# Jokes that, nowadays, need explaining **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [September 25, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466 "2020-09-25T02:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/262 "2020-10-10T02:26:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Apart from the racial stereotypes that would be offensive by today’s standards. That’s going to be true of pretty much any cartoon that had anything to do with the war during that era. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/263 "2020-10-10T04:50:29Z")
They were caricatures of the enemy, people who were trying to destroy America. The Chinese, our allies, weren’t shown like that. Oddly the Nazi spy apparatus in the USA was laughable. Apparently, Canaris made it that way on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/264 "2020-10-10T05:01:29Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I also feel people accidentally going to nude beaches was a sitcom/comedy movie plot I saw far too often back in the 80’s, I also assume nude beaches were far more common back then? I worked at a pizza place in 1981. We had little tins of anchovies but I don’t think I used them more than three times in the year I worked there. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/265 "2020-10-10T05:25:43Z")
Here’s a joke I keep seeing from the 90’s that needs explanation. A lot of sitcoms from the early 90’s made jokes about Connie Chung, a CNN reporter of the time, my two examples are in The Simpsons Homer buys a Connie Chung swimsuit calendar, and in Full House one of Michelle’s schoolmates claims Connie Chung is his Aunt. Why was Connie Chung so funny a reference? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/266 "2020-10-10T05:50:05Z")
The jokes about Connie Chung stemmed from the fact that while she was a TV news reporter and occasional anchorperson for CBS, a lot of people considered her eye candy. That can be a double-edged sword if you’re trying to earn a bit of respect and gravitas in the field of television news. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/267 "2020-10-10T11:14:46Z")
The network says the ratings are slipping, and they’re putting a lot of pressure on Lorne to try somebody new, like that new kid Murray, or whatever his name is. You see, I just _assumed_ it was responsible journalism you wanted, not sex. I gave you more credit than that. But I was wrong. What can I say, besides… “Try THESE on for size, Connie Chung!” [she rips open her blouse and exposes her black bra] If it’s raw news you want, it’s raw news you get! > **[SNL Transcripts: Fran Tarkenton: 01/29/77: Weekend Update with Jane Curtin -...](https://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76mupdate.phtml)** > >  Saturday Night Live Transcripts  Season 2: Episode 13 Plus the fact that she married Maury Povich. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/268 "2020-10-10T11:56:56Z")
At the time, the juxtaposition of a middle American first name with a Chinese surname was discordant and funny. Not so much now, I had never heard of Connie Chung when I saw the original broadcast in 1977, and just thought it was a made up funny name. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/269 "2020-10-10T13:15:35Z")
A lot of nuance to the Connie Chung thing. Largely it represented the change from traditional journalism to the newsertainment that has almost completely replaced it. She was also married to Maury Povich another symbol of that transition. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/270 "2020-10-10T14:12:58Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@Asuka](#): > > > > I also feel people accidentally going to nude beaches was a sitcom/comedy movie plot I saw far too often back in the 80’s, I also assume nude beaches were far more common back then? > > I worked at a pizza place in 1981. We had little tins of anchovies but I don’t think I used them more than three times in the year I worked there. The capital of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/271 "2020-10-10T14:31:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > A lot of nuance to the Connie Chung thing. Largely it represented the change from traditional journalism to the newsertainment that has almost completely replaced it. She was also married to Maury Povich another symbol of that transition. Except that Chung was a serious journalist at the time (she covered the Watergate story for CBS and was anchor for their Los Angeles flagship station). She also didn’t marry Povich until 1984, seven years after the SNL joke. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/272 "2020-10-10T15:26:53Z")
Sorry, wasn’t trying to put that in opposition to what you wrote, which I agree with. Over time she continued to work as a journalist but increasingly was seen on entertainment shows. None of that was predictable way back when it started. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2020, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/273 "2020-10-10T16:29:25Z")
@Darren_Garrison, was that a sequitur of any sort? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/274 "2020-10-10T17:45:39Z")
As the French would say “Non” ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/275 "2020-10-10T18:01:07Z")
John Wilkes Booth waited until the funniest line of the play Our American Cousin before firing the shot that killed Abraham Lincoln. The play had been a hit in its original run, and this was a guaranteed laugh line that was sure to create enough noise that the sound of gunfire would be obscured. In accordance with this plan, Booth - himself an actor, although his brother was more famous; he was sort of the Billy Baldwin of his time - waited until he heard the immortal words “Don’t know the manners of good society, eh? Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal — you sockdologizing old man-trap.” It loses something over the years, I think. [https://www.google.com/amp/s/stevehely.com/2017/09/20/was-the-last-joke-abe-lincoln-heard-funny/amp/](https://www.google.com/amp/s/stevehely.com/2017/09/20/was-the-last-joke-abe-lincoln-heard-funny/amp/) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/276 "2020-10-10T21:18:33Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > If I do pop for an all-cotton dress shirt, I make sure it’s at least two sizes too big for me before I wash it. In Aus, all cotton is sold pre-shrunk. (And has been for the last 50+ years) That doesn’t entirely mean that clothing doesn’t change shape when you wash it, (wool comes with a warning not to put it in a dryer), but non-pre-shrunk cotton isn’t a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/277 "2020-10-10T21:21:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > @Darren_Garrison, was that a sequitur of any sort? You had to be there… ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/278 "2020-10-10T21:26:56Z")
[The world’s oldest known joke](https://www.insider.com/historians-10-oldest-jokes-in-history-1900bc-2019-7#1-a-fart-joke-sumeria-1900-bc-10), the most ancient humorous remark ever discovered written down: > “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial…” > > “A young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/279 "2020-10-10T21:42:52Z")
I think it’s supposed to be a joke about women being too genteel to admit they fart. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/280 "2020-10-10T21:50:51Z")
I interpret it to mean that once she is married a woman doesn’t worry any more about farting when she is with her husband. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/281 "2020-10-10T21:50:54Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [The world’s oldest known joke](https://www.insider.com/historians-10-oldest-jokes-in-history-1900bc-2019-7#1-a-fart-joke-sumeria-1900-bc-10), the most ancient humorous remark ever discovered written down: > > > “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial…” > > > > “A young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” > > I don’t get it You had to be there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=15)