# How long did it take for the arrow in the knee joke to get old? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321 "2012-01-04T01:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/41 "2012-01-07T07:27:13Z")
It’s old. I just heard it yesterday, but if I’ve heard it–it’s old, past its prime, jumped the shark. ETc. No idea what it even means. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/42 "2012-01-09T02:18:59Z")
WhyNot - I’m not _quite_ ready for one of those. If I’m still moping over losing Blockbuster Video and Borders Books and Music five years from now, I’ll look into it. Chessic Sense - Very good! You nailed it. You could teach this Internet community rabble a few things. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/43 "2012-01-09T05:03:30Z")
WTF is the arrow in the knee joke? For that matter, wtf is Skyrim? Did the Machines rise up against humanity already and I missed it? I’ll lead you to Sarah Connor, but you have to pinky swear not to kill me! ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/44 "2012-01-09T05:09:26Z")
I’ve played Skyrim and STILL don’t get Fus Ro Dah. I mean, I couldn’t stop laughing the first time I accidentally used it in town and scared the crap out of everyone, but beyond that initial shock it’s just a spell of sorts, and not even a particularly useful one at that. Arrow in the Knee was never funny, other than the mild amusement of the fact that NPCs are crazy repetitive psychos that wander up to you while you’re talking to someone else to spout inane nonsense, arrow in the knee being an annoyingly common bit of inane nonsense. I have nothing against memes, but Arrow in the Knee/Fus Ro Dah seem to be particularly entrenched in the subclass of memes that are only funny because they reference something popular. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/45 "2012-01-09T05:53:06Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > \jumped the shark\ Speaking of played-out expressions… ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/46 "2012-01-09T06:56:28Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > The whole internet culture out there that just jumps from meme to meme as their primary way to communicate are the saddest, most boring people on the planet. True. But you know what the alternative is, don’t you? Even more Monty Python and Simpsons jokes. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/47 "2012-01-09T07:29:27Z")
SKYRIM SOLDIERS Y U NO HAVE BETTER KNEE ARMOR I don’t know. It’s sort of funny. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/48 "2012-01-09T07:56:18Z")
Okay, read the article. I get it now. Where this came from, that is, not why it was ever made. For me, it’s the “of all the” factor. Of all the video games with hideously garbled English, why did one (a Genesis port, at that) become an international phenomenon? Of all the thousands and thousands no-talent clowns that auditioned for American Idol, why was one renounced with the ire of an atomic bomb, the notoriety for which extended his career by about six years? Of all the goddam sex videos…well, you get the idea. Hey, Anna Kournikova was _different_. Unexpected. Unprecedented. I’ve played dozens of games where someone, somewhere repeated the same nonsense endlessly. It’s been years since I rented Mafia, and I can still recall the constant whining of having a wife and kids. And on top of that, stupid repetetion is the kind of thing that a lot of players find _annoying_. Not to burst anyone’s brain cells here, but shoudn’t a meme be, at absolute minimum, about something people _like_ to hear? Huh…this Internet age, I tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/49 "2012-01-09T08:18:31Z")
> [@Mekhazzio](#): > > It’s pretty much a comedy vehicle [even inside the game](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqEpKQb9euI), and the sight gag of someone yelling in anger / frustration / etc and having it project physical force is common in comedy animation. The video I watched was a compilation of falls (failblog-type videos) set to the Skyrim theme and Fus Ro Dah, which I found hilarious… though now I can’t seem to find the exact one I watched before. [This one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3MP1jJg03s&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL6032E845AC048E2A) is OK I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/50 "2012-01-09T08:47:21Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I’ve played Skyrim and STILL don’t get Fus Ro Dah. I mean, I couldn’t stop laughing the first time I accidentally used it in town and scared the crap out of everyone, but beyond that initial shock it’s just a spell of sorts, and not even a particularly useful one at that. No, it’s not particularly useful–that’s the beauty of it. The games that preceded _Skyrim_ are somewhat notorious for wonky physics that occasionally sends things flying in comically exaggerated ways. A lot of players enjoy the resulting comic relief, and go out of their way to cause weird things to happen. With _Skyrim_, the designers have finally recognized that one of the things players want out of their games is to send shit flying, and they’ve provided a built-in way to do it. Naturally, this leads to players lining up goats on the edge of a cliff and launching them with Fus Ro Dah, using an ancient and terrible power for a slapstick gag–subversion of expectations plays a large role in humor, and that seems to fit the bill. Plus, as we here at the Dope ought to know, goats are intrinsically funny. Flying goats even more so. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/51 "2012-01-09T21:21:51Z")
Leeeeeroy Jennnkins! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/52 "2012-11-29T02:50:36Z")
:Bump: :ressurrect: I found a quest in Lego Lord of the Rings where they guy says to Aragorn and crew, “Hey, I used to be like you until I took an orc arrow in the knee.” Apparently, it’s still not that old a joke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/53 "2012-11-29T02:54:21Z")
They have talking in Lego games now? My, what is the world coming to? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/54 "2012-12-05T03:04:59Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > They have talking in Lego games now? My, what is the world coming to? I know; the last two games have had voice acting. It takes a bit to get used to. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/55 "2012-12-05T15:53:55Z")
a) what’s the arrow in the knee joke? b) what’s skyrim? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/56 "2012-12-05T16:05:56Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > a) what’s the arrow in the knee joke? > > b) what’s skyrim? Allow me to field this: a) In Skyrim, the latest chapter in the Elder Scrolls Saga, many people you meet make comments from a noticeably small repertoire, one of which is [“I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.”](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-took-an-arrow-in-the-knee) Playing the game, one hears this line so often from various denizens of the realm that it begins to instill the kind of soul-devouring madness that leads to running jokes. It caught fire on the internet, even among those who do not play the game. b) Skyrim is a game which consists of an open-ended world of comments about arrows to the knee (and sweetrolls) in which people who just watched you take a dragon out single-handedly will then turn around and act like you’re just some asshole. The game may soon be available even in the cave on Mars where you’ve apparently been while you weren’t looking at the internet for the past year, but I’m afraid you’ve missed the big Steam sale. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/57 "2012-12-05T16:50:08Z")
[Here is video of the Lego Lord of the Rings reference.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeT-xr4S6EQ) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321/58 "2012-12-05T18:45:47Z")
It definitely is NOT funny. Just think about those sharp arrows in knees. Way below my humor standards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-did-it-take-for-the-arrow-in-the-knee-joke-to-get-old/608321.md?page=2)