This one ran ten years ago today. I no longer have access to the responses — thanks, GoDaddy! — and I’m just as curious now as I was then.
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Comics I Don't Understand 
One could suppose it’s a symbol for pride; otherwise I’ve got nothing.
That is not a safe way to work on a ladder, and Fester knows it. He’s waiting for the guy to inevitably fall.
KN is close.
Hex signs are intended to scare away/deter evil spirits from causing bad luck or injury. The painter is inviting bad luck the way he’s on the ladder, while painting on a sign to try to keep bad luck away.
Ah, neat. I have never heard of those before. They’re not really a tradition around here. That definitely increases the funny level.
I associate the hex signs with the Amish. The man on the ladder
does not look Amish. This doesn’t explain anything to me, but I
point it out in case it might help someone else.
Heh…funnily enough, when I looked up Hex Signs to find out what they were, the Amish not using them was specifically mentioned. Here.
If the cartoon was about safety I suspect Addams would have left out the person holding the ladder and otherwise made it more obviously risky; the painter is positioned so we can see very clearly it’s a hex sign. The joke is that it’s meant to repel evil;, and it’s failing miserably with evil-minded Fester, who stops and seems to like what he sees. A bit like the cliche of a scarecrow attracting curious and unfrightened crows.
By the time this ran Addams had established his Addams Family characters, including Fester, and did a lot of gag panels that assumed you knew their quirks:
A more Fester-y one I couldn’t locate: A restaurant has a sign saying something like, “We prepare each dish to your personal taste”. Through the window, we see a waiter looking very worried as Fester happily orders.
Addams had established the appearance of the characters, but not their names. As far as I know, the bald guy didn’t become “(Uncle) Fenster” until the TV series started.
It’s “natural balance.” Third image on Google or Bing image search for:
Vintage Hex Sign Pennsylvania Dutch natural balance
I offered a great explanation for this when you posted it last year, and nobody can prove otherwise now.
B.A. I remember: Your excellent explanation was accompanied by a joke I told that was so funny people who read it had to intentionally forget it to go back to their daily lives.
Were there many casualties from the joke?
Waferthinmint, I’m glad you remember it exactly as I do.
Waferthinmint, that joke you told last year was pretty racist. You agreed then that it was offensive. I’m surprised you’re bringing it up now.
>>I associate the hex signs with the Amish.
Hex signs are a non-Amish Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. (The Amish/Mennonites weren’t the only Germans to settle in Pennsylvania.) The Amish and Mennonites would eschew such a display on the grounds of its pagan origins as well as being excessively showy.
Winter Wallaby, I wish there was a way to send a private message.
Are you familiar with the adage “it’s all fun and games till someone loses an eye”? I appreciate that you are just riffing along with us but pls don’t make accusations like that in jest.
B.A. made an obviously false self-aggrandizing claim, i responded with a more ludicrous claim. but your comment is not directed at yourself, it was directed at me. take a moment and recognize that a certain percentage of people will not realize that we were joking; what will their take-away be? “waferthinmint is a racist”.
I know you thought that comment was a joke and surely everyone would see it as such, but in today’s atmosphere of trump and his supporters that sort of remark is not a joke. (re “treasonous,” “lock her up” “don’t be too nice” “I’ll pay the legal fees”) The potential for damage to reputation (or ego) is too high. I am not joking any longer, so pls don’t read this as a sly nod & wink.
If you STILL cannot see why i am annoyed, imagine if your friend jimmy (you know the friend i mean!) stops by your office to pick you up for lunch and on the way out says in a loud voice, “hey wallaby, congrats on avoiding that pedophila charge”. Jimmy thinks thats a joke, you probably feel that it is damned inappropriate and fairly offensive.
Don’t be Jimmy
In the unlikely event that it’s still necessary, let me confirm that Waferthinmint never made any such improper joke (was he even using the Waferthimint name a year ago?)
waferthinmint: I do see why you’re annoyed, and I sincerely apologize. I commented quickly without thinking of all the things that you pointed out.
If Bill is amenable, he could perhaps just delete my comment.
Cidu Bill wrote “was he even using the Waferthimint name a year ago?”
Yes, he was! Oct 13 2009 is the earliest record i have for using “Waferthimint” on cidu. I used the word “Scoot” to explain how a dog interpreted a certain Yoga pose.
Since my offhand comment started all this, let me confirm that I didn’t make a brilliant comment last year, there were no casualties, and Waferthinmint made no joke of any kind.
Well, it’s very possible I did make a brilliant comment, because I just can’t help it sometimes, but the rest of it never happened.
Winter Wallaby, I accept the apology and admit my own guilt in hitting “send” way too quickly at times. We’ve all been Jimmy! (Oh! CIDU Bill, Is there a user named Jimmy that I’ve been unintentionally libeling?)
Thanks, for graciously accepting my apology , waferthinmint. The more I think about it, the more I realize how stupid my original comment was.
It took a little research, but the humor is clear once you understand the trend of the late 40’s to buy up up dutch farms with what a commonly known as “hex Signs”. While some say that Hex Signs were t prevent curses and others say they were just decorative, in truth they all have meanings. That is why Farmer’s Insurance uses one in it’s advertising. This particular Hex Sign is for “Perfect Balance.” Knowing this, the humor is clear. This is a great insight into the mind of Addams.