Category Archives: Humor

Frog in a Blender

Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: Clerical
Language: English

Joke: “What’s green and red and green and red and green and red?” Answer: “A frog in a blender”

“So back around middle school age, when children are most obnoxious, there was a series of jokes going around. The one I remember is ‘What’s green and red and green and red and green and red?” 

“ A frog in a blender” 

There was also other ones where I do not remember what the colors were, but it was the same format, you know, red and some other color. One of them was a dead baby in a blender, um, and some other things in a blender. But the frog’s the one I remember.

Analysis: An example of gross humor, this joke follows the format of a question that could be a riddle and searching for a sincere answer. It subverts that by the next line as the teller reveals the answer is a frog in a blender, and that the red is of its blood. Interestingly, this joke uses some common tools- namely repetition and the rule of threes- to make its point. In the script, the informant remembers three repetitions of “green and red”, both mimicking the bits of frog circling around a blender and creating more interest for the joke. Not only is it green and red, it repeats in a seemingly alternating pattern. The informant also recognizes that this would often be told in a series of similar jokes with varying punchlines, likely meant to trip the individual up on the first few repetitions but then quickly becoming formulaic. In this, it would likely lose its shock or humor to the individual. This may explain why, as the informant says, this joke ‘went around’ in a wave; people started hearing it, telling it, and stopped telling it among their age group as their peers already knew the answers.

Solovino

Age: 20

Text:

“Solovino”

Context:

The informer tells me that this is a popular dog name in El Salvador, especially for stray dogs-turned-pets, and it means “he came alone”. They learned about this through their parents, but have heard it on Spanish shows like comedy novellas. They initially thought that it was a Salvadorian thing, but learned later that this name was popular in Mexico as well.

Analysis:

Many parts of Latin America–including El Salvador–have large populations of stray dogs who wander into stores and homes seeking food or shelter. Many of these dogs seem to be informally adopted simply because they showed up, hence the name Solovino. It’s like a playful acknowledgment of the dog’s lifestory–he just appeared, and was welcomed. I feel like this may reflect the importance of generosity in Latin culture, where it is extended to family, community, and even strangers(like the passing stray dog). How common this practice must be, for it to reach even social and cultural media, and to have its own variations across Latin America!

Take Your Pants Off

Age: 20

Text:

“Taking your pants off to fart.”

Context:

The informer learned this phrase from this mother as a piece of advice while they were growing up. Even today they hear this. They grew up in China, and thus the above phrase is simply a translation from Chinese.

Analysis:

Although it is just a rough translation, it means to overcomplicate something quite simple, as one doesn’t need to take their pants off to pass gas. It is a humorous, satirical way to point out an issue, and highlights cultural values of pragmatism and “effortless action” that stem from Daoism. Chinese culture(and East Asian culture in general) strongly emphasizes efficiency, work ethic, and community. By “taking your pants off to fart”, not only are you wasting your energy, your inability to be resourceful wastes the time of the people around you–Confucian values.

Some English equivalents of this idioms include:

  • Making a mountain out of a molehill(dramatizing a tiny, insignificant event.)
  • Using a sledgehammer to crack nuts(using excessive force and effort to achieve a small thing.)

Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana

Age: 20

AGE: 20
Date of performance: Feb 20
Informant Name: AM
Language: Spanish
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English
Residence: Santa Ana

Text:

“Sana, sana, colito de rana. Si no sana hoy, sanara mañana”

Context:

According to the teller, it translates to: “Heal, heal, tail of frog. If you don’t heal today, you’ll heal tomorrow.” It is a phrase that parents tell their children whenever they got hurt, essentially wishing them a faster healing. They learned it from their parents, specifically their mother, who would “rub her hand over the cut or scratch” whenever they got minorly injured.

Analysis

Although this quote is one of many variants, they all follow the same strand of silliness and nonsense. When I heard this phrase, I thought it was silly and funny, and wondered why adults would say this to their children. Then I thought that perhaps that was exactly why they said this phrase. It is so nonsensical and lighthearted that the child who got hurt could perhaps laugh and forget their pain for a little. This goes hand in hand with the practice of distracting little kids with a more engaging, eye-catching stimulant to take their attention off of more serious, dire matters. Furthermore, frogs are known for their regenerative abilities, thus signifying the manifestation of quick healing. By saying this phrase, the parents are reassuring their child that no matter what, it will heal.

Family Nicknames

AGE: 53

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 02/19/2025

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: American 

OCCUPATION: Attorney

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: English 

RESIDENCE: New York 

For context, I am the youngest daughter out of two girls, and my mother is the oldest daughter out of three girls. Ever since I could speak and act, I have been consistently compared to my mom’s youngest sister, my aunt Janis. In interviewing my mother, I sought to answer why.

Interviewer: Is there a running tabooistic joke or joke in general that runs among our family?

TL: “Well, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but we did use to call you Lil Poo Poo or Stinker! To be honest, we still call you that now. We never really had a nickname for Nicole [my older sister] though.”

Interviewer: Is there any particular reason that you called me that?

TL: “I can’t quite remember, but one day it just came out and it stayed. I think it’s because you’re the youngest and the baby of our family.”

Interviewer: Was there any other jokes that ran in our family?

TL: “Well your Aunt Janis also had a nickname when she was younger. We used to call her Gani [가니], which means little jokester in Korean. She was always running around and had the reputation of a jokester… plus her Korean name is Eunhae [은헤] so we used to combine the names together. She’s also the youngest like you.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

It’s completely natural for families to joke with each other and give each other nicknames. Especially in Korean culture, there are designated titles that we call someone depending on their age, their relation to us, and down to what side of the family you’re on. However, I think that the youngest of the family always earns a certain reputation and thus, receives a nickname from it. Being completely honest, when I was younger I was known to have smelly feet (I am fine now, I promise). So even though my mother might not remember, that could be the possible inspiration behind my nickname. As for my aunt, because she, too, is the youngest and was known to be silly and a trickster, she was named Gani.