# Jokes that require a lot of specific knowledge, and probably won't be funny to very many people **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423 "2011-09-15T18:49:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/61 "2011-09-16T20:57:25Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > On XKCD jokes that require specific knowledge, this one is my favorite, perhaps because just that day or the day before I’d been talking to my advisor and he somehow his Erdos number came up, so I found it particularly funny because of the timeliness. > > [xkcd: Apocalypse](http://xkcd.com/599/) I liked when I found out about the **Erdős–Bacon number** [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon\_number#Actors](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon_number#Actors) OMG, I just checked the Wikipedia article and found out that Mayim Bialik has a Erdős–Bacon number and she actually has PhD in neuroscience! TBBT has already have had Danica McKellar as a guest star. Now they only need Natalie Portman. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/62 "2011-09-16T21:03:45Z")
WTF. I just googled “mayim bialik neuroscience Erdős–Bacon number” and I turned up a hit on what I just posted 5 minutes ago. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/63 "2011-09-16T21:07:07Z")
A philosopher, a psychiatrist, and a priest stare down at the utter carnage of a plane wreck. The philosopher muses “this can’t be ‘the best of all possible worlds’”. The psychiatrist concludes “the pilot must have been insane”. The priest affirms that “this proves God is always in control”. All three were looking at the bumper sticker at the end of the plane: God is my co-pilot. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/64 "2011-09-16T23:52:07Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > Here’s one of my own devising: > > Tantalum walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender starts to hand it to him, then takes it away, starts to hand it to him, then takes it away, starts to hand it to him, then takes it away, starts to hand it to him, then takes it away … Nitpick: You mean Tantalus, unless this is a chemistry joke and I’m missing something. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/65 "2011-09-17T00:35:59Z")
I’m not sure if I made this up, because it occurred to me here a few months ago to make a point, not a joke, per se. So I’m not sure if I heard it before, or made it up on the spot: How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 0.999999999999999999… ---
**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 17, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/66 "2011-09-17T00:37:42Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I liked when I found out about the **Erdős–Bacon number** As the Wikipedia article points out, in order to have an Erdős–Bacon number, a person has to have both appeared in a movie and have co-authored a scientific paper. So I assume that somebody who has either never appeared in a movie or has never co-authored a scientific paper who have Erdős–Bacon number of Aleph-null. But somebody who has never appeared in a movie and never co-authored a scientific paper who have Erdős–Bacon number of Aleph-one. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/67 "2011-09-17T00:43:12Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I’m not sure if I made this up, because it occurred to me here a few months ago to make a point, not a joke, per se. So I’m not sure if I heard it before, or made it up on the spot: > > How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? > > 0.999999999999999999… Yeh, okay, it’s an old one. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/68 "2011-09-17T01:01:33Z")
OK - The OP asked for jokes requiring knowledge in multiple areas so I removed my stats joke. However, since many people are sticking to one subject area I’ll put it back. Q: How many statisticians does it take to change a light bulb? A: That needs to be solved using a non-parametric procedure because statisticians are not normal. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/69 "2011-09-17T01:07:55Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I stole this one from someone on the SDMB, and only one person in real life ever thought it was funny, so I gave it back: > > Rene Descartes walks into a bar and orders a beer. When it’s finished the bartender walks up and asks if he’d like another one. “I think not,” he said, and disappeared. Haven’t read the rest of the thread, but this one made me giggle and immediately think of who I can pass it on to. Win! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/70 "2011-09-17T01:13:24Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > _Ad maiah v’esrim_ is a birthday wish which means “until 120” in Hebrew. 120 years is sort of the maximum age you can aspire to according to Jewish lore; it’s how long Moses lived. > > Meanwhile, red blood cells live for about 120 days. ## Thanks, **Shmendrik**. > [@Filbert](#): > > [Wat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Tyler) Tyler (pronounced like ‘What’) was a leader of the Peasants Revolt in England… ## And to complete the pedantry, a pedant would say it’s not what Tyler, it’s which Tyler. When my kids were toddlers, I got them t-shirts that said ENTROPY ELF. I got one chuckle out of that, once. It was from one of the chem majors running the demo table for the Chem Department at UCD Picnic Day. (They were using liquid nitrogen to freeze things.) ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/71 "2011-09-17T01:19:43Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I stole this one from someone on the SDMB, and only one person in real life ever thought it was funny, so I gave it back: > > Rene Descartes walks into a bar and orders a beer. When it’s finished the bartender walks up and asks if he’d like another one. “I think not,” he said, and disappeared. I stole this one as well, but I don’t remember from where. It is one of my fave jokes. But alas, nobody ever gets it. Maybe I should stop saying “alas”. .. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/72 "2011-09-17T01:22:13Z")
Two bears jump into lakes at the same time, one in California and one in Alaska. Which one dissolves first? The one in Alaska, since it’s polar. A cave-man family is sending their cave-boy to school so he can evolve and get smarter. One day, they ask him how school went. He said “It was OK. I missed the bus, but I managed to get a ride from my friend who lives over in Hamilton.”. His parents were aghast at this-- “Don’t you know that if you commute with the Hamiltonian you’ll never evolve?” ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/73 "2011-09-17T01:35:28Z")
An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The bartender says “You’re all idiots”, and pours two beers. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/74 "2011-09-17T02:38:55Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? (e^(pi \* i))^2 ---
**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:** [September 17, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/75 "2011-09-17T04:31:04Z")
You have to get up pretty Euler to get that one. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/76 "2011-09-17T04:57:05Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Nitpick: You mean Tantalus, unless this is a chemistry joke and I’m missing something. There is a chemical element named [tantalum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalum), which was named for Tantalus. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/77 "2011-09-17T05:58:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You have to get up pretty Euler to get that one. Or have a link to Wolfram|Alpha on your start page. [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28e^%28pi+\*+i%29%29^2&t=igg01](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28e%5E%28pi+*+i%29%29%5E2&t=igg01) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/78 "2011-09-17T07:21:46Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I actually heard this on a record by Bobby McFerrin and YoYo Ma, where they started performing Bach’s Musette in D Major and turned it into the intro to “Purple Haze.” Other than McFerrin and Ma, I’m probably the only person in the world who got the joke. It took me a while to get the joke in the “Tortoises” movement of the _Carnival of the Animals_ - the tune is Offenbach’s famous can-can played _very_ slowly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/79 "2011-09-17T07:47:32Z")
Chemist joke: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/80 "2011-09-17T08:17:55Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > (e^(pi \* i))^2 Or |e[sup]ip[/sup]| [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423.md?page=5)