It’s like there’s cameras everywhere.
Joke Poo: The Compost Heap
When I was a gnome, I could sneak into a farmer’s field with a handful of pebbles and come out with a plump carrot, a juicy tomato, some fragrant herbs, a handful of beans… But now?
…It’s like they’ve started putting up tiny fences everywhere. And those blasted scarecrows are getting smarter!
Alright, let’s break down this joke and then spin some comedic gold from it.
Joke Dissection:
- Premise: Nostalgia for a simpler, cheaper past where a single dollar could buy a lot of treats.
- Setup: List of specific, tempting treats easily bought with a dollar “back then”.
- Punchline: A sudden shift in focus. Instead of lamenting inflation, it implies that the speaker was shoplifting as a child, and the problem now is not affordability but increased surveillance.
- Humor Source: The incongruity. The setup leads the listener to expect a complaint about rising prices, but the punchline reveals a darker (and funnier) secret about the speaker’s past. It’s a misdirection joke that relies on relatable nostalgia and then subverts it. The implication is that it’s the threat of getting caught that is inhibiting them.
Key Elements:
- Nostalgia: The good ol’ days of cheap candy.
- Misdirection: Leading the listener to expect a financial complaint.
- Shoplifting/Petty Crime: The unexpected revelation of the speaker’s past behavior.
- Surveillance/Cameras: The deterrent to the speaker’s illicit activities.
Comedic Enrichment – Options:
Here are a few ways we can play with these elements:
Option 1: The “Did You Know” Approach
“Did you know? The average convenience store has roughly 16 security cameras. That’s only slightly fewer than the number of candy bars I didn’t buy as a kid. Ironically, the first commercially successful security camera system was designed to catch…wait for it…employees stealing lunch money. Guess my childhood dreams were a direct threat to the economic security of the working class. Now I just buy bitcoin.”
Why this works:
- Builds on the joke: The “did you know” format uses factual information to enhance the humorous subtext of the original joke.
- Amplifies the punchline: The bit about stealing lunch money from employees reinforces the theme.
- Adding bitcoin adds another layer of humor: This is because the value of bitcoin fluctuates wildly making it a bad investment in the first place, and it is often associated with illicit activities.
Option 2: A New Joke Format
“My therapist says my kleptomania stems from childhood deprivation. Apparently, ‘deprived’ doesn’t mean ‘unable to afford a king-size Snickers bar with a crumpled dollar and a wink.’ It means, ’emotionally neglected.’ So I’m working on stealing affection now. Way harder than stealing candy. They got security systems for feelings.”
Why this works:
- Plays with irony: Turns the original joke into a commentary on actual underlying issues.
- Expands the theme: Moves the stealing beyond just physical objects.
- Wordplay: “Security systems for feelings” provides the punchline while also being true.
Option 3: Witty Observation
“It’s funny. Back in my day, a surveillance camera was a shopkeeper’s disapproving stare. Now, they’re everywhere, documenting our every craving. Maybe that’s why obesity is up. Shame used to be a calorie-free deterrent. Now, it’s just another thing they sell you self-help books to overcome.”
Why this works:
- Adds a social commentary layer: Connects the joke to a broader issue (obesity, self-help).
- Subtly dark: Implying that the loss of a “shame” culture has negative consequences.
- Uses a relatable experience: Many people have felt the sting of a disapproving stare.
In all of these examples, we’ve taken the core elements of the original joke – nostalgia, misdirection, implied shoplifting, and modern surveillance – and used them as building blocks for new comedic ideas. The goal is not just to repeat the joke but to riff on it, expand on it, and find new angles of humor within the same territory.