Charles Schulz’s final Peanuts strip appeared in newspapers on 13 February 2000, the day after his death, ending the comic’s 50-year run. The article argues that one of the strip’s most meaningful lines remains underappreciated: Charlie Brown’s question, “What’s the good of living if you don’t try a few things?”

The quote appeared in a February 1966 storyline about Charlie Brown entering a spelling bee, which later inspired the 1969 film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Although Schulz wrote the film himself, the line was omitted, suggesting that its significance may not have been recognised at the time; the article presents it as a simple but powerful statement about courage, effort and embracing life.