Author Archives: Karly Ramnani

Joke- Buying groceries for a dollar/shoplifting

Nationality: Indian
Age: 59
Occupation: Lawyer
Residence: Richmond, VA
Performance Date: 2/15/2023
Primary Language: English

Text:

Grandma: We used to buy bread, eggs, and milk for a dollar.

Grandchild: You can’t do that now! They have CCTV’s everywhere.

Context:

JG is my mom; she is 59 years old and resides in Richmond, VA. She works at Legal Aid and first heard this joke from one of her interns. However, when sharing it with me, she said that she doesn’t believe the intern came up with it.

Analysis:

This joke simultaneously reflects the writer’s views on inflation and shoplifting. It indirectly communicates frustration over how the prices of everyday grocery items have risen over the past few decades – bread, eggs, and milk do not cost $1 anymore. Plus, the writer seems to have an attitude of “it’s not breaking the rules if you don’t get caught.” The reason the grandchild feels hesitant to shoplift is not based on morals, but rather a fear of getting caught by CCTVs.

The joke was most likely written in the past few years, due to its subject matter of inflation and its slightly rebellious nature. These aspects make it resonate well with Gen Z. It is succinct and slightly dark, and it contrasts from the overused “dad jokes” that much of society has mixed feelings about. This allows it to spread quickly, as people will often use it to lift up each other’s moods or break the ice in conversations.

Sindhi Math Riddle

Nationality: Indian
Age: 59
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Richmond, VA
Performance Date: 2/16/2023
Language: Sindhi

Text:

Trey triangee tringee pati

Nau terandaa adhh

Panje ko chhakka laga

Tehenja lekha badhh

Rough translation:

One third of 33
9 plus 13 divided by 2
5 plus 6
Now add these all up

The answer is 33 – but the informant noted, “It only works when you say it in Sindhi. The numbers are not immediately obvious and it requires some thinking to figure it out.”

Context:

DR is my biological father. He is 59 years old, resides in Richmond, VA, and works as a doctor at Virginia Urology. He was born in southern India and lived there until early adulthood. He heard this riddle as a young child from his father, who learned it from his own father.

Analysis:

From what I’ve been told about the informant’s upbringing, academic success was very important to his family. His father would push him to be ahead of the curb in science and math, making him develop his skills in these areas even outside of school. Therefore, it makes sense that a math riddle, especially one that requires some critical thinking, is a piece of family folklore.

I don’t remember this riddle being told to me as a child, probably because I grew up in the USA and therefore never learned Sindhi. I wouldn’t have understood this riddle, but when I was in elementary school, he did tell me other jokes and riddles related to math and science. I never really took interest in this subject matter, and to this day am not interested in pursuing a STEM career. However, his attempts to get me interested in math and science show that he was trying to continue a generational trend.