Original artwork, not a still
Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.
— Calvin and Hobbes · 1985
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The punchline turns an alien-contact joke back on humanity: if there is a smarter civilisation out there, its silence is a verdict on us. It is Calvin at his most Watterson-like, a small boy delivering an environmental barb with a straight face. It travels well because the target is never named, only implied, and it gets quoted whenever the news looks grim.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Calvin and HobbesShow the scene
Calvin and Hobbes, strip of 8 November 1989. Out walking, Calvin comes across trash dumped in the woods and recalls something he has been reading about countless species being pushed towards extinction by humanity's destruction of forests. He sums it up with the joke about intelligent life elsewhere in the universe: the surest sign it exists is that none of it has tried to contact us.
Sources (1)
- Wikiquote: Calvin and HobbesQuotes list, entry dated 08 Nov 89Reference checked
Context reviewed
