Q: Where did the turtle go to get gas?

A: At the Shell station!

My inormant learned this joke from a joke book that she got when she was in elementary school.  As a child, she loved reading joke books and remembering jokes.  Because she enjoyed being humorous, she would tell her newly learned jokes to her friends to see if they thought the jokes were funny or not.
On the way to dinner one night, she and her friends passed a Shell station.  Using this perfect opportunity to say her joke, my informant recited the joke.  After a long pause of everyone in the car looking at her, she burst out laughing to end the awkward silence.  Even though this joke isn’t very funny, she tells it when there’s nothing else to talk about or when she’s bored.
My informant does not actually think the joke is funny.  She actually believes that this is the stupidest joke ever.  She only thinks it’s funny because of how lame it is.  It’s just one of those jokes that is easily remembered to tell in any situation.
If someone were to tell me this joke, I would laugh only because I think it is lame.  This joke is definitely not one of the funnier ones that people enjoy hearing.  I agree with her, this joke one of those jokes that people tell when they’re bored.  It’s also a great ice breaker when there’s an awkward silence or when people just meet each other.  This turtle joke shows how jokes are necessary in our society.  Jokes provide people with something that they can all relate to.  Jokes give people an opportunity to all agree on the humor or lack of humor of the joke.  They’re great topic starters and offer people a chance to see what kinds of people they’re with.