# 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:** 2
**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 28, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/21 "2010-01-28T15:09:33Z")
no soap, radio. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/22 "2010-01-28T15:40:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > no soap, radio. 🙂 Takes me back. Do kids still say this? (Unless you’re a kid, so my question is answered.) ---
**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 28, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/23 "2010-01-28T16:07:59Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 🙂 Takes me back. Do kids still say this? (Unless you’re a kid, so my question is answered.) Kid at heart, but I’m 51. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/24 "2010-01-28T16:13:35Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Kid at heart, but I’m 51. Sometimes I ask “what’s the frequency, Kenneth?” ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/25 "2010-01-28T16:15:18Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > That’s what _she_ said. as the novice said to the Bishop. ---
**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 28, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/26 "2010-01-28T16:27:12Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Sometimes I ask “what’s the frequency, Kenneth?” 😛 Great minds! ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/27 "2010-01-28T16:29:11Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 🙂 Takes me back. Do kids still say this? (Unless you’re a kid, so my question is answered.) Yup, taught it to my daughter when she was 7. She now throws that line out or, “Because ice cream doesn’t have bones!” I’m so proud of her. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/28 "2010-01-28T20:22:54Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > no soap, radio. My college roommate ~16 years ago was an odd, ODD duck, and he told that joke once to everyone in the dorm. We all wanted to punch him in the face, it made zero sense to dumb college kids. Even though I know the reason behind that joke now, hearing the stupid thing makes me want to set someone on fire. P.S. _The Aristocrats_ is a GREAT movie. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/29 "2010-01-29T00:16:28Z")
Wait, can you guys explain that one? The “No Soap, Radio” The “Whats the frequency, Kenneth?” and the “Ice cream doesnt have any bones” one? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/30 "2010-01-29T00:59:26Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > Wait, can you guys explain that one? > The “No Soap, Radio” > The “Whats the frequency, Kenneth?” > and the “Ice cream doesnt have any bones” one? Should we tell him? 😉 Or fuck with his head for a while? ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/31 "2010-01-29T02:35:50Z")
Alright. I got the Soap one. The other two are still a mystery as the Kenneth one just takes me to the REM Song… So you guys can pass on the Soap one (Wikipedia kills so much humor these days) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/32 "2010-01-29T03:30:51Z")
> [@ToeJam](#): > > Wait, can you guys explain that one? > The “No Soap, Radio” > The “Whats the frequency, Kenneth?” > and the “Ice cream doesnt have any bones” one? In 1986, CBS News anchor Dan Rather was assaulted on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue by a man who inexplicably shouted at him, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” In 1997, a TV critic writing in the New York _Daily News_ solved the mystery, and published a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager. Rather confirmed the story: “There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the person.” “William Tager’s identity as the man who attacked Mr. Rather was established in the course of an investigation by my office”, said New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. Tager also admitted assaulting Rather. Tager is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside _The Today Show_ studio in 1994. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/33 "2010-01-29T07:12:19Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > In 1986, CBS News anchor Dan Rather was assaulted on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue by a man who inexplicably shouted at him, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” > > In 1997, a TV critic writing in the New York _Daily News_ solved the mystery, and published a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager. Rather confirmed the story: “There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the person.” “William Tager’s identity as the man who attacked Mr. Rather was established in the course of an investigation by my office”, said New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. Tager also admitted assaulting Rather. Tager is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside _The Today Show_ studio in 1994. Wait, did they figure out what the whole “Kenneth” and “frequency” thing was about? Darn, I liked Spider Robinson’s explanation in the … fifth? … Callahan book. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/34 "2010-01-29T14:09:23Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Wait, did they figure out what the whole “Kenneth” and “frequency” thing was about? Darn, I liked Spider Robinson’s explanation in the … fifth? … Callahan book. Yeah, the specifics are in the wikipedia article, and sourced to interviews. Basically, IIRC, he believed that ythe media was beaming signals to his brain, and wanted to know the specific radio frequency. Why? Dunno. Did he think he could jam them? Like he had the technical knowlegde along the lines of “Aha, 275._ **6** _ kHz, that explains it, I’d need heavy duty aluminum foil for that, not regular.” Or just getting them to admit would come as a victory for him. I remember pundits and wags saying Dan Rather had made up the whole thing. But if we could have found him earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to kill the camera man. > **[Dan Rather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Rather#.22Kenneth.2C_what_is_the_frequency.3F.22)** > > Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (/ˈræðər/; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name in September 1961 after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla. He has reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age, such as from Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war on terror. > Rath... > **[Dan Rather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tager)** > > Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (/ˈræðər/; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name in September 1961 after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurricane Carla. He has reported on some of the most significant events of the modern age, such as from Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war on terror. > Rath... ---
**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 29, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/35 "2010-01-29T15:44:46Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > 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.” Dude, that’s not the point at all. Maybe the joke doesn’t make sense anymore because we don’t have aristocrats anymore. Does it make more sense if I rephrase it thusly: A man walks in to a theater to demonstrate his new vaudeville act. The manager watches as the man [does vile act], then his wife comes in and [does reprehensible act]. The pair bring in the 2 kids to [disgusting things]. Finally, a pony saunters onto stage and the wife proceeds to [ewww]. The manager, stunned, just blurts out “…what do you call yourselves?”. The man goes “The Obamas!” So the punchline isn’t meaningless. It’s the whole point of the joke. If it was “The Smiths”, the joke wouldn’t make any sense. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/36 "2010-01-29T16:00:46Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Dude, that’s not the point at all. Maybe the joke doesn’t make sense anymore because we don’t have aristocrats anymore. Does it make more sense if I rephrase it thusly: > > A man walks in to a theater to demonstrate his new vaudeville act. The manager watches as the man [does vile act], then his wife comes in and [does reprehensible act]. The pair bring in the 2 kids to [disgusting things]. Finally, a pony saunters onto stage and the wife proceeds to [ewww]. The manager, stunned, just blurts out “…what do you call yourselves?”. The man goes “The Obamas!” > > So the punchline isn’t meaningless. It’s the whole point of the joke. If it was “The Smiths”, the joke wouldn’t make any sense. This is a very unusual interpretation. I don’t think that many of the comedians in the movie would agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/37 "2010-01-29T16:09:52Z")
um. the point isn’t in the “punchline” at all. it’s just something dumb that comedians have circulated between themselves. there’s a certain pride in being able to gross out people who are sick individuals to begin with. however, i’m sure everyone familiar with the joke can agree the premise isn’t particular family - especially the punchline. There is a certain humor in calling themselves the aristocrats - both in irony and the brevity but it’s marginal in comparison to the attempt at gross-out humor that forms the body of the joke. in middle school my friend’s uncle told him a nerfed down bastardization of this joke where the point was to weave a story that involved as many bare naked breasts as possible, and to stretch the story out as long as possible. My friend proceeded to tell a ridiculously long and nonsensical story that involved boobies around every turn for the next week and the half until he ran out of steam and admitted that there was no joke per se, but it was funny that we were hanging off his every word expecting an enormous payoff. he did manage to come up with some interesting stuff though - involving serial killers that stockpiled breasts, the ALVIN submarine finding bodies in the titanic where everything was decomposed except for female breasts (leaky silicone preserved the flesh), etc. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/38 "2010-01-29T16:27:46Z")
In the early 70’s I was constantly fooled by the following: and it has a meaningless answer. It requires a discrete series of actions. I taught it to my 10-yr old nephew, and he kept asking what it means, and it doesn’t mean anything at all (he still loves it): [Go to friend, put your hand out upside down in the usual position, say] “Slap me five…” [He goes to slap it, you pull it away fast before he gets there; you slow it down while making a slow brushing movement like brushing back a greased up hair, and say, in exaggerated coolness]: “Take the bus.” This has the added benefit of being said when you’ve already psyched him out in the usual way. (Which reminds me, sometimes we’d do the whole scene and say, “psych.”) ---
**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 29, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/39 "2010-01-29T16:39:37Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > um. the point isn’t in the “punchline” at all. I’m saying what the joke means, not while it’s told. Forget about the culture surrounding the joke. I’m saying that the punchline isn’t just any old phrase or title. It’s specifically chosen because it contrasts with the baudy stuff that came before. It’s a poke at the upper class. Some have even been known to substitute the listener’s last name instead of “Aristocrat”. As wiki says: > [@](#): > > The humor of the punch line is in the contrast between the abject horror of the scene described with the unexpectedly noble title “The Aristocrats”. No contrast=no joke. **BrandonR** seems to have identified it as sort of an anti-punchline…a let-down, if you will. But I’m saying it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670/40 "2010-01-29T20:09:04Z")
My grandfather occasionally used to say to us, “Have you seen many old men this winter?” It was virtually nonsensical, but it sounded like an actual question, and invariably, the response would be, “What??” Then, he’d smile. For me, that was like starting a conversation by saying, “No soap - radio.” He also used to say, “Son, I hope you never see the back of your neck!” I used to try. Now, I’m glad I can’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-to-me-i-just-dont-get-it/526670.md?page=3)