Is someone with a No.2 pencil smile happier than someone with a No. 4 pencil smile. Most certainly yes... a No. 4 pencil is harder.

... And that's a fact! But both pencil smiles will help you "get it."

There is 'biting' scientific research that says if you are looking at *Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons with a pencil between your teeth forcing a smile, you will naturally smile more at the same cartoon than the control group that doesn't have a pencil between their teeth. So. Yes, biting--as with a pencil between your teeth--WILL naturally compel you to really smile more naturally and enjoy what makes you smile better than those who smile randomly, so say the statistical nerds.

This scientific finding for many years has come under question lately when the results could not be duplicated, but even then, few have debunked the concept that a smile is still magic to a better, less hateful world.  And if it takes a pencil to make a smile, so be it.

But really, all of us know there are some in the world who do not smile, or joke or laugh often or never. That begs the question: How do they get by in today's world when even the ridiculous sometimes just has to be laughable. And follow-up question: How difficult is it to get along with them. (Listening Mr. President?)

*And now, the big reveal... and the reason I actually wrote this blog: Rumor has it, THE FAR SIDE cartoon by Gary Larson is coming back! There is none funnier.

 

After 20 years, The Far Side returns... we hope. Take that Rip Van Winkle

Side note: My California sister and I were driving through San Francisco's Golden Gate Park years ago and noticed a large number of cars in the de Young Museum parking lot. Curious on what was on display, we saw it was a showing of Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons, so we stopped, of course. As we walked through the display of hundreds of his cartoons, we would hear a laughter from the other side of the room... then from behind us... then to our right and then to our left. In fact, the room was filled with continued laughter scattered here and there as a cartoon had struck a viewer funny. 

It was the most amazing thing of this scale that I had ever witnessed and a happy time was shared by all. Hundreds of laughs from the viewers filling the somber museum space with laughs and smiles from those listening as we laughed too, dozens of times. Yes, for those unfamiliar, The Far Side IS that funny. Google it now for a non-pencil smile... or put a pencil between your teeth and enjoy it even more. The the only question you might have is, "Are they laughing with you... or at you?"

Laugh and the world laughs with you... continued

Remember this Gary Larson cartoon?

His The Far Side syndicated cartoons made us laugh every day with creative humor. His last 'strip' was published on New Year's Day, 1995 though books of his compiled cartoons and newer works continue to sell and fill our shelves. A favorite that made the NYTimes bestseller list: There's a Hair in my Dirt: A Worm's Story.

I always thought he was at his best when he used animals as his subjects. One favorite depicts a family of spiders driving in a car with a "Have a Nice Day" bumper sticker featuring a 'smiley face' with eight eyes.

While visiting my sis in San Francisco a number of years ago, we were driving past the California Academy of Sciences when we saw a current exhibit sign announcing Gary Larson's work. We immediately did a 180 and spent the most enjoyable next hours laughing, tittering, snickering, nodding and smiling. What was amazing, as we and others in the exhibit silently read the 450 captions mounted 16 to a panel, were the shared similar outbursts from all corners of the exhibit room.

Our group of strangers were a truly happy bunch as we nodded and smiled to each other, sometimes sharing a favorite with a pointed finger or nod.  I don't recall a word being spoken but everyone left with a far richer disposition than when we walked in the door.

Without being specific about how humor makes our world a better place, we all have personal evidence that it definitely does.

Take a few minutes now to make your world richer today by enjoying a cartoon slide show of The New Yorker magazine's "reader's favorites," shared graciously by the magazine's cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff. My favorite is the one with the praying mantises.

FYI: The New Yorker publishes weekly and features more really good cartoons in every issue from the best cartoonists... more fun than you can find anywhere else... and it is also rich with topical editorial content. That in itself is worth a look.

Funny is, and I quote:

Always remember, you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. Margaret Mead

We are all here on earth to help others; what the others are here for I don't know. W.H. Auden

Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. Mark Twain

People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. Isaac Asimov

Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schitzophrenic and so am I. Oscar Levant

I never said most of the things I said. Yogi Berra

Go to heaven for the climate, go to hell for the company. Mark Twain

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. Steve Martin

And the piece de resistance quotes by Jack Handey (a real person):

• To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.

• Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.

• I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it.