034]

I like the Mystique style My little pony in the background!

[@TheDemko]

Question for next week: since you brought up Jim Henson this week (my idol), what is the origin of the word 'Muppet'?

[@brandonbuchner1771]

Jane Goodall has a wonderful sense of humor. She even did a goofy interview with John Oliver.

[@LamanKnight]

I actually knew quite a few of these because of all the comic strip "treasury" books, where the cartoonists have said some of these things themselves. And by the way, there was a single comic strip one January where Garfield was reflecting on the previous year. In it he said "I had a good 313 days. The Mondays sucked." Jim Davis said he got a lot of angry mail because of that.

[@xXEmoCupcakesXx]

Why is the center square always automatically daubed in bingo? (Also known as the free space)

[@dapamico1]

Question for JG: What ever happened to Homestar Runner and the Chapman brothers? I loved that site...

[@DCN87Vlog]

The Brothers Chap moved on to other creative projects. I think one of them is a writer for Yo Gabba Gabba now.

[@tomgcooktown5019]

Good for Jane Goodall for having a sense of humor. I agree, the joke was funny. TgT

[@treetoon-tf]

I'm very disappointed you didn't mention that Inception is based of Don Rosa's work with the Uncle Scrooge Comic "The Dream of a Lifetime" back in 2002. But maybe it was newspaper exclusive, which the title isn't clear on anyways :c

[@Wikrin]

Last one was far and away the best. :)

[@BenStanleyVlog]

As a massive Peanuts and Charles Schulz fan, I feel the need to expand on #5 and say that the title Peanuts was forcefully put in place by Schulz's publisher, which, as you can imagine, ticked him off quite a bit (hence the quote). It's also noted that one reason Schulz was continually bitter all those years was because he preferred everything he made to be his idea, and to have the very title of his strip be named by someone else made him very upset (he almost walked out on the deal because of this fact, but having had a previous strip of his get canned, he decided to take the only shot he had). Enjoy the trivia!

[@StoryFromTheStars]

I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere in the comments, but the Monterey Dennis the Menace original statue was found. In Florida. No one knows how it got there. They didn't put it back in the park, but gave it back to the family of the Dennis the Menace creator.

[@SnoopyDoofie]

With his "totally new fireplace", look for a puddle of melted plastic on the mantle of Barbie and T-Rex in his next video.

[@dariowiter3078]

Hey John! You forgot to mention Drabble and Crankshaft. 😁

[@tard1s4er]

Actually, the oldest comic strip is translated "Flower in the Fields" started in China in the Ming Dynasty.

[@UKMelia]

Re: the Dennis the Menace statue - I used to go to that park in Monterey all the time in the late 80s and remember the stolen statue.

[@TerenceClark]

The Dennis The Menace Park in Monterey, CA is one of the best parks I've ever been to. I find myself occasionally thinking about it and how much fun my kids (Yeah, right, my kids. Not me. My kids. Don't judge me.) would have on it even though I moved back to Wisconsin in '08.

[@hayasimkin5842]

I also just saw you on the Fine Bros, but I didn't recognize your voice (I'm blind). Is that a theremin in your theme song?

[@carljferrara4085]

FYI - Charlie Brown DID get to kick the football. In the TV special "It's Magic, Charlie Brown.," Charlie takes part in Snoopy's magic act and is made invisible. While Snoopy tries to find a way to bring him back, Charlie passes Lucy with a Football, kicks it before she can take it away, and then carries it around in front of her gloating.

[@WaystoSaveMoney-Book-kz5og]

Maann, I learned to read at the kindergarten with those comics, not all of them, of course :D, fun times

[@dadoctah]

Bill Murray gets ripped for voicing Garfield, but Jason Lee gets off scot free for not only playing David Seville in the Chipmunk movies, but also providing the voice of the live-action version of Underdog (opposite Peter Dinklage of all people as Simon Barsinister).

[@chromegadget4112]

Bill Waterson was the first person to use the word "booger" in a newspaper comic. - Bill Waterson, Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book.

[@redstonepi303]

Where is it? The Denace the Menace? I've been to a park with the Denace the Menace statue in it. The thumb is really shiny!

[@bbjuneau]

As always, awesome video. Next time you do a video on Commonly Mispronounced Words, you may want to include "Pulitzer".

[@yourbabyscorpse]

Or anything German, like Katzenjammer.

[@mvtdonjessee6552]

Think your show is great, thanks for all the fun facts. Just an FYI in the 1955 book "Good Ol' Snoopy" Charlie Brown does get to kick the football - when it was held by Schroder(?) not Lucy. Snoopy watches the football carefully setup, then Charlie Brown kicks it, Snoopy thinks "Well THAT sure was a dirty trick".

[@laurenbartz796]

I have a question: With some people their hair changes color when it reacts with a metal, like how some people's hair (dyed or natural) turns green in a swimming pool. It happens to some and not to others. Is that trait hereditary or is it just random?

[@AlexRodriguez24]

OMG, he talked about Monterey,CA

[@rosiecarter6631]

Will you be doing this list thing with webcomics too? Cuz that would be awesome...

[@PElder78]

Heh, until 6 months ago, Chappaqua, NY was also where I lived ... and yes, I met Bill, more than once :)

[@toujoursperdue6]

Mind blowing question: Where do fruit flies come from? For example, when you leave out a rotting piece of fruit, a swarm of fruit flies seemingly appears overnight. How did they get there? Thanks!