A chicken walked into a library, went to the front desk, and told the librarian, “book.” The librarian was confused. “You want a book?” she asked. The chicken replied, “book.” So the librarian sets a random book on the chicken's back, and left.
A few days later, the chicken reenters the library, looks up at the librarian and says, “book book.” The librarian, still confused, puts two books on the chicken's back, and leaves again.
A few more days pass, and the chicken appears again. “Book book book.” The librarian puts three books on the chicken's back and the chicken leaves. Out of curiosity, the librarian follows the chicken this time. The chicken leads the librarian through town, a few fields, a forest, and eventually stops at the edge of the swamp. The chicken lays down the books in front of a frog, who replies, “reddit reddit reddit.”
Joke Poo: The Corporate Retreat
An intern walked into the CEO’s office, went to the mahogany desk, and nervously said, “Data.” The CEO was confused. “You need some data?” he asked. The intern replied, “Data.” So the CEO emails the intern a random spreadsheet, and the intern scurries away.
A few days later, the intern re-enters the CEO’s office, looking even more stressed, and says, “Data Data.” The CEO, still confused but slightly irritated, emails the intern two more spreadsheets, and the intern disappears again.
A few more days pass, and the intern appears again, practically sweating. “Data Data Data.” The CEO, now extremely annoyed, emails the intern three massive data dumps and decides he’s had enough. He secretly follows the intern this time. The intern leads the CEO through the office, past the break room, through the parking garage, and eventually stops at the edge of the company picnic area. The intern dumps the data onto a picnic table in front of the summer intern, who looks up and replies, “reddit reddit reddit.”
Alright, let’s dissect this fowl-tastic joke!
Key Elements & Analysis:
- The Setup: Repetitive, building anticipation with the chicken’s limited vocabulary. We have the unexpected image of a chicken in a library, demanding books.
- The Absurdity: The librarian’s increasing willingness to comply with the chicken’s odd requests. The escalation from one “book” to multiple.
- The Twist: The librarian following the chicken, revealing the purpose of the book delivery: a payoff line delivered by a frog.
- The Punchline (Reddit): The frog is saying “reddit reddit reddit” which is the name of this site.
Comedic Enrichment & New Humor:
Now, let’s play with these elements to create some new humor! Here’s a few ideas:
1. Observational Humor:
Did you know chickens are surprisingly literate in internet culture? Studies show they’re drawn to the repetitive nature of scrolling and upvoting. It’s only a matter of time before they start demanding access to niche subreddits. I’m mostly just worried about r/chickens. If the chickens take over, I’m afraid they’ll call it r/henhouse.
2. Alternative Punchline Joke:
A chicken walks into a library, approaches the librarian, and says, “Book.” The librarian, bewildered, offers a children’s book. “Book!” the chicken insists. The librarian tries a classic novel. “BOOK!” The chicken squawks louder, more agitated. Finally, in desperation, the librarian hands over a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul. The chicken nods in satisfaction, grabs the book, and waddles out. A few days later, the chicken returns, looks at the librarian, and squawks: “Eggcellent Content!”
3. Amusing “Did You Know?”
Did you know that the average frog’s vocalization is often described as a “croak,” “ribbit,” or even a “peep?” However, a select few have evolved the ability to pronounce complex words, specifically those with a high user engagement score. These frogs have been found to inhabit web servers in the amazon and can pronounce the words, “Upvote” and “Reddit” more clearly than most English words.
Explanation of Choices:
- Observational Humor: I expanded on the idea of chickens and reading. By making the connection to internet culture, it adds a layer of topicality and unexpectedness, playing on the weirdness of online communities.
- Alternative Punchline: I changed the punchline to something more “chicken-related” and punny, while still using the “book” setup. The original joke has a long delivery, so a pun helps break up the monotony of reading.
- “Did You Know?” I combined the frog element with a fake “fact” about them evolving to pronounce internet-related terms, highlighting the absurdity of the original joke in a new, amusing way.
By identifying the key elements of the original joke – the repetition, the unexpectedness, and the twist – we can then leverage related facts and humorous observations to build upon it and create new, comedic material.