Thagomizer: Why Stegosaurus’ Spiky Tail Was Named After A Cartoon

Humans and stegosaurus missed each other by more than 150 million years, but people have always wondered how difficult or terrifying life would have been if dinosaurs and humans co-existed. This premise is often explored humorously in cartoons and in movies. Cavemen and dinosaurs frequently featured in cartoonist Gary Larson’s The Far Side— a single-panel comic that ran for fifteen years during the 1980s and 90s. The Far Side was known for its surrealistic and dark humor based on uncomfortable social situations and improbable events, including aliens, talking cows, as well as human-dinosaur interaction.

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