The doctor told them that they should start writing things down so they don't forget. They went home and the old lady told her husband to get her a bowl of ice cream. "You might want to write it down," she said. The husband said, "No, I can remember that you want a bowl of ice cream." She then told her husband she wanted a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream. "Write it down," she told him, and again he said, "No, no, I can remember: you want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream." Then the old lady said she wants a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top. "Write it down," she told her husband and again he said, "No, I got it. You want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top." So he goes to get the ice cream and spends an unusually long time in the kitchen, over 30 minutes. He comes out to his wife and hands her a plate of eggs and bacon. The old wife stares at the plate for a moment, then looks at her husband and asks, "Where's the toast?"
Joke Poo: The Coding Couple
A young couple, both software engineers, realized they were getting increasingly distracted by Slack notifications and endless debugging. They decided to attend a productivity seminar.
The guru at the seminar told them to use a Kanban board to track their tasks. They went home, and the wife asked her husband to add “Deploy latest build” to the “To Do” column.
“You should probably add it to the board,” she suggested.
The husband scoffed. “Nah, I can remember. ‘Deploy latest build’.”
Then she said, “Also, create a rollback plan, just in case.”
“Add it to the board!” she insisted, but he replied, “No need, I got it. ‘Deploy latest build’, and ‘create rollback plan’.”
Finally, she said, “And before you deploy, run the end-to-end tests!”
“Seriously, put it on the board!” she pleaded. Again, he waved her off. “I’m good. ‘Deploy latest build’, ‘create rollback plan’, and ‘run end-to-end tests’.”
He went to his computer, spending an unusually long time – about three hours – staring intently at his screen. He finally turned to her, looking exhausted, and said, “Okay, it’s done.”
The wife, puzzled, looked at his screen. “What’s done?”
He sighed. “I just pushed the most elegant, perfectly documented, and thoroughly tested… FizzBuzz implementation!“
Okay, let’s break down this joke:
Key Elements:
- Premise: Elderly couple experiencing memory loss.
- Setup: Doctor’s advice to write things down; escalating request for ice cream.
- Punchline: Husband fails to remember the ice cream order, delivers bacon and eggs, and the wife focuses on the missing toast, illustrating a different (and unexpected) type of memory lapse.
- Humor Source: The humor arises from the irony of the husband’s overconfidence in his memory juxtaposed with his clear failure, and the wife’s memory lapse focuses on the incidental rather than the core request. It’s also relatable to anyone who has experienced senior moments or observed them in others.
Now, let’s generate some humor derived from these elements, enriched with interesting facts:
1. Observational Humor/Witty Remark:
“You know, memory is a funny thing. My grandpa swears he remembers every detail of the moon landing, but can’t recall where he put his reading glasses… which are on his head. Apparently, the Sea of Tranquility is easier to navigate than the living room sofa.”
Why it works: It connects to the theme of selective memory, highlighting the contrast between remembering significant events and forgetting everyday things.
2. Modified Joke Structure:
An elderly couple goes to the doctor, concerned about their memory. The doctor suggests they try associating tasks with songs. The next day, the husband asks, “Honey, can you grab me that blue, flat rectangle for watching?” The wife, without missing a beat, replies, “You want your iPad, darling! Should I sing you the Netflix theme song while I fetch it?”
Why it works: This joke uses the concept of associative memory. It twists the original by highlighting the ridiculousness of applying memory aids in a very specific and potentially humorous way.
3. “Did You Know?” Fact & Funny Application:
Did you know that the hippocampus, the brain region crucial for memory, shrinks with age? It’s like your brain is downsizing its mental storage unit. So next time your grandma forgets your name, just remember her hippocampus is probably paying for the basic package, not the premium unlimited plan.
Why it works: Takes a factual piece of information about memory and adds a humorous layer of relatable explanation.
4. A related observation:
I saw a couple at the pharmacy the other day. The woman asked, “Did you remember to get the prune juice?” The man replied, “Of course, I did! And I remembered my vitamins, too!” Then she asked, “What about the denture adhesive?” He stared blankly. It’s like, some things just stick in your mind… and some things are just a pain to remember.