Seems like Calvin’s dad finally got his wish
Dialogue
Text content
Regular gasoline is priced at $8.059 per gallon at a Chevron gas station, matching the wish stated in the comic text
Overview
This is a two-panel mashup meme. The top panel features characters from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip: Calvin's dad, an enthusiastic cyclist, rants at car drivers, declaring cyclists have a right to the road, calls car users noisy, polluting, inconsiderate maniacs, and says he hopes gas prices rise to eight dollars a gallon. Young Calvin stands nearby looking on. The bottom panel is a real photograph of a modern Chevron gas station price sign that shows regular gasoline is priced at over $8 per gallon, meaning the dad's offhand wish from the comic has actually come true in real life. The humor comes from the irony of a decades-old comic quote becoming reality with recent skyrocketing gas prices in the United States.
Origin notes
This is a user-created meme originally posted to Reddit, that combines dialogue and characters from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes comic strip with a real photo of current high gas prices. The joke plays on a popular fan-favorite quote from Calvin's dad about his frustration with cars and desire for higher gas prices, paired with real-world gas inflation that hit $8+ per gallon in some US regions in the 2020s, fulfilling his wish unexpectedly.