# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/81 "2011-09-17T12:43:02Z")
Sometimes I try to write songs, and while I have about a third of the wordplay that Elvis Costello does, which is decent by any measure, unlike him i’m either not playing with phrases at all or too clever for my own good. For instance, I wrote a theme album about a reporter who was investigating the alleged abuse of a girl called Elizabeth O’Reilly, and in this section she was having second thoughts about her investigation and her motivations (for instance, some people diminish themselves by thinking that they’re only in it for the fame or money when they’re really not) : Lord pray that my music will be good And this O’Reilly book will get me food star A S T star star, star star A N D It’s only teenage emulation To fully understand this passage, you need to know that Epic poets often prayed to the gods, that O’Reilly is a publisher of computer books (as well as a character in my story!), that \* is a substitution character in regular expressions, that The Waste Land is an epic poem that some see sexual abuse themes in, that the song Baba O’Riley is a song by the Who that contains the phrase “Teenage Wasteland”, and that emulation is something computers can do that is vaguely like regular expressions symbolically (so the singer of this song is wondering if she is just emo-ing out or really feeling genuine sadness by relating her writing to emulation and regular expressions.) But the most obscure joke in the verse is when I had to add another two stars to " \* A S T \* \* A N D " and made it " \* A S T \* \* \* \* A N D " in order to fit the meter. Some might look at it and vaguely realize that stars are placeholders for other letters and think that I _incorrectly_ added stars to fit the meter. But they might not know that in many regular expression formats, \* does not mean “one or more characters” but rather “ZERO or more characters”, so _AST_\*\*\*AND does fit “wasteland”. This fits the OP entirely, in that this will not be funny to very many people, but I am inordinately proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/82 "2011-09-17T22:18:22Z")
I wear [this shirt](http://www.tshirthell.com/funny-shirts/is-it-solipsistic-in-here-or-is-it-just-me/) sometimes, and only one person has laughed without asking what solipsistic means. I need to find me some cute geologists who’ll get [this one](http://www.zazzle.com/are_you_cummingtonite_tshirt-235135082452514555) too. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/83 "2011-09-18T07:30:45Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I wear [this shirt](http://www.tshirthell.com/funny-shirts/is-it-solipsistic-in-here-or-is-it-just-me/) sometimes, and only one person has laughed without asking what solipsistic means. I need to find me some cute geologists who’ll get [this one](http://www.zazzle.com/are_you_cummingtonite_tshirt-235135082452514555) too. C[sub]4[/sub]H[sub]5[/sub]As :rolleyes: [Arsole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsole) 😃 ---
**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 18, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/84 "2011-09-18T09:35:01Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > There is a chemical element named [tantalum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalum), which was named for Tantalus. Yes, I knew that, hence my comment. I just didn’t think the joke worked as well that way. Maybe it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/85 "2011-09-18T11:31:26Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > Overheard in the hotel cocktail lounge during a mathematician’s convention (forgive me if the formatting doesn’t work for you): > > 13 > ∫2xdx? > 10 > [@BwanaBob](#): > > I can’t believe I guessed the answer before I solved the integral. I have to get a life. > > 69 And why is that answer funny? > [@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. Would you enlighten us unwashed masses, please? Are the pieces similar to each other? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/86 "2011-09-18T11:36:04Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > And why is that answer funny? It’s a mathematician’s pick-up line, I should think from context. (Should have tried it at my OU summer school…) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/87 "2011-09-18T13:34:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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. Only if they’re practicfing Jews. Gentiles cannot have Cantor numbers. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/88 "2011-09-18T16:17:16Z")
\Erdos-Bacon tangent My boss was an extra in the movie Grease, and I dated Erdos’s grand-nephew. Which means now that we’ve met my boss is a 3-2 and I am a 2-3. /Tangent ETA: The wiki defines the Erdos in terms of authoring mathematical papers, rather than discussion or argument. Hmmm. On that we don’t qualify. We have had protacted mathematical arguments though - the first manufactured specifically to meet the requirements as we understood them. . . ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/89 "2011-09-18T22:00:36Z")
In December, you’re watching a college football game on TV. The camera shows 4 men in the stands dressed as Santa Claus. One is holding a sign with the Greek letters Sigma Nu. Why’s that funny?😉 Sigma Nu is a Jewish fraternity. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/90 "2011-09-18T22:21:19Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > I can’t believe I guessed the answer before I solved the integral. I have to get a life. > > 69 You have a better life than me if you can even understand how that is overHEARD in a bar. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/91 "2011-09-18T22:26:49Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > 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. I adore this! ---
**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 18, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/92 "2011-09-18T23:38:50Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Yes, I knew that, hence my comment. I just didn’t think the joke worked as well that way. Maybe it’s just me. [Dave Barry]I didn’t say it was a _good_ joke.[/Dave Barry] 😉 At least this joke requires knowledge in two areas: chemistry and mythology. The other joke I posted only requires knowledge in one area. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/93 "2011-09-19T02:15:52Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > Would you enlighten us unwashed masses, please? Are the pieces similar to each other? The [bass line in the Bach piece](http://www.8notes.com/scores/613.asp?view=full&ftype=gif) is just like the intro to Purple Haze, where it goes D-D (octave higher)-D-D (octave higher) at roughly the same tempo. ---
**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 19, 2011, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/94 "2011-09-19T10:48:26Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > [Dave Barry]I didn’t say it was a _good_ joke.[/Dave Barry] 😉 At least this joke requires knowledge in two areas: chemistry and mythology. The other joke I posted only requires knowledge in one area. :smack: So: “I keep trying to dissolve my tantalum pentoxide in a basic hydroxide solution but every time I put the tantalum in, the hydroxide keeps disappearing.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/95 "2011-09-19T11:36:33Z")
People here might appreciate the Thomas Jefferson version of Rock me Amadeus. It goes… _I’m a deist I’m a deist I’m a deist I’m a deist I’m a deist I’m a deist I’m a deist I’m a deist Stone me I’m a deist_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/96 "2011-09-19T20:43:30Z")
I was concerned when I heard Pluto was no longer a planet. I feared it wouldn’t bode well. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/97 "2011-09-20T20:24:45Z")
From _Beavis and Butthead Do America_: _Agent Bork_: Chief, you know that guy whose camper they were whacking off in? _Agent Fleming_: Bork, you’re a Federal Agent. You represent the United States government. Never end a sentence with a preposition. Stolen from this forum: Knock, knock? Who’s there? Knock, Knock? Who’s there? knock, Knock? Who’s there? knock, _knock_? Who’s there? _Knock_, knock? Who’s there? Knock, **knock**? Who’s there? Knock, knock? Who’s there? Philip Glass ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/98 "2011-09-20T20:51:22Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > Doesn’t require multiple fields of knowledge, but it is fairly esoteric: > > Feynman and Heisenberg go on a road trip, Feynman driving. Heisenberg starts getting nervous and tells Feynman to slow down, or he’ll get a speeding ticket. Feynman says, “Don’t worry, Werner. I’ve been watching the speedometer carefully, and I’ve been driving at exactly the speed limit.” > > Heisenberg gets really angry. “You idiot! Now we’re completely lost!” > …But nobody laughs when I tell it. Something wrong with my delivery, I guess. I laughed just reading it. I guess that qualifies me as some sort of super geek, especially considering that I’m not a physicist. ---
**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 21, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/99 "2011-09-21T09:27:01Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > Knock, knock? > Who’s there? > > Philip Glass I am reminded of a article James Lileks wrote for the Minneapolis-St Paul Star-Tribune some years ago. The article is gone from the newspaper’s website but I just happen to have the relevant bit here… > [@James Lileks](#): > > Last Sunday’s paper reviewed a video game called “Def Jam: Icon.” It’s a fighting game set to hip-hop music. The reviewer was firm: Despite the hip-hop characters and soundtrack and the stated goal of building a hip-hop label, the game has nothing to do with hip-hop. True! In fact there’s a classical version, and I just finished playing it. > > The first level is AWESOME because it’s Philip Glass vs. Johann Bach, and my man Jo-Ho busts some mad counterpoint on his opponent’s droning arrangements. My favorite level was Anton Bruckner vs. Frederick Delius, because Bruckner is like, “yo, I compose movements that look like mountain ranges, dude,” and Delius is all “well prepare to confront the power of the exquisite miniature depiction of a fleeting moment,” and it’s on. > > But Bruckner is hard to control, because he’s slow and fat, and you’re better off pitting him against Wagner, who doesn’t think anyone can beat him because he’s invented fresh moves. (Hint: you can beat Wagner if you play as Mahler; use the special “Convert from Judaism” move to mask your approach, then go all mohel upside his head.) When you get to level 36, you got Alan Hovhaness, who has, like, 136 symphonies from which to draw moves, and John Cage, who doesn’t actually do his own fighting, but brings in professors to explain why his fighting is so hot. > > The graphics are good – the Paris Opera, where most of the battles take place, is exquisitely rendered, although hard-core gamers will note that the 1917 renovations are not entirely accurate. Sound quality is excellent – when Beethoven stabs Elgar with a clarinet, it’s a sample from a 1973 Berlin Philharmonic concert. In short, an incredible game. > > But it has nothing to do with classical music. ---
**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 21, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-require-a-lot-of-specific-knowledge-and-probably-wont-be-funny-to-very-many-people/596423/100 "2011-09-21T16:47:57Z")
My life is richer for reading that. Thanks, **Gyrate**. [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=4) [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=6)