A Chinese guy, a white guy, and an Italian guy all get a job in a coal mine. The boss comes out and says,” I am going to be leaving for a few hours. Before I get back, I need some lanterns, shovels, and supplies. Chinese man, I want you to take care of the supplies. White man, I want you to take care of the lanterns, and Italian man, I want you to take care of the shovels. Two hours later, the boss returns and awaiting him are two men: The American and the Italian. The boss asks where the Chinese man is and the two have no idea. After 10 minutes of searching for the Chinese man, a man jumps out from behind the cave and yells Supplies!
My informant first heard this joke from a fraternity brother when in college at the University of Southern California. The fraternity brother, Jimmy Houseberg, told my informant the joke one night at the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house. This is a joke that Jimmy heard from his friend Sam. Therefore, this is a joke that has been passed down from a few generations.
This joke is a racist one that is meant to make of the way Asians talk. There is a tendency of Asians who come to America to confuse their Ls and Rs. Therefore, this joke makes sense because supplies really means surprise. This joke is not really told until someone reaches the age of 15 when he or she knows about racism and how the joke is something that is done in jest. The joke is told between two Americans for the sole reason that it would be extremely racist to say the joke to an Asian.
The reason why this joke is important in my informants life is because of one reason: my informant is a CPA and gets really stressed, so a simple joke helps get rid of a little stress that my informant has. This is why my informant is so jovial. He has an extremely tough job so in order to live a life without anger, he decides to get rid of stress by telling jokes and laughing at them. One little joke can go a long way in helping ones health.
When asked his reaction to the joke, my informant states that he thinks the joke is hysterical and after 25 years, I still laugh at it. It is very interesting to note the situation in which the joke was told. My informant and I were on the couch, so he was relaxed which truly shows that jokes help my informant ease some stress. One final note to make is that my informant tells this joke over four times a year, and every time he tells it, he starts laughing hysterically for over three minutes.
In conclusion, this is a joke that I find absolutely hysterical. My father told it to me approximately five years ago, and he tells it every single year when he is in the mood to tell the joke. Even though I have heard the joke so many times, I still find the joke really funny. I do know it is racist, but then again, it is one of the funniest jokes I have ever heard.
Annotation: This Supplies Joke was found at