Once upon a time there was a lake shaped like a triangle with one long side, one short side, and one middle side. On each side of the lake was a different kingdom.
The Kingdom of the Short Side was rich and prosperous. The people there lived great long lives, never wanting for anything. The Kingdom of the Middle Side wasn't as well off, but the people worked hard and generally had good healthy lives. The Kingdom of the Long Side was very poor, the people toiled long hours for meager wages and lived generally sad lives.
One day the King of the Short Side decided to go to war with the other two kingdoms over control of the lake, which was a very important resource to them all. It was decided that the armies of each Kingdom would meet for battle and whoever came out victorious would get full control of the lake.
The Kingdom of the Short Side sent thousands knights in gleaming armor, pristine weapons, and hundreds of squires to attend them all. The Kingdom of the Middle Side sent a few thousand less soldiers, all in generally well kept armor and weapons with many squires to attend them.
The Kingdom of the Long Side only had one elderly knight, far past his prime, and a too-young squire to help him.
On the eve of battle the soldiers of the Short Side and Middle Side all drank, smoked, and partied, as for many this was their last night. The knight and squire of the Long Side had a small meal that night. The squire wrapped a noose around a clay pot and hung it above a fire to cook their dinner.
The following morning the knights of the Short and Middle Kingdoms were extraordinarily hungover, too much to move, and the knight of the Long Side was too old to fight properly. It was decided that instead the squires would fight and decide the winner. They fought long and hard and eventually one squire came out victorious: the squire of the Long Side.
Which just goes to show you that the squire of the high pot and noose is equal to the squires of the other two sides.
Joke Poo: The Case of the Missing Manure
Once upon a time, there was a farm shaped like a triangle, with one long edge, one short edge, and one medium edge. On each side of the farm lived a different family of dung beetles.
The Dung Family on the Short Edge was the richest. They rolled the finest manure, shiny and fresh, and lived in luxurious, dung-lined mounds. The Dung Family on the Medium Edge wasn’t as wealthy, but they worked hard, collected decent-quality manure, and maintained respectable, if modest, mounds. The Dung Family on the Long Edge was desperately poor, forced to scavenge for scraps and living in dilapidated, crumbling mounds.
One day, the patriarch of the Short Edge Dung Family, a particularly arrogant beetle named Barnaby, declared he would prove his dominance. He challenged the other two families to a dung-rolling contest. The family that rolled the largest, most perfect ball of manure would be declared the undisputed masters of the farm.
The Short Edge Family showed up with a team of strong, well-fed beetles, a pristine, oversized ball of fresh manure, and a fleet of tiny beetle assistants to polish and perfect it. The Medium Edge Family brought a slightly smaller, but well-crafted ball of manure, and a team of dedicated rollers.
The Long Edge Family arrived with a single, scrawny beetle named Doug and a tiny, pathetic ball of dried-up rabbit droppings.
On the eve of the contest, Barnaby and the Medium Edge Family feasted on the choicest manure, congratulating themselves on their impending victory. Doug, however, spent the night carefully tending to his tiny ball of droppings, coating it with a secret blend of fermented leaves and dew.
The next morning, Barnaby and the Medium Edge Family struggled to even budge their massive, unwieldy balls of manure. Doug, however, with a single push, sent his tiny ball of droppings rolling… and rolling… and rolling! His secret concoction had made the droppings so light, so perfectly balanced, that it rolled faster and further than anyone could have imagined.
Doug won the contest.
Which just goes to show you, the high-poo-tenuse leads to victory.
Okay, let’s dissect this joke.
Core Elements:
- Setup: A triangular lake bordering three kingdoms with varying levels of prosperity. Side length corresponds to prosperity (Short = Rich, Middle = Okay, Long = Poor).
- Conflict: War is declared over the lake’s resources.
- Inversion: The superior armies are incapacitated by partying. The decisive battle is fought by the squires.
- Punchline: A pun referencing the Pythagorean Theorem and the sides of a right triangle, relating “hypotenuse” to “high pot and noose.”
Analysis:
The humor relies on:
- Unexpected Outcomes: The initial setup strongly suggests a military victory for the Short Side kingdom, but this expectation is subverted by hangovers and the squire’s improbable win.
- Wordplay: The punchline is a clever (though groan-worthy) pun that requires a specific visual image (pot hanging over the fire) to complete the connection.
- Social Commentary (mild): The joke hints at the inefficiency and sometimes self-defeating nature of privilege and excess.
Enrichment and New Humor:
Let’s leverage the “triangle” and “Pythagorean Theorem” elements to create a new comedic piece.
New Joke:
Why did the trigonometry teacher break up with the geometry teacher?
Because they argued about which triangle was most important. The trigonometry teacher insisted it was the right triangle, as it held all the power. The geometry teacher, feeling obtuse, just said, “Acute!” Then they realized they were both being irrational and declared it an isosceles marriage and now they are okay.
Humorous Fact:
Did you know that the Pythagorean Theorem wasn’t actually discovered by Pythagoras? Babylonian mathematicians were using it over a thousand years before he was born! He just gets all the credit because… well, history is written by the victorious squires. Of geometry. Probably.
Explanation of the New Humor:
- The new joke uses a familiar trope (argument between teachers of related subjects) and incorporates triangle-related puns (“right triangle,” “obtuse,” “acute,” “irrational,” and “isosceles”)
- The humorous fact highlights the historical inaccuracies surrounding mathematical discoveries, connecting it back to the theme of unexpected (and sometimes unfair) outcomes seen in the original joke. The “victorious squires of geometry” line is a direct callback.