# 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:** 36
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/702 "2020-11-14T20:38:25Z")
“The Runaway Train came down the track and she blew” … ``` The porter got an awful fright, he got so scared he went all white, ``` train porter was a stereotype Black job You could put that in “Stuff you couldn’t get away with now”, but apparently it’s a joke that nowadays needs explaining. See how it’s bowdlerized in this youtube version 🙂 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dkOLq17GReg/hqdefault.jpg "The Runaway Train") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkOLq17GReg) ---
**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:** [November 14, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/703 "2020-11-14T21:44:27Z")
To get a joke my dad once told me, you have to know that (a) Harlem is a predominantly black district in NYC (not all that difficult), (b) who “Satchmo” was, and © that he was widely known for singing “Hello, Dolly!” The joke merely involves a case of mistaken identity. I wonder what the cutoff age is for knowing details about the life of Louis Armstrong ? ---
**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:** [November 14, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/704 "2020-11-14T22:15:40Z")
And you’re not going to tell us the joke? ---
**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:** [November 14, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/705 "2020-11-14T22:31:40Z")
Spoiler doesn’t work! 🤨 ---
**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:** [November 14, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/706 "2020-11-14T22:38:57Z")
I’ll tell it here in spoiler form to avoid offending anyone with tender sensibilities: A black minister is going from door to door in Harlem to collect donations for his church. He knocks on a door in one building, and the guy who answers it says “Hey, man! Anybody ever tell you you look just like old Satchmo?” The minister knocks on another door, and the guy who answers it says “Whoa! Man, you look just like old Satchmo!” This goes on until he gets to a door opened by a really hot babe. “Hey, man!” she says. “Doggone if you don’t look exactly like old Satchmo!” The minister smiles and says “Hello, Dolly! Well, hello, Dolly…!” Not all that bad, is it? 😋 I just learned that spoiler tags have to be put after each line, not just at the beginning and the end. Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/707 "2020-11-14T23:38:52Z")
So? Did they give him money? Because otherwise I don’t get it (even though I knew all of those things going in). Come to think of it, I _still_ don’t get it. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/708 "2020-11-14T23:50:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’ll tell it here in spoiler form to avoid offending anyone with tender sensibilities: When I heard it, it was Nat King Cole. (I don’t remember the song.) ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/709 "2020-11-15T00:12:30Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So? > > Did they give him money? > > Because otherwise I don’t get it (even though I knew all of those things going in). > > Come to think of it, I _still_ don’t get it. Louis Armstrong was called “Satchmo”, short for “Ol’ Satchel Mouth.” His most famous song was _Hello, Dolly_. The minister apparently bore a strong resemblance to Armstrong, and when the lady commented on the resemblance, he used that to sweet talk his way into her bedroom. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l7N2wssse14/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHAA4AC6AKKAgwIABABGGUgZShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB2bM0jtqZEmRzbhf9LEEq-cyRbag "Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7N2wssse14) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/710 "2020-11-15T00:16:03Z")
:smack: I spaced out on the repetition and didn’t notice the pretty girl part. I thought he was getting aggravated by everybody commenting on his resemblance to old Satchel Mouth. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/711 "2020-11-15T00:38:55Z")
Kee-rect! 👍 👌 ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/712 "2020-11-15T00:40:07Z")
Here’s a quote from a recent SF story. The context is that Mitch has just found what appears to be an alien device on Earth that has been lying in a cave for millennia - but there’s a light still blinking on it: > Mitch couldn’t shake the image of a pink alien bunny, lethargic but still struggling to beat his drum. That one will require explanation in a few more years - if it doesn’t require explanation now ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/713 "2020-11-15T00:48:42Z")
I get it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fILdYrxnrf8/hqdefault.jpg "Energizer Bunny® - Introduction - 1989") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fILdYrxnrf8) ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/714 "2020-11-15T07:10:37Z")
Thought of this thread today when I came across the Seinfeld “magic loogy” episode - how many people will get the Zapruder film references? Even at the time (1991), they were making fun of a Oliver Stone’s movie about the actual real life event, not the event itself, though in 1991 people probably knew the references. But would they today? ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/715 "2020-11-15T09:44:54Z")
I’ve heard the joke attached to other celebrities. In the one, the man is a lookalike for James Cagney and the punchline is, “You dirty rat!” ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/716 "2020-11-15T13:22:39Z")
I didn’t see the episode until long after it was originally aired (maybe in 2013?), but I recognized the reference immediately. One aspect of it I missed until it was pointed out at this site was that Wayne “Newman!” Knight was in both scenes. I saw _ **JFK** _ right after it came out (1991), and had completely forgotten he was in it! ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/717 "2020-11-15T13:26:57Z")
Probably “Unforgettable.” ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/718 "2020-11-15T13:43:19Z")
I was watching Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. When they first got into the telephone booth they said “Let’s reach out and touch someone”. If you don’t know the old AT&T jingle you wouldn’t get that. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/719 "2020-11-15T14:07:33Z")
What’s a telephone booth? ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/720 "2020-11-15T14:37:45Z")
So what’s the offensive part of this supposed to be? ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/721 "2020-11-15T14:40:14Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > “Let’s reach out and touch someone”. If you don’t know the old AT&T jingle you wouldn’t get that. What do you get if you cross a rooster with a telephone pole? A 30-foot cock that wants to reach out and touch someone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=37)