The men’s room is occupied, and he’s doing the potty dance in the aisle.
A sympathetic stewardess whispers, "Look, I’ll let you use the ladies' room, but you must promise: Do not touch the buttons on the wall. They are for female hygiene only."
He promises, rushes in, and relieves himself. As he sits there, he notices four buttons: WW, WA, PP, and ATR.
Curiosity gets the better of him. "Who’s gonna know?" he thinks.
He presses WW. A gentle spray of Warm Water washes his backside. "Man," he thinks, "The guys just get rough toilet paper. This is class!"
He presses WA. A stream of Warm Air dries him comfortably. "Unbelievable! Why don't we have this?"
He presses PP. A Poof of Powder scents the air and leaves him feeling fresh. "This is the greatest bathroom experience of my life!"
He looks at the final button: ATR. He thinks, "If the other three were that good, this one must be the finale." He pushes it.
Everything goes black.
He wakes up in a hospital bed with tubes running out of his arm and a dull ache in his groin. He sees a nurse and croaks, "What happened? The last thing I remember was the ATR button."
The nurse grimaces. "Yes, sir. You were having a great time until then. WW is Warm Water, WA is Warm Air, and PP is Powder Puff."
"Yeah, yeah, but what is ATR?" he begs.
"Sir, ATR stands for Automatic Tampon Remover.
Your penis is in the jar on the nightstand."
Joke Poo: The Interdimensional Plunger
A stressed-out astronaut on a solo mission to Mars has been experiencing increasingly severe bouts of space-tummy. He’s desperately trying to unclog the ship’s zero-gravity toilet, a complex device that’s crucial for long-duration missions.
The ship’s AI, HAL 2042, sighs, “Commander, I’m authorized to let you use the experimental ‘Matter Manipulation Module’ designated for emergency waste disposal only. However, you must promise: Do not activate the red button. It’s for calibrating interdimensional stability and is highly unstable.”
He promises, rushes in, and after much effort, dislodges the blockage. As he floats there, relieved, he notices four buttons: FLUSH, DEOD, COMP, and the ominously glowing RED button.
Curiosity, fueled by relief, overwhelms him. “What harm could one little press do?” he muses.
He presses FLUSH. The waste matter vanishes into thin air with a satisfying whoosh. “Amazing! No more clogs!” he thinks.
He presses DEOD. The air is instantly filled with the scent of lavender and ozone. “Finally, something to counteract that recycled protein paste smell!”
He presses COMP. The remaining toilet paper compacts itself into a neat, sterile brick. “Incredible efficiency! HAL really outdid himself.”
He stares at the RED button. “If the other three were that good, this one must be the ultimate in sanitation.” He tentatively presses it.
The ship lurches violently. Alarms blare. He’s thrown against the wall. The toilet starts to glow with an unearthly light.
He wakes up strapped to a gurney, surrounded by bewildered Martian scientists. One of them, struggling with translation software, says, “Commander, the Waste Removal Sequence was remarkably successful. FLUSH activated Quantum Dispersal, DEOD employed Atmospheric Harmonization, and COMP achieved Material Singularization.”
“Yeah, yeah, but what did the RED button do?” he demands.
The Martian scientist pauses, consulting his tablet. “According to our readings, RED activated Interdimensional Plunger. The blockage… appears to have been relocated.”
He looks down. Attached to his spacesuit, now halfway embedded in his abdomen, is a giant, pulsating, multi-dimensional… toilet plunger. It’s… still plunging.
The Martian scientist adds nervously, “It seems your digestive system is now directly connected to… the intestinal tract of a six-dimensional space whale residing in another dimension.”
Alright, let’s break down this joke and then spin it into something new.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: Man in desperate need of a bathroom on a flight. Sets up the stakes (urgency) and the unusual circumstance (using the ladies’ room with specific instructions).
- Premise: Curiosity and a flawed assumption (that the buttons are all designed for general hygiene enhancement) leading to unforeseen and unpleasant consequences.
- Punchline: The shockingly literal meaning of “ATR” and the gruesome reveal of the lost appendage. The humor relies on the unexpected and the absurd. The punchline also lands because it’s an exaggeration of the man’s initial desire to relieve himself.
- Key Elements:
- The Forbidden: Using the ladies’ room.
- Curiosity/Hubris: “Who’s gonna know?” thinking leads to his downfall.
- Acronyms: The use of acronyms (WW, WA, PP, ATR) to create a sense of mystery and anticipation.
- Bodily Humor: The graphic nature of the punchline.
Comedic Enrichment: The “Did You Know?” Version (Playing on Acronyms & Airline Bathrooms)
Did you know that modern airplane lavatories have come a long way since the first pressurized cabins? Early models simply had a bucket, and the “lavatory attendant” was also responsible for emptying it mid-flight… by tossing it out the window! Imagine if that was the button labeled “ATR”! Instead of “Automatic Tampon Remover”, it would have meant “Airborne Toilet Release”. You’d press it, and instead of a visit to the hospital, you’d be explaining to air traffic control why there’s a sudden, unidentifiable object on their radar…and maybe investing in some serious life insurance. And while we are at it, maybe it is time we start thinking about what the other letters stand for on airplanes, “FLAP” for Flies, Landing, And Possibly dying, “GPS” for Getting Possibly Stranded. Safe travels!