Fifty-four years ago, Snoopy started his most ambitious Peanuts adventure, which will take him a millennium and a half to finish. Snoopy’s most celebrated persona, the World War I Flying Ace, takes flight atop his red doghouse to engage the villainous Red Baron in aerial dogfights. When he retreats from the skies, he transforms into the hip, sunglasses-wearing college student Joe Cool. Snoopy assumes other distinct identities, such as the trench-coat-clad World Famous Author typing out bad novels, the agile Flashbeagle dominating the dance floor, and a fearless Beagle Scout leading a troop of birds through the wilderness.

Snoopy’s wildest adventures often break the boundaries of Charlie Brown’s backyard. In a 1969 Peanuts storyline, Snoopy actually beat NASA to the lunar surface and marched across the moon with an empty fishbowl on his head. Snoopy also undertakes grueling desert treks to visit his brother Spike in Needles, California, and back home, his neighborhood exploits include relentless backyard wars against the unseen Cat Next Door. Sometimes, the Peanuts strips with the best art are precisely those starring Snoopy in self-imposed missions where he forgets his house pet nature.

Curiously, Snoopy’s boldest adventure starts atop his dog house when he simply decides to read a book in the most eccentric way possible.

Snoopy Will Finish Reading War And Peace In 3581

Snoopy’s Quest Takes 1609 Years To Complete

In an especially absurd Peanuts comic strip published on March 27, 1972, Snoopy embarks on a quest to complete Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel War and Peace, only reading one word a day. When questioned by Linus van Pelt, Snoopy explains that he’s “in no hurry” to finish the book, and besides, he likes to “think” about what he reads, in an overblown attempt to digest every single word Tolstoy put on the page. This ambitious mission has been acknowledged a few times since, and the official Peanuts website lists it as Snoopy’s main “did you know” trivia fact.

If Snoopy sticks to his word and actually reads no more and no fewer than a word of the novel a day, Peanuts‘ iconic beagle is set to finish Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace in the year 3581. War and Peace‘s word count stands between 587,287 words and 587,675 words, depending on the edition. On the lower end of the approximation, this means that it will take Snoopy around 83,898 weeks, 19,295 months, and 1,609 years, give or take. While regular humans struggle to finish the heavy volume in a few weeks, Snoopy prefers to savor his literature with patience, to say the least.

Snoopy Should Be Around To Witness Other Fictional Events

Snoopy’s Patience And Stubbornness Would Allow Him To Live Multiple Lifetimes

When Snoopy finally turns the last page of War and Peace in the year 3581, his immediate surroundings will align with a few epic interstellar conflicts from science fiction. This date matches the thirty-sixth century era of the anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes, where the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance engage in massive space battles. Snoopy could also observe the temporal travelers from Doctor Who during the Dalek wars of this millennium, or watch the early expansion of the United Earth government across the Milky Way. After all, Snoopy is still young seventy-six years after his Peanuts debut and willing to embark on similarly bold adventures.

In between 2026 and 3581, Snoopy will survive Terminator‘s Future War in 2029, the neon-drenched dystopia of Blade Runner 2049, and the nuclear devastation of Star Trek‘s World War III in 2053. He will watch humanity rebuild during First Contact in 2063 and endure the corporate grid of Cyberpunk 2077. Snoopy’s book path will persist through the machine wars of The Matrix, the corporate greed of the Alien franchise’s Weyland-Yutani expeditions, and the colonization of Pandora in James Cameron’s Avatar. He will also witness the Human-Covenant conflict of Halo in 2552, and even the wacky New New York of Futurama at the turn of the fourth millennium.

Which of Snoopy’s most absurd Peanuts gags is your favorite?

Cast

Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Bill Melendez, Sally Dryer, Peter Robbins, Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Lisa DeFaria, Venus Omega Schultheis

Created by

Charles M. Schulz

Movie(s)

The Peanuts Movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown’s All Stars!, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

Character(s)

Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Marcie (Peanuts), Peppermint Patty, Woodstock