I loved it the first time and thought that a Repost was OK. This is from 14 years ago. (Has that been long enough for a repost?)
From Ireland, where driving while under the influence is considered a sport, comes this story: A routine police patrol was parked outside a bar in Donegal Town. After last call, the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so apparently intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly observing.
After what seemed an eternity, in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his car and fall into it. He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.
Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a fine, dry summer night), flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn, and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained still for a few more minutes as more of the other patrons left.
At last, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road. The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, and promptly pulled the man over and administered a breathalyzer test.
To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all! Dumbfounded, the officer said, 'I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breathalyzer equipment must be broken.'
'I doubt it,' said Paddy , truly proud of himself. 'Tonight I'm the designated decoy!
Original Joke (for reference):
From Ireland, where driving while under the influence is considered a sport, comes this story: A routine police patrol was parked outside a bar in Donegal Town. After last call, the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so apparently intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes with the officer quietly observing.
After what seemed an eternity, in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his car and fall into it. He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.
Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a fine, dry summer night), flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn, and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained still for a few more minutes as more of the other patrons left.
At last, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road. The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, and promptly pulled the man over and administered a breathalyzer test.
To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all! Dumbfounded, the officer said, ‘I’ll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breathalyzer equipment must be broken.’
‘I doubt it,’ said Paddy , truly proud of himself. ‘Tonight I’m the designated decoy!’
Joke Poo: AI Audition
In Silicon Valley, where pitching your startup is a competitive sport, a venture capitalist (VC) was holding late-night office hours outside a trendy co-working space. After midnight, he noticed a coding whiz kid emerge, so utterly exhausted he could barely stand. The kid fumbled around with his laptop and phone for what seemed like an age, the VC patiently watching from his sleek electric car.
Eventually, the kid managed to open his laptop. He spent ages typing into it, closing different windows, opening new ones, occasionally muttering to himself. As a few other entrepreneurs left the co-working space, he remained glued to his screen.
Finally, he clicked a big, green “RUN” button. His laptop whirred, popped up notifications and then the program ran succesfully. He repositioned the screen a few inches, moved it to the left and right. Another few minutes went by as other entrepreneurs left to get home to their families.
At long last, when he was the last one standing, he closed his laptop and looked around. The VC, who had been watching intently, pulled up alongside and asked, “Mind if I see the fruits of your labor?”
The kid eagerly showed him his program, “I want to revolutionize the AI chatbot industry!”
The VC examined the code, but the AI couldn’t string together even the simplest sentance and responded with nonsense phrases and non sequiturs. He politely asks, “Your AI doesn’t seem to have the capacity to work.”
“I doubt it,” the coding prodigy replied, brimming with false confidence. “Tonight, it was just the designated demo AI!”
Okay, let’s break down this joke and then craft some comedic offspring.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: Cop waits for a very drunk man to drive.
- Twist/Punchline: Man pretends to be drunk to deter the police from catching drunk drivers and is the designated decoy.
- Humor Type: Situational irony, surprise, wordplay (the implied meaning of “designated driver” vs. “designated decoy”). It also plays on stereotypes about Irish drinking culture.
- Key Elements: Irish setting, police presence, intoxication (real and feigned), “designated driver” trope.
Comedic Enrichment:
Let’s focus on the “designated driver” element and the Irish setting and see where we can go.
New Joke Idea:
Why did the Irish Designated Driver Association (IDDA) get shut down?
Because their motto was, “We’ll keep driving until someone says we’ve had enough!”
Explanation of New Joke:
- Element Exploited: The role of the designated driver
- Factual Tidbit Used (Implicit): The stereotype of Irish people liking to drink
- Humor Type: This joke depends on contradicting what one expects from a responsible designated driver.
- How it Connects: It builds off the original joke’s reliance on Irish stereotypes and drinking culture, pushing it to the point of absurdity.
Witty Observation:
In Ireland, the term “designated driver” can be misleading. It could mean someone who’s driven to designate a new pub for the night.
Amusing ‘Did You Know’:
Did you know that in 2003 Ireland considered lowering the drink-driving limit to one of the strictest in Europe? This might be because their traditional “designated driver” was just the least drunk person in the group, not a sober one.
Further Enrichment Considerations:
- We could play more on the idea of alternative roles like “designated decoy,” brainstorming other absurd job titles for a night out.
- We could explore the cultural nuances of drinking in Ireland and how they differ from other countries.
- We could also contrast the traditional Irish pub with a modern cocktail bar for situational humor.
I hope this helps give you a bit of insight into the humor.