# 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:** 19
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/362 "2020-10-19T23:13:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Why not? knead vs need ---
**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 19, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/363 "2020-10-19T23:19:10Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > knead vs need Face palm ☹ I suppose this is karma. I’ve told a lot of groaners. ---
**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 19, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/364 "2020-10-19T23:28:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Why was it so hard to sell Karen Carpenter’s house? > It didn’t have a kitchen. My favorite: If Mama Cass had given Karen Carpenter her ham sandwich\*, they would both be alive today. \*Yes, I know that it was concluded that she died of heart failure, not choking on a sandwich, but that was the rumor that spread. ---
**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 19, 2020, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/365 "2020-10-19T23:32:57Z")
Have you seen the last Karen Carpenter album? Her picture’s on the side. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/366 "2020-10-20T00:07:36Z")
I’m laughing at these (because I’m old, and I never grew up). I think we can take it as a given that any joke using a celebrity or news story from a specific time period would fit this thread… But I love the ones that refer to specific technology or things we did back then that “kids these days” wouldn’t understand. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/367 "2020-10-20T00:10:55Z")
A David Letterman Top Ten List From 1996: > **Top Ten Surprises in Kato Kaelin’s Testimony** **10.** Testimony was given under the influence of styling mousse vapors **9.** One time at a party, he saw Robert Shapiro slow-dancing with Johnnie Cochran **8.** Name “Kato” is actually Cherokee Indian word meaning “freeloading goofball” **7.** O.J. called him every week from prison to make sure he was taping “Blossom” **6.** Fake beard in Ford Bronco was actually one of Letterman’s old hairpieces **5.** O.J. once asked him, “If you commit murder, do they take away your Heisman Trophy?” **4.** O.J. was so distraught over the killings, he kept missing really easy putts **3.** Kato asked the judge, “Mind if I, like, crash here in the witness box for a coupla weeks?” **2.** Says he’s still not sure if O.J. did it, but the guy can make a “killer” omelette **1.** Fifteen hours of testimony and not a single verb ---
**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:** [October 20, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/368 "2020-10-20T00:28:48Z")
I recall the raft of tasteless juvenile jokes we all told about the Ethiopian famine. But absent some background they make no sense today. Few of which I’m willing to commit to eternity here. About the only one not too bad to tell now was/is: > Q: What’s the fastest bird in the world? > A: The Ethiopian chicken. The equally tasteless jokes following the loss of the space shuttle Challenger won’t work unless somebody knows what that word refers to. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/369 "2020-10-20T01:46:49Z")
Richard Carpenter is making a comeback His new song is “She Ain’t Heavy, She’s My Sister.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/370 "2020-10-20T01:53:49Z")
What do you call an Ethiopian with a yeast infection? A Quarter-Pounder with Cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/371 "2020-10-20T04:12:10Z")
Ethiopian jokes were something I was hearing well until the mid-10s despite the fact I don’t even know the context besides a famine in the mid-80s? Similarly jokes about any bald person being called Sinead O’Connor, even the Deadpool movie from 5 years ago made an O’Connor joke. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/372 "2020-10-20T04:34:03Z")
> [@robby](#): > > More broadly, there’s a long-running Broadway tribute show still playing ( _Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles_ ) Well, not quite. Maybe it’s touring the country (or was before 2020) but it only ran on Broadway for less then a year from 2010-2011. (I saw it. It was a lot of fun!) I agree with the rest of your post, The Beatles are still _very_ popular and part of pop culture. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/373 "2020-10-20T04:54:05Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well, not quite. Maybe it’s touring the country (or was before 2020) but it only ran on Broadway for less then a year from 2010-2011. (I saw it. It was a lot of fun!) That’s what I get for quickly looking up a Wikipedia article. While they were apparently on Broadway for only a year, they’ve been performing as a tribute band since 1975, which evolved into a theatrical production on Broadway as well as national tours. I’d love to see them! ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/374 "2020-10-20T05:11:26Z")
How about “little worms” (vermicelli)?" ---
**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:** [October 20, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/375 "2020-10-20T05:12:36Z")
All the television/VCR jokes up to around the end of the 20th century. In particular, accidentally recording over a program, being forced to miss the start or end of an episode (this was an actual plot point in an episode of Pepper Ann), or desperately wanting to see a show which would **never ever** be aired again and missing most of it due to some contrivance (this happened to Bart and Lisa for _two_ Itchy and Scratchy cartoons), or the device simply being too complicated to use. All of which must sound very strange in the age of DVR and video on demand, not to mention streaming services which don’t use television at all. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/376 "2020-10-20T15:09:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Apparently, Dean Martin recorded “DSB.” The first verse is > > _I’ll be down to get you in a taxi, honey._ > _You’d better be ready around half past eight._ > _Ah, baby, don’t be late; I want to be there when the band starts, honey._ > _Well, just remember when we get there, honey_ I watched that MTM episode when it was new. I still remember the lame knock-knock joke. It gets stuck in my head like a bad song. But I never understood it until today ---
**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 20, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/377 "2020-10-20T23:53:41Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > All the television/VCR jokes up to around the end of the 20th century. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qQGgaI-BcI4/hqdefault.jpg "City Slickers VCR scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQGgaI-BcI4) Speaking of technology how about a remake where Cusack holds earbuds over his head? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/S5Y8tFQ01OY/maxresdefault.jpg "Say Anything... (3/5) Movie CLIP - Boombox Serenade (1989) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Y8tFQ01OY) ---
**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:** [October 21, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/378 "2020-10-21T00:35:46Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > or the device simply being too complicated to use. Ah yes, remember all the jokes about how difficult it is to set the clock on a VCR? Actually that became no longer true even in the late 1990s when VCRs got on-screen programming which made them somewhat more user friendly. On a completely different note, one that I needed kind of needed explained to me was the song “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena”. I used to just think the joke was just that the old lady drove exactly unlike a stereotypical old lady. But apparently there’s more to it than that. Apparently there was an urban legend that Pasadena was full of old widows who had high performance cars left to them by their husbands hidden away in their garages that they hardly ever drove. And that in turn led to a common joke that used car salesmen in Southern California would always claim that the car he was trying to sell used to belong to a little old lady from Pasadena. So then the joke behind the song was “What if that little old lady the car salesman says used to own this car actually DID race it?” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/379 "2020-10-21T00:49:07Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Speaking of technology how about a remake where Cusack holds earbuds over his head? I can’t remember specific examples, but I’ve seen multiple movies or TV shows with an homage to that scene from _Say Anything . . ._. I _think_ at least one held a Bluetooth speaker above his head. ---
**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 21, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/380 "2020-10-21T01:02:18Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > But apparently there’s more to it than that. Apparently there was an urban legend that Pasadena was full of old widows who had high performance cars left to them by their husbands hidden away in their garages that they hardly ever drove. That’s interesting. I thought the joke was that it was just an ordinary car, but the old lady just drove it on weekends. I didn’t realize it was supposed to be a high-performance car. ---
**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 21, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/381 "2020-10-21T01:39:47Z")
It was an ordinary car. It was from an even older joke that used car salesmen would say, “It was owned by a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays.” It was originally just a regular car, and I suspect the Los Angeles area used “Pasadena” as a place name because it was not considered a conservative community. But the line "owned by a little old lady … " was a joke nationwide. The Beach Boys turned the joke on its head by making the little old lady a hot rodder. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=20)