The daughter brings her boyfriend home to meet her wealthy parents, as they’ve decided to get engaged.
“So, what are your plans?” asks the father.
“I got a scholarship for my master’s degree,” replies the young man.
“A scholarship! … Admirable, but how will you provide my daughter with a house to live in and the comforts she’s used to?”
“I’ll study hard with God’s help.”
“And what about the engagement ring she deserves?”
“I’ll devote myself to my studies with God’s help.”
“And children? How will you support children?”
“Don’t worry, sir, with God’s help.”
The conversation went on like this, and every time the father asked something, the fiancé insisted, “with God’s help.”
Later, the mother asks her husband:
“So, how did your talk go?”
“He has no job, no future plans, and he thinks I’m God.”
Joke Poo: The Tech Support Ticket
A frustrated user calls IT support about a persistent software bug.
“So, what’s the issue?” asks the tech support agent.
“This program keeps crashing every time I try to save,” replies the user.
“Have you tried restarting your computer?”
“Yes, and the problem persists. How will I get my work done?”
“Restart again! And maybe click around a bit!”
“And how will I fix the bug so this doesn’t happen tomorrow? My manager needs this report.”
“I’ll just assign a ticket to the escalation team!”
The conversation went on like this, and every time the user asked a question about fixing the core problem, the tech support agent insisted, “I’ll just assign a ticket!”
Later, the team lead asks the support agent:
“So, how are things going?”
“He has no solutions, no understanding of the underlying problem, and he thinks assigning a ticket fixes everything.”
Alright, let’s dissect this joke.
Core Elements:
- Setup: Wealthy parents, daughter, ambitious but financially insecure boyfriend.
- Conflict: Boyfriend’s lack of financial resources versus the parents’ expectations.
- Punchline: The father’s misinterpretation of the boyfriend’s reliance on faith as the boyfriend thinking he is God.
- Irony: The boyfriend’s sincerity clashes with the father’s worldliness and assumption of financial security.
- Religious Element: Reliance on God is presented in a way that appears naive to the materialistic father.
Now, let’s add some comedic enrichment based on these elements.
New Joke/Observation/Did You Know:
Did you know: Studies show that the perceived value of “thoughts and prayers” increases exponentially in direct proportion to the net worth of the person offering them? A billionaire offering “thoughts and prayers” after a disaster is statistically more comforting than a grad student offering the same, especially if the disaster involved yacht repairs.
Alternative Punchline:
Later, the mother asks her husband:
“So, how did your talk go?”
“He has no job, no future plans, and honestly, he thinks I’m paying for his master’s degree.”
Joke Explanation:
The original joke works because it plays on the contrast between faith and practicality, and the father’s interpretation is a funny misunderstanding.
The “Did You Know” observation makes a humorous commentary on the perceived worth of faith, making a joke about the rich and how the sincerity of their faith seems to be weighed against their financial value.
The alternative punchline swaps God for a similar misunderstanding, but focused on money – now the boyfriend thinks that the wealthy father will simply pay for the master’s degree, a dig at the perceived entitlement of some younger folks. This is also funnier as the father is more likely to be paying for it regardless of the boyfriend’s degree.