Doctor says I’ve got bad news and I’ve got worse news.
Man says give me the worst news first.
Doctor says you have inoperable cancer.
Man tears up and says OK. What’s the bad news?
Doctor says you have Alzheimer’s
Man says well at least I don’t have cancer
Joke Poo: The Space Plumber
A space plumber goes to the Galactic Diagnostic Station.
The Galactic Med-Droid says, “I have good news and I have worse news.”
The plumber says, “Lay the worse news on me first, doc.”
The Med-Droid says, “You’ve got a Class 5 blockage in your primary waste recycling system. It’s unflushable.”
The plumber sighs and says, “Right, right. What’s the good news?”
The Med-Droid beeps happily. “You’ve got a severe case of Cosmic Amnesia!”
The plumber grins. “Awesome! So I haven’t got a Class 5 blockage!”
Alright, let’s dive into this darkly humorous gem.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: A familiar trope: doctor delivering bad news. The layered bad news (“bad” and “worse”) raises anticipation.
- Punchline: The Alzheimer’s patient instantly forgets the cancer diagnosis, finding solace in the fact he doesn’t have cancer.
- Core Mechanic: Irony and cognitive dissonance. The humor comes from the tragic situation being undermined by the character’s faulty memory, creating a moment of absurd relief. The tragedy of the cancer diagnosis is rendered almost meaningless by the second diagnosis.
- Underlying Themes: Illness, mortality, memory loss, coping mechanisms (however absurd).
Enrichment & New Humor:
Here’s a “Did You Know?” observation playing off the joke’s themes, followed by a new joke idea:
Did You Know?
While it sounds like something from a dark comedy routine, scientists are actually exploring connections between Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. Some research suggests that having Alzheimer’s might, paradoxically, offer some degree of protection against certain cancers, and vice-versa. Researchers believe that there may be shared mechanisms between the two diseases in cell cycle, gene expression, and inflammation, meaning that a person who is at high risk for one disease would be at less of a risk for the other. It’s a morbid form of “two wrongs might make a right.” So maybe that man isn’t entirely wrong.
New Joke Idea:
Why did the Alzheimer’s patient start a second career as a stand-up comedian after his diagnosis?
Because he could reuse all his best material without anyone noticing, including himself! He was so funny he forgot to be sad.