Tag Archives: funny

Drop Bears

Nationality: American
Age: 26
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: California

Text
For this narrative joke, my informant is my older brother (SF). The “Drop Bear” came up in conversation when talking about going on a hike or exploring nature in Australia. My parents had mentioned their plans for the following day on the trip to which my cousin interjected and said, “watch out for the drop bears.” “The what?” my father responded.  “The drop bears.” my cousin repeated, dragging on the anticipation of not expanding and letting other cousins and Australian family back him up.  My cousin then explained, “yea, big angry bears that live in the trees and they’ll drop on your head.”  Drop bears are a species native to Australia that most outsiders have never heard of.  The warnings continue to even suggest bringing a helmet into the Australian forests.

Context
My family, being from the US, was unfamiliar with this concept that is widely known by Australians, and had fallen for the joke. We were visiting our relatives in Australia when I was younger, and my brother had remembered the story.  Though fallacious, drop bears have an extensive amount of detailed history and classifications.  According to the Australian Museum, Drop Bears are carnivorous marsupials, “around the size of a leopard or very large dog with coarse orange fur with some darker mottled patterning,” ranging from “120kg, 130cm long, 90 cm at the shoulder.”  My informant’s interpretation revolved around this story being a funny joke but not much more. He enjoyed the idea that this fooled his parents and aligned with his humor of subjecting gullibility.

Interpretation
My interpretation of this story/species is simply a way to prank tourists for entertainment.  It’s a harmless joke that catches newcomers looking up constantly and watching the trees.  It’s incredible that the legend has become so developed, so much so that the animal has basically all of the classifications any real species would, including appearance, diet, habitat, and regional distribution.  I would say this legend brings Australians together, as they essentially have a nationwide inside joke. 

Rindercella

Nationality: American
Age: 21
  1. Text
    Rindercella is essentially the story of Cinderella, but with some letters mixed up in some of the words.  For example, “Rindercella lived with her mugly other and her two sad bisters, and there was a very prandsome hince.” and, “at the pancy farty, Rindercella slopped her dripper!”
  2. Context
    Rindercella is a story I first heard in 2021, told by a “camp dad” at the summer camp I work at.  He told this story at our “big campfire” assembly and it was a huge hit.  I had never heard of the concept before, let alone knew its origin, I just thought it was hilarious.  I would think that the context that this joke/story is told is similar to my experience; an adult telling it to a group of kids, or even other adults.  I would think it would be incredibly entertaining to anyone, as the words are ridiculous and if the storyteller knows it well, it’s very impressive.
  3. Interpretation
    My interpretation is that Rindercella is an extremely entertaining take/revival of a classic story.  There’s a slight uncomfortable feeling when you’re listening to the story being told, because it feels like the storyteller is on the verge of a slip-up and/or saying a nasty word.  Nevertheless, Rindercella has its listeners both on the edge of their seats and doubled over in laughter.  The storyteller from whom I encountered this story told it with such a straight face and lack of mistakes, that I left feeling entirely impressed.

Plug it in! Plug it in!

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Computer Engineer
Residence: San Diego
Performance Date: 02/22/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

A man comes into America and knows very little english initially and what english he does know he learned from television shows. For example, a sitcom comes on and a character says “why yes of course”. A commercial for cutlery comes on where a host talks about “forks and knives”. Then a vacuum commercial comes on and the host says “plug it in”.

One day the man accidentally speeds away unknowingly from a crime scene. When he is pulled over, the police ask him if he is involved in the murder that he was speeding away from. They ask, “did you kill this man”? He replies, using his knowledge of television, saying “why yes of course”. Next, they ask “what did you kill him with”? He answers again using TV knowledge saying “forks and knives, forks and knives”.

The police are startled and bring the man in. Obviously unable to defend himself in court, he is sentenced to death in the electric chair. There, the executioner asks, “any last words”? He replies with the last thing he has left in his English vocab, “Plug it in! Plug it in”!

Relationship to subject:

Although unsure about where this joke story was told, the interviewee said they probably heard it from a friend in middle school. They said it was one of the first jokes they had heard on the darker side, so it was only said to friends and not near teachers or faculty. But this is what made the joke fun. The interviewee said they had not thought of or said the joke for a long time and began reminiscing after saying it, which lead to some funny memories being recalled.

Analysis:

This joke would probably fall into the category of “dark jokes” in my opinion because it involves themes like immigration, death, and language. This joke is funny because it is obviously shocking, but it is also fun because all the information is given early on in a random way, but it all comes together in the end to form the punchline. I found it funny because of the way it was told and I enjoyed how I kind of figured out the ending halfway through. It also seemed to be important to the person telling it which definitely made it more fun.

Interrupting Cow

Nationality: Iranian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: LA
Performance Date: 2-22-23
Primary Language: English
Language: farsi, spanish, asl

Text:

Interviewee: Knock Knock

Me: Who’s there?

Interviewee: Interrupting cow.

Me: Interrupting cow-

Interviewee: Moo!

Relationship to Subject:

The subject learned this joke when they were young from their uncle Larry. This was the first knock knock joke they ever learned and because it was from their funny uncle Larry, they thought it was very cool. After she heard it, she introduced it to their middle school and the joke became popular. She thinks its funny because the person hearing the joke does not expect to be interrupted. It is also interactive and lets the person telling the joke and the one hearing it take part in the process.

Analysis:

This joke is tailored more for a young audience and yet I couldn’t help but giggle. The subject seemed very happy and joyful when telling the background of their experience with the joke and how it relates to their family and childhood. The joke is obviously very simple, but it still made both me and the subject laugh. After the joke was told, the subject just told me about their childhood and it was a fun time.

The reason this joke works is obviously because it adds a new layer to the conventional knock knock joke and surprises the person hearing it because they are unable to complete the process they expected to be taking part in. They get interrupted by none other than the “interrupting cow” introduced earlier.

Ponte las pilas: Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2/16/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Text: “Ponte las pilas” “Put your batteries on”

Context: NO’s relationship to this proverb stems from her Mexican culture and household. All her life, NO would hear this statement being said when it came to school and working hard within entering higher education. She would typically hear this proverb being said by her parents or other older relatives. In her family, they use this phrase as a way to give advice when she feels defeated, overwhelmed, or lazy. Oftentimes NO says it to herself as a motivator to get her work done. NO interprets this proverb as a motivator to get back into the ‘work mode’ and to be productive in life. 

Analysis: The cultural value that I see present within this proverb is the fact that Mexican culture usually revolves around the connotation that Mexicans are hard workers and they can accomplish anything if they simply put their mind to it. Given that this proverb is a motivator, I can claim that the personal values are expressed within the motivation, determination, and productivity that this proverb can emit to the receiver. Considering that I have heard this all my life within my Mexican culture as well, I see this proverb as an influential piece of advice that is told by older relatives for that extra ounce of motivation that you need when you find yourself in times of defeat, laziness, or entering a momentous time in your life (Ex: starting college, first day at a new job, going to a job interview). Considering its legitimate translation is “put your batteries on”, I consider this proverb to be an accurate concept considering putting new batteries in is hypothetically what you need to do in order to perform better given that the more “power” you put on, the more motivated you will feel to get back to work.