Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for June 20, 2014

Hey, I’m 64 and I get both references!

OK, for the folks under 50, “Richie Rich” is a comic about a “poor little rich boy” who has so much money it’s utterly ridiculous.Now, it’s your turn to explain the rest of it for us folks over 50, thanks.

google “99 problems”, i had to.

I’m (barely) over 50 and I got it.

I remember watching Richie Rich cartoons as a kid and I don’t get that on.

And now for something completely different…Is Rat implicitly saying that other strips with puns were appealing?

Good grief . . . I am almost 70 and I got it!!!! Jeezeeee!

I neither get it nor care.

Now I got “99 bottles of beer on the wall” going through my head. Thanks Pig.

I thought it referred to the memes I frequently see, which are a spoof of the song. Of which I was not aware…

49 and no problem getting it. Contrary to my kids’ opinions, I have a few grey cells left!

It’s not as though the character would be unknown to younger people.The comic was published until 1994 and there were animated cartoons in 1980-1984 and 1996.There was also the 1994 Macaulay Culkin movie and the 1998 David Gallagher direct-to-video sequel.

A waste of 20 seconds in my life.

When I googled 99 problems, I had to laugh….

Haha – I googled it, too and laughed. Dammit, goat was right. I’m 51.

glad I didn’t recognize 99 Problems

I’m well over 50. A tip on another comics site steered me to Jay Z (I probably need not say, NSFW). But Cartoon-Boy and his spokesrat alter ego need not fear. It’s another rich pun win!

a new level of lame even for you pastis

Over 50 and now I’ll have Jay-Z stuck in my head all day long! At least it’s a good song to have on permanent replay :-)

What a waste of time

48 and got both references too

47 and I got it.

Yeah, Pastis lost me on this one. (age withheld by request)

31 and I understood both references. I love the pun strips, they’re so lame they go right back around to funny for me.

I’m 65 and understood Richie Rich. Googled 99 Problems, and don’t mind a bit that I wasn’t familiar with that.

I’m 26 years old and I know who Richie Rich, is. I use to watch the cartoons, all the time, but I didn’t know there was comic books about it

C’mon Comic Boy – let’s see ya do something with Baby Huey and Little Audrey then – we dare ya!

If Steph MUST have a reference to 99, shouldn’t it be to (A)Bottles of beer on the wall

(B) Barbara Feldon

© Both A and B

I’ve read 99 funnier comics today…

sorry I was in the powder room and doing ya know what, what was the joke.?

I googled 99 problems and only got " b**** " in the song, however, perhaps he was referring to " b****** b**** "?

If I were 21 I still wouldn’t be able to get it. I hate rap!

I know who Richie Rich is but don’t get the rest.Perhaps Stephan should come up with an actual pun that more people would get.

Wonder how the richest kid in the world fared after the last few financial crises.

I guess even “Pearls” should be allowed to lay a bad egg occasionally. Nobody’s perfect.

I get it. I despise Richie Rich, but I’d still rather read Richie than listen to 99 problems.

I don’t get it

I’m old, 59, and I meme, I get it! Not dead yet.

Sad that a reference about a 10 year old song is considered possibly too hip for the room.

I used to collect Richie Rich comics when I was a kid, sold them all on ebay for about what I paid

I’m under 50, know Richie Rich, but was unfamiliar with the song “99 problems”

But I actually thought the comic was pretty funny.

At 35, I fall into the range where I read but was unimpressed with Richie Rich as a child, then heard but was unimpressed with Jay-Z as an adult.

Oh, I get it. It’s very clever. How’s that working out for you, being clever?

Hey! I’m 50! so I’m the small group to get both references!! (having teenagers helps)

Goat was right, but sorry Mr. P, Rap sucks & the sooner it joins disco, the better! ( Thanx everybody, I will not waste my time finding out what the 99 reference was, but will think of Barbara Feldon all day long now ),

Yep, Stephan has aimed at the smallest demo ever. The 50 year olds, of which I am one. Great strip.

Got both references. LOL. The best comment is by Rat.

Rat is right

Over 50. Got the Richie Rich part. Not impressed. Had no clue about the 99 reference. Never listened to rap. The only rap songs I know are Rapture and Funky Cole Madina (sp?). Again, not impressed.

From the rap song “All Me” by Drake :“I got 99 problems, getting rich ain’t one.”

@boogshine I’m also 35, and I heard Jay-Z as a teenager and liked Richie Rich as a kid. How’s it working for you, being a sourpuss who hates fun?

Also, like it or not, if you can’t accept that rap is the defining American music of the past few decades, you’re living in an echo chamber of your own delusion.

I’m 49 and I don’t get it. I know who Richie Rich is, but I just don’t get the punchline.

50 Cent (50¢?) says Jay Z is overrated —www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/50-cent-calls-jay-z-overrated-talks-kim-beyonce-article-1.1836524

but I’m only 12 years old and I thought that “Ri¢hie Ri¢h” is another famous rapper — Richard Serrell. What’s this about comic books?

@masterkrain Yes, you’re right, rap has nothing to do with music, and rock has nothing to do with music, and Beethoven is degenerate noise and Mozart has too many notes and all the retrograde arguments that the close-minded have employed for centuries. It’s fine if you don’t like something, dude, but you should accept it as a thing worthy of being liked.

part of one of drake’s songs

I did google ‘99 problems’ and now feel dumber for having read the lyrics.

HOLY CR@P!!!! Don’t ANY of you guys get the “1 percenters” reference??? It has nothing to do with Jay Z or whoever. The 99 percenters who are poor, and the RICH 1%ers who have 40% of ALL the money.

googled it, it made me laugh out loud at work. maybe i’m in a strange mood…

Unlike.

I’m 53. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-got-99-problems-but-a-bitch-aint-one

A lot of words for what is possibly the unfunniest Pearls strip ever.

The joke isn’t in the pun this time, it’s in Rat’s comment.

Yep – I’m 50 & I get it :)

Well done!

Hey I’m 32 and I know who RR is…

Richie Rich ought to meet up with Sedgwick Nuttingham in Monty. They might be able to purchase an NFL team. Like my Bills.

I got the joke, but only because I’ve heard of the lyric. I’m proud to say that I’ve never actually heard any of Jay Z’s stuff; my radio is set to stations that play music.

I love strips that appeal to no one. They’re so… so… so metaphysical!

Never heard of it until now.

Poor Stephan can’t do right for doing wrong!I would rescue my very old Andy Capp books. Some of the pages are falling out but they’re still valuable.xxx

I’m 23 and I get both!

I had to google 99 problems. I’m under 50 and didn’t get it. Sorry Steph, that wasn’t funny to me. I guess you’re allowed a dud every couple of years. DON’T MAKE ME NOT LAUGH EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!

I had the hots for the robot maid,Irona!

Well I sure didn’t get it.

Shouldn’t the Comic Strip Censor be lurking about?

LOVE IT!!!

I’m under 50 and got both references, hooray for me….or not

wait, what happened to slothman!

No wonder I didn’t get it. It’s a C-rap.

I’m with rat on this one.

… but the last panel was funny anyway.

Jay-Z: “I’ve got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one”Pig: “I’ve got 99 problems but Richie Rich ain’t one”

Me: “… meh”

Yup. Not worth Binging it. (I don’t google.)

I am 56 and I got it. I like the 99 problems song myself!

I think Stephan got what he wanted – lots of comments; and I got it.

I’m 33, and I got it.

Great… It appeals to ONLY those who are exactly 50 years old! :-)

I don’t get this.Oh well.I also don’t get a pun strip awhile back (2012? 2013?) where Pig had a toothache and could only say one word at a time.

I just googled it, and now I get it.

I’m 57 and I got it.

Good company! I am 59 and got it. . . .

I’m 25, and I’ve heard that song and read classic Richie Rich comic books.

I’m 50, I’ve read Riche Rich, but don’t get it.

I got it! I’m 49 1/2 and I’m finally back in a demographic sweet spot!

There are 4 people in my family. The 2 over 50 know Richie Rich, but not the rap song. The 2 under 30 know the rap song but never heard of RR. Mr. Pastis was correct.

I didn’t understand the strip at all because I don’t know how to read. (I can write good though…I’m mean well).

I’m under 20 and I got the Richie Rich part, but not the 99 problems part

I thought it was punny almost 25, and hey we had a Richie Rich movie in the 90’s. Maybe this was supposed to be a 90’s kid joke. And seriously how did that movie get 20 years old!

Drake: “I swear to God I got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t oneI got 99 problems, getting rich ain’t one”Or like someone else pointed out, it’s a reference to 1% of the demographic owning about half of everything.

I’m 16 and I got both the references. I know that richie rich was this cartoon about a boy who had lots of money, I even used to watch it.

Hey, im under 18 and still got it.

Isn’t Richie rich a show on Netflix now?