There used to be a joke about Oedipus and Midas, but I can’t remember it

Okay, here’s my attempt at a "Joke Poo" titled "Joke Decay," riffing on the Oedipus/Midas joke:

Joke Decay

There used to be a joke about Schrödinger’s Cat and Occam’s Razor, but I can’t quite recall it…

Which is frustrating, because it was the simplest explanation for everything and nothing, simultaneously.

Alright, let’s break down this joke.

Key Elements:

• Setup: "There used to be a joke about Oedipus and Midas, but I can’t remember it." – This sets up an expectation of a cleverly interwoven joke involving mythology. The "I can’t remember it" creates a feeling of loss and anticipation for something humorous.
• Punchline: "Which is sad, because it really was motherfucking gold." – The punchline uses the dual meaning of "gold":
  • Literal gold, referencing Midas’s curse.
  • Figurative gold, meaning high quality, brilliant humor.
  • The "motherfucking" intensifies the superlative nature of the joke’s supposed comedic value, highlighting the speaker’s regret at forgetting it.
  • Oedipus being a "motherfucker" adds another layer.

Analysis:

The humor lies in the unexpected payoff that connects two distinct mythological figures, Oedipus (known for his incestuous relationship with his mother) and Midas (known for his golden touch). The punchline is effective because it simultaneously refers to Midas’s obsession with gold and the vulgar term for someone who has sex with their mother. The joke thrives on the unexpected and the double meaning.

Comedic Enrichment – New Joke/Observation:

Let’s build on this with a "Did you know" type of addition that adds another layer:

Original Joke: There used to be a joke about Oedipus and Midas, but I can’t remember it. Which is sad, because it really was motherfucking gold.

Comedic Enrichment:

Did you know that, ironically, Midas probably wouldn’t have enjoyed that Oedipus/Midas joke even if he could hear it? He asked Dionysus to remove the golden touch, which meant turning his sense of humor back to bronze age!

Explanation of Enrichment:

• Adding Factual Element: Midas did ask Dionysus to take away the golden touch.
• Irony: This adds a layer of irony. Even if this "motherfucking gold" joke existed, Midas would be incapable of understanding it after turning the golden touch off.
• Connecting to Bronze age: Here we take the materials from the myths (Gold and the idea of bronze age) and connect it to modern humor ("bronze age of humor").
• Wordplay: "Turning his sense of humor back to bronze age" plays on the historical period to suggest he no longer had a golden sense of humor.

This adds a small, absurd spin that enhances the original joke by providing another layer of humor that highlights the original context of the myths. It layers "bad jokes" with an understanding of the Midas myth.