Laugh, Chuckle, or at least. Smile ...

Have you ever composed a little joke or a pun that you thought was pretty cute and funny? I mean a clean cute little joke or pun? Have you ever told your brand new joke or pun to a friend only to have them just look at you? I have. Here’s one I made up and told with pride. No one laughed. See what you think:

“Why did the chicken decide not to cross the road?” “Why?” “The chicken decided not to cross the road because he was standing on one end of the road. To get to the other end he would have to walk 2200 miles and he was too chicken to walk that far.”

I still kind of chuckle when I think of that joke. But no one else has ever laughed. So I conclude that either the joke is not funny or that it is too deep to be understood. I can’t believe that no one gets it. Is it “unfunny?” I don’t know. What do you think?

Ok, here’s another one I wrote. I think it’s pretty cute. No one has ever laughed at it. They just kind of stare at me with a blank expression. See what you think:

“Why do moms-to-be go to a special room in the hospital to give birth?” “Why?” “Moms-to-be go to a special room in the hospital to give birth because of the Child Labor Law.”

Now isn’t that funny just a little bit? Don’t you really want to laugh but choose to hold it in to make me think that you don’t think it’s funny? It’s OK to chuckle. Go ahead. Let it out.

Now here’s one I wrote that I don’t think is funny. But I’ll share it just to show you what a really “unfunny” joke is:

“Why did the chicken refuse to cross the road?” “Why?” “The chicken refused to cross the road because he was perfectly content with the side of the road he was already on.” Evidently the chicken thought to himself, “Why does everyone want me to cross the road? Don’t they realize that if you’ve seen one roadside, you’ve seen them all?”

Then there are the little one-liners that pop-up in your head from time to time. The following have popped-up in my head at one time or another. But my friends do not seem to think they are very funny:

Would it be considered a “shady deal” to purchase an Elm tree for half-price? What if two people could not come to an agreement yesterday? Would that make it “no-terday?” If you purchased a soiled cement truck at a reduced price, would you drive a hard bargain? If you fed some lemons to your cat would you have a “sour puss?”
What if you get paid to tell jokes? I guess you have a “Cents of humor.” If your jokes stink then you have a, “scents of humor.” If your jokes are just plain “unfunny” then you have a “senseless humor.”

What makes a joke funny the first time you hear it? Why isn’t it funny the fourth time you hear it? Does it turn “unfunny?” Maybe that’s why people say, “Stop me if you’ve heard this one.” A punch line can only be funny once. After that, it loses its punch. So is it the “punch” that makes you laugh more so than the joke itself?

Send me your original one-liners and/ or short jokes. I’ll muster up a column if I receive enough material. And let me know if I can use your name. And of course, keep the puns clean …

And always remember … it’s Ok to laugh …

Winston Hamby
The Beaumont Enterprise
WinHamby@gmail.com