# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/121 "2020-09-26T23:35:24Z")
I know where you got those shoes. (You got them on your feet.) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/122 "2020-09-26T23:43:08Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > By the way, there is an edition of Lewis Carroll which helpfully includes annotations like the text of the original Victorian poems he is parodying. Indeed, any joke referencing some ephemeral, especially foreign, pop culture probably needs explanation; not everybody devoured lots of Egyptian pulp fiction in the 1950s, or whatever. I read widely, and love late 1800s/early 1900s stuff [tons free on Project Gutenberg] and typically get told by people who find out what I am reading that they can’t read that crap that has foreign stuff in it [frequently quotes in French, German, Greek and Latin] often in the form of letters the person is reading [I seem to recall Agatha Christie has a fair amount of quotes in nonEnglish sprinkled wwithin] I can read French, Spanish, some Italian and some German with fair fluency and know how to use a dictionary if I don’t know a word, and I can take a fair stab at Latin from the other Romance languages I can cope with … And I regularly go to furrin restaurants and have no issues ordering - I had a delightful afternoon at an Ethiopian place, sitting effectively at Family Table learning how to make injeera and discussing spice blends and why Americans prefer lamb to mutton. We did some playing at charades, and falling back on French and some smattering of Arabic tradeslang I learned back in my college days. I have no problem with mangling other languages and sounding silly, it shows one is willing to be friendly and not an ugly asshole American. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/123 "2020-09-27T00:02:25Z")
> [@CardboardBoxx](#): > > Sneed taking over a feed store from a guy called Chuck. The joke is the connection made in your own mind. I didn’t get it until now… I’m also reminded of Fandid Famera with Allen Funt. That one, too, kinda needs to be explained for a younger generation. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/124 "2020-09-27T00:30:09Z")
Actually, historically, it was done that way – menu in French only, and culinary concepts mentioned, not explained. A person of _snif_ _snif_ breeding would’ve been able to handle it, otherwise was out of luck. Or could ask a waiter for help. Reference: [Menu of the Week: The Waldorf-Astoria, 1897](https://www.thedailymeal.com/menu-week-waldorf-astoria-1897) ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/125 "2020-09-27T00:37:06Z")
> The movie was made in 1975. Back then, the question was a joke because the idea of a woman having a tattoo was so absurd. Rocky Horror is full of jokes like that: What have you done with Janet! Why nothing, why? Do you think I should? … What have you done with Brad? Why nothing, why? Do you think I should? _Janet gasps at the insinuation_ ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/126 "2020-09-27T00:56:03Z")
Actually, rice is regional. Northern Chinese rarely eat rice, preferring bau (steamed flour buns). And in higher end multi-course Chinese meals, no rice or noodles are on the menu. The only starch are the buns for Peking Duck or kau yuk (braised pork). Everything else is meat, vegetables or a mix of the two. Look around the next time you’re in Chinese restaurant and you’ll likely see few Chinese families with a bowl of rice on their table or any type of noodles. The same holds true for Japanese and Korean cuisine. A high end kaiseki meal won’t have any type of rice or starch. And I watch a lot Korean shows and I rarely see anyone eat rice with their take out or dine in meals. I agree with BrickBat that for Western “meat and potato” eaters, the proportion of starch to protein and vegetables is far lower in most Asian cuisine. Leading to hunger quicker. Ummmm…I want Chinese food now. Going to order some. With fried rice! ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/127 "2020-09-27T01:06:33Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > As I interpret the saying, it’s not about how filling you find it _when you eat it_ , but about how long it stays with you afterward. It means that it _is_ easy to fill up on, but is quickly digested. Exactly my meaning as well. Perhaps I didn’t convey this as clearly as I could have. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/128 "2020-09-27T01:09:44Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > By the way, there is an edition of Lewis Carroll which helpfully includes annotations like the text of the original Victorian poems he is parodying. _The Annotated Alice_ by Martin Gardner. I have the original edition, but I want this one. [https://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Alice-150th-Anniversary-Deluxe/dp/0393245438](https://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Alice-150th-Anniversary-Deluxe/dp/0393245438) ---
**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:** [September 27, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/129 "2020-09-27T01:29:05Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Rocky Horror is full of jokes like that: > What have you done with Janet! > Why nothing, why? Do you think I should? > … > What have you done with Brad? > Why nothing, why? Do you think I should? > _Janet gasps at the insinuation_ I don’t feel the understanding of those jokes has changed. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/130 "2020-09-27T02:53:58Z")
Re: Limburger, there is a Buster Brown comic that revolves around it. I’ve seen (but can’t find again) a later “cleanup” of the strip, recolored apparently for republication. But not only did they change the artwork, they also reworked the text because apparently they thought a modern audience would not understand it. “Limburger” was replaced with just “cheese.” (“Nosegay” was replaced with something else, too.) [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/VxMHo0O.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/tD5ReNc) ---
**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:** [September 27, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/131 "2020-09-27T03:20:05Z")
Wow, that strip is certainly dated, especially in the speech and the outfits. The closing bit of philosophy is right on target, though: > [@](#): > > There are people who make a great noise and compel attention, yet their lives are worse than useless, and everybody is relieved when they go out at last. Let us make ourselves useful to others. Happiness lies in this, for the world throws aside its useless men and useless things. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/132 "2020-09-27T04:32:02Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’m also reminded of Fandid Famera with Allen Funt. That one, too, kinda needs to be explained for a younger generation Not mentioned by anybody in the nearby “Shows You Really Miss” thread, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/133 "2020-09-27T05:03:06Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Actually, historically, it was done that way – menu in French only, and culinary concepts mentioned, not explained. A person of _snif_ _snif_ breeding would’ve been able to handle it, otherwise was out of luck. Or could ask a waiter for help. Reference: [Menu of the Week: The Waldorf-Astoria, 1897](https://www.thedailymeal.com/menu-week-waldorf-astoria-1897) That is a good point, worth emphasizing. [Haute cuisine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute_cuisine) is a _type_ of cuisine developed in France. It _is_ stylized, expensive, elaborate, extravagant, and sometimes deliberately exotic, and (historically) only eaten by the really privileged, not the bourgeois or hoi polloi. It is also not at all regular or typical French cuisine that people normally eat every day. Maybe worth making fun of, in the same vein as the “otters’ noses, larks’ tongues, ocelot spleens, wrens’ livers…”, and of course all the prince-and-the-pauper jokes about some regular guy finding himself there and having no clue what any of the dishes are, being shocked when he sees them, not knowing which fork to use, and so on is an instance of a standard trope. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/134 "2020-09-27T05:19:22Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Apparently pizza with anchovies was a major thing in the 80s? I found reference to even chains like Domino’s stocking anchovies as a topping back then but even today at the higher end mom and pop pizza places I never see anchovies as an available topping for a custom pie. My first job was an a pizza place in Texas back in 1993. We had anchovies but hardly anyone ever ordered them. I hated when people ordered them because they stank to high heaven and no matter how long I washed my hands the smell would linger. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/135 "2020-09-27T05:23:40Z")
I was in and out of school after the 6th grade and people don’t get the reference when I say “I’m like Jethro, I have a 6th grade education!” _Beverly Hillbillies_ ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/136 "2020-09-27T06:01:40Z")
I don’t think it’s quite up to the “needs explaining” level, but the joke about (mostly rural) Americans not eating sushi “because it’s bait” is definitely on the outs now that every town with more than a couple of thousand people has a sushi joint. ---
**Author:** ![razordance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47774/32.png) [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/137 "2020-09-27T06:15:24Z")
Actually, Corsica and Sardinia are variant names for the same place – you know, like Holland and the Netherlands, or China and Japan. ---
**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:** [September 27, 2020, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/138 "2020-09-27T06:15:33Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I don’t think it’s quite up to the “needs explaining” level, but the joke about (mostly rural) Americans not eating sushi “because it’s bait” is definitely on the outs now that every town with more than a couple of thousand people has a sushi joint. Exactly. My small rural town has at least three. They all started off as Chinese restaurants, but each also now has a sushi chef. One is still nominally a Chinese restaurant, while the other two are now Asian fusion restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/139 "2020-09-27T06:33:51Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Isn’t that from Sardinia? That kind of stuff is made in southern Corsica as well… ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466/140 "2020-09-27T06:54:17Z")
And, now that you mention it, it seems you can see larvae jumping out of the cheese in the illustration: [![](https://www.la-flemmardiere.com/photo/gal/pic/gal-4374817.jpg) ](https://www.la-flemmardiere.com/photo/gal/pic/gal-4374817.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-nowadays-need-explaining/921466.md?page=8)