They sit down and engage in an animated conversation.
The lady sitting behind them ignores them at first, but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of the men say the following:
“Emma come first.
Den I come.
Den two asses come together.
I come once-a-more.
Two asses, they come together again.
I come again and pee twice.
Then I come one lasta time.”
“You foul-mouthed swine”, retorted the lady indignantly. “In this country we don’t talk about our sex lives in public!”
“Hey, coola down lady,” said the man.
“Who talkin’ abouta sexa? I’m a just tellin’ my friend how to spella Mississippi.”
Joke Poo: The Geology Professor
Two geology professors are in a lecture hall, prepping for the next class. They begin discussing their recent fieldwork.
The student in the front row, diligently taking notes, perks up when she overhears one of the professors say:
“First, we crack the shale.
Then, we hammer the schist.
Then, four plates slide together.
We crack the shale again.
These plates grind together once more.
We hammer the schist and drill twice.
Then, we crack the shale one final time.”
The student slams her notebook shut, looking disgusted. “Honestly, Professor,” she says, “I didn’t need to know that level of detail about your weekend!”
“Whoa there, slow down,” the professor replied. “Who’s talking about my weekend? I’m just explaining how the San Andreas Fault works!”
Okay, let’s break down this joke.
Key Elements:
- Setup: Two Italian men boarding a bus and having a lively conversation.
- Misdirection: The “Emma come first…” monologue sounds like a vulgar sexual confession.
- Punchline: The man is simply spelling out “Mississippi,” revealing the innocent (and unexpected) meaning.
- Stereotype: The joke relies on stereotypes of Italians (animated conversation, heavy accent, perceived ‘earthiness’).
- Audience Expectation: The audience is primed to expect crude behavior, either generally or based on stereotypical assumptions about the characters.
- The Lady’s Outrage: The woman’s overreaction based on her interpretation of the conversation is a key element that makes the reveal funny.
Analysis:
The humor comes from the incongruity between the expectation (a sexual encounter) and the reality (a spelling lesson). It’s a classic bait-and-switch. The joke also plays on societal taboos around discussing sex in public. The stereotypes add a layer of quick, almost lazy, characterization, which helps facilitate the audience’s assumption and then its surprise.
Comedic Enrichment – Let’s try a “Did You Know?” angle:
Did You Know? The spelling of Mississippi has caused some controversy. In the early 20th century, there were actually arguments to simplify the spelling to “Missisipi” or even “Missisapi,” arguing that it was unnecessarily complex and that the doubled letters added nothing to the pronunciation. Imagine the cultural impact if the joke worked with a simpler spelling! The poor Italian man would have to explain the complicated spelling of Massachussetts!
Another joke:
An American tourist is in Italy. He’s trying to order a cappuccino, but his Italian is terrible. He stumbles through, saying something like “Uno… capa… cheena?” The barista looks bewildered. He tries again, louder and more emphatically, “CAPA! CHEENA! PLEASE!” The barista, clearly offended, says, “Sir, in Italy, we do not yell at our coffee. We say ‘Buongiorno’.”