A man jumps out of a plane, but his parachute doesn’t open. Panicking, he pulls the cord for the reserve chute… snap! that one’s broken too. He’s plummeting toward the ground like a rock.
By pure chance, as he’s falling, he sees another man coming upwards from the ground at incredible speed. The falling man seizes the moment and yells:
“Hey! Do you know anything about parachutes?!”
The other man shouts back:
“No! Do you know anything about gas heaters?!”
Joke Poo: Toilet Troubles
A plumber is called to a mansion, but the toilet doesn’t flush. Panicking, he plunges and plunges, but it’s still blocked. He’s got a proper sewage situation developing.
By pure chance, as he’s wrestling with the pipes, he sees another man exiting the sewers with the force of a geyser. The desperate plumber seizes the moment and yells:
“Hey! Do you know anything about toilets?!”
The other man shouts back:
“No! Do you know anything about birthday candles?!”
Alright, let’s dissect this plummeting punchline.
Key Elements & Analysis:
- The Initial Setup: A high-stakes, life-or-death situation. The parachute failures are the source of immediate panic and dread. We have a clear goal: survive the fall.
- The Absurdity: The unexpected appearance of another person traveling upwards at high speed, against all natural laws. This shifts the tone from pure dread to the realm of the bizarre.
- The Juxtaposition: The juxtaposition lies in the disconnect between the life-threatening emergency (parachute failure) and the utterly irrelevant question about gas heaters. It’s a classic “wrong person, wrong time” scenario, amplified by the extreme circumstances.
- The Humor: The humor comes from the utter uselessness of the other man’s expertise, even in this utterly absurd situation.
Now, let’s use these elements to create some comedic enrichment:
New Joke (playing on the absurdity):
A woman skydives for the first time. Both her parachutes fail. As she hurtles toward the earth, she spots a monk meditating serenely in mid-air. Desperate, she yells, “Help me! I don’t know what to do!”
The monk opens one eye, sighs, and replies, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”
Witty Observation (playing on the juxtaposition):
That joke perfectly illustrates the problem with modern specialization. We’re so focused on gas heaters (or whatever our niche is) that we’re utterly useless when someone’s desperately plummeting toward the ground. It’s like a plumber showing up to a brain surgery – technically, they both involve pipes, right?
“Did You Know?” (playing on the initial setup):
Did you know that the first parachute jump from a balloon was made in 1797 by André-Jacques Garnerin? However, the parachute was far from reliable by modern standards. So, if you were to ask him about it, his reply might just be “Hey, I just jumped out of a balloon, I have no idea!” Which basically makes him the gas heater guy of the 18th century.
Bonus bit of dark humor:
I heard NASA is starting a new astronaut training program for all the guys who work at gas furnace companies, it will teach them how to exit a rapidly descending machine, safely. The first test will be a space mission…