In 1861, in the city of Milan a very strange thing occurred that I just learned about.
The 1860's was an important time in Italian history. It was the waning years of il Risorgimento, when Italians were finally knitting tother the disparate pieces of italy under one leader. At the time the two parties leading the unification were the Consitittuional monarchist supporting King Victor Emauel of Piedmont-Sardinia, represented by that most able statesman the Comte de Cavour and the Radical Republicans led by the swash buckling hero of the Pampas Guiseppe Garibaldi.
As it would happen in 1861, the combined French and Sardian forces had finally put to flight the Austrians centered on the Veneto Plains when the Red Shirts of Garibaldi had routed the forces of The Kingdom of Two Sicilies and were marching on Rome to unseat the pope and finally squash the Papal states for good. At this time the Comte Di Cavour decided to invite Garibaldi North to a conference to settle how the new italy would be governed, as a constitutional monarchy (as the Comte hoped) or as a democratic Republic with president Garibaldi taking the lead. The two met in the metropolis of Milan to discuss Italy's future.
Needless to say, the meeting did not go well, and in one horrible exchange the Garibaldi lost his composure and made a rude hand gesture toward the comte di Cavour long since lost to history. The Comte di Cavour could not stand this affront to his honor and in the heat of the moment demanded satisfaction. Garibaldi wazs quick to respond in the affirmative and shouted "then it's rapiers at dawn!" and stornmed out of the room. The comte di Cavour, moments later realized his grave mistake, not only had he doomed negotiations but he had also just challenged the world's most famous warrior and swordsman of his day to a fight to the death. Cavour was distraught and all night he tried to come up with away out, but noone could disued the Red Shirted Caballero of the Pampas, he wanted the prime minister's blood.
On the morning, on a small island on the Po the two men met for what was sure to be the death of the Comte Di cavour when suddenly the Comte was struck with an idea. As the referee sounded "en garde" the Comte hurled a box of pasta at Guisspee Garibaldi the hero of Naples and he was struck unconscious there on the spot, like a veritable Goliath brought down by the sling of David. When asked how the Comte knew what to do in such a crisis he replied that he remember his Petrarch; "we all know, that the Penne is mightier than the Sword"
Okay, here’s the joke adaptation, titled “Joke Poo”:
Joke Poo:
Software Development Cycle
In 2024, in the Silicon Valley, a very strange thing occurred, as it often does.
The 2020s was a tumultuous time in software development, with teams constantly battling between Agile methodologies championed by Scrum Masters and Waterfall methodologies, beloved by seasoned Project Managers.
As it would happen in 2024, a crucial new project had finally made it to the testing phase when a major bug was discovered, threatening to derail the entire timeline. The Senior Developer, Bob, decided to invite the Lead Tester, Alice, to a meeting to settle how to address the bug: with immediate fix to production (Bob’s suggestion), or with a new deployment after further tests (Alice’s request). The two met in the metaverse office to discuss the project’s future.
Needless to say, the meeting did not go well, and in one horrible exchange Bob lost his composure and made a rude comment about Alice’s testing skills. Alice could not stand this affront to her professional pride and in the heat of the moment demanded satisfaction. Bob was quick to respond in the affirmative and shouted “then it’s stand-up at dawn!” and stormed out of the virtual room. Alice, moments later realized her grave mistake, not only had she doomed the project but she had also just challenged the most argumentative guy to a stand-up meeting. Alice was distraught and all night she tried to come up with away out, but noone could disued Bob, he wanted the tester’s pride.
On the morning, at a pixelated riverbank, the two met for what was sure to be the end of Alice’s arguments when suddenly Alice was struck with an idea. As the Scrum Master shouted “begin!” Alice hurled a box of AI-generated test cases at Bob and he was buried there on the spot, like a Goliath buried by the rocks of David. When asked how Alice knew what to do in such a crisis she replied that she remember her code reviewer; “we all know, the bugs are mightier than the ego”.
Okay, let’s analyze this historical humor piece.
Key Elements:
- Historical Setting: Italian unification (Risorgimento), 1861, Milan.
- Characters: Comte di Cavour (statesman, constitutional monarchist) vs. Giuseppe Garibaldi (revolutionary, republican).
- Conflict: Political disagreement escalates into a duel.
- Twist: Cavour uses pasta to defeat Garibaldi, playing on the saying “The pen is mightier than the sword,” with “penne” substituting for “pen.”
- Humor Type: Puns, incongruity (using pasta in a duel), historical revisionism.
Strengths:
- Clever wordplay.
- Relies on a basic understanding of Italian history, rewarding those in the know.
Weaknesses:
- The setup is quite lengthy; punchline might feel slightly underwhelming given the build-up.
- The pun, while clever, is somewhat predictable.
New Humorous Take:
Let’s leverage some facts around pasta and Italian history to create a new humorous “Did You Know” style observation:
“Did you know that while Comte di Cavour is famously remembered for uniting Italy and uniting Garibaldi with a box of penne, he also secretly lobbied against spaghetti with meatballs becoming Italy’s national dish? Cavour, a Piedmontese aristocrat, considered it ‘too Southern’ and ‘a barbaric Americanization’ – a far greater threat to Italian unity than any number of Red Shirts!”
Explanation of the New Humor:
- Builds on the original joke: Directly references Cavour and the pasta incident.
- Introduces a new (fictional) conflict: Uses historical regionalism within Italy (North vs. South) to create humorous opposition. The “too Southern” quip aligns with historical biases.
- Incongruity: The idea of a statesman like Cavour being so concerned about culinary traditions is funny in itself.
- Relatability: Many people recognize the iconic “spaghetti with meatballs.” The idea that it might not be “authentically” Italian can be humorous. This also leads to the humorous exaggeration of it being “a barbaric Americanization”.
- “Did you know?” Format: Gives it a false sense of legitimacy, enhancing the absurdity.