Some construction bureau's is in a pickle as the wings keep falling off their airplane's prototype.
They call in a specialist.
He looks at the plans and says: "It's simple – you have to drill holes in between the wings and where they're attached."
The engineers are horrified, but still try it. What a surprise, the wings hold. Engineers asked the expert why the holes.
"It's simple – with toilet paper, no matter how hard you twist or pull, the bloody sheet won't come off."
Joke Poo: The Sticky Situation
A brand-new, self-cleaning public toilet prototype keeps malfunctioning, resulting in… undesirable outcomes. The city calls in a sanitation expert.
He surveys the gleaming, futuristic commode and declares, “It’s obvious. You need to add a small, strategically placed fan near the bowl.”
The engineers are baffled, but desperate. They install the fan, and miraculously, the self-cleaning function works perfectly! The grateful engineers ask the expert to explain the fan’s purpose.
He replies, “Simple. With a cat, no matter how hard you try to nudge it towards the litter box, it will do its business…where it wants.”
Okay, let’s break down this Soviet joke and then build on it.
Joke Dissection:
- Setup: A flawed aircraft prototype (wings falling off) creates a crisis. The engineers are stumped.
- Character: The “expert” is the pivotal character. He’s presented as someone with unconventional (and seemingly nonsensical) solutions.
- Punchline: The expert’s explanation relies on an absurd analogy: toilet paper’s perforation preventing tearing. The humor lies in the incongruity of comparing sophisticated aircraft engineering to a mundane bathroom product.
- Core Themes: Ineptitude, bureaucracy, and the absurdity of Soviet-era problem-solving (or lack thereof). It subtly mocks the idea of applying illogical, surface-level fixes to complex issues.
Key Elements:
- Aviation: The plane itself, the engineering problem.
- The Expert: The character offering a bizarre solution.
- Toilet Paper: The unexpected analogy.
- Soviet Context: The implicit commentary on the system’s inefficiencies.
Now, let’s create some new humor playing off these elements:
Option 1: Amusing “Did You Know?” Fact
“Did you know that the Wright brothers originally considered using perforated fabric for their wings? They abandoned the idea after a brief trial involving a particularly aggressive roll of Charmin. Turns out, while it did prevent tearing, the increased drag resulted in the first recorded case of ‘toilet paper air turbulence.'”
Analysis: This “did you know?” fact plays on the absurdity of using toilet paper as a solution, linking it to a significant event in aviation history. It also hints at the idea of the Soviet Union potentially trying out ideas like this.
Option 2: New Joke (Extending the Original)
The engineers, still baffled by the toilet paper revelation, approached the expert again. “But what about the engine? It keeps overheating!”
The expert stroked his chin. “Simple. Line the engine with those little hotel shampoo bottles. They’re individually sealed, so no leaks! And they smell… international.”
Analysis: This joke extends the original’s premise. It maintains the theme of applying a ridiculous and illogical solution to a complex problem and introduces a new bizarre element: hotel toiletries. This is also a joke on the Soviet system of the time which was known to ration goods.
Option 3: Witty Observation
“The Soviet space program may have gotten to space first, but I suspect their engineers secretly field-tested their designs using only duct tape, baling wire, and a profound misunderstanding of fluid dynamics. You know, just in case the ‘toilet paper wing’ design didn’t pan out.”
Analysis: This observation takes the absurdity of the original joke and applies it to a broader aspect of Soviet technological achievement. It uses a mocking tone to underscore the supposed ‘shortcut’ thinking prevalent in some aspects of Soviet engineering.
Explanation of choices
The three jokes all incorporate elements of the old soviet system. In all cases the joke focuses on absurdity and humor by linking toilet paper, a domestic product, to something in the high technology of aircraft, engineering or space travel.