I said, "What can I do? I'm just a computer engineer." "Oh, come on," he said, "you can try." "Okay," I said. So I slowly unbuttoned myself, removed my bra and shirt, and started unzipping. He was starting to get turned on… and then I immediately stopped. "WTF?" he said. "Just trying to turn you off and on again," I replied.
Okay, here’s my attempt at a “Joke Poo” of that joke:
Joke Poo: The Data Analyst’s Troubleshooter
My doctor told me he’s feeling completely unmotivated at work and asked for my help.
I said, “What can I do? I’m just a data analyst.”
“Oh, come on,” he said, “you can try.”
“Okay,” I said. So I asked him for all his patient records from the past year, carefully cleaned the data, ran a regression analysis, and built a predictive model of his daily motivation levels based on factors like patient demographics, appointment types, and time of day. He was starting to get intrigued… and then I immediately stopped.
“What? Why?” he asked.
“Just running a diagnostic to see if you were suffering burnout! I’ll send you an updated report detailing my findings.”
Alright, let’s dive into the digital depths of this joke!
Joke Deconstruction:
- Setup: Boyfriend expresses lack of sexual feeling and requests help. This establishes a situation ripe for misinterpretation and awkwardness.
- Punchline Catalyst: The girlfriend’s profession (computer engineer) creates the expectation of a technical solution to a biological problem.
- Misdirection: The girlfriend appears to be complying with a seductive act (unbuttoning, removing clothes) leading to an assumption of a standard, human solution.
- Punchline: The “turn you off and on again” line delivers the unexpected, computer-based “solution,” highlighting the absurdity of applying technical troubleshooting to human sexuality. The humor comes from the juxtaposition of the human (sexuality, relationship) with the technological (computer repair).
Key Elements:
- Computer Engineering: Specifically, the stereotype of a computer engineer applying technical solutions to non-technical problems.
- Sexual Dysfunction/Lack of Feeling: The (rather broad) topic that provides the initial problem.
- “Turning Off and On”: A common computer troubleshooting technique used literally and hilariously inappropriately.
- Anticipation and Subversion: The joke sets up a typical seductive scene only to yank the rug out from under the listener/reader.
Comedic Enrichment and New Humor:
Let’s leverage some interesting computer science facts to amplify the humor and spin off into new comedic territory:
Did you know: The first documented computer bug was literally a moth trapped in a relay of the Harvard Mark II computer in 1947? The team taped the bug into their logbook, coining the term “bug” and “debugging.”
New Joke (Building on the Original):
My boyfriend complained he had zero libido. I, being a computer engineer, was ready! I spent hours diagnosing the “problem.” Finally, I triumphantly announced, “I’ve found the bug!” He looked relieved. I then produced a framed, historically accurate photograph of Grace Hopper’s team taping a moth into the Harvard Mark II logbook. “I can’t frame this on my desk,” he complained. “And it smells of moth balls and ancient relays!”. I replied, “Well at least now you have some sort of feeling.”
Witty Observation:
It’s amazing how often people expect computer engineers to solve human problems. I’ve been asked to fix everything from relationships to refrigerators using just a screwdriver and the ability to google error codes.
Another joke, based on the historical debugging anecdote:
My boyfriend told me he was “bugged” by my programming jargon. So, I spent all night working on a software program to remove all bugs that he might have. I installed the app on him, ran the program, and it then deleted all of his “romantic feelings” because of the many ‘bugs’ that had previously existed in those feelings. “I’ve debgged your feelings” I replied.
Why this works:
- We maintain the computer/human disconnect.
- The historical bug and framing allows to keep the ‘computer engineer trope’ going.
- It amplifies the engineer’s naivete and literal interpretation of problems.
- The added element of a bad gift provides another layer of relatable humor.
- These jokes play on expectations, subverting the listener’s anticipation of a normal, human interaction with a technical, slightly absurd solution.
In short, by dissecting the original joke’s elements and injecting factual but absurd information, we can create further comedic variations that are rooted in the same humorous core.