Tuesday, September 08, 2009

TBWCYL Day 250 - Joking Around

I am a notoriously bad joke teller. Most people who know me will attest to this. I usually laugh harder at the joke then anyone I tell it to, I spend way to long trying to get it out, and if I don't remember it correctly I struggle with it to where it looses the gusto. I drive my wife crazy with this.

So when yesterday's task came up, I followed it to the letter. It gave step by step instructions on how to tell a joke properly and included a G rate joke for me to tell. Following the 5 step process I thought I was sure to get my wife laughing by doing this correctly. Things didn't go as planned.

Here is the joke first.
Q: How many elephants does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Don't be silly, elephants can't change lightbulbs!

Using these steps I was supposed to get a laugh out of someone.
1. Make sure you have a lighthearted atmosphere before telling this joke.
2. Warm up the audience by saying something like "You want to hear a good one?"
3. Emphasize the words 'elephants' and 'lightbulb' so the listener knows what to focus on in the joke.
4. Make sure to pause a few seconds between the joke and the punchline to give the listener time to think about the joke.
5. Deliver the punchline with speed and precision. Throw in a slight chuckle at the end to show the ridiculousness of the idea.

It also threw in the warning of "do not laugh at your jokes or add "geddit, geddit?" at the end. I am so guilty of this it isn't funny.

As Diana and I were driving in the car yesterday, it seemed the atmosphere was right. I probably shouldn't have prepped her that I was doing a task but I don't think it would have helped. I started by saying

N: "You want to hear a good one?"
D: "Sure"
N: "How many elephants does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" 5 second pause
D: "I don't know"
N: "Don't be silly, elephants can't change lightbulbs! Heh"
D:"...That wasn't funny."

That is all,

Newt

9 Ripples in the pond:

f8hasit said...

I used to be able to tell jokes, now for some reason I haven't been able to get the timing down right. My daughter attributes this to 'age' or brain farts,as she calls it.

Her favorite basic joke is:
What did the grape say when the elephant stepped on it?
It gave a little whine (wine)!

Gitit?
:-)

Yes, you may use that one.

Trinity said...

My father told me one last week.

What do you call a Mexican with toes made out of Rubber?

Rubber-toe.

He thought it was pretty funny. I admit I chuckled as well.

Simon Butler said...

Some people have no sense of humour.

I have to admit to being bad at telling jokes myself: my failing is usually hesitating – or even stopping altogether – because I’ve forgotten the exact lines. Needless to say, this is even worse when you’re trying to relate a humorous anecdote.

Laura said...

I may actually laught more at lame jokes than really funny ones. But then I don't know if I'm really laughing cause they are funny or cause they are lame. They kind of remind me of the ones that I used to make up when I was a kid. Like:

"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"The Man in the Window."
"The Man in the Window, who?"
"I don't know, he's just there!!!"

Soda and Candy said...

Hahaha, love it. I laugh too hard at my own jokes too, like so hard I can't even tell them.

And when I say "my own jokes" I mean ones I'm making up on the spot, not ones I'm just telling.

Soda and Candy said...

Also,

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Interrupting cow

Interrupti-

MOO!

Maryx said...

Oh you poor thing... hehe!

Good luck on that one though. I just don't tell jokes at all. But I find that the shit I tell me in my everyday life tends to turn out hilariously funny to them... =)

Trinity said...

I love interrupting cow. That always gets a laugh.

Girl Interrupted said...

I'm hopeless at telling jokes, I forget them as soon as I start and end up giving the punchline away first :/

...

An inflatable boy goes to an inflatable school.

One day he takes a sharp pin with him. The next day the inflatable headmaster calls him into his office and says,

"I'm very disappointed, you've let me down, you've let the school down, you've let yourself down ... "

*insert groans and booing here*