When this was originally published in 1988, Elly said, “1976,” which would have been 12 years prior. For those of us who noticed Michael’s 12-year-old birthday last week, this means the joke was that she hadn’t done any knitting since she had kids. In order to modernize the comic strip, Elly says, “1986.” Comparing that to 2017, that’s 31 years back and it means Elly has not done any knitting since she learned how at age 5. It changes the focus of the joke a little.
When this was originally published in 1988, Elly said, “1976,” which would have been 12 years prior. For those of us who noticed Michael’s 12-year-old birthday last week, this means the joke was that she hadn’t done any knitting since she had kids. In order to modernize the comic strip, Elly says, “1986.” Comparing that to 2017, that’s 31 years back and it means Elly has not done any knitting since she learned how at age 5. It changes the focus of the joke a little.