A small boy was crying hard.

Joke Poo: The Midas Plunger

A plumber was wailing uncontrollably.

Seeing this, his apprentice rushes over –

Apprentice: Boss! What’s wrong?

Plumber: This morning, when I touched a leaky pipe with my wrench, it instantly turned to solid gold!

Apprentice: Wow, you got the Midas touch! What’s the problem?

Plumber: Then I touched a rusty old faucet, and it turned to solid gold too! I’m rich!

Apprentice: So why are you so upset?

Plumber: I went to unclog Mrs. Higgins’ toilet…

Alright, let’s break down this joke and then see if we can squeeze some more humor out of it.

Joke Dissection:

• Premise: A woman attempts to comfort a crying boy. The boy describes a strange situation where he breaks things he touches.
• Misdirection: The setup strongly implies the boy is upset about the mysterious breaking phenomenon. We, and the woman, are led to believe the core issue is the boy’s apparent ‘curse’ or power.
• Punchline: The boy’s actual distress is a mundane need to urinate, a totally unrelated and far less fantastical reason.
• Humor Type: Surprise, situational irony, and a bit of absurdity. The contrast between the building tension of the supernatural/unexplained and the completely ordinary problem is where the laughter comes from. It’s also humorous because it subverts our expectations – we expect him to be upset about something significant.

Key Elements:

• The Boy: Innocent, the unwitting source of both the ‘problem’ and the humor.
• The Woman: Well-meaning, a stand-in for the audience in trying to understand the boy’s distress.
• The “Power”: The catalyst for the misdirection.
• Urine/Urination: the completely mundane and unexpected cause of the distress.

Comedic Enrichment:

Let’s leverage the “touch-breaks-things” concept and the eventual urine revelation to create a new joke:

New Joke:

A scientist is giving a presentation on his latest discovery: “The Midas Reverse”.

“For years,” he says, “we’ve been searching for the secret of King Midas, who turned everything he touched to gold. Well, I’ve stumbled upon its opposite!” He gestures to a nervous young man standing beside him. “Meet Kevin. Everything Kevin touches… disintegrates.”

A reporter raises his hand. “So, what are the applications? What potential does this ‘Midas Reverse’ technology have?”

The scientist beams. “Well, we haven’t quite figured that out yet. Right now, he’s mostly just breaking things.”

Suddenly, Kevin bursts into tears. “I can’t hold it anymore! This lab coat is the only thing I haven’t touched! I gotta go to the bathroom!”

The scientist sighs. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why our research grant is currently under review.”

Explanation of Enhancement:

• We’ve escalated the “breaks-things” power to a scientific phenomenon – “The Midas Reverse.” This makes the premise more absurd and immediately interesting.
• The scientist character adds a layer of professional disappointment and the humor of misplaced priorities (focusing on the scientific breakthrough while ignoring basic human needs).
• The punchline ties into the original joke’s theme of a mundane biological need being the real issue.
• The final line (“research grant under review”) adds a touch of dark humor, implying the scientist’s career is on the line because of Kevin’s unfortunate timing.

Hopefully, this new joke maintains the unexpectedness and contrast that made the original funny, while expanding upon the core concepts.