There is no shortage of iconic characters inPeanuts. While the likes of Charlie Brown,Snoopy, and Woodstockare probably the most recognizable, they are far from the only reasons to read the comic strip, as even hard-side characters in this franchise are utterly hilarious. And above them all, one stands as the single weirdest character, and they are prominently featured in the crop ofPeanutscomics published in September 1974.
50 years ago, almost the entire month of September inPeanutshistory was dedicated tothe most peculiar character Charles M. Schulz ever brought to the strip: School Building. InPeanutslore, the schoolthe Peanuts gangattends is actually alive, and every once in a while, it interacts with the students. And, in September 1974, School Building might as well have become a member of the Peanuts gang itself - and it’s as hilarious as it is absurd (and slightly terrifying). Here are the10 funniestPeanutscomics that just turned 50!
10Lucy Hilariously Dismisses Her Obvious Lack of Baseball Skills
Peanuts- July 04, 2025
Lucy has famously been on thePeanuts gang’sbaseball team since the start of the comic strip, and now, Linus is old enough to participate as well, and he comes to the conclusion that Lucy is a drain on the team. Linus breaks down the statistics and finds that Lucy continuously drops, misses, or otherwise fumbles the ball in her position in right field - as in, hundreds of instances. But,Lucy has a perfectly reasonable and concise explanation for that: “The sun was in my eyes!”.
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Saying “the sun was in my eyes” is a fine excuse for a couple of poor performances, but Linus calculated the stats from years of recorded games. Clearly,Lucy has no baseball skills whatsoever, and the fact that she’s blaming the sun is absolutely hilarious.
9Lucy Keeps Blowing Her Chances with Schroeder, Even When She Understands the Problem
Peanuts- August 08, 2025
Lucy has had a crush on Schroeder for years, but every time she makes her feelings known to him, they aren’t reciprocated.Schroeder simply doesn’t like Lucy, and honestly, it doesn’t seem as though he really likes anyone or anything but his piano. However, Lucy is determined to win his heart, and in this comic strip, Lucy thinks she’s identified the problem.
So, Lucy decides she’s just going to hang out next to him while he plays without saying a word - which she is able to do for no longer than a single panel.
Lucy keeps talking to Schroeder while he’s trying to play the piano, and he clearly doesn’t like that. So, Lucy decides she’s just going to hang out next to him while he plays without saying a word - which she is able to do for no longer than a single panel.Even when Lucy realizes what the (potential) problem is, she still blows her chances with Schroeder(in hilariously self-prophetic fashion).
8Peppermint Patty Reveals Why She’d Rather Just Sleep During Class
Peanuts- Aug 04, 2025
When the class is presented with a math problem, Peppermint Patty confidently raises her hand to solve it, only to give the wrong answer. She then tries to correct herself by spitting out a number of other answers, and every single one of them is wrong. In an effort to get some sort of credit,Peppermint Patty offers to spell “Mississippi” - as if doing so would help her grade in math.
Peppermint Patty went out of her way to participate in class, which is a huge step up from what she normally does. However,every answer she gave was wrong. At that point,Peppermint Patty might as well have just slept, which is assuredly the conclusion she came to herself, given practically every other comic strip featuring Patty in the classroom.
7Sally Hilariously Tells Off the School Building Before the First Day of School
Peanuts- July 21, 2025
In the first appearance of the School Building in September 1974, Sally decides to give it a piece of her mind the day before the first day of school.Sally screams at the sentient building, calling it “stupid”and saying that she bets it can’t wait to “torture a bunch of innocent kids”.
In response, the School Building simply says, “Somebody get this kid away from me”.
The School Building was in no mood to get told off by some kid, especially since the only ‘crime’ it had committed was merely existing. Plus, the School Building surely has enough on its mind with school back in session the very next day, at which point it will be filled with kids that hate it - so this one being a day early was assuredly not appreciated.
6The School Building Quickly Becomes a Danger to Kids who Annoy It
Peanuts- August 08, 2025
In another instance where Sally is telling off the School Building, she digs even deeper into why it’s the worst, and how other similar institutions should be criticized more. Sally even says that everyone should “take a closer look” at the problems that exist within schools everywhere, at which point, the School Building seems to have had enough. TheSchool Building replies, “Look closer, kid, and I’ll drop a brick on you!!”.
What began as a wackyPeanutscharacter becomes pure nightmare fuel not dissimilar to a Stephen King novel. A sentient school that gets offended by critical kids with the power to physically harm them with bricks?That’sThe Shining/Christine-level terrifying, and this isn’t the only comic where it’s a problem.
5Sally Realizes She Better Stay on the School Building’s Good Side
Peanuts- June 23, 2025
After mercilessly berating the School Building in the previous few comic strips, resulting in threats of physical violence, Sally decides to be a bit gentler with the School Building.Sally complimented the building, saying that she thought its bricks were cool.The School Building responds with a simple heart (did the School Building invent the emoji?), which indicated that the building and Sally were on good terms moving forward.
While Sally may have been acting purely out of the kindness of her own heart, it’s a bit suspicious that her view on the School Building changed so drastically after it threatened to drop a brick on her head -as if Sally was under the impression that she’d better be nice to the School Building… or else.
4School Building Misses Sally on the Weekends, Which is Either Incredibly Sweet or Utterly Sinister
Peanuts- July 23, 2025
ThisPeanutscomic features the School Building talking to itself, complaining about how it’s the weekend, meaning “that little girl won’t be around today”, with ‘that little girl’ being Sally. The School Building also gets sad by the fact that it’s only Saturday, which means this is only day-one of not seeing Sally.The School Building then says that it hates the weekends, which assuredly coincides with its newfound feelings for Sally.
This is either really sweet, in that this sentient building has somehow found friendship against all odds, or it’s utterly sinister. Again, theSchool Building threatened to bludgeon Sally with bricks before she was nice to it, and now it seems to have grown obsessed with her.
3Sally’s Friendship with the School Building is Genuine, & Charlie Brown’s Embarrassment Prove It
Peanuts- June 30, 2025
In an optimistic twist, it seemsthe friendship between the School Building and Sally was genuine after all!When Sally is home sick from school, she tells Charlie Brown to tell the School Building why she isn’t there. Sally wouldn’t have felt the need to do this if she didn’t genuinely care about the School Building, proving that there isn’t anything happening here that Stephen King would be interested in writing about. These two just got off to a rocky start, but the friendship they found was true.
While this comic is incredibly sweet, the funniest part is Charlie Brown’s interaction with the School Building. Chuck tells it that he feels like a fool talking to a building, to which the School building replies,“This is not the biggest thrill of my life, either, kid!”,implying that talking to Charlie Brown is as dull as talking to a brick wall - even for a literal brick wall!
2The School Building Isn’t as Sweet as Sally Made It Seem After All
Peanuts- July 24, 2025
While Sally’s genuine friendship with the School Building seemingly put aside any sinister implications in regard to the sentient structure, this comic makes readers rethink what they thought they knew about the School Building. After Lucy catches Charlie Brown talking to the School Building on Sally’s behalf, she calls him crazy, saying that anyone would be crazy to talk to a building, especially a “stupid brick building” like this one. Then,the School Building does to Lucy what it threatened to do to Sally a few strips prior: strike her with a brick.
While Sally may have actually come to like the School Building, that doesn’t detract from the unnatural horror of what happened to Lucy, as this sensitive sentient school is a genuine threat to the students.
It seems the School Building wasn’t just making empty threats, it actually has the power to throw bricks at kids that offend it. While Sally may have actually come to like the School Building, that doesn’t detract from the unnatural horror of what happened to Lucy, as this sensitive sentient school is a genuine threat to the students.
1Peanuts Subtly Explains Why the School Building is So Violent… & Dangerous
Peanuts- August 21, 2025
Charlie Brown was roped into talking to the School Building on Sally’s behalf all week while she was out sick, and within that time, he was reported to the principal by another student who thought he was acting crazy. Charlie Brown confronts Sally about this, saying that he’s been “suffering in silence” this whole time just to help her out. After they walk away,the School Building says to itself, “I’ve been suffering in silence for sixty years, kid!”.
This is a chilling comic strip, as it explains why the School Building is so aggressive toward rude children, and obsessive toward the nice ones: it has been “suffering in silence” for decades.The School Building isn’t just a weirdPeanutscharacter, it’s absolute nightmare fuel, as it’s been driven mad by years of abuse, and is finally ready to exact its vengeance upon those it thinks deserve it.
Of course, at the end of the day, the School Building is just that: a building - meaning the idea that it’s a scary threat (or even a good friend) is utterly ridiculous, and absolutely hilarious. That’s why the comic strips featuring the School Building are among the 10 funniestPeanutscomics that just turned 50!
Peanuts
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
