"What do we need?" he asks.
"Well," she begins, "remember that video we watched about the elderly father who wouldn't use his cane, so the daughter and son-in-law pretended to use a cane, and then he started using his cane?"
He replies, "Yeah, what about it?"
She continues, "And remember how you said it made total sense, and that if my dad ever refused to use a cane, that you would pretend to use a cane?"
He responds by asking, "Is he refusing to use his cane?"
"No," she replies, "but I need you to pick up a box of Depends."
Joke Poo: The Potty Training Ploy
A dad is working from home when his partner texts him. “Sweetie,” it reads, “can you sneak down to the store?”
“Sure, what do we need?” he texts back.
“Well,” she types, “remember that parenting podcast we listened to, the one about the toddler who wouldn’t use the potty, so the parents pretended to use the potty, and then the kid started using the potty?”
He texts back, “Yeah, what about it?”
She continues, “And remember how you said it was brilliant, and that if our little Timmy ever refused to use the potty, that you would pretend to use the potty?”
He responds by asking, “Is Timmy refusing to use the potty?”
“No,” she replies, “but I need you to pick up a kiddie pool… and some chocolate pudding.”
Alright, let’s break down this joke and find some humor nuggets to polish.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: A man is running errands and receives a call from his wife with a convoluted request.
- Premise: The wife references a specific, somewhat absurd, solution from a video (mimicry to influence behavior), which the husband previously endorsed for her father.
- Twist/Punchline: Instead of needing the husband to mimic cane usage, the wife needs him to buy Depends, implying a different (and more embarrassing) age-related issue for her father. The humor derives from the disconnect between the anticipated problem (mobility) and the actual problem (incontinence), and the absurdity of the man’s prior commitment to the cane-mimicking solution.
Key Elements:
- Elderly Parent & Aging: The core theme.
- Cane: Represents mobility issues/physical decline.
- Depends: Represents incontinence/bodily function decline.
- Mimicry/Behavioral Psychology: The specific solution from the video.
- Husband’s Complicity: He enthusiastically agreed to participate in the absurd “cane pretending” scheme.
Humorous Enrichment:
Let’s leverage these elements to create a new joke/observation:
Observation:
“It’s funny how we prepare for the challenges of aging. We buy ergonomic chairs to preempt back pain, load up on crossword puzzles to keep the mind sharp, but nobody ever stockpiles adult diapers before they’re needed. It’s like we’re collectively deluded into thinking mobility goes before dignity on the slippery slope of getting old.”
Did You Know? (Amusing angle):
Did you know that the adult diaper market is projected to surpass $18 billion by 2027? That’s enough absorbent polymer to soak up the entire Niagara Falls… several times over. Makes you wonder if the real aging crisis isn’t the gray hair, but the gray water.
New Joke (playing on the original format):
A man is on his way home from work when his wife calls. “Honey,” she says, “I need you to stop at the pharmacy.”
“Okay,” he replies, “What do you need?”
“Well, you know how you’re always saying we should be prepared for anything?” she asks.
“Yeah…?” he says cautiously.
“And remember that article you read about the rise in adult diaper theft?”
“I think so… why?” he stammers.
“Well,” she says, “I need you to get Depends… and maybe a Kevlar vest. Just in case.”