Calvin's father is a patent attorney who is portrayed as an upstanding middle-class father, as his son might see him. An outdoorsman, he enjoys bike rides and camping trips, and insists that these activities, like Calvin's chores, "build character." When Calvin asks him questions, he often makes up outlandish answers, such as:

Calvin: "Why does it [the sun] move from east to west?"
Dad: "Solar wind."
Mom: "DEAR!"

or

Calvin: "Dad, what makes wind?"
Dad: "Trees sneezing."
Calvin: "Really?"
Dad: "No, but the truth is more complicated."
Calvin (later, to Hobbes): "The trees are really sneezing today."

or

Calvin: "Dad, why are old photographs black and white? Didn't they have color film back then?"
Dad: "Of course they did. In fact, those old photographs ARE in color. It's just that the WORLD was black and white then.
Calvin:"Really?"
Dad: "Yep, the world didn't turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.
Calvin:"Oh."
Dad: "Well, truth is stranger than fiction."
Calvin: "Then why are old paintings in color? If the world was black and white, wouldn't artists have painted that way?"
Dad: "Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane."
Calvin: "BUT... but how could they possibly have painted in color? Wouldn't their paints have been in shades of gray back then?"
Dad: "Of course, but they changed color like everything else in the '30s.
Calvin: "So why didn't black and white photos turn color too?"
Dad: "Because they were color photographs of black and white, remember?"

Of course, these bits of nonsensical fatherly "wisdom" may also signify that Calvin's father, like Calvin himself, has an imaginative streak that occasionally bursts free of his straightlaced paternal façade (thus implying that Calvin's mother's occasional accusations that Calvin must have inherited his outlandish behavior from Dad's side of the family may, in fact, be correct).

This playful streak of his allows him to occasionally find moments of solace with Calvin, and it is implied that Calvin's Dad may have been like Calvin in his youth, such as in the strip in which Calvin's Dad shows a surprising understanding of Calvin's impatience, and has subsequently matured and developed a more pensive character. This lends a pleasant optimism to the strip, as it is possible that Calvin's obvious intelligence may someday be understood by society and put to good use, and he will become a well-rounded character like his dad. This, of course would mortify Calvin if he were to read it, as he himself, in his youthful jubilance, describes his traditionalist father as "the most boring Dad in the world."