Because "Indians" used to bury people this way as a form of torture, or test of bravery--only they probably didn't really, at least not as much as movies might have suggested. Here's a clip from the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" (1972), which was very well known at the time and probably inspired this strip: https://youtu.be/pYhlVR9GzjA?si=klSXoYG0m3ynJzE4
Currently, mmr is about 86% effective against mumps. It may have been less so in the 80s. Also, she may have only had one round of shots. Could be she was just unlucky, and her immune response wasn't strong enough. It's not unheard of.
I believe it's referring to a barn dance They were popular at the time of the strip, except in this case, the band booked a barn dance with actual barn animals. I think the drawing style looks different because this is an early one, 1981.
In 1982, it would have been unheard of for a pet store to be selling snakes in a window like this. Puppies, bunnies, guinea pigs, sure, but not snakes. Maybe they would have one or two in the back of the store, but it wasn't common. That makes this scenario unlikely and somewhat absurd. Plus, Larson loves snakes and probably this would have been a wish fulfillment for him.
Glade. "A small area of grass without trees in a forest."
I'm American and I said atchoo. It's probably regional.
It's a very old nursery rhyme dating from 1744. There are variations, but it's basically this:
Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home. Your house is on fire. And your children all gone.
All except one, And that's little Ann, For she crept under The frying pan.
Bayley looks tired, lol.
Heh. Hard to argue with that name.
Considering the resemblance, I'm surprised there are none named for a cat of some kind.
I wonder how many owls have another animal in the name? Eagle Owl, Hawk Owl, Fish Owl... Elf Owl, does that count?
Please come to my house and enjoy all the juicy voles, so they'll stop eating my beans and cukes.