Someone said I looked like the Unibomber, and my 1st thought was to joke about it.

Joke Poo: The Tax Auditor

Someone told me I looked like a tax auditor, and my 1st thought was to joke about it.

Anyone ever say something kinda mean to you and the 1st thought that popped in your head was to make a really inappropriate joke about it that lands you on an IRS audit list?

My coworker told me I looked like a tax auditor in a recent company photo, which I thought was kinda rude, but I rolled with it.

“Yeah I hear that sometimes…in fact just last night I was with your wife when she said “Are you the IRS? Because you just penalized my early withdrawal!””

I’m proud of myself. (No, I wouldn’t actually perform an aggressive audit on someone’s personal finances… unless they underreported capital gains, then all bets are off, IRS, please don’t red-flag me.)

Okay, let’s break down this joke and see what we can extract for comedic re-enrichment.

Joke Analysis:

• Core Idea: The joke is about someone receiving an insult (“You look like the Unabomber”) and responding with an even more outrageous, sexually suggestive joke that references the Unabomber’s bombing spree.
• Key Elements:
  • The Insult: “You look like the Unabomber” (physical appearance comparison).
  • The Rebuttal/Joke: The crass “bomb in the mailbox” line.
  • Escalation: The joke escalates from a simple insult to a potentially criminal and socially unacceptable scenario.
  • Self-Awareness/Disclaimer: The final line acknowledges the potential FBI attention and disavows actual criminal intent (“No I wouldn’t actually drop a bomb in a woman’s vagina, FBI…”).

Humor Drivers:

• Incongruity: The unexpected juxtaposition of the Unabomber (a symbol of anti-technology terrorism) with a sexual innuendo.
• Offensiveness: The joke derives humor from its taboo nature. The shock value of the subject matter (bombs, sexuality, the Unabomber) is a key component.
• Self-Deprecating Humor: The comedian admits the inappropriateness of the joke, inviting the audience to laugh at the joke’s absurdity.
• Paranoia/Self-Preservation: The disclaimer at the end adds another layer of humor by playing on the fear of government surveillance.

Comedic Enrichment – Let’s play with these elements!

Here are a few new humorous pieces based on the original:

1. The “Did You Know?” Route (Unabomber Edition):

“Did you know that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, had an IQ estimated to be around 167? That’s Mensa-level genius… which makes you wonder, with all that brainpower, he couldn’t come up with a better business model than mailing explosives. I mean, think about it: subscription boxes are all the rage now. If he had rebranded his ‘packages’ as ‘surprise explosive self-care kits for the modern misanthrope,’ he’d be a billionaire, not a prisoner. And instead of being on an FBI watchlist, he’d be headlining a TED Talk. (TED Talks, not Ted bombs… that’s copyright infringement, Ted!)”

Analysis: This approach uses a factual element (Kaczynski’s IQ) to then launch into an absurd hypothetical scenario that subverts expectations and plays on current trends.

2. The Alternative Insult & Rebuttal:

• Insult: “You look like you get your fashion advice from the Sears catalog circa 1987.”
• Rebuttal: “Oh yeah? Well, I was with your mom last night, and she said I looked like a discount rack at Nordstrom – and then she asked me to help her install her new cable… ‘because she needed to wire things up real good!'”

Analysis: Here, we replace the Unabomber reference with something more relatable (bad fashion) and then create a sexually suggestive pun based on a related concept (“wire”). The escalation and self-aware offensiveness are maintained.

3. The Self-Aware Metajoke:

“So, someone said I looked like the Unabomber. My brain immediately went to the “bomb in the mailbox” joke. Then, it occurred to me that making a joke about someone’s mom that also references domestic terrorism is… well, it’s a choice. A poor one. Maybe the worst choice. It’s the kind of joke that makes your therapist re-evaluate their career. It’s the kind of joke that makes your mom reassess her choices. So, instead, I just smiled and said, ‘Thanks, I’ve been working on my mountain man look.’ Much less controversial. Slightly less funny. Definitely fewer government agencies taking notes.”

Analysis: This joke focuses on the meta-awareness of how inappropriate the original joke is. It acknowledges the potential consequences and playfully critiques the comedian’s own thought process.

Key Takeaways for Comedic Enrichment:

• Identify the core absurdity: What’s the most ridiculous part of the joke? Exploit that.
• Play with expectations: Subvert what the audience expects to happen or be said.
• Escalate the absurdity: Take the initial idea and push it to an even more extreme or outlandish conclusion.
• Don’t be afraid to be self-aware: Acknowledging the joke’s own flaws or inappropriateness can actually enhance the humor.
• Context is King (or Kaczynski): Understand the cultural and historical references within the joke and use them to your advantage.
• Be careful not to actually be offensive The original joke rides the edge of appropriate humor; consider your audience.

Have fun creating!