# Jokes that don't work anymore (on a contemporary, younger crowd) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [April 15, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293 "2026-04-15T17:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/21 "2026-04-15T19:23:58Z")
I made a Charlie Brown and Lucy joke to my barely-20 coworker. He didn’t know who they were. And Snoopy was just a plush animal to him. No knowledge of the cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/22 "2026-04-15T19:25:15Z")
Canadian edition: What do you call a politician who tips over outhouses? John Turner! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/23 "2026-04-15T19:27:39Z")
“… and curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid get” (He introduced tobacco to England) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/24 "2026-04-15T19:32:30Z")
That was “git,” wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/25 "2026-04-15T19:37:19Z")
Told to me by a young boy- “Why are Michael Jacksons pants so short?- They arent his!” I tried to watch Laugh-in when is made a brief come back with re-runs. The jokes were no longer funny, they were so topical. (and of course- many of the jokes were not funny when the show first aired, but there were lots of them). ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/26 "2026-04-15T19:39:28Z")
A riddle and a question that doesn’t play to the younger crowd. Q. What do you get when you cross a Polish person and a Mongolian with one leg? A. A Polaroid One-Step Because most young people today are not familiar with vinyl records- Q. On the “A” side of a standard 45 RPM record, how many groves does it have? A. One ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/27 "2026-04-15T19:40:48Z")
It was “get” - both printed on the White Album lyric sheet and audibly pronounced /gɛt/. To rhyme with “cigarette” in the previous line, the topic being tobacco. Although Lennon was so tired, he had another cigarette - he was tired of cigarettes too, which is why he curses Raleigh. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/28 "2026-04-15T19:43:48Z")
Back when AIDS was just beginning, one of the first things epidemiologists noticed was that it struck Haitian men a lot. So they looked at what might be causing this in Haiti (some environmental pathogen?). That was a mystery until they noticed later that it struck gay men in the U.S. and elsewhere. The thing was, all the Haitian men getting AIDS were gay, but admitting to being gay was very dangerous in Haiti, so the connection was not made until the disease spread to other gay populations. Anyway, the joke way back then was “What’s the hardest thing about getting AIDS?” Answer: Trying to convince your parents that you are Haitian. (Because admitting to homosexuality way back in the 70s was also difficult in places outside of Haiti.) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/29 "2026-04-15T20:15:18Z")
Sounds like git to me, and that’s certainly a close-enough rhyme. Plus, what’s a “stupid get”? “Git” in English slang fits perfectly. Also, every lyric site I checked (yes, they are not definitive) lists it as “git.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/30 "2026-04-15T20:32:13Z")
I owned the original release on Apple Records. It came with a [printed lyric sheet](https://www.thewhitealbumproject.com/songs/lyrics/). “Get” is standard English. “Git” is dialect. Now _git_, consarned varmint. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/31 "2026-04-15T20:37:28Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > But, one of the ones I remember also relies on a technology reference that’s been effectively obsolete for decades: > > Q: How can you tell if a blonde has been using your computer? > A: There’s White-Out on the screen. OK, what’s obsolete about that? Wite-Out is still in common use, and it’s still just as airheaded to use it on a computer screen as it’s always been. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Q: What do you get if you integrate around Europe? > A: Zero. Because there are no poles in Europe. Actually, there are some Poles in Europe, but they’re removable. I don’t think that it’s the lack of historical knowledge that hinders people getting that one… ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/32 "2026-04-15T20:38:53Z")
One that happened to me, personally – I completely did not get that the woman who speaks jive in _Airplane!_ was Barbara Billingsley (June Cleaver) until others explained it to me. I mean, I still though it was funny that an old white lady spoke jive, but I guess I didn’t get the joke on the same level older audiences did. For the record, I just turned 46 last month. _Airplane!_ was released the year I was born. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/33 "2026-04-15T20:43:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wite-Out is still in common use Is it, though? Particularly among people under 40, who’ve never used a typewriter? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/34 "2026-04-15T20:45:25Z")
I suspect that _Airplane!_ jive scene will fly over the heads (🙂 ) of a modern audience for a lot more reasons than the actress. What is Jive and why is that black guy talking like no black person a kid born in 1990 (so age 35 today) has ever heard? Even if that “kid” is themselves black and urban. > [@Chronos](#): > > Wite-Out is still in common use, and it’s still just as airheaded to use it on a computer screen as it’s always been. I’ve seen wite-out used to correct hand-written documents. But the use on typewritten documents has gone to zero as typewriters have gone to zero. If a screwup is noticed on page 4 of something on the computer, just reprint the page. Or, if you’re blonde, the whole 500 page document. Just kidding. I’ve told this before, but my bro was married for a few years to a naturally blond woman. Who had a bumper sticker that read “Dumb blondes have dark roots.” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/35 "2026-04-15T20:46:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I tried to watch Laugh-in when is made a brief come back with re-runs. The jokes were no longer funny, they were so topical. I listened to many episodes of “Fibber McGee and Molly” from the 1940s. Some of the comedy held up pretty well, but not the references to Westbrook Pegler or James C. Petrillo. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/36 "2026-04-15T20:48:02Z")
I will bet that a lot of Tom Lehrer’s funny songs don’t work for modern audiences. Yes, a couple are timeless, but most are topical. I’m not as familiar with the musical work of Allan Sherman. But it’s pretty stale now too. I’m blanking on the names of some other comics doing the same kind of material: essentially stand-up set to piano music. I suppose the whole _oeuvre_ of Borscht Belt stand-up comics would be near incomprehensible to modern audiences, whether delivered as prose or in song. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/37 "2026-04-15T20:55:41Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > A Pole goes to the eye doctor, who shows him a chart with the letters: C Z Y N Q S T A S Z. When asked if he can read it, the Pole replies, “Read it? I know the guy!”. I’ve seen that many times, so definitely a joke in America as well. That it came from immigrant prejudice is obvious. Many or most of the late 19th/early 20th century immigrants didn’t speak English and therefore were thought to be stupid, a stereotype perpetuated today. The issue is why Poles in particular. Lateness may be an issue. The use of Polack was negligible until the 1940s, and most say Polish jokes are a post-war phenomenon, from the 60s and 70s. Think of Mike Stivic, “Meathead” and “dumb Polack” in _All in the Family_, made Polish because he couldn’t be Jewish at the time. Yet the Irish, Swedes, and Hungarians were earlier the butt of widespread stupid stereotyping. I can find jokes made about them, but they never seemed to sweep the country. Maybe _All in the Family_ did in fact start the craze, using Poland as a made-up target for Archie. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/38 "2026-04-15T20:55:44Z")
Back when I was in high school or maybe college I found some humorous postcards my mom had purchased when _she_ was in college (because Mom is a total packrat who never throws anything out, ever). They included a joke about the students hijacking the political science classroom to Cuba or something along those lines. Yeah, that joke only worked in the late 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/39 "2026-04-15T20:56:22Z")
This may be incomprehensible to a non-British audience from the get-go. But anyways: _Did you hear about the couple who didn’t know the difference between vaseline and putty? All their windows fell out._ I think Vaseline should be understandable I think putty may be window glazing in American English j ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/40 "2026-04-15T21:04:18Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve seen wite-out used to correct hand-written documents. But the use on typewritten documents has gone to zero as typewriters have gone to zero. So? The joke doesn’t depend on typewriters at all. And the fact that it’s easier than that to fix computer errors is, well, the entire point of the joke. And yes, students have asked me if they could borrow some Wite-Out. > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > I think putty may be window glazing in American English Assuming you mean what I think you mean, we usually call that substance “caulk”. If I heard “window glazing”, I’d assume you meant either the glass itself, or some sort of coating on the glass. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293.md?page=3)