Eric Bacon

*For information on this character in the cartoon, see Eric Bacon (cartoon).*

 — "Eric, Eric, and Eric"

* Heitz
* McCauley
* Schick
* Brinckloe
* Hockerman

**Eric Bacon** is a character in the *Wayside School* books. He is the member of the three Erics, alongside Eric Fry and Eric Ovens. He is one of the many students in Mrs. Jewls's class. His nickname is "Fatso," due to the other Erics being fat.

## Appearance

In the books, Eric Bacon is described as being "short, but not fat" and "The Three Erics" claims he is the skinniest kid in Mrs. Jewls's class. Little else is known about Eric Bacon's appearance, otherwise.

## Personality

Eric Bacon is described in "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*" as being "funny, clever, and just a little bit sneaky." Compared to his friends, Eric Fry and Eric Ovens, he shows the most confidence when talking to Mr. Kidswatter, though most of his responses to Kidswatter's questions appear to be lies. In "The Blue Notebook," when Deedee is flipping through Mrs. Drazil's notebook to list all the bad things Louis did as a kid, Eric Bacon asks what other things he did, apparently "looking for new ideas." In "The Substitute," Eric Bacon points out that Mrs. Franklin would've been mad if she thought the class was lying, showing he may have experience with this. While it is said that the other students like Eric Bacon, it is also stated that no one completely trusts him, as in "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*" Mrs. Jewls has other students count his bag of 349 nail clippings when he presents it in class, only to be surprised that it's genuine. She subsequently offers him a Tootsie Roll Pop, and he takes two, taking the second when Mrs. Jewls isn't looking.

Eric Bacon is shown to come up with occasionally unorthodox solutions to certain problems. In "Science, Geography, Etc.," Eric Bacon answers every question on a geography test as "Alaska" so he can get "at least one" right, and in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," he is shown answering Mr. Kidswatter's questions with answers that effectively dodge the question entirely, such as when he explains that Maurecia stepped on everyone's pencil when he asks whose pencil Maurecia stepped on. In "Eric, Eric, and *What's-His-Name?*," it is shown that he was able to collect so many nail clippings by going door-to-door and asking his neighbors. However, in "The Best Principal Ever!!!," it is shown that he did poorly on his history homework, specifically regarding the history of cabbage.

While occasionally shown to be irritable, such as his objections to being called fat in "The Three Erics," his response to Louis bringing the class a computer in "A Package for Mrs. Jewls," and his response that Louis is a "Booger Brain" in Mr. Poop, he overall keeps himself more collected than the other Erics, as is seen in "Eric, Eric, and Eric," though this may be that he is confident in his lies.

## Relationships

### Eric Fry and Eric Ovens

    Eric Bacon seems to be friends with Eric Fry and Eric Ovens, as seen in many of the chapters featuring the characters. In "Mrs. Gorf," the three laugh at Mrs. Gorf falling over a piece of chalk in unison, though their dynamic isn't properly introduced until "Eric, Eric, and Eric," where he leads them out of the principal's office in a fairly casual matter, implying they are friends. In "Explanation," Eric Bacon is excited to see the other Erics after a 243 day long break, and in "Mr. Gorf," the other two Erics agree with his statement that people with the same name aren't always the same. The three are seen playing at recess together in "Mr. Poop," and in "Way-High-Up Ball," it is revealed the Three Erics invented Way-High-Up Ball together. In "The Best Principal Ever!!!," the three are shown trading their homework when they realize they have the wrong papers.

### Mr. Kidswatter

Eric Bacon expresses no concern in lying to Mr. Kidswatter, as seen in the chapter "Eric, Eric, and Eric." In this chapter, Eric Bacon is the only Eric that expresses no concern when he hops down to Mr. Kidswatter's office, and fabricates most of his responses to keep himself and the other Erics out of trouble. Eric Bacon seems to dislike Mr. Kidswatter, as he refers to him as a "Mugworm Griblick" on a note in that chapter.

## Appearances

For a list of every chapter Eric Bacon is seen in, see here.

## Trivia

* Eric Bacon is left-handed, though he claims to "write with his left foot, and kick with his right hand" in "Eric, Eric, and Eric."
* Eric Bacon is a skilled breakdancer, but got breakdancing banned at Wayside School, as every time he danced, he broke something.

### Other designs

Peter Allen design (British edition, 2004)Eric Bacon as he appears in the cartoon. (2007)Satoshi Kitamura design (Japanese edition, 2010)Unknown illustrator (Simplified Chinese edition, 2012)Ramona Bruno design (Italian edition, 2021)
## References

1. ↑ "Eric, Eric, and Eric"
2. ↑ "Valooosh"