Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for October 04, 1993

Same here Susie… Same here…

koff nerd koff

WOW ME A SUSIE ARE ALIKE EXEPT I DONT HAVE A CALVIN “sigh”

lolSusie’s right in one sense a Book won’t stab you in the back nor try to steal your GF…but once you’ve read a book a thousand times you look for a new friend lol

Right on, Susie.

Even Calvin’s book has value.

Cool!

Smart girl.

I like reading ahead in my textbooks too.

My response to Susie in the third panel: indeed, this is how I often feel about books such as “Finding Out About Everyday Things” (1981) by Eliot Humberstone and “The Encyclopedia of Mammals” (1984) by Dr. David Macdonald (editor). From the former, I learned that a domestic cow drinks 60 liters (almost 16 gallons) of fresh water a day. From the latter, I learned that in 1984, there were 1.2 billion domestic cattle throughout the world. This means that in 1984 alone, domestic cattle drank 26.28 trillion liters (almost 7 trillion gallons) of water, or 72 billion liters (19 billion gallons) a day. I used to enjoy eating at fast-food places such as Burger King, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut. Domestic animals need water, but so do people and wildlife.

I’m sure that Calvin would have enjoyed “Joe Kaufman’s Slimy, Creepy, Crawly Creatures” (1985). This book is about invertebrates (such as insects and crustaceans), fish, amphibians, and reptiles. It mentions that ‘tortoise-shell’ accessories such as combs are actually made from the carapace, or upper shell, of the hawksbill sea turtle. The hawksbill is now critically endangered, partly due to overhunting for this product. He surely also would have enjoyed “Great Cats (Majestic Creatures of the Wild)” (1991) by Dr. John Seidensticker and Susan Lumpkin (consulting editors). This book talks about tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, margays, servals, caracals, bobcats, lynxes, and other wild cats. It also talks about work that is being done to protect such creatures. Wild cats and other predators are essential to the balance of nature, as are all other species. Unfortunately, wild cats and their prey are threatened by anthropogenic factors such as poaching (e.g. for ‘decorative’ purposes) and habitat destruction (e.g. for roads, towns, farms, junkyards, quarries, and golf courses). When wild cats such as tigers, lions, and leopards include humans and domestic livestock in their diet, it’s because they can’t find enough of their natural prey. Wild animals are only trying to survive; they don’t choose to cause trouble for humans. Given the choice, wild predators would prefer their natural prey (e.g. tigers would prefer deer such as chital and sambar, and lions and leopards would prefer antelope such impala).

If the only things Susie appreciates are books, she’d better be prepared to be as much of a loner as Calvin. She ain’t gonna do well once she reaches middle school. Even introverts need a few friends!