# Explain the 'Prince Albert in a can' joke to me, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017 "2005-07-11T16:43:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/21 "2005-07-11T18:29:08Z")
Being a phone prankster in my youth, I _always_ thought the proper phrasing was “Do you have Prince Albert in _ **a** _ can?” This phone prank is widely known (Bill Murray uses it in “Quick Change”). About 20 years ago, The Boston Globe devoted a full page story to Prince Albert tobacco. And what do you think was the subject of the starting paragraphs of that article ? 😃 Among other things, they mentioned that Prince Albert tobacco would no longer be sold in cans. (1 - too expensive and 2 - pouch keeps the tobacco fresher than the can). And of course with the tobacco no longer in cans, the Boston Globe mentioned that the old phone prank was no longer practical. Sadly, another part of our culture fading into the past. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/22 "2005-07-11T18:33:55Z")
Apologies is someone mentioned this and I missed it, but there is more to the joke as I’ve heard it done than that Prince Albert came in a can. (Sorry to hear it no longer does.) The can had a lever built into it to pop the lid. The sound of pulling the lever vaguely resembled the sound of a phone being hung up. Which is what you’re supposed to do (in this version of the joke) a few seconds after asking the question. ---
**Author:** ![bradministrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a698b9/32.png) [@bradministrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bradministrator)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/23 "2005-07-11T19:57:41Z")
My father once showed me another joke involving Prince Albert in a can. With a little judicious scratching at the writing on the back, you can eliminate some words and letters to leave something like “Pa laid on Ma and made sis and me” or something like that. I guess it was the precursor to “Push butt. Rub hands under arm” seen in so many bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/24 "2005-07-11T22:02:32Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I have a collection of joke names, and one is Anita Nothershot. . Wasn’t she married to Erasmus B. Dragon? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/25 "2005-07-11T22:08:26Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > That’s nuthin’. I used to have a cat named Prince Albert in a Can (Bert for short). > > He was grey, geneologically (and indeed, taxanomically) unrelated to the Hanovers, and he didn’t smoke. He did however, like to explore cans (and boxes, and heating ducts). > > Er…what was the question again? > > 😉 > > Stranger Well, technically your cat and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (father and son) shared a common ancestor in the latest Cretaceous or Paleocene among the basal placental mammals. Which is perhaps the nittiest nit I’ve ever picked on this board. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/26 "2005-07-11T22:14:01Z")
Well, whaddyaknow… It’s pipe tobacco. In a can. Just like here. Some jokes do translate. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/27 "2005-07-11T22:26:51Z")
We used to call the Funeral Homes, of which there is one on just about every block here in Scranton, and ask for Will B. Deadsoon. We thought we were funny when we were 10. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/28 "2005-07-11T22:55:06Z")
“Hello, Kentucky Fried Chicken? How large are your breasts?” ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/29 "2005-07-11T23:15:45Z")
Has anyone seen Mike Hunt? (Porky’s) Is Al Coholic there? (Bart Simpson) ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/30 "2005-07-11T23:19:48Z")
“Hey buddy, your cow is in my garden!” ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/31 "2005-07-12T01:02:27Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I once visited Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. And I definitely spent some of that time in the can. IMHO, that’s the best place to spend time in PA, Saskatchewan. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/32 "2005-07-12T03:15:48Z")
I heard the joke a little differently. CALLER: Beggin’ your pardon, guvnor. Would you perchance possess Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in a cannister recepticle? GUVNOR: Indeed. We have munificent quantities of aforementioned gerund. CALLER: Guffaw. It behooves you to facilitate His egress and emancipation! Most cannister recepticles contain Lilliputian quantities of oxygen-rich componds and provide an inadequate habitat for Hapsburg monarchs! GUVNOR: I think I perceive your dilemma. Be not lachrymose! Our quantities of Nicotiania exceed our current allotment of denizens of the Second Etat. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/33 "2005-07-12T03:18:45Z")
Do you like it in the can? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/34 "2005-07-12T04:02:01Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > Wasn’t she married to Erasmus B. Dragon? No, that was Ophelia Rasse. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/35 "2005-07-12T04:15:01Z")
Do you know your monkey pissed in my beer? ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/36 "2005-07-12T13:07:51Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Do you know your monkey pissed in my beer? No, but hum a few bars and I’ll fake it! ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/37 "2005-07-12T15:02:16Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Do you know your monkey pissed in my beer? Know it? I wrote it! ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/38 "2005-07-12T15:03:29Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > Wasn’t she married to Erasmus B. Dragon? Of course the officials at Ellis Island americanized that name, it was originally Xavier Onassis. You could make a career out of cultural references that are fading into obscurity. Many of us late baby boomers grew up on a steady diet of Warner Brothers cartoons which had heavy doses of catchprhases from radio shows back in the '30s and '40s. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/39 "2005-07-12T15:22:27Z")
I’m surprised that no-one has addressed the OP’s question: It was a brand of tobacco sold in both pouches and cans. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017/40 "2005-07-12T16:14:55Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > IMHO, that’s the best place to spend time in PA, Saskatchewan. With the bathroom door locked, it is the safest too. _grumbles about her piece of crap town with piece of crap crime rates and piece of crap citizens_ Ironically, it seems no one here in Prince Albert giggles over the name, but most people outside of the prairies certainly do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-the-prince-albert-in-a-can-joke-to-me-please/312017.md?page=3)