Around the beginning of the 20th century, a society lady runs into the employment office one day and demands a maid "immediately".
It seems she's having a dinner party that night and her maid quit.
The guy in the agency explains that all the girls he has right now have just gotten off the boat from Ireland and are untrained. The lady says she'll train one girl but needs someone right away.
The agency man asks for volunteers and Molly comes forward. She agrees to go and be trained.
The dinner party comes and goes and, although some of the guests seemed to disappear now and then, everything works out just fine. Molly does a great job.
The next morning, the lady's walking down the upstairs hall and sees Molly in one of the guest rooms. At first glance it looks like she's making the bed but she's just standing there.
Curious, she walks in and looks over Molly's shoulder. There on the bed lies a condom. The lady turns bright red and tries to laugh it off.
"Why Molly," she says, "Surely you have those in Ireland, don't you?"
Molly swallows nervously and says: "Surely we do madam, but we don't skin them!"
Joke Poo: Tech Support Trauma
A stressed-out programmer in Silicon Valley calls the tech support office at 3 AM, practically screaming, "I need help immediately! My code is crashing and I have a major deadline!"
The support agent explains that everyone on the senior team is out for a company retreat, but they have a fresh batch of interns straight out of coding bootcamp. The programmer, desperate, says he’ll try training one if they can fix the bug quickly.
The agent asks for volunteers, and a bright-eyed intern named Raj eagerly steps forward. He promises to do his best.
The programmer spends the next few hours with Raj, explaining the complex codebase. Miraculously, the system starts running smoothly again by morning. Exhausted, the programmer collapses for a few hours sleep.
Later that day, he finds Raj staring blankly at his monitor in the corner office. At first, it looks like Raj is just proofreading, but he is frozen in place.
Curious, the programmer walks in and looks over Raj’s shoulder. There on the screen is a line of code: import antigravity. The programmer turns pale and tries to chuckle it off.
"Raj," he says, "Surely you know about software packages, right?"
Raj swallows nervously and says: "Yes sir, but we never uncommented them in bootcamp!"
Okay, let’s break down this joke and then add some comedic enrichment.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: A society lady in the early 20th century needs a maid urgently for a dinner party and hires an untrained Irish immigrant.
- Premise: Molly, the Irish maid, apparently doesn’t know what a condom is, or at least, doesn’t know its intended use.
- Punchline: Molly’s naive (or deliberately sassy) response "Surely we do madam, but we don’t skin them!" implies that in Ireland, they use condoms differently, possibly as food casings. This creates humor through the unexpected interpretation and the visual of eating a condom casing. It also subtly plays on stereotypes of rural Irish people and their perceived naivete.
- Humor Source: This joke works through:
- Misunderstanding: The core of the joke is Molly’s misinterpretation of the condom’s purpose.
- Incongruity: The idea of eating a condom is absurd and juxtaposes with the expected use.
- Stereotype (Mild): Plays, albeit gently, on the stereotype of naive Irish immigrants.
- Double Entendre: The phrase "skin them" adds a second layer of meaning.
Key Elements:
- Early 20th Century Setting: Implies different social norms and potentially less widespread sex education.
- Irish Immigrant: Stereotypical "new arrival" trying to adjust to a different culture.
- Condom: Symbol of sexuality and (at the time) perhaps a more taboo topic.
- Misunderstanding/Naive Interpretation: The core of the comedic conflict.
- Society Lady: Represents wealth, privilege, and a certain level of supposed sophistication.
Comedic Enrichment:
Let’s leverage the historical context and misunderstanding to create some related humor:
Witty Observation/Alternative Punchline:
Instead of the original punchline, consider this:
"Why Molly, surely you have those in Ireland, don’t you?" the lady asks, trying to keep her composure.
Molly looks confused. "Well, we have pigs, madam, but I’ve never seen one wear a hat that colour."
Explanation: This punchline subverts expectations further. Instead of simply misunderstanding the use, Molly applies a completely bizarre logic: seeing the condom as a decorative pig-hat. It relies on the "naivete" and the unexpected association, amplifying the absurdity.
Did You Know? (Amusing Historical Tidbit):
"Did you know that in the early 1900s, condoms were often sold in apothecaries alongside other health products and were frequently marketed as ‘disease preventatives,’ with the additional benefit of ‘limiting family size’ as a secondary, subtly implied, benefit? Perhaps if Molly had picked one up with her cough drops, she’d know not to try using it as a sausage casing!"
New, Related Joke:
A very posh lady is interviewing a new, fresh-off-the-boat Irish maid in 1910. The lady, wanting to gauge the maid’s sophistication, asks, "Tell me, Maureen, have you ever encountered ‘a rubber’?"
Maureen replies, "Well, there was Seamus O’Malley down the lane. He bounced a bit, sure, but I wouldn’t call him made of it!"
Explanation: This joke plays with the double meaning of "rubber" (material and slang for condom) and uses Maureen’s literal interpretation to create a humorous misunderstanding. The "bounced a bit" adds a further visual gag.
By dissecting the original joke and playing with the key elements, we can create new jokes, observations, and tidbits that expand on the humor and provide a richer comedic experience.