Category Archives: Humor

I have to go to the bathroom.

Age: 7
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 2017
Primary Language: English

“Knock, knock”

“Who’s there?”

“Banana”

“Banana who?”

“I have to go to the bathroom”

This knock knock joke was collected in a second grade classroom in South Los Angeles. The active carrier of this joke was a student in that classroom who heard it from her neighbor while playing one day. After finishing the joke, the entire class burst out in laughter at the nonsensical punchline. It should be noted that the joke told to the class right before had a logical punchline, but did not receive such an enthusiastic response. The less successful joke was “Don’t trust atoms, they make up everything”.

There are a few reasons why this joke received such a great response compared to the one that preceded it. First of all, it was clear that the majority of the young students lacked the scientific background that was required to understand the joke. The bathroom joke did not require the application of any outside knowledge. Second, the unexpected nature of the punchline was worthy of a greater response than a logical joke would, regardless of what it actually was. There is something about being caught off guard that makes any story or joke more worthy of a response. Perhaps the most obvious reason that the knock knock joke was considered to be funnier is the fact that it contains a mention of a bathroom. Bathroom humor is inherently funny to a large portion of the human population, regardless of age.

This joke is a derivation of a classic joke in which the second, third, and fourth lines are repeated as many times as the performer sees fit before replacing “banana” with “orange” and ending with “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana”. The countless versions of this joke are examples of the multiplicity and variation that is characteristic of folklore.

It is important to note that this joke had been passed on from child to child. The student who shared the joke initially heard it from her neighbor while playing. She then shared the humorous passage with her classmates who received it with enthusiasm. This piece of folklore circulates exclusively within groups of children and would not have elicited the same genuine response if performed in front a group of adults.

Audi Advertisement

Nationality: Indian
Age: 65
Performance Date: March 15 2017

Living in an Indian household, folk knowledge is often easily substituted for what is considered “western logic.” Often times exorbitant price tags are seen offensively in Indian society, as overcharging needlessly is a sign of greed and lack of integrity. This conversation happened between the informant, D, and his grandma, G when they were watching Indian soaps and an Audi advertisement popped up.

Advertisement: we have 12 airbags, safety controls, safety sensors, and safety parking assistance… [translated to English]

G: *laughs*

D: What’s so funny, G?

G: We have Durga Ma and Babaji on the dashboard, Hanuman Ji on the rearview mirror, Nimbu Mirch on bumper, and Maa di Lal Chunni around the rearview mirror… Don’t worry about our safety… tu price kam kar


The interviewer laughed after G’s final statement. The ease with which G was able to scoff at the safety mechanisms Audi incorporated in their vehicles truly shows the disconnect between Western and Eastern ideals of wealth and necessities. Audi believes that they are selling Indians on the message of increased safety to justify the higher expenses on their vehicles but just the opposite is true – Indians just need Durga Ma, Babaji, Hanuman Ji, etc (religious figurines) to feel safe. What they would rather see Audi do is worry about their exorbitant prices (“tu price kam kar” = work on your pricing).

The Ungrateful Tiger

Nationality: American, Korean
Age: 22
Occupation: Account Executive
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The 22-year-old informant was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. at a very young age. She chose to share this story because they are commonly told in Korean culture.

“So basically this tiger falls into this deep, deep pit. And he calls out for help and this rabbit comes, and the tiger’s like ‘Please help me! Please help me out of here!’ and the rabbit’s like, ‘No if I do, you’ll eat me.’ And the tiger’s like, ‘No no, I promise I won’t eat you!’ and the rabbit’s like ‘Are you sure? Do you promise?” and the tiger’s like, ‘Yes, I promise,’ so the rabbit agrees to help him. So he throws down this long vine and he the tiger uses it to climb back up. And when he gets back up, he’s like, ‘Ok now I’m going to eat you,’ and the rabbit’s like ‘Hey that’s not cool! You can’t do that. Let’s ask someone else their opinion,’ and the tiger’s like, ‘Fine, let’s ask someone else what they think.’ So this other animal–I forget what kind of animal it is–but some other animal comes along and is like, ‘Woah what’s going on here?’ and the rabbit’s like, ‘This tiger’s trying to eat me!’ and tries to explain what happened. And then, the rabbit’s like, ‘I know, I’ll just show you what happened. Tiger, can you show us what happened?’ And the tiger’s like ‘Yeah sure.’ and he jumps in the pit, and then they leave.”

I find this piece to be quite funny, but what I find interesting about it is the lesson to not be cruel or too foolish, as it will cause problems in one’s life, just like what happened to the tiger.

The Fox Borrows the Tiger’s Power

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 54
Occupation: Chinese teacher
Residence: Rhode Island
Performance Date: April 24, 2017
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

The 54-year-old informant is a elementary school Chinese teacher and is originally from Taiyuan, China. She’s been hearing and telling Chinese folklore her entire life, and often shares it with her students. Her stories represent Chinese culture and the qualities that Chinese people value.

“Once upon a time, there was a tiger in the mountain. Because basically, tiger is the king in this mountain. One day, the fox met the tiger, and the tiger wanted to eat the fox, and the fox said, ‘Oh, I am more powerful than you. Why do you want to eat me?’

And the tiger said, ‘Haha! You’re joking! You’re more powerful than me?’

The fox said, ‘Yes, of course. Do you want me to show you?’

And the tiger said, ‘Yes, show me.’

Then the fox said, ‘Okay, you just come along with me. I’m go back to my home–my forest. My section of this mountain.’

So the fox casually and very enjoyably walked to the other side of the mountain, and the tiger followed him. Once the fox reached his territory, all the animals on the tree and the ground all ran away. The fox said, ‘Did you see that? Once I arrived here, they all ran away. Because they’re afraid of me!'”

 

In Chinese, idioms are commonly 4-word phrases that represent stories. This story is based on the Chinese idiom: 狐假虎威 (hu jia hu wei), which means “a fox exploits a tiger’s power.” In much of folklore, foxes are commonly known to be clever and sometimes deceitful animals, which is again represented in this story.

 

Un dólar y pico

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 24
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fontana, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Informant: Liz is a 24-year-old student born and raised in Southern California. Her mother is from a town near Guadalajara, Mexico. Liz returns to Mexico sometimes to visit family, but speaks Spanish at home.

Main Piece:
Original: “¿Cuanto le regreso el cajero al pato después de que le dio 5 pesos por una volsa de semilla de 3 pesos 25 centavos? Le regresó un dólar y pico.”

Translation: “How much did the cashier give back to the duck after he paid 5 pesos for some seed that cost 3 pesos and 25 cents? He gave him a dollar and change.”

Per the informant, “the joke is funny because, in Mexico, pico can mean either ‘change’ or ‘beak’, like a duck’s beak. So it’s a pun, although it doesn’t translate that well into English”

Background Information about the Performance: The informant was told this joke by her cousins when she was in Mexico.

Context of Performance: This joke is told between people when bored or just as entertainment.

Thoughts: I thought this joke was interesting because it resembles another joke in English, namely: “What did the duck say to the waitress? Put it on my bill” or something similar. That such a joke can exist cross-linguistically is notable. The joke is also a good example of how poorly puns translate into other languages, as this joke makes very little sense in English.