Speak for the Tick, Capybara
I swear I’ll stop talking about capybaras on this blog, but someone had mentioned Speak, the capybara on The Tick that The Tick thinks is a dog, until his sidekick Arthur takes Speak to the vet. (Speak only speaks twice in the whole history of the show.)
Here’s more from wikipedia that’s just too funny. And now I’m done talking about capybaras.
In his own right Speak’s appearance was unusual for a capybara in that he appeared to lack any kind of neck and his head was much larger in comparison to his body than is true for a capybara. Although described as “moist” he was rarely seen in the water, but this likely came from the constraints of living in the characters’ apartment. Unrelated to his “capybara-ness” he also had a kind of eczema and a runny nose.
Speak generally lived in the cupboard beneath the sink in Arthur’s kitchen. He appears to have been completely terrified of the Tick. The Tick was, of course, completely oblivious to this.
6 comments on “Speak for the Tick, Capybara”
Loved the Tick cartoon, and Speak especially. Suspiciously, he could only “talk” when the Tick had just received some sort of horrid head-injury. There were a few Tick fast-food toys made, I have most of them. As I recall, the “Speak” toy has a hypodermic-style plunger in his butt that can be used to shoot water out of his nose. Does it get any better than that?
Speaking (for the last time) of Capybara, I’ll never forget the first time I saw one. I was a small boy, and it was on a carnival side-show. The barker was going on about the “world’s largest rat.” I had to see it, and somehow convinced my notoriously tight dad to cough up the ten cents or whatever to get into the tent. There was a lone, sad-looking capybara in a wire-metal-cage. The sign over the cage explained that it really WASN’T a rat, though it was a rodent. I wasn’t disappointed, possibly because it was from South America, which was pretty cool. I bragged about it later to my friends at school. As I recall, they were not impressed.
Steve–that was, sadly, my first encounter with a caybara, too. (I assume you’ve seen the interview downriver.)
That’s hilarious re the fast-food toys!!!
Jef
Actually, I’m coming in late, the “Tick” mention on Facebook having finally gotten my attention (I’d seen the capybara references before, but hadn’t followed up on them). Just now went back to read the interview. Fascinating stuff.
Interesting that we both had our first capybara encounter the same way. Given that I’m about ten years older then you, and you saw yours in your teens, while I was quite young, it certainly couldn’t be the same capy. But could it have been the same exhibitor? How many people could be traveling with carnivals showing capybaras? One of the more unlikely occupations I’ve ever heard of.
It is sad to think of the animals, being trucked around the country, cooped in those little cages being gawked and poked by rubes. You’d like to imagine that during off-hours they were taken for long walks and a swim in the nearest pond, but that seems sadly unlikely.
oh woe is me, i’ve never seen the tick….in my cultural and geographical isolation my childhood was limited to skippy, the bush kangaroo, doctor who and the kenny everett video show……..
peace and love…….
Steve–ya know, I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you’re right. There probably weren’t/aren’t that many people who are part of fairs who bring capybaras with them. So there might well be some connection.
Comments are closed.