h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

One of those big but less than urgent questions I would love to know the answer to. Has anyone ever tried to trace back a joke to its source, as they do with a disease? Do you know the origin of a well known joke?

Isaac Asimov once wrote a short story about this situation. I can't remember exactly how it goes, but some one worked out that jokes are implanted by aliens who then monitor the reaction of different people to each joke. The man who worked this out had a lot of trouble getting other people to accept his theory, but once he did no one could remember any jokes. Knowledge that one is being experimented on invalidates the experiment.

It's only a story, but sometimes I wonder.

One of my old high school teachers told me that jokes(dirty ones) come from people in prison, the reasoning being that all these men have this time on their hands and nothing to do, so they make up jokes. In addition, there may be comedians out there who actually make up their own jokes. It could happen.

Not sure about that one, but I do know that some of them don't half hang around for ages, can't take the hint that there stay is well over, and don't leave until you put the cat out. Inconsiderate buggers! Even then, some of them come round first thing the next morning before your breakfast has had time to settle.

And they eat all the cheese.

Hmppff!

A bloke at work tells me.

Where do jokes come from?

Whisky's Mum?





B

It never fails to shock me how quickly 'sick' jokes come out. I've heard jokes about disasters within hours of the event. I just visualise someone sitting there thinking:
Hmmmm. Major disaster. Terrible. I know! I'll make up a joke!

Jim Davison, presumably.

B

I've often wondered about the origins of jokes. I've tried to make up jokes myself and failed miserably. I simply haven't got a clue where they come from. I don't know anyone who's made up a joke. The kind of jokes that are said in pubs etc. are different from the sort of humour used by jokes comedians use. Who makes them up?! There must be a secret team somewhere, maybe working in close conjunction with 'they'.