Dilbert cartoon first published on Sunday 11th August 1996

Dilbert//2675, first published thirty years ago on Sunday 11th August 1996

Tags

voice mail message department quality thought websters dictionary african mammel aardvark shared printer spewing resume

Official transcript

The Boss sits at his desk and says into the telephone, "This voice mail message is for the whole department."

The Boss continues, "Every morning from now on you'll get my 'Quality Thought of the Day.'"

The Boss continues, "Today's thought is . . . Um . . ."

The Boss looks in a desk drawer and continues, "Let's see . . . According to Webster's dictionary . . ."

The Boss continues, "Aardvark is a burrowing African mammal that eats ants."

The Boss continues, "What if we were more like that?"

Dilbert sits at his desk listening to the message. The Boss continues, "I mean like the aardvark, not the ants . . ."

Alice looks at her phone. The Boss stands by the printer thinking, "That's weird. Every time I leave my Quality Thought of the Day, the shared printer starts spewing resumes."

Dilbert and Wally peek around the corner.

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

THIS VOICE-MAIL MESSAGE IS FOR THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT.

EVERY MORNING FROM NOW ON YOU'LL GET MY "QUALITY THOUGHT OF THE DAY." TODAY'S THOUGHT IS ... UM...

LET'S SEE... ACCORDING TO WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY AARDVARK IS A BURROWING AFRICAN MAMMAL THAT EATS ANTS WHAT IF WE WERE MORE LIKE THAT?

I MEAN LIKE THE AARDVARK, NOT THE ANTS THAT'S WEIRD. EVERY TIME I LEAVE MY QUALITY THOUGHT OF THE DAY, THE SHARED PRINTER STARTS SPEWING RSUMS

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

The comic strip is titled "Aardvark" and features Dilbert, a bespectacled office worker with black hair, sitting at his desk.

Storyline

• Dilbert receives a voice-mail message from his department head, Scott Adams, who informs him that every morning he will receive a "quality thought of the day."
• The first "quality thought" is about aardvarks, which are described as burrowing African mammals that eat ants.
• Dilbert is unimpressed and responds by saying, "I mean like the aardvark, not the ants."
• The woman in the next cubicle, who is depicted as having an afro, overhears the conversation and asks, "What if we were more like that?"
• Dilbert replies, "I mean like the aardvark, not the ants."
• The woman responds, "That's weird. Every time I leave my quality thought of the day, the shared printer starts spewing resumes."
• The comic strip ends with Dilbert looking confused and the woman walking away, leaving Dilbert to wonder what she meant.

Humor and Commentary

The comic strip is humorous because it pokes fun at the idea of a "quality thought of the day" and the absurdity of using aardvarks as an example. It also comments on the monotony of office work and the ways in which people try to find meaning and purpose in their daily routines.

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Accompanying textual content, such as title, tags and transcripts, is shown here if we have it. Not every comic has all of these, and they seem to be a bit hit and miss even on the official website.