river
Original: river on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1: An older bearded man in a white toga (the philosopher Heraclitus) raises a hand and proclaims.
Heraclitus: "No man steps in the same river twice."
Panel 2: A younger bearded man in a white toga gives a thumbs-up, grinning, facing the older man.
Younger man: "I do!"
Panel 3: The two stand at the edge of a river. The younger man gestures down at the water.
Younger man: "Look, I'm putting my foot in this river one time."
Panel 4: The younger man steps into the river a second time.
Younger man: "Now I'm doing it a second time."
(Caption from the older man, carrying over: "But is it THE SAME river?")
Panel 5: The older man (Heraclitus) gestures skeptically. The younger man replies.
Heraclitus (carrying over): "...so it IS the SAME river?"
Younger man: "Yeah. I've been watching it the whole time."
Panel 6: The younger man sits cross-legged on the grass, deflated, while the older man stands nearby.
Younger man (carrying over): "Wow, boy do I feel stupid."
Heraclitus: "Get some sleep, Heraclitus."
Votey:
A close-up of the younger man looking up, puzzled.
Younger man: "How about, 'No man steps in the same river two billion times.'?"
Heraclitus: "No man steps in the same river twice."
Panel 2: A younger bearded man in a white toga gives a thumbs-up, grinning, facing the older man.
Younger man: "I do!"
Panel 3: The two stand at the edge of a river. The younger man gestures down at the water.
Younger man: "Look, I'm putting my foot in this river one time."
Panel 4: The younger man steps into the river a second time.
Younger man: "Now I'm doing it a second time."
(Caption from the older man, carrying over: "But is it THE SAME river?")
Panel 5: The older man (Heraclitus) gestures skeptically. The younger man replies.
Heraclitus (carrying over): "...so it IS the SAME river?"
Younger man: "Yeah. I've been watching it the whole time."
Panel 6: The younger man sits cross-legged on the grass, deflated, while the older man stands nearby.
Younger man (carrying over): "Wow, boy do I feel stupid."
Heraclitus: "Get some sleep, Heraclitus."
Votey:
A close-up of the younger man looking up, puzzled.
Younger man: "How about, 'No man steps in the same river two billion times.'?"
Alt text
A six-panel SMBC comic parodying the Heraclitus saying about rivers. Panel 1: an older bearded man in a toga proclaims, "No man steps in the same river twice." Panel 2: a younger bearded man in a toga grins and gives a thumbs-up, saying "I do!" Panel 3: at a riverbank, the younger man says, "Look, I'm putting my foot in this river one time." Panel 4: he steps in again, saying "Now I'm doing it a second time," while a caption asks "But is it THE SAME river?" Panel 5: the older man gestures skeptically, asking if it's the same river, and the younger man replies, "Yeah. I've been watching it the whole time." Panel 6: the younger man sits slumped on the grass saying "Wow, boy do I feel stupid," and the older man tells him, "Get some sleep, Heraclitus" -- revealing the literal-minded younger man is Heraclitus himself, being talked down by his own wiser self. Votey aftercomic: a close-up of the younger man looking puzzled, asking, "How about, 'No man steps in the same river two billion times.'?"
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.