They’re dominoes. Hit the end one and they all topple.
Everyone knows that when the end domino goes, it causes a chain
reaction and so do the rest of them.
When the dominoes are in formation, if you hit one it hits the next one which hits the next one, etc. and they all fall down. And apparently they die. I think that’s all there is to it.
When dominoes are lined up, a fillip to the first one will cause them all to fall. Apparently it works when you shoot the first one too.
Hey! I would have been first, but Mrs. Usual John wanted to see the cartoon and discuss it!
[pushes Dr. Shrinker and watches Arthur, Mona, and two Usual John’s in succession fall down]
The question is: how do you fit a three-cornered hat on a square head ?
Whack it with a cylindrical mallet.
This was the worry in southeast Asia. 58,000 American and uncounted Vietnamese dead later the tentative conclusion was that the domino theory was incorrect. One of the Huxley clan wrote something about how a beautiful theory can be murdered by an ugly little fact. Or thousands or millions of murders. They may be little, but they are each of them ugly.
Gosh, darn it! I always hoped the world would turn for the better, but then life got in the way and when I finally lifted my head . . .
Bill – you don’t need to waste your time with a reply, but why do I always go straight to moderation? Does WordPress disapprove of darn it?
“how do you fit a three-cornered hat on a square head ?”
You’ve heard of squaring the circle? All you have to do is circle the square.
Were I the cartoonist, I’d probably have made the dominoes a bit larger, so the joke was a bit clearer. But I wasn’t the cartoonist.
“how do you fit a three-cornered hat on a square head ?”
It’s quite easy to fit a three-cornered hat on a cube-head, if you align the cube so that a vertex is pointing up, into the hat.
However, that’s not the case we see here…
Did you ever think it would be neat if you could win a battle with just one, well-placed, shot?
Well, that’s what’s happening here.
Not a clue. In fact, I sent you a message the other day to the effect of “I notice WP keeps throwing you in Moderation, and I can’t figure out why.”
Meryl, was this strategy known in Colonial times?
I’m getting a good laugh reading these this morning. And it’s fun to think that when the first of us looked at this last night, all at the same time, there were no comments yet, then BAM, all posted at once.
Terrence: I’m not trying to start a very geezerly political argument, but how is the Vietnam war evidence that the domino theory was incorrect? Since, in the end, both Laos and Cambodia became communist, in large part due to Vietnamese influence, it would seem to be data point in favor of the domino theory.
Of course, you might say that it’s not enough evidence to convince you of the domino theory. And you might still think the Vietnam War was was a terrible idea and/or immoral even if you believed in the domino theory. But I don’t see how Vietnam can be considered evidence against the domino theory.
Looks like the mighty domino army is just a boneyard now.
Lucky they didn’t use a cannonball. All that would be left would be domino pizza.
The only survivor of the massacre was a double-blank domino. How did he react? He was wild.
Usual John said,
“Hey! I would have been first, but Mrs. Usual John wanted to see the cartoon and discuss it!”
Oh, my dear, it’s a poor workman who blames his too… er, I mean wife.
” I don’t see how Vietnam can be considered evidence against the domino theory.”
Because Laos and Cambodia were largely immaterial. It mattered to the people who lived there, of course, but not so much to anybody who didn’t. The Communist Domino Theory is based on a fundamental flaw… that there is an international conspiracy to convert the entire world to communist utopia. This just wasn’t substantially true.
Oh, I thought it was about not firing until you see the whites of their eyes which is easy for dominoes and impossible for dice
I think square heads is a disparaging name for Scandinavians – maybe Dutch or Germans?
Also you do know that they are wearing uniforms from 2 periods of time. The dominoes are in Napoleonic era uniforms, while the dice are in 1700s uniforms. I don’t know of any orange uniforms in period, but it could be from a low budget country as orange was the cheapest color to dye – onions were used (not sure if this color orange or not).
Well, having actually made a tri corner hat (more than one to be honest) the section that goes on one’s head is oval shaped. I am guessing that if one put the hat on the cube so as to have the point of a corner facing front – into the end of the oval, it might stay on okay if one balanced it – but that is now how they are show. They would have had to use a square to make the hole for the hat blank.
More info – you know I have to give it – The hats were tri cornered as the fabric – generally felt, especially felted fur – bends up to same “easily”. When husband buys to make a new hat, we buy a “blank” that has the correct size opening for his head. It has the rounded top and a large brim. The brim generally needs some trimming off around the edge to make it neat and even. Then one decides which end of the oval will be the front and which will be the back. Robert bends up the back so it is evenly bent up from side to side. If it will be permanently in shape I take stitches – by hand through the folded up brim and the top part of the hat. Then the two sides are done in the same manner. Trim can be added – a ribbon or a cockade. It can also be made by using hooks and eyes (for those who do not know what these are – think the hooks on a modern bra). One sew 3 hooks on the top part where the brim would otherwise be stitched and the matching eyes on the brim. This allows the hat to be folded up to a tricorner hat or one can drop 1 to 3 sides to keep one dry if raining or if it is sunny one can fold down the side towards the sun and keep it out of one’s eyes. There is a similar hat called a rifleman’s hat that only has one side folded up – the right hand side – so that when a man goes to aim a rifle (and yes, there were rifled guns then) the hat will not get in the way as it is flat on that side. It can also, of course, also be used with a fowling piece (not rifled) or less often with a musket(also not rifled) which was a military firearm – the other two being civilian firearms – all were flintlock unless they were old and of an earlier type – rare to use.
Comics I Don't Understand 
They’re dominoes. Hit the end one and they all topple.
Everyone knows that when the end domino goes, it causes a chain
reaction and so do the rest of them.
When the dominoes are in formation, if you hit one it hits the next one which hits the next one, etc. and they all fall down. And apparently they die. I think that’s all there is to it.
When dominoes are lined up, a fillip to the first one will cause them all to fall. Apparently it works when you shoot the first one too.
Hey! I would have been first, but Mrs. Usual John wanted to see the cartoon and discuss it!
[pushes Dr. Shrinker and watches Arthur, Mona, and two Usual John’s in succession fall down]
The question is: how do you fit a three-cornered hat on a square head ?
Whack it with a cylindrical mallet.
This was the worry in southeast Asia. 58,000 American and uncounted Vietnamese dead later the tentative conclusion was that the domino theory was incorrect. One of the Huxley clan wrote something about how a beautiful theory can be murdered by an ugly little fact. Or thousands or millions of murders. They may be little, but they are each of them ugly.
Gosh, darn it! I always hoped the world would turn for the better, but then life got in the way and when I finally lifted my head . . .
Bill – you don’t need to waste your time with a reply, but why do I always go straight to moderation? Does WordPress disapprove of darn it?
“how do you fit a three-cornered hat on a square head ?”
You’ve heard of squaring the circle? All you have to do is circle the square.
Were I the cartoonist, I’d probably have made the dominoes a bit larger, so the joke was a bit clearer. But I wasn’t the cartoonist.
“how do you fit a three-cornered hat on a square head ?”
It’s quite easy to fit a three-cornered hat on a cube-head, if you align the cube so that a vertex is pointing up, into the hat.
However, that’s not the case we see here…
Did you ever think it would be neat if you could win a battle with just one, well-placed, shot?
Well, that’s what’s happening here.
Not a clue. In fact, I sent you a message the other day to the effect of “I notice WP keeps throwing you in Moderation, and I can’t figure out why.”
Meryl, was this strategy known in Colonial times?
I’m getting a good laugh reading these this morning. And it’s fun to think that when the first of us looked at this last night, all at the same time, there were no comments yet, then BAM, all posted at once.
Terrence: I’m not trying to start a very geezerly political argument, but how is the Vietnam war evidence that the domino theory was incorrect? Since, in the end, both Laos and Cambodia became communist, in large part due to Vietnamese influence, it would seem to be data point in favor of the domino theory.
Of course, you might say that it’s not enough evidence to convince you of the domino theory. And you might still think the Vietnam War was was a terrible idea and/or immoral even if you believed in the domino theory. But I don’t see how Vietnam can be considered evidence against the domino theory.
Looks like the mighty domino army is just a boneyard now.
Lucky they didn’t use a cannonball. All that would be left would be domino pizza.
The only survivor of the massacre was a double-blank domino. How did he react? He was wild.
Usual John said,
“Hey! I would have been first, but Mrs. Usual John wanted to see the cartoon and discuss it!”
Oh, my dear, it’s a poor workman who blames his too… er, I mean wife.
” I don’t see how Vietnam can be considered evidence against the domino theory.”
Because Laos and Cambodia were largely immaterial. It mattered to the people who lived there, of course, but not so much to anybody who didn’t. The Communist Domino Theory is based on a fundamental flaw… that there is an international conspiracy to convert the entire world to communist utopia. This just wasn’t substantially true.
Oh, I thought it was about not firing until you see the whites of their eyes which is easy for dominoes and impossible for dice
I think square heads is a disparaging name for Scandinavians – maybe Dutch or Germans?
Also you do know that they are wearing uniforms from 2 periods of time. The dominoes are in Napoleonic era uniforms, while the dice are in 1700s uniforms. I don’t know of any orange uniforms in period, but it could be from a low budget country as orange was the cheapest color to dye – onions were used (not sure if this color orange or not).
Well, having actually made a tri corner hat (more than one to be honest) the section that goes on one’s head is oval shaped. I am guessing that if one put the hat on the cube so as to have the point of a corner facing front – into the end of the oval, it might stay on okay if one balanced it – but that is now how they are show. They would have had to use a square to make the hole for the hat blank.
More info – you know I have to give it – The hats were tri cornered as the fabric – generally felt, especially felted fur – bends up to same “easily”. When husband buys to make a new hat, we buy a “blank” that has the correct size opening for his head. It has the rounded top and a large brim. The brim generally needs some trimming off around the edge to make it neat and even. Then one decides which end of the oval will be the front and which will be the back. Robert bends up the back so it is evenly bent up from side to side. If it will be permanently in shape I take stitches – by hand through the folded up brim and the top part of the hat. Then the two sides are done in the same manner. Trim can be added – a ribbon or a cockade. It can also be made by using hooks and eyes (for those who do not know what these are – think the hooks on a modern bra). One sew 3 hooks on the top part where the brim would otherwise be stitched and the matching eyes on the brim. This allows the hat to be folded up to a tricorner hat or one can drop 1 to 3 sides to keep one dry if raining or if it is sunny one can fold down the side towards the sun and keep it out of one’s eyes. There is a similar hat called a rifleman’s hat that only has one side folded up – the right hand side – so that when a man goes to aim a rifle (and yes, there were rifled guns then) the hat will not get in the way as it is flat on that side. It can also, of course, also be used with a fowling piece (not rifled) or less often with a musket(also not rifled) which was a military firearm – the other two being civilian firearms – all were flintlock unless they were old and of an earlier type – rare to use.
J-L: clever !