Tag Archives: jokes

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.

Speed Trap Ahead

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 02/22/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Text:

One day a Police Officer found a perfect hiding place for watching for
speeding motorists. He stayed there quite commonly and it was very effective.

But one day, the officer was confused when he saw thateveryone was under the speed limit, so the officer investigated and found the problem. There was a child who was
standing on the side of the road with a huge hand painted sign which said
“Speed Trap Ahead.” But that was not it, the officer followed the road further ahead and it led the officer to the boy’s friend, another boy a few yards beyond the radar trap with a sign reading “Tips” and a bucket at his feet

…and it was full of change.

Relationship to Subject:

This was another funny story joke that was told to the subject by their mother. The mother said to have heard it from their own friend group so it was passed down to a few different groups. The subject remembers hearing this joke after school one day by their mom and did not think it was very funny, but now that they are older they think the details of the story are surprising and a little bit funny. The subject thinks that this is a true story but they are not sure if it is actually rooted in reality and they did not know any actual details of the story, so this does count as folklore in this sense.

Analysis:

I enjoyed this story and I actually found it funny. The way it was told added to the comical nature because it was told slowly and the subject tried to create a sense of suspense about the reason for the lack of speeding that day. It has two “punchlines”, one where the reason for the mystery is discovered, and another about why the reason is happening. I enjoyed hearing the story but I think that this joke would likely prove more successful with older audiences because it is more rooted in the real world and not childish or too vulgar.

Ducks and Heaven

Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: Feb 16, 2023
Primary Language: English

Text:

A man and his friend die and go to heaven. When they go to the holy gates, they are told they can do whatever they please, but to not step on any of the ducks. Upon entering heaven, they are greeted by the sight of several ducks and almost immediately, the mans friend steps on one. As a consequence of this, an angel comes with one of the ugliest women the two friends have ever seen and handcuffs her to the man who stepped on the ducks.

Some time passes by and the man does whatever he pleases, being sure to avoid stepping on the ducks now considering what happened to his friend. Then suddenly, the man is approached by an angel who is with the most beautiful women he has ever seen and the angel handcuffs her to him. He asks, “what did I do to be handcuffed next to you” ? She replies, “I don’t know what you did, but I stepped on the ducks”…

Relationship to Subject:

The subject said they learned this story from their ex partner and claimed that this was the first story type joke they heard so they still remember it. It was told in the format of a story. The subject enjoyed the joke because of the shock factor it envoked and I had a similar appreciation for the fact that the ending was not expected.

Analysis:

The joke was enjoyable because of the shocking ending as well as the fact that it seems to equalize both sexes. One group begins judging, but that same group ends the story being judged, meaning there is a little bit for everybody.

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.

“Interrupting Cow”: Knock Knock joke

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Residence: California
Performance Date: 2/16/23
Primary Language: English

Original text:

Informant: “Knock knock.”

Collector: “Who’s there?”

Informant: “Interrupting cow.”

Collector: “Interrupting cow who–”

Informant: “MOOOO!”

Context: The informant is 18 and a freshman at USC studying Theater and Anthropology. They learned this joke while on the bus in elementary school. They exchanged this joke with their friends at school, getting laughs on either side with this unconventional delivery of the classic “Knock Knock” joke. They state that “recess, lunch, or in between class time” was the perfect stage for this joke. 

Analysis: The informant is a white American that went to public school in Barrington, Illinois. Among jokes that are popular with young American children, “Knock Knock” jokes are definitely one of the top choices. The format is one that almost every kid knows, and it goes a little something like this: the joke teller says “Knock knock”, the listener responds “Who’s there”, the teller says “x” (any word or phrase), in response the listener says “x who?”, and the teller tells the punch line. This variation of the “knock knock” joke is interesting because it doesn’t follow the typical pattern: the teller interrupts the listener mid-sentence as the punchline. The phrase “interrupting cow” is already humorous and familiar to young children because of the emphasis placed on learning the names of animals in elementary schools. Children also memorize the sounds that each animal makes very early on, making the punchline of “MOOOOO!” relatable and funny. Many families in the rural American Midwest own farms with cows, which also might bring an extra sense of familiarity to the children in the general semi-rural area of Barrington, Illinois.