What is it with geek types that they like to latch on to a joke and refuse to drop it like a small dog with a chew toy?
I’m not talking about Star Wars or D&D or SCA things, but stuff like this (Death Ray) . 900 posts essentially repeating the same joke over and over. Not to mention all the times that it spills over into other threads. When your uncle tells you the same joke that he told you two weeks ago, you roll your eyes and call him a senile old goat behind his back, but if a geek does it it is followed by gales of laughter.
You say it once, it is funny.
You say it two to seven times, it is dull.
You say it ten or more times and it is hilarious.
When you insert the punch line into new and different conversations it becomes sort of a meta-joke. I laugh a little bit at the new juxtaposition, and little bit at the memories of previous occurences. It also functions as a bonding between people… “Hey, remember when we sat around and made fun of the guy asking about Scalar weapons?”
Of course, not every line will grab everyone. I don’t even think it is a geek thing. How many times have you heard someone say “That’s what she said!” and rolled on the floor laughing like he just invented the line right there.
“We can rebuild the dead horse, we have the technology…”
There is an “insider” element of many such jokes. They (we?) like the aspect that only other geeks will get it. A corollary is that ticking off outsiders by endlessly repeating it doubles the fun.
