Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for February 22, 2013

And that’s why I like books

I’ll bet Stephan enjoyed drawing this one, since it was Rat who got a volume chucked at his head!

No matter how good you are at something, there’s always someone better than you at it!

read a book…the original laptop.

Looks like the book made Rat smart!

Kory Merritt. CounterCulture.

I like that guy…The enemy of my enemy is my friend…

For once someone out-ratted Rat!

Maybe a tablet computer won’t inflict much damage, but ever been hit in the head by a tower computer?! Or an old CRT monitor?!?!I can’t believe people used to pay $1000 for a set of encyclopedias that were out of date by the time they were printed! Wikipedia may not be accurate, but at least it’s current.

Rat finally got his due. Hurray!!!

Was that a slider or fast book that just hit “RAT” I want to see the slow motion replay.

You want to know how encyclopedias suck? Try looking up “Stephan Pastis” in your fancy pants paper-based encyclopedia.

Rat is down! Rat is down!Today is a good day for praising books. —And even encyclopedia salesmen (though print encyclopedias, alas, have pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird).

Encyclopedia Tyrannica.

It’s very difficult to buy a set of encyclopedias now. I tried to order some for a library a few years ago, and most encyclopedia companies are focusing on the online versions, not the print. They are losing money on the print version.

I’ve always said, an email [or anything from the internet] is only as good as the paper it’s printed on.

That might be a sales tactic that actually works on Rat.

lol

There’s something becoming a rarity. I can hit the net and find online versions of Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Book Encyclopedia not to mention Wikipedia among others. People no longer actually have to go to the library to use the encylopedia or have a set in their home. But if for some reason you can’t access the net it certainly helps to get a hold of the hard copy.

but, the internet has porn.

Rat got his comeuppance, that will leave a mark.

Encyclopedia salesman FTW!

Rat….you should of bought a set……

The salesman is not a graduate of “Rat’s school of dealing with the public”. If he was, it would have been “BONK”.

Now I’m getting a set of encyclopedias

“I’ll give you the internet!”

Every now and then, Pastis reminds me that he can be funny.

hear hear!

The internet may replace the encyclopedia, but not the newspaper…have YOU ever tried to wrap a fish in YOUR search engine?!?

I used to sell encyclopedias door to door. Correction, I used to go door to door trying to sell encyclopedias. Worst. Job. Ever.

And it’s not always current. Every article isn’t regularly updated, and some are abandoned.

I luv books!!

For Rat, this could be – no – IS a buying point. Pig and goat better watch out for flying encyclopedias in the future.

“Look that up in your Funk & Wagnall’s” – Rowan and Martin

Rat, you could use a buggy whip.

My ipad can do that.

No, it can’t do that, thank goodness.

Some dinosaurs deserve to die.

The Bio-Organic Organizer of Knowledge. Solid state display, no batteries, never crashes.

That is totally the way to sell those to Rat. I bet he buys multiple sets.

@djhempy Yes he did…

Funny, I was just thinking about Encyclopedias the other day. Looked at my bookshelf(I still have books!) and was thinking of when we had encyclopedias as a kid. :)

Heh, heh, heh…. I seldom laugh at your stupid almost puns and whatnot… But, this is funny…

I still like a book that I can actually open and hold in my hands.

Way to go, Mister!

Rat finally got what he deserved.

xxx

it’s about time someone threw the book at Rat

and, he spilled his beer.

My children were (are) home schooled, and my kids love having actually book encyclopedias! They are also handy for pressing flowers!

daily, its easy. you must be doing it wrong

Wicked ’pedia!

So remember, kids, if you study with books instead of browsing the ‘net all the time, you’ll never be involved with “crack.”

Computer devices can easily replace books. A handheld can be taken anywhere. Even the throne, so there goes one person’s fault with computers. They weigh less, take up less room, and are configurable. They’re reusable, too, unlike most books which get read once, or maybe twice. I’ll use my handheld for hundreds of books. I need to know something I don’t have a book on here? I just open one of my devices and find out. A book can’t do that. I can order more books with my computer book, too!

Actually, the only reason this is a debate is because some people hate change. Guess what? Change happens. The printing press freaked out some people, too. The church thought educated masses were bad. And actually, they were right, but oh, well.

Clobber him with you laptop, Rat.

Rat gets bested. Or is it busted?

In a way you could do that with the internet, except that you would damage the laptop or iPad.

@Destiny23: :o) So current inaccuracy is better than…?:o)

I bet rat just bought the whole set – I can see how this would appeal to him.

I think that would actually be considered a valid selling point to Rat.

Wouldn’t it be more like Whackipedia?

Poor Rat. Sometimes karmic justice does hit you on the head.

+++++

Regarding paper vs. interweb—I think it was Reginald Bretnor’s “To A Different Drum” that wrote on two star expeditions—one relied in high tech, and when that went, they had nothing. The other took a copy (two?) of the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica, and was able to recreate technology. A story with a bit of nostalgia, I think.

Went in a used bookstore a few weeks ago with my infant grandson. The aroma was like heaven! Old paper, dust, maybe a trace here and there of previous owners—pure romance! I told my grandson (who obviously understood, he’s a genius because his Granny reads books) to take a deep whiff of the heady air. Yes! I like my Kindle, I use Wikipedia all the time, don’t know what I’d do without IMDB—but there is nothing, nothing like a book.

HAH!

Stephan Pastis-Wy is there so much talk about killing in your strip?? The world is ugly and dangerous now with the automatic guns and shootings in schools- why do you glorify killing every day ?? There is no place for it in an so called Comic Strip .Kindly stick to comical situations , in your feeble method, and drop the killings. It does not really belong in our daily newspaper. regards Papoux11.

I hope the encyclopedia salesman becomes a regular feature. Anyone who out-rats Rat is very welcome

This was one of the few times that I busted out laughing after reading a comic!

He makes a persuasive case.

the funny thing about this comic is the fact that that singular action would totally convince rat to buy encyclopedias i mean knowledge? meh but for rat clobbering? YEAH!

But you CAN throw your computer at someone!

There’s one thing books can do that current electronics can’t: not play havoc with our sleep patterns. The same spectrum of light used by many LCD screens is the same as sunlight and tricks the brain into wanting to stay awake. If you read before bed, like me, then you know what a pain it is.

Come on, Stephan. You reused the phonebook joke.

How much more accurate is an encyclopedia anyway? The information only reflects the date in which it was compiled. Chances are, the information in it is useless long before it’s even printed.