# Jokes that Used to be Funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330 "2019-07-20T00:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/81 "2019-07-23T20:29:39Z")
What does Natalie’s death prove? Wood doesn’t float. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/82 "2019-07-23T23:32:30Z")
I mentioned this one in the thread about old cars and post-millennials, but I realized it fits here, too: Did you hear [insert state you want to make fun of] passed a law requiring all cars sold there to have the dimmer switch on the floor? They were having too many accidents caused by drivers getting their foot caught in the steering wheel. That joke probably only worked around the time cars were transitioning from putting the high beam switch on the floor to the turn signal stalk. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/83 "2019-07-24T01:39:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > What does Natalie’s death prove? > > Wood doesn’t float. Heard that from **Ynnad** , didn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/84 "2019-07-24T02:00:04Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What did Princess Grace of Monaco have that Natalie Wood could have used? > A good stroke. I don’t get this. Natalie drowned and Grace was killed in a car crash. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/85 "2019-07-24T02:02:12Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I just want to point out that [Vaughn Meader’s entire career ceased to be funny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaughn_Meader) on Novemer 22, 1963. Why, was he making jokes about Aldous Huxley? C. S. Lewis? ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/86 "2019-07-24T06:14:28Z")
As alluded to before, AIDS stood for either “Another Infected D. Sucker” or “Anus Inserted Death Sentence” back when there was no cure and it was thought that only homosexuals got it. (I suppose Magic Johnson put an end to that.) “Two in the front, two in the back, and x in the ashtray” gets recycled every so often (holocaust, space shuttle Challenger, etc.) I think that “…O.J. is going to walk” is probably the most time-sensitive joke ever made. (I thought it was a period of days or weeks, but I looked it up and it was just a bit over 4 months. Still…) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/87 "2019-07-24T07:02:37Z")
A good friend of mine was sent home from work to change his shirt. This is a college educated electrical technician who somehow failed to realize that “liquor in the front, poker in the rear” was of questionable taste. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2019, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/88 "2019-07-24T07:43:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t get this. Natalie drowned and Grace was killed in a car crash. Princess Grace had a stroke behind the wheel of her car. A good stroke might have kept Natalie Wood from drowning. Yeah, I know, same word, two different meanings. C’mon, work with me here. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/89 "2019-07-24T13:47:52Z")
I remember seeing this limerick in the men’s room many moons ago: There once was a senator from Mass Who wanted a nice piece of ass He lucked up and found her then fucked up and drowned her Now she’s just food for the bass ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/90 "2019-07-24T14:08:17Z")
From the National Lampoon mag: “Senator from [Chappaquiddick](https://images.app.goo.gl/cPmeMZNJzEGsnHgNA)” ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/91 "2019-07-24T16:32:07Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Why, was he making jokes about Aldous Huxley? C. S. Lewis? Someone posted a link above - his schtick was impersonating JFK ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/92 "2019-07-24T16:39:12Z")
Aldous Huxley, C. S. Lewis, and John F. Kennedy all died on November 22, 1963. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/93 "2019-07-24T16:48:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Hey, did you hear the latest about O. J. Simpson? > No, what is it? > OK, good, you’re on the jury. The version I heard: Knock knock. Who’s there? O.J. O.J. who? You’re on the jury. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/94 "2019-07-24T17:08:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Aldous Huxley, C. S. Lewis, and John F. Kennedy all died on November 22, 1963. Whoa! Oswald was busy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/95 "2019-07-24T18:58:30Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Grab yerself a cruller and a cup of coffee, **Guin** , this could take awhile: > > For a brief period in the history of our great country, the Secretary of the Interior was a guy named James Watt, who developed a less than stellar record in the position. His tenure gave rise to a bunch of environmental jokes, which was OK to enjoy as it was his fault they existed. The Baby Seal seemed to be the linchpin of all this humor. Here’s another BS joke, courtesy of National Lampoon: > > The Lampoon published a phony paperback book cover (part of some other comedy piece) called “50 Watts,” a joke-book of favorite bits by you-know-who. This cover had a drawing of a baby seal with a fatal head wound hanging halfway in a window of a suburban home. The wife is cowering in the bed, the husband is holding a baseball bat and a cop is interviewing the man, who exclaims, **I thought it was a burglar! Honest!** > > Aren’t you glad you asked? 😃 Oh, I heard of that dude. Didn’t he get fired for making a joke about hiring a “Jew and two cripples”, or something like that? ---
**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:** [July 24, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/96 "2019-07-24T19:22:34Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh, I heard of that dude. Didn’t he get fired for making a joke about hiring a “Jew and two cripples”, or something like that? Watt famously banned the Beach Boys from performing at the National Mall on July 4,1983, declaring that they promoted drug use and attracted the wrong element. He later apologized after President Reagan and Vice-President Bush came out as fans of the band. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/97 "2019-07-25T01:34:34Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > I’ve noticed when watching older TV shows or movies from, say the early 1950s, a character would make a quip/joke observation “wall to wall” something or other, referring to a room full of…whatever. > > I guess that’s when wall-to-wall carpeting was becoming more popular, and so the wall-to-wall joke was thought to be clever then. Today it’s lost it’s punch. Woody Allen used the expression in _Sleeper_, in 1973. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/98 "2019-07-25T01:39:17Z")
When microwaves first came out and everyone thought the speed with which they heated food was nothing short of miraculous, Joan Rivers made a fat joke about Liz Taylor, saying, “she’s the only person in the world who stand in front of the microwave oven and says, ‘HURRY!’” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/99 "2019-07-25T15:34:18Z")
When it was reported that Reagen would-be assassin John Hinkley Jr. was corresponding with Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman, someone remarked “Maybe Chapman can show Hinkley how to improve his aim.” ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330/100 "2019-07-25T17:13:43Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > What’s the difference between Christopher Reeve and OJ? > OJ’s gonna walk. Dang. Ninja’d by 5 whole days. > [@pool](#): > > I heard Princess Di was on the radio the other day… and the dashboard, and the steering wheel… That’s a joke that just keeps on giving. I first heard it about [Princess Grace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly#Death). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jokes-that-used-to-be-funny/837330.md?page=6)