# Explain this joke to me, I just don't get it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670 "2010-01-27T18:42:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/1 "2010-01-27T18:42:33Z")
I was looking through this joke website: [http://www.sickipedia.org/](http://www.sickipedia.org/) (warning: adult content). People can post their jokes to this site and other people can vote if they think it is funny. One of the latest high scoring jokes is this: Your Mum’s so fat, when she fell down the stairs I thought EastEnders was ending. I just don’t get it at all. For all Americans, Eastenders is a British soap opera. Btw, I don’t watch soaps which is probably why I don’t get the joke. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/2 "2010-01-27T18:45:51Z")
I used to watch Eastenders. I don’t get it either. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/3 "2010-01-27T18:46:18Z")
You need to have heard it to get the joke, so here goes. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GnbH2XvCN7c/hqdefault.jpg "Eastenders closing theme dramatic music") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnbH2XvCN7c) If you are still puzzled, I give up. ps. Here’s a clue; stop listening after 3 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/4 "2010-01-27T18:48:49Z")
For those of us without video/Youtube access, can you just state it? Is it a thumping theme song or something? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/5 "2010-01-27T18:50:05Z")
The [closing theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdXC_vnIYj4) begins with a short series of descending drum thumps. ---
**Author:** ![Saffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saffer/32/6440_2.png) [@Saffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saffer)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/6 "2010-01-27T18:55:29Z")
hahahahah, i get it now. actually quite funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/7 "2010-01-27T22:06:18Z")
Love it! Now, to integrate this into a conversation… ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/8 "2010-01-27T22:51:48Z")
sorry to hijack, but since this joke seems to have been explained, I’d like to ask about another one. Gilbert Godfried tells his version of the “dirtiest joke ever told”. I’m sure many of you have seen his stand-up routine, and the punchline of the joke (which is about someone describing a stage act to a talent agent). "The name of the group is “The Aristocrats”. This joke brings howls of laughter, but I simply didn’t get it. I still don’t. And I have not been able to find anyone that has any sort of a clue as to why the joke is funny either. Here is a version of the [joke](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGA0dIz9-Wk) \*\*NSFW \*\*!! (turn down your sound or put headphones on). Yes, it’s gross… he uses a lot of vulgar terms… it’s absurd. This version is just one of many I’ve heard. All disgusting, vulgar, etc. But the punchline is not funny. The joke is not funny. Can anyone shed some light on this one? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/9 "2010-01-27T22:54:30Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > sorry to hijack, but since this joke seems to have been explained, I’d like to ask about another one. > > Gilbert Godfried tells his version of the “dirtiest joke ever told”. I’m sure many of you have seen his stand-up routine, and the punchline of the joke (which is about someone describing a stage act to a talent agent). "The name of the group is “The Aristocrats”. > > This joke brings howls of laughter, but I simply didn’t get it. I still don’t. And I have not been able to find anyone that has any sort of a clue as to why the joke is funny either. > > Here is a version of the [joke](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGA0dIz9-Wk) \*\*NSFW \*\*!! (turn down your sound or put headphones on). > > Yes, it’s gross… he uses a lot of vulgar terms… it’s absurd. This version is just one of many I’ve heard. All disgusting, vulgar, etc. But the punchline is not funny. The joke is not funny. Can anyone shed some light on this one? It’s not the joke that’s funny, it’s the reactions of people hearing it for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/10 "2010-01-27T23:01:32Z")
There’s an entire movie about “The Aristocrats”. It features more than a dozen comedians telling different versions of the joke. (In addition to the Gilbert Gottfried version, the Sarah Silverman and Bob Saget versions are also hilarious.) The movie explains that the point of the joke isn’t the punchline. It’s the skill the comic displays in describing the obscene behaviors that make up the vaudeville act. Essentially, it’s a virtuoso trick – showing how you can make people laugh purely through delivery alone without any sort of satisfying resolution. It’s a joke you tell to show off for other comedians. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/11 "2010-01-27T23:43:19Z")
I would disagree with the premise that the aristocrats joke doesn’t have a punch line. The joke is that the act consists of the most vile disgusting things the teller can think of, and that the act ironically has a name that is suppose to conjure an image of class and respectability. But as **the Hamster King** says, the point of the joke isn’t the punchline ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/12 "2010-01-27T23:49:42Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > I would disagree with the premise that the aristocrats joke doesn’t have a punch line. Okay, it has a punchline. A really lame punchline … . ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/13 "2010-01-27T23:56:27Z")
It has a punchline in the way that all shaggy dog jokes have a punchline. It’s just that the journey is more fun than the destination. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/14 "2010-01-28T00:13:40Z")
> [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](#): > > Love it! Now, to integrate this into a conversation… Kid, you seem to be trying to figure out how to integrate it into a conversation. That won’t do. You ramrod a good joke into the conversation. If they ask why you told it, you, or the joke, just weren’t funny. Glad to be of service, hh ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/15 "2010-01-28T00:24:02Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Yes, it’s gross… he uses a lot of vulgar terms… it’s absurd. This version is just one of many I’ve heard. All disgusting, vulgar, etc. But the punchline is not funny. The joke is not funny. Can anyone shed some light on this one? The joke is that the build-up is so vile and disgusting and obscene, that at the end when the talent agent says “What do you call yourselves?” you’re expecting something even more extreme and over-the-top… And it’s just simply “The Aristocrats.” Anyway, it’s not supposed to be a funny ha-ha joke that Joe Blow is going to love. It originated as somewhat of a [tradition amongst comedians](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocrats_(joke)) to try and outdo one another. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/16 "2010-01-28T02:56:01Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > It has a punchline in the way that all shaggy dog jokes have a punchline. It’s just that the journey is more fun than the destination. I disagree with this. There is no irony to the traditional shaggy dog joke punchline. I agree that the punchline isn’t the point, but to me it is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian_s_Wall)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/17 "2010-01-28T03:00:57Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Kid, you seem to be trying to figure out how to integrate it into a conversation. That won’t do. You ramrod a good joke into the conversation. If they ask why you told it, you, or the joke, just weren’t funny. > > Glad to be of service, > > hh Absolute sense, I realize my error now. Up until this point, I have interjected the phrase, “that’s what she said,” at the most inopportune and verbally ambiguous situations. That juvenile habit, is now corrected by your insightful tip. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/18 "2010-01-28T05:11:20Z")
> [@Hadrian\_s\_Wall](#): > > That juvenile habit, is now corrected by your insightful tip. That’s what _she_ said. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/19 "2010-01-28T12:05:33Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > The [closing theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdXC_vnIYj4) begins with a short series of descending drum thumps. And to make the analogy even better, for those that can’t see the video, the intervals of the drumbeats diminish, like something bouncing and coming to rest. I haven’t got sound on this PC, but from memory it goes something like this (imagine two bars, 16 quarter notes): ```auto X - - X - - X - X - X - X X X X ``` ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/20 "2010-01-28T14:50:00Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > That’s what _she_ said. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670.md?page=2)