I've had this one for a couple decades now. I think it still works.
A newly ordained priest was assigned to a quaint little town and he arrived on a nice sunny day. After unpacking his simple suitcase in the quarters in his new church, he took a walk around the town square. There under a beautiful flowering tree, he saw a little girl playing with her dog, a rather nondescript medium dog. Enchanted by the pastoral scene, he stopped and introduced himself.
"Hello my child. I'm new in town. My name is Father John. What is your name?"
"My name is Blossom, father."
"What an unusual name! How did you come to be named Blossom?"
"Well, when I was in my mommy's tummy, she was sitting under this very tree when a blossom fell on her tummy and me. And she decided that if I were a girl, she would name me Blossom!"
"What a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing that with me." As he turned to go, a thought occurred to him and he asked "And what is your dog's name?"
"Piggy!"
"Piggy? That's an unusual name also. Why is he called that?"
"He likes to fuck pigs."
Joke Poo: Professor Plum and Particle
A freshly minted physics professor, Dr. Plum, was settling into his new office at a prestigious university on a crisp autumn day. After arranging his collection of quantum physics books, he decided to stroll around the campus quad. There, bathed in the golden light filtering through the trees, he spotted a student tinkering with a complex-looking machine. Intrigued, he stopped to introduce himself.
“Greetings, young scholar. I’m new to the faculty. My name is Professor Plum. What is your name?”
“I’m Particle, Professor.”
“Particle? That’s quite an… intriguing name. How did you come to be named Particle?”
“Well, when my mom was pregnant with me, she was attending a lecture on the Large Hadron Collider. During a particularly intense discussion about subatomic particles, a Higgs boson was detected, and she decided if I was a boy, she would name me Particle.”
“That’s… remarkably specific! Thank you for sharing that with me.” As he was about to leave, a thought struck him, and he inquired, “And what is that fascinating contraption you’re working on?”
“It’s a poop cannon!”
“A… a poop cannon? Why is it called that?”
“Because it shoots shit through a black hole!”
Alright, let’s break down this “Father John and Blossom” joke.
Core Elements:
- Setting: Quaint small town, pastoral scene, flowering tree. This evokes a sense of innocence and peacefulness.
- Characters:
- Father John: A newly ordained, naive priest, representing order and tradition. He’s the setup man.
- Blossom: A seemingly innocent little girl with an unexpected vulgarity, playing the straight (but ultimately dirty) man.
- Piggy (the dog): the punchline.
- Humor: The humor derives from the juxtaposition of the idyllic setting and the priest’s innocent curiosity with the shocking and inappropriate revelation about the dog’s proclivities. The punchline is unexpected and violates the established tone.
- Narrative Structure: Classic setup and punchline, relying on delayed gratification (the explanation is given at the end of the narrative).
Now, let’s create a new joke/observation based on these elements, focusing on the incongruity of innocence and vulgarity:
New Joke:
Father Michael, new to his parish, was walking through the church garden when he spotted a young boy tending to a patch of particularly vibrant sunflowers. Intrigued, he approached the lad.
“My son,” he said kindly, “Those are beautiful! What do you call these magnificent flowers?”
The boy, without looking up, replied, “We call them ‘Dickheads,’ Father.”
Father Michael, visibly startled, stammered, “Dickheads? But why… why that name?”
The boy shrugged. “Because that’s what Ma calls ’em. She says, ‘Those Dickheads are always facing the sun, aren’t they?'”
Analysis of the New Joke:
- Mirrors the original structure: Naive religious figure, innocent-appearing child, shocking explanation.
- Replaces the animal act with a botanical one: Uses sunflowers, drawing a parallel to “blossom,” to maintain the nature theme.
- Moves the vulgarity’s source: Instead of the child’s direct, unsettling bluntness, it’s the mother who uses the offensive term, providing a layer of (slightly) deniability for the child.
- Adds a plausible (though still crude) explanation: The “always facing the sun” reason gives the name a slightly less purely offensive root.
Bonus – An amusing “Did You Know?” related to the original joke:
Did you know that the Kama Sutra, the ancient Indian text on sexuality, actually includes sections on animal husbandry? While it’s a far cry from explicit bestiality, it does offer advice on choosing suitable breeding pairs of livestock. So, maybe Piggy’s owner was just being really progressive in her interpretation of ancient texts! (Disclaimer: This is a joke; please don’t take livestock advice from the Kama Sutra).