He looks around and sees small boxes of salt on every shelf throughout the store
From top to bottom it’s all salt
Salt, salt, salt, salt, salt…
He says to the owner, do you sell a lot of salt?
If I sell a box of salt a month, it’s a lot
But the guy that sells me salt,
Boy can he sell salt!
Okay, here’s my “Joke Poo” version, titled:
Joke Poo: The Tire Salesman
A woman walks into a mechanic shop looking to get her tires rotated.
She glances around and notices stacks of old, dented pots and pans lining every wall and shelf.
From floor to ceiling it’s all pots and pans.
Pans, pans, pans, pans, pans…
She says to the mechanic, “Do you sell a lot of pots and pans?”
He says, “If I sell one a year, it’s a miracle.”
“But that guy who sells me the pots and pans,” he continues,
“Boy, can he spin a yarn!”
Alright, let’s break down this salt-saturated joke.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: A man enters a store and is overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of salt. The repetition (“Salt, salt, salt…”) emphasizes the absurdity.
- Twist/Punchline: The store owner reveals he barely sells any salt, but the salt salesman is incredibly persuasive. The humor comes from the disconnect between the abundance of salt and the lack of demand, implying the salesman is exceptionally good at selling things people don’t need. It’s a play on the idiom “selling salt to the salters.”
Key Elements:
- Salt: The central object of the joke, representing an undesirable or unnecessary item.
- Persuasion/Salesmanship: The exaggerated ability of the salt salesman.
- Irony: The contrast between the supply and the actual demand.
Comedic Enrichment:
Okay, let’s build on this…
Option 1: “Did You Know?” – Leaning into the Salt Factoids
Did you know: Ancient Roman soldiers were sometimes paid with salt? It was so valuable that the word “salary” actually comes from the Latin word “salarium,” which referred to their salt allowance. So, the store owner in the joke could theoretically pay his rent… for about a millennium. He just needs to find a Roman soldier who’s really bad at bartering. Maybe that’s who’s buying all that salt!
Why it works: This adds a layer of historical context and wordplay to the joke. “Salary” and “salt allowance” create an ironic contrast with the store owner’s poor sales.
Option 2: The Salt Salesman’s Lament
New joke setup: A world-weary salt salesman is sitting at a bar, nursing a cheap beer.
Punchline: “You know,” he sighs to the bartender, “selling salt to a salt mine owner sounds impressive, but the margins are terrible. And the existential dread…don’t even get me started on the existential dread of being the only person who can convince someone they need more salt.”
Why it works: This flips the perspective, exploring the potential downside of the salesman’s seemingly incredible skill. It adds a touch of pathos to the absurdity.
Option 3: Expanding on the Store’s Inventory
What else might this shop owner be peddling so poorly? “Yeah, it’s bad enough that my salt is the best in the world. But try selling sand in the Sahara.”
Option 4: Quick Observation:
The difference between the store owner and the salt salesman is like the difference between the guy who owns a shovel company, and the guy who sold shovels to the gold rush.