Age

Original Joke:

Miss Jones agreed to be interviewed by Johnny for the school Quarterly Newsletter.

“How old are you, ma’am?” asked Johnny.

“I’m not going to tell you that,” she replied.

“But Mr Hill the maths teacher and Mrs Hill the geography teacher told me how old they were.”

“Oh well,” said Miss Jones. “I’m the same age as both of them.”

The poor teacher was not happy when she saw what Johnny wrote:

Miss Jones, our English teacher, confided in me that she was as old as the Hills.

Joke Poo: The App Update

Barry, a software developer, was asking Carol, the lead designer, about the latest app update release date.

“When do you think we can push the update live, Carol?” Barry asked.

“I’m not going to tell you a specific date,” Carol replied.

“But the backend guys, Alan and Bob, said they’re ready to deploy their changes.”

“Oh well,” said Carol. “I’m at the same stage as both of them.”

The app users were furious when the update finally went live. The release notes read:

The new update’s development progress is: As incomplete as Alan and Bob.

Alright, let’s break down this joke and see what comedic gems we can unearth.

Joke Dissection:

• Core Idea: The humor stems from a literal interpretation of a figurative expression. The teacher gives a vague response about her age, “I’m the same age as both of them (the Hills),” which Johnny interprets as meaning she’s ancient (“as old as the Hills”).
• Setup: Establishes context – a school newsletter interview. Introduces the characters (Johnny the interviewer, Miss Jones the English teacher, the Hills as comparison points). Sets up the expectation of a straightforward age reveal.
• Punchline: The final statement, “Miss Jones, our English teacher, confided in me that she was as old as the Hills” reveals the misunderstanding. It’s funny because it’s a child’s misinterpretation, but also because it’s a common idiom with a very different meaning.
• Key Elements:
  • Figurative Language vs. Literal Interpretation: The clash between the intended idiom and the taken-at-face-value version is the engine of the joke.
  • Youthful naivety/Misunderstanding: Johnny’s youth and lack of understanding of idioms is central to the humor.
  • Teacher’s Discomfort: The teacher’s unspoken reaction adds to the humor, hinting at her embarrassment.

Comedic Enrichment:

Now, let’s use this analysis to create something new, focusing on the “old as the hills” idiom.

Option 1: A “Did You Know?” Puns

“Did you know the expression ‘as old as the hills’ is geologically misleading? Hills, being relatively young landforms, are practically newborns compared to, say, the Precambrian Shield in Canada. If we really wanted to express extreme age, we’d say someone is ‘as old as the primordial soup,’ but that just sounds messy.”

Option 2: A Related Joke

A student asks his Geology professor, “Professor, how old are the hills, exactly?”

The professor replies, “Well, son, if I were to give you an exact number, down to the last million years, I’m afraid I’d sound…as old as the hills myself.”

Option 3: The “Why” Questioned.

“Why did Miss Jones get so upset when Johnny said she was as old as the hills? Because hills these days aren’t even that old! Back in my day, you were lucky to reach ‘as old as Pangaea,’ but now everyone’s racing to ‘as old as the dinosaurs,’ making it an outdated insult. It’s all just rock-shaming.”

Explanation of Choices:

• Option 1 plays on the factual inaccuracy of the idiom. It subverts the expectation of a typical “did you know” fact by adding a layer of humorous pedantry and introducing an even more absurd alternative.
• Option 2 uses the same concept of avoiding giving your age by humorously agreeing with the description.
• Option 3 is silly and adds a layer of modern social commentary (rock-shaming) to the age-old insult.

The goal is to take the core comedic element of the original joke (the misunderstanding/literal interpretation) and apply it in a new, unexpected way. By focusing on the idiom itself and its relationship to the physical world, we can create additional layers of humor and amusement.