The dura mater has two layers, or lamellae: The superficial layer (also called the periosteal layer), which serves as the skull's inner periosteum, called the endocranium; and a deep layer called the meningeal layer; the actual dura mater.
The term thagomizer was coined by Gary Larson in humor, in a 1982 Far Side comic strip, in which a group of cavemen in a faux-modern lecture hall are taught by their caveman professor that the spikes on a Stegosaur's tail are so named after the late Thag Simmons.
Millions of comics fans mourned the departure of The Far Side from their newspapers on Jan. 2, 1995. Its creator, Gary Larson, had decided to retire from syndication. But The Far Side continues to thrive in book form. Larson's latest, Last Chapter and Worse, released Sunday by Andrews and McMeel, includes 13 new cartoons. Recently, Larson agreed to sit down and talk with Jake Morrissey, his editor.