# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/141 "2026-04-16T21:53:22Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And as you say, the incongruity of air traffic controllers roasting a turkey at work just adds to the silly-stupid tone of the whole gag. Well, the whole movie was absurd, which is what it was supposed to be. If you didn’t get a gag or a joke, just wait a few seconds; another will be along. “Okay, men, let’s get some pictures,” says a newsman at the press conference. And the news reporters, even the ones with cameras, start taking framed photos off the wall and leaving. A sight gag based on a pun. As for the Radar Range gag, certainly everybody in the cinema when I first saw the film got the joke. Amana Radar Range microwave ovens were popular prizes on 1970s TV game shows. ---
**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 16, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/142 "2026-04-16T21:56:08Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > There was a comedian back in '89 or '90 who did a routine, dressed in a football uniform and talking about “dain bramage”. “Because a mind is a terrible thing.” That was Bob Nelson. Here’s the routine (NSFW, and parts have not aged well): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tI4c21w77JU/hqdefault.jpg "Bob Nelson - Football Skit w/ Dain Bramage") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI4c21w77JU) ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/143 "2026-04-16T22:05:59Z")
If I’m someplace and want to insult the quality of the beverages available I’ll say "I should have known it would be bad when they served “Lost Weekend” gin with a picture of Ray Milland on the label. This, of course, refers to the 1945 Academy Award best picture film. This observation almost invariably is met with blank stares, yet hope springs eternal. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/144 "2026-04-16T22:12:00Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > In practice it has been illegal to install a single glazed window in a UK home or business property since 2002. You can still have an existing single glazed window, but in most circumstances you can’t replace single glazing with single glazing. Some listed buildings in the UK have windows that can’t easily be replaced with double glazing; I’ve seen a lot of these on my travels. But specialist firms can design special thin double glazing panes to replace the glass in listed windows without destroying the character. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/145 "2026-04-16T22:21:02Z")
I wouldn’t exactly say it’s being shed - more like softened. When I was a kid about 50 years ago, people still had the stereotypical switching of “oi” and “er” . The thing in the bathroom was a “terlet” and “toidy toid” was a street. You don’t hear that anymore. There’s still at least one distinctive accent that natives have - some people claim they can tell Queens from Brooklyn from the Bronx ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/146 "2026-04-16T22:22:24Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > And NYC itself has arguably shed many of those “NYC sensibilities” in the last 50 years - including the distinctive local accent. A lot of people watching Bugs Bunny nowadays probably don’t realize he has a New York City accent. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/147 "2026-04-16T22:39:11Z")
I still remember the Looney Tunes gag where Milland pays for his drink with a typewriter and gets a bunch of tiny typewriters as change. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/148 "2026-04-16T22:55:51Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > What do call Dolly Parton floating on her back in the river? Islands in the Stream. > > I’m thinking that she is now known more as her as a person, rather than a couple of physical characteristics. Yesterday I stumbled across some Dolly Parton chocolate pie. > **[Dolly Parton's Decadent Chocolate Pie | Baking with Dolly](https://www.bakingwithdolly.com/desserts/frozen-desserts/dolly-partons-decadent-chocolate-pie)** > > Try Dolly's Decadent Chocolate Pie. Inspired by her favorite Southern chess pie, this delicious frozen pie is filled with fudgy chocolate atop a flaky crust! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/149 "2026-04-16T23:00:57Z")
Is there a joke about Dolly Parton selling pie that I’m not getting? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/150 "2026-04-16T23:03:18Z")
Just noting that Dolly is still a known person. ---
**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 16, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/151 "2026-04-16T23:22:05Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Just noting that Dolly is still a known person Very much so. She’s still very well-known, and widely beloved. But, as @Author_Balk alluded to, back in the '70s, when she first really rose to fame, she was _particularly_ known for her big breasts, which were a frequent source of humor in relation to her (as per the joke which Balk quoted). Dolly still jokes about her breasts, and her wigs, etc., but her public image now goes beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/152 "2026-04-17T00:11:41Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Quayle uttered that botched line 37 years ago now, and other than a brief run at the GOP presidential nomination in 1999 (dropping out months before the first primaries in 2000), he’s not really been particularly visible in public life since leaving office in 1993. Well, there was the time he saved democracy a few years back. > **[Woodward book: Quayle advised Pence he had ‘no flexibility’ in overturning...](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/572244-woodward-book-quayle-advised-pence-he-had-no-flexibility-in/amp/)** > > Former Vice President Dan Quayle reportedly told former Vice President Mike Pence that he had “no flexibility” in overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/153 "2026-04-17T01:55:23Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/154 "2026-04-17T02:20:49Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > Don’t think I’ve ever seen a double-glazed window in a private residence. > > This is a bit of a hijack, for which I apologize, but this statement astonishes me. For me as well, it makes me wonder if SCAdian understands what double-glazed means. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/155 "2026-04-17T02:28:45Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > “I just flew in from New York… and boy, is that joke tired.” Take my joke, please. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/156 "2026-04-17T02:30:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > In _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ there’s a scene where Frank asks Brad if he has any tattoos. Then Frank turns to Janet and asks her. > > Back in 1975, the audience laughed at what was an obvious joke. Of course, Janet doesn’t have a tattoo; women don’t get tattoos. Good catch. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/157 "2026-04-17T02:39:01Z")
As an indication of how things have changed on this issue, Susan Sarandon now has several tattoos. She got her first one in 2007 when she was 61. Tim Curry, however, has never gotten a tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/158 "2026-04-17T02:42:01Z")
I question the assertion that the idea of a woman getting a tattoo would be so far fetched as to constitute a joke in 1975. ---
**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 17, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/159 "2026-04-17T02:42:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Back in 1975, the audience laughed at what was an obvious joke. Of course, Janet doesn’t have a tattoo; women don’t get tattoos. And, any women who did were definitely _not_ the sort of “nice” woman who Janet starts out as. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293/160 "2026-04-17T03:00:48Z")
Right. Magenta was the sort of woman who would get a tattoo, and even then, it would likely be small and discreet. Janet Weiss was not the sort of woman who would get any kind of tattoo at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-dont-work-anymore-on-a-contemporary-younger-crowd/1029293.md?page=9)