While working with a few of my friends on a project for our software development class we were trying to figure out why we kept receiving a compilation error. We painstakingly went through every line of code until we finally found that we were just missing a semicolon. My friend turned to me and said “You know the semicolon has been the hide and seek champion since 1958.” The rest of us in the group laughed because this is such a common problem. Some code editors alert users to specific issues while others just give a general compiler error. I asked my friend where she learned the joke. She said that she heard it from one of our TA’s when he was debugging another student’s code. Other than that she is not sure of the origin. I believe that the joke probably developed soon after coding languages since this is a very common problem. My friend is a computer science and business administration major with a cybersecurity minor. As part of the computer science community he collects and forwards a myriad of folklore specific to this unique group. Computer science folklore is unique and reflects the beliefs and the culture of the group. Per my informant, as well as personal experience, computer science majors have a unique sense of humor that develops from the difficult coursework, the long hours spent on the computer coding, and the group dynamic required to get through the major. This humor is often expressed through memes and jokes only members of this group can understand and appreciate.
Category Archives: Humor
Texas Joke
Graham is a 21 year old music student at USC. Graham grew up in the South, specifically, Texas. Graham said that all throughout his schooling, many of the jokes he heard were racist jokes, specifically relating to African Americans. One joke in specific that he heard goes as follows
“A kid asks his grandfather‘hey why did you tip him so much’ grandfather says’ what do you mean grandson’ grandson says’ you tipped him 100 bucks grandfather, that’s a lot of money’ and he goes’ well you see jimmy, black folk, they gon’ need a lot more than 100 dollars”
Graham said he learned this joke from his schools, from other people saying it. I think this speaks to the idea that racism is still very prevalent within the US. Many people label the South especially to be “racist” because of their ties to Confederacy. Graham said he doesn’t repeat the joke, he just remembers hearing it when he was younger and that many people thought jokes like these were funny.
Snake in a box prank
Graham is a 21 year old music major at USC. He is originally from Houston Texas and has lived there his whole live, he specifically lived on a ranch. A big part of Graham’s family activities is hunting. His grandfather and father take him quail, duck and hog hunting frequently. Graham says his life involved a lot of hunting before he came to LA. He also mentioned that his are and family was big into pranking. He tells the story of a prank he witnessed at a post hunt barbeque.
“My grandfather each year took the same oil and gas people on a hunting trip to go quail hunting in south Texas, same lease same people same company, so each year each man was required to bring certain things to a barbeque after, one person brought biscuits, another eggs, some would bring sausage, other burgers for food. And my grandfather was in charge of desserts, my grandfather each brought the same chocolate cake, incredibly good, one of the best in Texas, a recipe he learned from his aunt Etna, so everyone would be drinking around the fire and would go back and get this cake and bum rush it, I mean there was no patience for this stuff it was like sweet nectar to these people, anyway, my grandfather saw this and pulled a prank one year and put a live rattlesnake inside the cake box, so when you open up the cake, the snake was there, so my grandfather said ‘hey guys I think it’s time for dessert’ and everyone rushed to get cake and my grandfather’s friend also named john got there first, opened it up, and a live rattlesnake was coiled up, so year after year people are always careful when they go open the cake box now.”
Graham mentioned that people in Texas have grown accustomed to rattlesnakes, but they are something people respect and fear, and know not to get too close too. Graham said this prank was used for laughs and to teach a lesson in carefulness and patience that he said is performed quite often when people get too comfortable with something. I again think this is an interesting prank, as rattlesnakes don’t exist in many places.
Hoser term
Tim Marino is a 20 year old engineering student at USC. He was born in Calgary, Alberta and had lived there his entire life. Tim grew up a victim of Canadian stereotypes, playing hockey and eating maple syrup. He said many of the terms he used and heard, had to do with these two things. For example:
“Back in Canada, there is a term, hoser, used as kind of an insult, and it dates back to the pre-zamboni era, when the losing hockey team would actually have to hose down the ice after the game, and yeah you could definitely say there is a derogatory connotation with the word.”
Tim said he heard this term many times throughout schooling, and said it was used as a derogatory term when he was younger, but then became more of a sarcastic insult that people didn’t necessarily take offense to as he got older. I have never heard this term, and I think it definitely applies based on the area and hobbies that they perform. Because they are such a hockey heavy region, this term became so prominent.
Hispanic Proverb
Informant: Carlota Rodriguez-Benito. 20 years old. Spanish Heritage, born in Miami, lived in Mexico. USC student.
Original: “Sana que sana, colita de rana…si no sanara hoy! sanará mañanaaaa!”
Translation: Heals that heals frog’s little tail, if it does not heal today it will heal tomorrow!
Informant: “Ohh! I love this one. Whenever I used to hurt myself or feel sick, my mom would hold me in her arms. She would stroke the area in pain and say: “Sana que sana, colita de rana…si no sanara hoy! sanará mañanaaaa!” While saying the “mañana” (tomorrow) part she would kiss the affected area and tickle me. I love this proverb because it brings joy to a painful time. Although it would not heal my pain, it would alleviate my attitude. Thanks to my mother’s love, I was mentally ready for the pain to go away. No longer does this happen.. of course as this was only when I was a little kid! (Pause), oh!!! Excuse me, I just can’t stop thinking of this moment.
Thoughts: Surprisingly, I have not heard this proverb before. It is amazing that a proverb hold such a special place in Carlota’s heart and it makes sense. Certainly, she correlates the proverb to her childhood and her mother’s love. Not only does Carlota’s mother say the proverb but also employ specific gestures to accompany her words. It becomes almost an own tradition in her family until she is too old for the game.