The dad responds: "Get married."
Boy: "Really? Does that make you live forever?
Dad: "No, it'll make that desire go away."
Joke Poo: The Internship of Doom
A bright-eyed college graduate tells his career counselor: “I have such a strong desire to be fulfilled by my work. What should I do?”
The career counselor responds: “Take an unpaid internship.”
Graduate: “Really? Does that make me fulfilled?”
Counselor: “No, it’ll make that desire go away.”
Okay, let’s break down this joke:
Core Elements:
- Premise: A son expresses a desire for immortality.
- Setup: The father’s seemingly logical solution: “Get married.”
- Punchline: The twist – marriage doesn’t grant eternal life, but it kills the desire for it. This is a play on the perceived hardships and burdens of marriage.
- Humor Type: Self-deprecating, observational, based on a stereotypical view of marriage as draining and life-altering (in a negative, but humorous way).
Factual/Interesting Tidbits related to the Elements:
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Immortality: Humans have been obsessed with immortality since the dawn of time. Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known works of literature, is all about the quest for eternal life. Fun fact: Turritopsis dohrnii, a jellyfish, is biologically immortal, capable of reverting to its polyp stage.
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Marriage: The average age of first marriage is rising in many developed countries. People are waiting longer, which some argue allows for more personal development and potentially a clearer understanding of what they want in a partner (hopefully avoiding the punchline of the joke).
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Desire: Neurologically, desire is linked to dopamine pathways in the brain. The pursuit of novelty and reward fuels desire. Perhaps the father in the joke is implying that marriage removes novelty, leading to a decline in dopamine-driven desires, including the desire for anything beyond surviving the day-to-day.
New Piece of Humor:
Here’s a related observation/joke:
Observation:
“The irony is palpable. People spend their lives seeking immortality, leaving legacies, building empires. But maybe the real secret to living forever is simply lowering your expectations so low that every day feels like a bonus round. Marriage, apparently, is a masterclass in expectation management…and bonus round accumulation.”
Joke:
A man walks into a library and asks for books about immortality. The librarian whispers, “They’re over in the marriage section.”
Alternative Joke leveraging the jellyfish fact:
A son says to his father, “Dad, I want to live forever!”
The dad replies, “Son, become a Turritopsis dohrnii! If not, marry your mother! Either choice will make your wish come true, the latter just may do so within 5 to 7 years!”