This is, in my opinion, one of the funniest strips in the whole series. (Now watch that no one likes it after I’ve said that; oh well.) So many things really work in this strip. There’s the name ‘Colnan’, which I find unreasonably humorous; there’s the picture of Colin showing off his mighty delts; there’s the very fact that he’s deluded enough to willingly roll up his shirt sleeves when other human beings are present. All funny.
Colin’s the sort of guy I wish I was: the type so convinced of his own magnetic charm that girls almost buy it.
What’s not to like?
Repositioning furniture is not done by lifting up one side of it.
Repositioning furniture is done by bracing the side of your leg against it, stabilising with your hands if necessary, and then just side-walking the leg against it.
Sounds weird… but the point is to push against the center of mass, which for most furniture is easier to do with the leg than with the arms. Hurts a lot less than crouching and pushing, and a lot less likely to tip it over than pushing from the top.
Colnan isn’t that smart as barbarians go. And barbarians don’t go very smart in the first place.
Barbarians not very smart? That’s racist xenophobia. Or probably xenophobic racism.
You’re one of the few people to come to the defense of barbarians.
Gr. Oh, your small-minded, ignorant, smug, condescending, culturally narcissistic, myopiac!!!
Check out Zomia. Barbarians & anarchists & *primitive* types live, and they will rise again to save the planet!!! Bwahahaha!!!
I feel like a necromancer, replying to an ancient comment…but here goes.
When moving furniture, pulling is MUCH easier than pushing large objects, as lifting one side removes much of the friction and pulling actually changes the angle of force, making the friction even less. Pushing means you are going to be angling downward, somewhat, increasing resistance through friction unless you can get below the vertical center of mass, which puts increased strain on your back.
When moving furniture, always pull, if possible… or use a furniture dolly, like a civilized humanoid.
Source: a friends mother with a hideous couch that got moved from one storage to another at least 3 times every year and countless apartments moved into and out of.
Intelligent replies are welcome, always. No need to be timely. And, to be honest, your description of moving stuff sounds like how I’d tackle it too. My favourite way of moving something, though, is saying that you have a back problem and getting someone else to do it for you. I know a startlingly large number of men with ‘back problems’ right now, and I was thinking of developing one myself.
I am more the type who would have pulled out the nails from the floor with the second try. 1.9m and 120kg. Used to kick over a 200l drum, roll it over and lift it back up in standing position.
Colin is … not.
Also much easier if he pulled out the nails holding it down first.
I think it’s hilarious.
I should note that the people who invented the term “barbarian” as term denoting ignorance also invented the steam engine, then couldn’t think of anything useful to do with it.
Well, who doesn’t want to be a barbarian? So … beardy. So virile.
It’s weird that large, hairy men have most of the word ‘barber’ in their name.
Same root word. ‘Barbarian’ came from the Latin word meaning ‘bearded ones’, and the barber was where you went to get your daily shave, or trim your beard. It’s the root of the shaving cream ‘Barbasol’ too, which is short for ‘barba solution’ or ‘beard solution’.
Huh…
I learned something.
Spoken like a true humanities major.
All this time and no one mentions pucks incorrect useage of residence, when it should be residents.
Interesting :p
Your friendly neighborhood grammar nazi.
Actually, ‘residence’ in this case refers to the building itself, and the building managers, not the residents within the building. (There were some errors in these older comics, but that weren’t one of them!)
“Barbarian” came from Greek, not Latin, and can be found in books written in Athens when the Romans were not writing anything worth preserving. The Greeks thought that foreign languages – sometimes including other Greek dialects – just sounded like babbling “bar-bar-bar”.
Well, the Greeks started everything. Including xenophobia.
you are totally wrong. It is from ancient greek Barbaros for “stutterer”, People who cannot speak proper greek. Means all non greek people.
So I’ve heard.
Hyena is not spelt with an r at the end (2nd to last panel).
Well, I guess it is when you’re straining that hard.
Darn it. Why do we guys always decide we can do something and THEN ask for explanations why we can’t after we can’t. LOL.
It’s got something to do with manliness. Like not asking for directions. It’s important to be a rugged individualist, even if it ends up getting you late or lost.
Heh, I love Col’s expression in Panel 4. How come he doesn’t ever look like that now? The “kicked puppy dog look” is not sexy at all.
@Susan
Colin looks like H-E-Dubble Hockey Sticks there !
The trick to being a somewhat sexy male, who is really not very tough, is in avoiding every situation that reveals your physical inadequacy.
These daze, a great many males, who are quite wealthy, have avoided physical confrontation their entire lives.
Beefy guys are HOT, but are all too often are idiots, who just don’t make adequate mates in 2017.
Now I am not sayin’ BF is in any way inadequate – but his skills as a ARTIST, DOCTOR, SURGEON, (lover), etc, outweigh anything a grunting muscle-bound barbarian could ever offer.
Speak for yourself. My bf is an axe-handle across the shoulders, so there 😛
@Susan
So …. BF is a Muscle-Bound Barbarian ?
(Not that there’s anything wrong wit that)
Nope, he is a kindly, gentle man with TWO graduate degrees (MA, MD). He is just big (six foot) and works out (thanks to me!)
We all get old.
When my human pet, Baldie (more Piggy than Beefy) wishes to more something heavy, he faces AWAY from it, rests his BACK against it, and uses his legs to push.
It that has no effect, he’ll pry it up from the floor with a crowbar (despite popular belief, not actually made from crows, but rather named after its inventore, Thaddeus Crowe), insert some slides under it, and push again.