The hysterical absurdity of Far Side comic could be about a tree going to heaven after it was chopped down, while another could be about pilots flying giant babies.

Truly, there is no telling what any given Far Side comic is going to be about, which gives it a type of freedom other popular comic strip series simply don’t have. Comics like Peanuts and Garfield have to shape their jokes around a main character or characters, while The Far Side shapes its characters around any given joke. That offers The Far Side the freedom to have comics about anything, allowing them to be insanely random. And, in these 10 Far Side strips, the comic pushes its famous randomness to the max, as they are all about one thing: hats.

10 The Far Side's "Rabbit Hats"

Even Rabbits Wear Hats in The Far Side

A farmer (who is, himself, wearing a hat) stands over a rabbit hole in the middle of his cabbage garden, and right next to the rabbit hole is a tiny hat rack with three little hats hanging on it. These hats clearly belong to the rabbits, who put them on upon leaving their rabbit hole, and put them back on the rack upon reentering. Unfortunately, the hat rack seems to have given these rabbits away more than their hole has, as the farmer knows exactly who they are after looking at their hats alone.

The idea of rabbits not only wearing hats, but owning a hat rack that's positioned right outside their hole is funny enough, but this joke becomes even funnier when considering that the farmer is familiar with these specific rabbits because of their hats.

9 The Far Side's "Hats on a Plane"

A Pilot is More Concerned with Losing His Hat than His Crashing Plane in The Far Side

Two pilots are sitting in the cockpit of the plane they're flying, when suddenly, the cockpit's roof flies off. The plane is severely damaged, and in all likelihood, it's going down. Right now, the pilots have to give it everything they've got to keep the plane from crashing. But, at least one of them is distracted, not by the horror of a potential crash, but by the fact that his hat flew off his head along with the top of the plane.

This pilot is more concerned with losing his hat than his crashing plane, which is a clear indicator that he needs to rethink his priorities. Obviously, the idea that someone staring death in the face would be more concerned with their hat than their own life - and the lives of others - is utterly absurd, and absolutely hilarious in true Far Side fashion.

8 The Far Side's "Cowboy Fashion Catastrophe"

Two Cowboys Should Never Show Up to a Function in the Same Hat in The Far Side

Two cowboys are about to enter a saloon, but before they walk through the swinging doors, the first cowboy tells Bart that he can't go in there, because there's another cowboy who is wearing the exact same hat as him. While this likely wouldn't be a problem any other time, the hats these two cowboys separately chose to wear are decidedly unique, meaning two of them wearing the same hat would definitely be noticed.

Wearing the same outfit as someone at a function - especially an outfit that's especially bold - is embarrassing, as it forces everyone to compare the two, and decide who wears it better. The Far Side plays on that in this comic, making it utterly ridiculous by not only having cowboys be concerned about their appearances, but by giving them both outlandish hats.

7 The Far Side's "Pet Hats"

The Far Side Answers the Question: What If Pets Wore Hats?

Four dogs, two cats, and a bird are all featured in this Far Side comic. The two cats have run up a tree, and three of the four dogs are waiting at the base of the tree for the cats to come down. The bird is hanging out in its birdcage inside a house, and can be seen through one of the windows. All-in-all, it's a pretty normal scene with a number of pets interacting with each other. At least, it would be if all the pets weren't wearing hats.

The style of hat perfectly reflects the pets wearing them in The Far Side.

The dogs are wearing baseball caps, the cats are wearing fedoras, and the bird is wearing a ten-gallon hat. So, what if pets wore hats? They'd all have different styles - an answer to a question literally no one but The Far Side could have.

6 The Far Side's "Squidheads Anonymous"

A Group of People Wear Squids as Hats in The Far Side

The Far Side takes readers into an 'anonymous' meeting where a group of like-minded people are able to express their common interest in a safe space. But this one - in true Far Side fashion - is decidedly stranger than an average 'anonymous' meeting. These people's shared interest is wearing squids on their heads like hats, and they call themselves 'Squidheads'.

Squids are regularly used for a gag in The Far Side, though this is the first time they're worn as hats.

What's even funnier than the idea of a group of people wearing squids on their heads, or the fact that this particular meeting is to welcome new (how many people could there be that do this?), is the little sign on the back wall that reads, "No Hats". Squids are fine, but this group draws the line at wearing hats on their heads - indeed, only in The Far Side.

5 The Far Side's "Cowboy Chicken"

A Cowboy Chicken Poses More Questions than Answers in The Far Side

A chicken wearing a cowboy hat rides into town on the back of a horse while the townsfolk look at it with utter disbelief. One of them turns to his buddy, Jed, and says, "That's Ben Potter's horse, all right, but ain't that Henry Morgan's chicken ridin' him?". Indeed, this Far Side comic poses more questions than it answers.

What is Morgan's chicken doing riding Potter's horse, and where are Morgan and Potter themselves? Did Morgan and Potter kill each other in some shoot-out, and all that remains are their animals who have teamed up to be cowboys in their place? Why is the chicken wearing a cowboy hat? This absurd picture of a chicken riding a horse mixed with the little bit of information readers are given about them leaves readers as baffled as the townsfolk.

4 The Far Side's "Little Hat"

This Guy is Insulting the Wrong Cowboy's Hat in The Far Side

Three cowboys are sitting at the bar of a saloon, and the cowboy in the middle has decided to spark up a conversation with the man sitting next to him. This man is very large, and he has his rifle sitting on the bar in front of him, as if he's ready to use it at a moment's notice. While the man might be large, his hat is comically small - and the cowboy in the middle laughs at him for it.

Not only could the large cowboy break the other one in half with his sheer size alone, but he has his gun ready to use. Sure, his hat is laughably small, and looks ridiculous sitting on top of this man's head, but that's not something that should ever be said to his face - as the smaller cowboy is sure to learn.

3 The Far Side's "Silly Little Hat"

A Three-Eyed Elephant Man Gets Fingered in a Lineup... Because of His Hat

Police are working with a woman who was the victim of a crime, calling her in to point out who it was that committed the crime against her. On the other side of the two-way glass, the woman fingers one of the perps in the lineup, saying that she'd recognize the little hat he's wearing anywhere. To her credit, the hat is definitely one that would stick out in anyone's memory, but not more than the fact that the perp himself is a three-eyed elephant man.

It's hilarious that the thing this woman re most about this particular suspect is his hat, when there are certainly far more memorable things about him - like his monstrous appearance. But, in The Far Side, this level of absurdity is commonplace, and utterly hysterical.

2 The Far Side's "Eyeball Hat"

A Researcher Uses a Hat to Get His Colleague Killed in The Far Side

During a courtroom case, a man who had been mauled by a baboon takes the stand. The lawyer questioning him asks if it is true that his fellow researcher - knowing that eye would make a baboon go crazy - gave him a hat with fake eyeballs glued to the top of it. While the comic doesn't show the man's answer, it's clear by the state of him what that answer would be. Indeed, it's fair to assume that the researcher did, in fact, try to kill his colleague - and he tried to do so with a hat.

Apparently, in The Far Side, hats aren't just fashion statements, but also potential murder weapons. The whole situation would be almost tragic if it wasn't so funny, but thankfully, it seems likely that justice will be served, and this 'eyeball hat' will be retired forever.

1 The Far Side's "Importance of Hard Hats"

By Not Wearing the Proper Hat, This Construction Worker Gets a New One in The Far Side

A construction worker, who was supposed to be wearing a hard hat, had an entire building fall on his head. His foreman points at him and says, "And that, Arnie, is why we wear hard hats on the job". Though, to be fair, it doesn't seem like a hard hat would have made much difference, but even still, wearing one is just good practice, and Arnie was not being safe on the job.

Interestingly, however, Arnie got another hat by not wearing a hard hat: the building itself. Arnie wasn't crushed under the weight of it, but was instead wearing the actual building as a hat after it fell on him. By not wearing the proper hat, Arnie gets himself a new one, which is just as absurd as it sounds, and fits right in with every other ridiculous situation ever shown in The Far Side.