# Dumb, obvious jokes some people can't help but reflexively make **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928 "2023-12-21T12:09:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/261 "2024-01-21T22:14:49Z")
The fact you survived to post indicates he wasn’t annoyed enough to drop the leash. So you’ve got that going for you. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/262 "2024-01-22T03:40:44Z")
Well, there was that joke in the Addams Family movie in which Wednesday asks if the cookies are made with real Girl Scouts. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/263 "2024-01-22T06:39:09Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > In our house when someone assumes, they make an ‘ass out of um and e’. Maybe it was funny the first time, but now even the meta joke is played out. I have made a similar bad joke about _presume_: “When you presume you make a _pres_ out of _u_ and _me_.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/264 "2024-01-22T14:38:43Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@CaveMike](#): > > > > One of my favorite foods is shepherd’s pie. I’m guilty of asking the wait staff if theirs is made with real shepherd. > > Omg, how have I never heard this before? I can’t wait to use it. Waitaminite…if olive oil is made from olives and peanut oil is made from peanuts… …_ **what’s baby oil made from ??!?** _ 😱 😨 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/265 "2024-01-22T16:23:13Z")
And is it pressed or chemically extracted? ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/266 "2024-01-22T16:26:39Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@CaveMike](#): > > > > One of my favorite foods is shepherd’s pie. I’m guilty of asking the wait staff if theirs is made with real shepherd. > > Omg, how have I never heard this before? I can’t wait to use it. Well, they do cheat in one respect, the shepherd isn’t English, it’s German. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/267 "2024-01-22T17:17:56Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Waitaminite…if olive oil is made from olives and peanut oil is made from peanuts… > > …_ **what’s baby oil made from ??!?** _ 😱 😨 > [@silenus](#): > > And is it pressed or chemically extracted? At least you can be reasonably assured it’s extra-virgin. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/268 "2024-01-22T17:21:09Z")
👏 👏 👏 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/269 "2024-01-31T16:38:53Z")
My gf is recovering from COVID. I did a test to see if she was still positive yesterday (she was). Anytime I do anything vaguely medical (give her ibuprofen, take her temperature, etc) I always say, “OK, I’ll need you to strip to the waist”. No idea where this came from, I’ve always said it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2024, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/270 "2024-02-01T02:00:05Z")
You can get away with this with your GF. I wouldn’t recommend saying that to a co-worker! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/271 "2024-02-05T00:11:26Z")
I tried telling a dad joke on Zoom call at work last week. I wasn’t remotely funny. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/272 "2024-02-05T01:37:31Z")
I’d be interested in our women posters’ opinions on this. To me, this was an obvious old-timey reference to when elevators had operators. He might just as well have said, “household appliances, please!” But I’m a male old fart and concede I may be missing the offense. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/273 "2024-02-05T02:09:18Z")
He could indeed have said ‘household appliances, please’. Or ‘men’s haberdashery.’ Or ‘shoe department’. Or a number of other things. But he picked on ‘ladies’ lingerie’. So my opinion is that yes, he should apologize; and no, he shouldn’t have said it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/274 "2024-02-05T05:20:09Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I’d be interested in our women posters’ opinions on this. If it had been someone I knew, I’d have thought it was hilarious. But a stranger, with all his buddies laughing along like a bunch of frat boys, I would think it was skeevy. Not appropriate if you don’t know your audience. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/275 "2024-02-05T05:44:33Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > But he picked on ‘ladies’ lingerie’. Exactly this, I agree. Maybe not a direct and specific statement of harassment, like, “hey ladies, I’m thinking about you in your unmentionables right now, hur hur.” But definitely a boys-club joke, and a jerk move. Apology warranted, and more importantly, self-reflection demanded. But his combative response just sealed the deal as to his obliviously inherent sexism. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/276 "2024-02-05T06:04:41Z")
Also, how have all these jerks made it to middle age without realizing that if somebody objects to your joke, it’s funnier if you apologize? Nothing is less amusing than some butthurt wisecracker getting on their high horse about “it was a perfectly fine joke, you just have no sense of humor!” and harrumphing about how everybody’s so “woke” and “politically correct” these days. Congrats, if you looked even the faintest bit witty and cool while telling the joke, you have now killed that whiff of suavity stone dead and shat on its corpse. Real comedians can just segue right into a casually candid-sounding response along the lines of “you’re right, that was actually in very bad taste. Sorry, don’t know what I was thinking” and move seamlessly on to their next banter. That way, if it was something that a reasonable person would understandably find offensive, you’ve taken your hit like a grownup and avoided permanently alienating all the listeners who rolled their eyes at it. And if it wasn’t, you’ve subtly highlighted the complainer’s unreasonableness in a way that all the reasonable listeners will appreciate. Oh, in the “Dumb Obvious Jokes Specific to a Particular Hobby” category: Any hand spinner has had the experience of having the newly drafted twist suddenly break and the spindle fall to the floor. All hand spinners in that situation know to expect a chorus of “That’s why they call it a drop spindle!” (I don’t spin myself, but I will gleefully annoy my spinner friends with that one all day long, as occasion requires. Okay, not if it actually annoys them.) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/277 "2024-02-05T14:59:32Z")
Thanks for the perspectives, much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/278 "2024-02-05T15:55:07Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > He could indeed have said ‘household appliances, please’. Or ‘men’s haberdashery.’ Or ‘shoe department’. Or a number of other things. > > But he picked on ‘ladies’ lingerie’. Agreed. When Aerosmith used this same line in their song/video, Love in an Elevator, the meaning was quite clear. Men’s shoes would have been better and would have been a perfect fit for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/279 "2024-02-09T21:18:42Z")
Temperature reached 59 F today, so I took Simi for a long walk on a trail in town. I was “forced” to say a dumb, obvious joke that I’ve said a few times over the years. A young woman approached us and said, “Oh my, what a cutie!”. I responded, “that’s very kind of you, but I’m in a committed relationship”. She turned beet red and explained that she was talking about my dog. I laughed, and told her that I knew that. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928/280 "2024-02-09T22:22:38Z")
I think it is pretty common in all families to blame the other familiy members, dogs, cats or other residents for farting. Well, it is in mine, so much that I have made skunk costumes for us for the next dress-up party for myself and the kids. I ordered 3 cans of “fart spray” but they never arrived, so I switched to lavender scented hand spray - the plan was to lift the tail and spray. I got artistic/engineering paralysis and while I knew how to raise the tail, I could not work out a way to remotely squeeze a cheap plastc spray bottle. I purchased some kids bicycle brake lines so the pull would depress the spray nozzle, but connecting the cable to the spray bottle was hard. I went through about 10 iterations until it was just “it needs to be pressed straight down by a human finger It cannot work in another way”. Still made the costumes. Still going to make dad-jokes about farts with the kids. What else is there to live for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-obvious-jokes-some-people-cant-help-but-reflexively-make/994928.md?page=15)