The bartender says, “Hey, we don’t allow dogs in here.”
The guy tells him, “This is no ordinary dog. This dog can TALK!”
The bartender rolls his eyes, so the man says, “Ok, I’ll prove it!”
Guy: Dog, what’s that structure over our heads?
Dog: Roof
Guy: Dog, who’s the best baseball player in the world?
Dog: Ruth.
At this point the bartender has had enough and he throws them out. The guy and his dog hit the curb outside the bar.
The dog looks at his owner confused and says, “DiMaggio?”
Joke Poo: A Parrot’s Predicament
A woman and her parrot stroll into a library.
The librarian says, “Excuse me, but we don’t allow parrots in here.”
The woman replies, “But this isn’t an ordinary parrot. This parrot can QUOTE LITERATURE!”
The librarian raises a skeptical eyebrow, so the woman says, “Alright, I’ll prove it!”
Woman: Polly, what’s the first line of Paradise Lost?
Parrot: “Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree whose mortal taste…”
Woman: Good! Polly, what’s a famous line from Hamlet?
Parrot: “To be or not to be, that is the question…”
The librarian, thoroughly annoyed by the squawking and the disruption, kicks them both out onto the street.
The parrot, looking dejected, squawks to the woman, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever?”
Alright, let’s break down this joke and see what comedic treasures we can unearth.
Joke Analysis:
- Premise: A talking dog defies expectations.
- Humor Type: Absurdist, situational irony. The humor lies in the dog almost being convincing, but ultimately revealing its limitations. The punchline subverts the expectation that the dog is simply bad at baseball trivia; instead, the dog is capable of higher reasoning, and recognizes that his owner has specifically primed him to answer incorrectly.
- Key Elements:
- Talking Dog: The core absurdity.
- Bartender Skepticism: The reasonable reaction that grounds the joke in reality.
- Misunderstanding/Almost-Correct Answers: The “Ruth” answer creates humor from near-success.
- Punchline (“DiMaggio?”): The dog reveals awareness of the test.
Enrichment and New Humor Creation:
Let’s focus on the “baseball” aspect of the joke.
Tidbit:
Joe DiMaggio, a legendary center fielder for the New York Yankees, was known for his incredible 56-game hitting streak in 1941, a record that still stands today. However, he was also famously private and intensely protective of his image. There’s even an urban legend that DiMaggio would pay kids to not touch his car when it was parked on the street.
New Joke/Observation:
Observation: The brilliance of the original joke’s punchline, “DiMaggio?”, isn’t just that the dog knows more than the simple test questions. It’s that the dog knows his owner’s biases. Imagine the dog’s internal monologue: “Okay, he wants me to say ‘Ruth’ to make a point. But surely he secretly respects the streak. Gotta hedge my bets… DiMaggio?” It’s a canine commentary on human vanity and favoritism, wrapped in fur.
Alternative Punchline for the original joke:
The guy and his dog hit the curb outside the bar.
The dog looks at his owner confused and says, “I thought you liked DiMaggio? I only said Ruth because you always say Ruth was better.”
Explanation of why this is funny:
- It builds upon the original joke’s premise.
- It introduces the idea of the dog as a subtle observer of human behavior, making it even more intelligent and aware than initially portrayed.
- It adds a layer of meta-humor, commenting on the joke itself and how we might interpret it.
Essentially, by delving into the specific baseball reference and adding details about DiMaggio, we can craft new punchlines or observations that deepen the comedic effect of the original joke. We move from simple absurdity to something that’s a little bit sharper, a little bit more insightful, and perhaps a little bit more surprising.