# 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:** 26
**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 26, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/502 "2020-10-26T18:32:31Z")
And you’re referring to Paulsen’s 1968 presidential campaign? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/503 "2020-10-26T18:56:19Z")
Yep. Used to see him on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In when I was a kid. I didn’t know from the elections, but I remember ‘Pat Paulsen for President’ stuff. ---
**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 26, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/504 "2020-10-26T18:59:52Z")
Wow. That goes back even farther (_ **Laugh-In** _ debuted in 1967). I was 13 in 1968, and figure that was the minimum age needed to get the humor of his running for president. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/505 "2020-10-26T19:06:04Z")
Pat Paulsen actually kept doing the campaigns from 1968 until 1996 (he died in 1997 from cancer) and he’d run comedy specials about it, so you don’t need to be 60 to have encountered him ‘live’. He was much more obscure by the end, though. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/506 "2020-10-26T19:08:32Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > > [@WildaBeast](#): > > > > And as funny as \*Airplane!" is, I really doubt the character Johnny would fly today, since his persona is based almost entirely on the old stereotype that gay men are effeminate. > > Johnny didn’t fly back then, he was on the ground control team. It’s a different kind of flying altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/507 "2020-10-26T19:24:07Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > It’s a different kind of flying altogether. But seriously, while a character like Johnny might get a raised eyebrow today, it’s important to note that he was there to say absurd things and mock the other characters - he makes jokes, but wasn’t the butt of jokes. His exaggerated mannerisms are played for laughs, but no one treats him like he’s inferior to the manly men in the cast, or shows any sign of treating him like someone who doesn’t belong. From one article I read: > [@](#): > > Johnny is never slapped, pushed out of the way, humiliated, sidelined, mocked, or verbally bested by any of the grizzled, chain-smoking, heterosexual manly men running through the control tower with him. Not once in the entire movie is Johnny the target of a joke (he’s too busy making them himself), which is fairly remarkable, given the treatment gay and sissy characters usually got in most mainstream comedies at the time. There’s nobody else like him. ---
**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 26, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/508 "2020-10-26T19:34:49Z")
I somehow or other don’t remember those. Of course, I haven’t lived in the US for almost 30 years now. And before that, I really didn’t care much about any political campaign. I had much more important concerns. ---
**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 26, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/509 "2020-10-26T19:36:03Z")
It’s a different kind of flying. ---
**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 26, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/510 "2020-10-26T20:08:52Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Not too long ago, my daughter (born in 1995) heard Soupy Sales mentioned on TV and just laughed. > > _“Who?!?”_ she said. > > I corrected this flaw in her education by telling her the “I’ll send you a postcard from Argentina!” story. Nitpick: “Send them to me,” Sales said, “and I’ll send you a postcard from Puerto Rico.” Shame that this one incident is all people remember of him, but it’s better than nothing. My millennial kids have heard this story. ---
**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 26, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/511 "2020-10-26T20:44:02Z")
I also told her the “This is for Pookie, this is for Hippie, this is for White Fang, this is for Black Tooth, and THIS is for THE SPONSOR!” story. Then we watched some clips from his syndicated show on YouTube. I used to watch that every weekday after school when I was in fifth and sixth grade. I especially remember the episode where he opened the door to the office and was surprised by a stripper dancing on the other side. I had a book full of his musings when I was in sixth grade. Most of them would go over the heads of kids nowadays. About the only one I can think of off the top of my head is “If your bicuits look pink, maybe you’re cruller blind!” ---
**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 26, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/512 "2020-10-26T21:05:23Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > That deep voiced guy was [Don LaFontaine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_LaFontaine), a voice actor who narrated the vast majority of movie trailers in those days. Hell, he pretty much helped invent the modern movie trailer back in the 1960s. “In a world…” was kind of his catch phrase in a way. [5 Guys In A Limo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qihIInESPbE) puts them all together. Nick Tate? NICK TATE? [Alan Carter](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58960f88e6f2e17b27fe3027/1486605821026-5KV8T91T28YKISTKK6GM/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGyQ6cYDf_ZNjls5Cbx0jnAUqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYxCRW4BPu10St3TBAUQYVKcOgfy923y4VhRMN9DkkEd_sqoihI_P_hI2mGKKC5jDAmQC8zHu30UpmX3wNJUtw_C/space1999_23.jpg) did VO work? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/513 "2020-10-26T22:55:05Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > But seriously, while a character like Johnny might get a raised eyebrow today, it’s important to note that he was there to say absurd things and mock the other characters - he makes jokes, but wasn’t the butt of jokes. His exaggerated mannerisms are played for laughs, but no one treats him like he’s inferior to the manly men in the cast, or shows any sign of treating him like someone who doesn’t belong. From one article I read: According to Wikipedia, Stephen Stucker wrote Johnny’s dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/514 "2020-10-26T22:58:28Z")
Lots of funny Carson bits floating around Youtube. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/515 "2020-10-27T00:05:24Z")
This afternoon, I watched the first “dream” episode of _ **Gilligan’s Island** _ (in B&W). The dream was a parody of _ **Gunsmoke** _ with Gilligan as Marshall Dillon, the Skipper as Chester (the role that made Dennis Weaver famous), and Ginger as Miss Kitty. Forget the series itself; you have to be at least in your 60s to recognize the relevance of those characters. ---
**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 27, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/516 "2020-10-27T00:38:37Z")
Our generation had the advantage of exposure to almost everything that had ever been on TV. There were obscure shows of the late 40s and early 50s that I never saw, but still heard of some of them. A;; the best were known throughout the culture of the time. There just wasn’t that much TV programming until the age of cable. Here in the 21st century there’s just too much content to know about or see that percentage of all the available shows. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/517 "2020-10-27T00:39:58Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Super Stock Doge > [@Ludovic](#): > > Many lady. Very power. Wow! Won’t be long before this joke will need explaining too. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/518 "2020-10-27T00:53:57Z")
Was Pat Paulsen ever on Laugh-In? I remember him from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. I even sent away for a copy of one of his “editorials,” just to see if they would send one. They did, in a Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour envelope. I still have it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/519 "2020-10-27T02:15:02Z")
My favorite Pat Paulsen joke remains “We’re upping our standards, so up yours!” Which hasn’t really dated at all. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/520 "2020-10-27T03:26:29Z")
2 Girls 1 Cup is a meme that was literally EVERYWHERE despite being incredibly NSFW (to the point network sitcoms referenced it) and there’s multiple major podcasts using the 2 (people) 1 (object) naming convention and yet there probably a giant majority of people who need this 10 year old reference explained to them. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/521 "2020-10-27T04:20:03Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > My favorite Pat Paulsen joke remains “We’re upping our standards, so up yours!” Somewhat similarly, I recall a joke from when Prince Charles married Lady Diana: “Up Chuck and Di!” Superficially, “cheers for Chuck and Di,” but it would come out as “upchuck and die.” Now, with Charles and Diana divorced, and Diana dead for 23 years, and Charles remarried, the joke makes little sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=27)