Polygon has put together a ranked countdown of the funniest cow-themed comics from Gary Larson's *The Far Side*, the surreal single-panel newspaper strip that ran from 1980 to 1995. The list highlights Larson's enduring fascination with cows as recurring comic subjects across the 4,337 strips he produced, including the infamous "Cow Tools" panel that famously baffled readers in 1982.

The countdown draws on Larson's own explanation, given to The New York Times, that he found the word "cow" inherently funny and saw cows as "tragic figures" straddling comedy and pathos. Entries span from 1981 to 1987 and include jokes about cows realising they eat grass, role-reversal gags involving farmers, and the "Cow Tools" strip, which prompted such reader confusion that Larson issued a press release the next day clarifying it was simply meant to depict cows being bad toolmakers.

– Polygon ranks its top 10 funniest cow comics from Gary Larson's The Far Side
– Larson called cows "tragic figures" that blur comedy and tragedy
– The 1982 "Cow Tools" strip famously confused readers, prompting a Larson press release