I find the short version of that type of joke (something completely expected happens, in defiance of normal joke conventions) to be much funnier than the long version, for some reason. I also seem to remember there’s a name for the class of jokes like that, which my friends and I spent a good twenty minutes amusing ourselves with at the time. Anyone remember what they’re called? For some reason I want to call them Soviet or Russian, but I have no idea whether that’s the correct label.
EDIT: Ah, my flatmate came to my rescue. Apparently they’re called German jokes, after the German stereotype of humourless efficiency.
Oh, yeah. That’s true. I remember being mystified by that one as a child.
Teaching jokes to children is a strange business because they seem to go through a phase where they enthusiastically tell jokes that aren’t funny, as if they don’t appreciate humor. It hardly matters what kind of joke you tell them.
I find the short version of that type of joke (something completely expected happens, in defiance of normal joke conventions) to be much funnier than the long version, for some reason. I also seem to remember there’s a name for the class of jokes like that, which my friends and I spent a good twenty minutes amusing ourselves with at the time. Anyone remember what they’re called? For some reason I want to call them Soviet or Russian, but I have no idea whether that’s the correct label.
EDIT: Ah, my flatmate came to my rescue. Apparently they’re called German jokes, after the German stereotype of humourless efficiency.
In Soviet Russia, orange-head joke tells you!
Just anti-humour.
when I was in second grade the standard anti-humor joke was,
“Why did the chicken cross the road?”
“To get to the other side.”
That was one of the first “jokes” I ever heard, and I think I was nineteen when I finally realized it was supposed to be anti-humor.
Oh, yeah. That’s true. I remember being mystified by that one as a child.
Teaching jokes to children is a strange business because they seem to go through a phase where they enthusiastically tell jokes that aren’t funny, as if they don’t appreciate humor. It hardly matters what kind of joke you tell them.
In Russia, I
A shaggy dog story is a pretty close, but not a complete match.