The Joke’s On You!
A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Why the long face?”
And there you have it: the classic joke. An innocent setup that leads to a punch line — which in turn, sparks big laughs and lifelong admiration from both friends and family. You hope! (Nobody said comedy was easy)!
Saturday, August 16, is “National Tell a Joke Day!” This day should be celebrated all year long. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good giggle? For those of you who love being the court jester, August 16 is your day!
You can celebrate “Tell a Joke Day” by doing just that! Hint: You might want to try it out on family and good friends first, before making your comedy debut in a roomful of strangers. Practice will help. Remember, timing is everything.
Okay, one more: A lobster walks into a bar. The bartender says, “We don’t serve ‘food’ here.” Get it?
Jokes have been a part of human culture since at least 1900 B.C. So, who started “National Tell a Joke Day?” It was created by Wayne Reinagel in 1994. However, his motivation was not to brighten someone’s day. He just wanted to promote his joke books. But the idea caught on and every year, on August 16th, humor perhaps floods our lives with laughter and color.
The key to celebrating this day is simple: tell jokes! You don’t have to be a professional comedian. What matters is the intention and the laughs you manage to get out of it. If you can make one person smile, it’s worth it.
Here’s some advice to make your “Tell a Joke Day” a success: Your selection of jokes should be good. They should feature everything from the classics to the most current and viral ones. Sometimes the funniest jokes are the improvised ones which are said aloud at the right moment. Pay attention to your audience. If you notice that a certain type of joke isn’t working, change your tactics. The important thing is to make people laugh.
When telling a joke, timing and delivery can be an essential element. Without it, the joke will fall flat. Also, be sure you know the audience. For example, clown jokes may not go over well at a phobia convention.
The best jokes are usually short, but not always as I hope you’ll see! They involve a little misdirection and a well-delivered punchline. Here’s one with just seven words and no punch line: “How do you tell if yogurt’s bad?” Jokes come in many forms from the one-liner to knock-knock jokes. While many people groan when they hear a pun, they bring on chuckles, too. If you don’t know many jokes or ones that everyone hasn’t already heard, then you might visit your local library and pick up a book of jokes.
Jokes have been a part of human communication for thousands of years, as people have always found pleasure in poking fun at others or themselves. From the ancient Greek and Roman comedians to the jesters of medieval courts, jokes have served as a way to entertain, critique and even educate, often with a touch of irreverent humor. In the 19th and 20th centuries, stand-up comedy and comedic TV shows brought jokes to the masses, making them an integral part of popular culture. Whatever their form or origin, jokes remind us that laughter is a universal language that can bring us closer together, even in times of adversity.
If you enjoy “National Tell a Joke Day” be sure to mark your calendar for Oct. 31. Not only is it Halloween, it’s “National Knock-Knock Joke Day” that involves interesting plays with words as people groan when they hear a pun.
I’ve always prided myself at being a pretty good joke teller. So, I guess I’d better contribute something. And being of half-Italian descent I have a favorite my wife says is a classic! I hope it makes you laugh!
Pasquallie and Giuseppe were hired to get a piano to the sixth floor of an apartment building in Palermo, Italy. They looped a rope around a flag pole on the roof and secured one end to the instrument on the ground. The two beefy men together then pulled on the other rope end raising the piano to the sixth-floor window. They tied the end of the rope to a nearby oak tree.
Being the stronger of the two, Pasquallie said: “I’m-a go to the sixth-a-floor window and-a grasp a-hold of the piano. When I’m-a got a good-a grip, I’m-a tell you to un-a-tie the rope and you come-a help-a me get it into the room.” When Pasquallie felt he’d gotten his strong arms around the piano securely he yelled to Giuseppe, “Un-a tie the rope!” But, when he did, the instrument was too heavy for Pasquallie to hold and it zoomed to the ground with Giuseppe still holding fast to the rope end. He in turn was sped to the roof top where he struck the overhanging eve and fell back six floors to the ground.
Pasquallie rushed to his friend’s side and pleaded, “Giuseppe, Giuseppe, speak-a to me, speak-a to me!” Giuseppe opened one of his blood-filled eyes and moaned, “Speak-a to you? Speak-a to you? I’m-a pass-a you twice and you know speak-a to me!”
Are you laughing yet?
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