Back when I had time and ambition (i.e. childhood) I compiled a series of weird facts and characters from the entire Calvin and Hobbes collection. Get one of your C & H books and check for yourself. Page number and weird fact shown below...
| The Essential Calvin and Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under the Bed is Drooling) | |
| 19 | The very first Calvin and Hobbes of course. Explains (kind of) Hobbes origin. |
| 25 | Susie is introduced as the new girl at Calvin's school. |
| 38 | A one-time occurence - Hobbes gives Calvin a sloppy kiss. |
| 44 | The school principal is named -- Mr. Spittle. |
| 53 | We all know about Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man ... but what about Captain Napalm and his only strip appearance. |
| 81 | Did you know Calvin is multilingual? He speaks Spanish here. |
| 88 | Another one time occurence - Susie asks Calvin for an answer. |
| 96 | In it is Calvin's babysitter, Rosalyn. But wait a second. On the C & H official site (www.calvinandhobbes.com), Rosalyn has brown hair. So is the blond one pictured here Rosalyn's sister, or did Rosalyn dye her hair later in the strips? Hmmm.... |
| 101 | Calvin actually kisses Susie. |
| 125 | Here, a strip implies that Calvin took piano lessons... |
| 144 | Like all good American boys, Calvin was once in the boy scouts. |
| 154 | One sad commentary on Hobbes. He uses 'Mickey Mouse' and 'cool' in the same sentence. On top of that he's wearing Mickey Mouse pants. |
| 163 | A one-time appearance of a Gym Instructor that was replaced later by Mr. Lockjaw. |
| 173 | YES, Calvin IS a Star Wars fan. He even mentions Jabba the Hutt in a strip. |
| 180 | A small mention of an old Calvin babysitter, Amy. What ever happened to her? |
| 204 | The only occurence where someone ages in the strip (Susie). |
| 225 | This is peculiar. Calvin and Hobbes hide under the bed, yet there are no monsters. Perhaps Calvin's monsters are nomadic. |
| 238 | The only teacher substitute we ever see. |
| 241 | In the bottom strip here, Calvin brings a bag of noodles to school. Could this have been the origin of the 'Noodle Incident' allegations? |
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| The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes (Yukon Ho! and Weirdos From Another Planet) | |
| 25/26 | Here we see Calvin's Dad in his high rise skyscraper office. This proves Calvin lives near a big city. |
| 65 | Captain Nitro - another one of Calvin's comic heroes. |
| 74 | Multilingual Calvin again. Sprechen sie Deustch? |
| 84 | Calvin plays not only the piano, but the saxophone as well. (He's such a child progeny) |
| 88 | Monotonous strip -- the picture is the same in every panel. |
| 105 | Only mention of a Calvin's horrible "salmander incident". I wonder.... |
| 108 | Hobbes gets some credit in this strip and signs his name next to Watterson's at the bottom. |
| 115-8 | Uncle Max's cameo appearance with Calvin. |
| 129 | Only strip ever without a drawing of Calvin, Hobbes, Susie, Dad, or Mom. |
| 163 | I believe this is the longest word of Calvin's extensive vocabulary -- Australopithecus. |
| 199 | Hobbes has a left hand mitt the whole strip until he throws it -- then it's a right hand mitt. Strange. |
| 213 | One of only two single-panel Sunday Strips ever. |
| 229 | The top strip here got C & H kicked out of a newspaper as Watterson tells us in the 10th Anniversary book. |
| The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes (Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink') | |
| 60 | Did you know Susie is left-handed? |
| 78 | G.R.O.S.S. is officially formed. It was almost called the "The Sinister Icy Black Hand of Death Club." T.S.I.B.H.O.D.C. just doesn't sound right anyways. |
| 101 | Though Hobbes is an advocate of Mickey Mouse pants, Calvin is a obviously anti-Disney as shown in a derogatory remark about Jiminy Cricket. |
| 117 | Calvin is a Batman fan...yes! |
| 119 | Those nomadic monsters under the bed are gone again. |
| 132 | The only time C & H are shown playing chess. |
| 155 | Calvin may not like Jiminy Cricket, but he heartily enjoys Bugs Bunny. |
| 166 | Well, this strip confirms that Moe is not the only glandular freak in first grade. |
| 176 | The only other 1-panel Sunday strip. |
| 188 | Here, the middle strip contains something really strange. Seven Calvins are shown, yet only six should've been there (Calvin + 5 duplicates). And stranger still, the extra has no stripes on his shirt. A ghost perhaps?.... |
| 207 | One of the only ever shown 'friends' of Calvin's Mom and Dad. |
| 211 | Another one-time mention of a comic book character -- Nuke-Man. |
| 229 | Appearance of Mr. Lockjaw -- gym teacher. |
| Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons | |
| All | The Sunday strips in this book are black and white and most can be found nowhere in color. |
| 7 | Calvin speaks French also! "Naïf" is the French masculine for naive. |
| 26 | The largest daily strip -- 7 panels. |
| 50 | How did Calvin learn Spanish, German, and French? Well, he studied Latin first ("Doofus Ignoramus") |
| 74 | Calvin in glasses. Strange. |
| 93 | This strip was drawn when Watterson's cat, Sprite, died. Sprite was the model for Hobbes. (Read about it in the Tenth Anniversary Book) |
| 113 | Here in the bottom right panel, Calvin and the Hobbes actually look out to us, the reader, and speak to us. A good proof that Hobbes is not just a stuffed animal. |
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| The Days Are Just Packed | |
| 13 | Do you know the G.R.O.S.S. national anthem? It's right here. |
| 16 | Calvin and Hobbes talk to us again. |
| 68 | Bill drawing Calvin drawing Calvin. |
| 87 | Here's an insight into character. When two Calvins get together, they argue. Two Hobbes... they get along perfectly. |
| 95 | Calvin says his mom doesn't let him play with guns, but we've seen him before. Is his Dad more lenient, or did his parents get stricter with time. |
| 115 | Two more comic characters - Captain Steroid and Amazon Girl. |
| 132 | You can see two pairs of monster eyes in this strip here. Maurice and Winslow, no doubt. |
| 162 | Calvin has blue socks. Just thought you'd like to know. |
| Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat | |
| 11 | Exactly what is Hobbes whispering here? |
| 19 | Ms. Wormwood smokes. |
| 19 | Hobbes makes a reference reminiscent to old Batman shows. Just another reason to believe that Calvin and Hobbes are Batman fans. |
| 72 | Here's where the letters of "Stupendous" man are explained. |
| 101 | We all know that Calvin is a poor student, yet this is the only time he is shown to get an "F", compared to two times he was given an "A". |
| 109 | Most words ever in a strip. |
| 172 | Have you ever seen those "No Fear" shirts with the saying "It's not the pace of life I mind. It's the sudden stop at the end."? Well it was taken from Hobbes. |
| There's Treasure Everywhere | |
| 40 | Rare enough -- Calvin gets an "A". |
| 59 | Here we see that Calvin is the first pickup on the school bus route. |
| 66 | Calvin imagines up a brother and calls him .... Melville? |
| 102 | Susie's mom makes an appearance.... |
| 104 | Not only is this strip drawn like a comicbook, but under Bill's signature is a list of artistic credits. |
| 168 | Ultra cleaning detergent Wiz Fiz©, the brand that Calvin's mom uses. |
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| It's a Magical World | |
| 9 | The only G.R.O.S.S. meeting not in the treehouse. |
| 41 | There are 23 pictures of Calvin (or what I assume to be Calvin) in this strip! |
| 42 | Calvin's class has a substitute -- Mr. Kneecapper. |
| 52 | Our first look at the computer in Calvin's household. It appears to be an IBM compatible. Looks like Calvin's dad was smart enough not to buy a Mac. |
| 53 | A whopping 43 panels. |
| 93 | We see from the text in this strip that Watterson is pretty computer literate, using phrases like "Hit F1 for help" and 'Dialog Box.' |
| 98 | The only episode of Rosalyn and Calvin where they get along. |
| 119 | The introduction of two new specific characters, aliens Galaxoid and Nebular. |
| 129 | Only six colors were used in this entire strip. |
| 165 | And so ends the "Calvin and Hobbes Decade." Let's go exploring ..... |