Remember Calvin: No expectations, no disappointments, don’t hope, you’re never gonna make a difference, and you’re never gonna get what you want Dr John Becker.
remember how excited we were when we were kids and the thing we saved and ate (and ate) for finally arrived? how long has it been since you had that same feeling??
Never mind ghosts at Christmas (or any other gift-giving occasion for a child); those two three-word phrases that strike terror into any parent or adult’s heart. “Some Assembly Required.” “Batteries Not Included.”*
I don’t remember getting very many items like that when I was a kid. I do remember getting a “Magic Trick”, where you rolled in a blank piece of paper, and out rolled a dollar bill.
“some assembly required is a family joke. when I was a kid my room was over the garage. my dad had bought a grill ’some assembly…” and all afternoon i could hear him swearing as he tried to put it together before he realized the wholes had been drilled in the wrong place at the factory.
Whatever size batteries it needs, Mom won’t have. That’s how it worked at my house. We had a drawer full of batteries. If you needed AA, there would be D, C, AAA, Transistor, everything but AA. In tow days, if you needed a AAA, there would be everything but a AAA. That drawer was possesses and messed with out family.
Some assembly required, Calvin. Just like that 8-piece box of fried chicken, remember?You pasted `some assembly required` stickers onto all the boxes of fried chicken pieces at the supermarket by your house.
BE THIS GUY about 5 years ago
And now we have next week’s arc.
codycab about 5 years ago
Uh oh!
GreasyOldTam about 5 years ago
I hope Calvin doesn’t try to assemble it himself.
starfighter441 about 5 years ago
Remember, if you can’t fix it with a hammer, it’s an electrical fault…
The Calvinosaurus That Calvin Wanted To Discover about 5 years ago
Only “some” assembly required. So it shouldn’t be too bad.
Nachikethass about 5 years ago
Give it to Hobbes! You’ll only break it!!
Templo S.U.D. about 5 years ago
it’s like LEGO and IKEA… the assembling part
lucky444 about 5 years ago
Remember Calvin: No expectations, no disappointments, don’t hope, you’re never gonna make a difference, and you’re never gonna get what you want Dr John Becker.
Liverlips McCracken Premium Member about 5 years ago
What did he think made it spin? Hope and desire?
Watcher about 5 years ago
Sheer joy turns to panic and finally to disappointment.
Auntie Socialist about 5 years ago
Putting it together is half the fun
SonicFan91 about 5 years ago
Wa wa waaaa
leopoldenoch about 5 years ago
Poor Calvin, he will be disappointed…
LeeCox about 5 years ago
His crazy-eyed expression in the third panel. That’s what weeks of obsession does to a person!
westcarleton about 5 years ago
They never had batteries, of course. https://todayinsci.com/Events/Patent/UltimatePropellerHead.htm
donwalter about 5 years ago
Bring the beanie into the 21st century. Add the solar panels to it, 3 more propellers, and he’d have a drone for his head. THEN he’d be able to fly…
Andrew Sleeth about 5 years ago
I recall when everything took “six to eight weeks for delivery.”
Masterskrain Premium Member about 5 years ago
6 words of death! Ask ANY parent on Christmas morning…
johndifool about 5 years ago
Next, he’ll be ordering a Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator…
enigmamz about 5 years ago
Uh-oh. Someone get out the magnifying glass to find the dropped pieces!
JD_Rhoades about 5 years ago
I bet the X-ray spex don’t work as advertised either.
Tentoes about 5 years ago
Battery toys were kind of bad. The batteries would run down the first time you played it then you would never have batteries for it again.
wndflower1 about 5 years ago
remember how excited we were when we were kids and the thing we saved and ate (and ate) for finally arrived? how long has it been since you had that same feeling??
comixbomix about 5 years ago
Same instructions as when Calvin himself was ‘delivered’…
KKpt Prien Premium Member about 5 years ago
Has Calvin EVER managed to assemble something properly?
Bookworm about 5 years ago
Never mind ghosts at Christmas (or any other gift-giving occasion for a child); those two three-word phrases that strike terror into any parent or adult’s heart. “Some Assembly Required.” “Batteries Not Included.”*
*Which was a great movie, by the way.
Mr. Epic about 5 years ago
3 week arc?
alexius23 about 5 years ago
Anticipation never equal reality
DCBakerEsq about 5 years ago
Wile E. Coyote’s orders from ACME never took this long.
BiathlonNut about 5 years ago
So it is “Some Assembly Required” and “Batteries Not Included.”
Builds character.
ChessPirate about 5 years ago
I don’t remember getting very many items like that when I was a kid. I do remember getting a “Magic Trick”, where you rolled in a blank piece of paper, and out rolled a dollar bill.
Wizard of Ahz-no relation about 5 years ago
“some assembly required is a family joke. when I was a kid my room was over the garage. my dad had bought a grill ’some assembly…” and all afternoon i could hear him swearing as he tried to put it together before he realized the wholes had been drilled in the wrong place at the factory.
JohnFarson19 about 5 years ago
Whatever size batteries it needs, Mom won’t have. That’s how it worked at my house. We had a drawer full of batteries. If you needed AA, there would be D, C, AAA, Transistor, everything but AA. In tow days, if you needed a AAA, there would be everything but a AAA. That drawer was possesses and messed with out family.
AndrewSihler about 5 years ago
Those things are powered?? I thought that the little propellor on a beanie was just ornamental.
A Hip loving Canadian... about 5 years ago
I’m sure Hobbes will help out with this new disaster, uh, I mean project.
willie_mctell about 5 years ago
2 lessons about adulthood in one arc. Freud said something, phrased differently, about socialization being a war of attrition.
The Pro from Dover about 5 years ago
Ah the ole BNI. if you didn’t have a forward-thinking parent you had to wait another day.
Scoutmaster77 about 5 years ago
Uh, oh…
PaulInMiami about 5 years ago
Some assembly required, Calvin. Just like that 8-piece box of fried chicken, remember?You pasted `some assembly required` stickers onto all the boxes of fried chicken pieces at the supermarket by your house.
hagarthehorrible about 5 years ago
What’s the fun when the whole thing is assembled and ready for the flight. Half the fun is in assembling.