So they decide to send a spy to Harvard to see how their team trains.
The spy returns from Harvard and the entire team gathers around to hear the report.
"Well," the spy says, "Up there at Harvard, they have eight guys rowing, and only one guy yelling."
Joke Poo: The Tech Startup
So, a super old-school textile company launches a tech startup to try and stay relevant. Every project they launch fails miserably. Launch after launch, it’s always a disaster.
So they decide to send their most senior (and only tech-savvy) intern to Google to see how their startups are run.
The intern returns, bleary-eyed from coding bootcamp, and the entire executive team gathers around the conference table to hear the report.
“Well,” the intern says, “Up there at Google, they have eight engineers coding, and eight managers yelling. Plus free kombucha.”
Okay, let’s break down this joke and then build something new from its components.
Joke Dissection:
- Premise: Yeshiva University’s rowing team is consistently terrible.
- Setup: They send a spy to Harvard to learn their secrets.
- Punchline: The spy reveals the difference is the ratio of rowers to yellers (presumably a coach/coxswain).
- Humor Type: Observational, plays on stereotypes, and highlights an assumed imbalance of focus (studying vs. athletics). It implies the Yeshiva team has too much “yelling” (maybe arguing, debating, religious discussion) and not enough actual rowing.
- Key Elements:
- Yeshiva University: Representative of Jewish/scholarly environment, stereotypical lack of athletic prowess.
- Harvard: Represents athletic and academic excellence.
- Rowing Team: A traditionally “elite” sport, requiring teamwork and discipline.
- Contrast/Inversion: The expected emphasis on athletic training is flipped to focus on the yelling/communication aspect.
Enrichment & New Humor Generation:
Let’s focus on the rowing team aspect, particularly the role of the coxswain (the person yelling).
Fact: The coxswain isn’t just yelling. They’re the brains of the boat. They steer, coordinate the rowers’ strokes, strategize, and provide motivation. A good coxswain can make or break a team. Some coxswains are even lighter than others in order to improve times, like the Simone Biles.
“Did You Know” Amusing Fact: The best coxswains are often described as having “a voice that can cut glass.” Which explains why Yeshiva University’s team hired a cantor. The problem is, instead of calling out commands, he keeps accidentally launching into “Kol Nidre” mid-race. The other teams are complaining that it’s both distracting and depressing.
Alternative Joke:
Why did the Yeshiva University rowing team replace their coxswain with a rabbi?
Because they heard Harvard was using a highly orthodox technique.