At a poetry competition, there were two finalists – a university student and an old country bumpkin.
They each had 20 seconds to come up with a poem ending with the word 'Timbuktu'.
The student proudly stood up and recited:
“On the desert sands, they came into view,
Men on camels two by two,
Where they were from no one knew,
Their destination — Timbuktu.”
The crowd clapped wildly.
Then the old country bumpkin stood up and said:
“Tim and I off huntin’ went,
And we found some ladies in a pop-up tent.
They were three and we were two,
So I bucked one, and Tim bucked two.”
Joke Poo: The Pet Show
At the county fair’s pet show, there were two finalists – a prim poodle groomed to perfection, and a scruffy, mud-caked terrier.
They each had 20 seconds to perform a trick ending with the word ‘Spinach’.
The poodle pranced delicately, performing a perfect ‘sit,’ ‘stay,’ ‘roll over,’ and then, with a flourish, “I will now eat…SPINACH!” (chewing a tiny, pre-prepared leaf with obvious distaste).
The crowd politely applauded.
Then the terrier bounded forward, sniffed the poodle’s spinach leaf disdainfully, lifted his leg on the judge’s chair, and declared, “I have to… Piss, then I… itch, then I… snatch, and then I…SPINACH!” (proceeding to bury his nose in the poodle’s fur).
Okay, let’s break down this joke and see what comedic gold we can mine.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: Establishes a contrast between a seemingly sophisticated university student and a simple “country bumpkin” in a poetry competition.
- Premise: The unexpected constraint of ending a poem with “Timbuktu” in just 20 seconds. This creates pressure and potential for absurdity.
- University Student’s Poem: Predictable, descriptive, and uses “Timbuktu” in a geographically appropriate (though somewhat cliché) way. It fulfills the requirement but lacks originality.
- Country Bumpkin’s Poem: Completely unexpected, crude, and uses “Timbuktu” as a suggestive rhyme, completely disregarding the geographical context. The humor lies in the juxtaposition of the refined poetry competition setting with the earthy and bawdy content.
- Humor Derivation: The joke’s humor relies on the subversion of expectations. We anticipate the university student to excel, but the “country bumpkin” delivers a poem so outrageous and unexpected that it becomes funny.
Key Elements:
- Contrast: Sophistication vs. Simplicity
- Expectation Subversion: Predictable vs. Unexpected
- Wordplay: Use of “bucked” (riding a horse vs. sexual connotation)
- Timbuktu: The absurdly specific and geographically distinct constraint.
Comedic Enrichment:
Okay, let’s leverage the “Timbuktu” element to create a new joke and an interesting “Did You Know?” related to the location.
New Joke:
Why did the travel agent get fired for his Timbuktu promotions?
Because he kept saying, “Come on, you’ve got to book ’em too!”
“Did You Know?” (Playing off the expectation of a sophisticated destination)
Did you know? While the name “Timbuktu” conjures images of a remote, almost mythical city at the edge of the world, modern Timbuktu faces very real issues. In fact, it’s threatened by desertification and the encroachment of the Sahara! So, while you might expect profound, ancient secrets upon arrival, you’re more likely to find a lot of sand, and a very serious discussion about sustainable development.
Explanation of why this works:
- New Joke: Leverages the sound similarity of “Timbuktu” with the command “book ’em too”. It maintains the absurd nature of using “Timbuktu” in an unconventional way, twisting it into a pun.
- “Did You Know?”: This plays on the common perception of Timbuktu as a romanticized, faraway place. By highlighting its modern challenges (desertification), we subvert that expectation, adding a layer of ironic humor. The contrast between the image and the reality creates a wry observation. It acknowledges the “mythical” element while grounding it in a very real, and somewhat unexpected, problem.