# Please explain all those "death ray" jokes to me, please **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 29, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416 "2003-08-29T13:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/1 "2003-08-29T13:16:17Z")
There seems to be a heyday of jokes involving “death rays” on the Boards recently. Anyone can tell me why? I remember spotting a GQ thread entitled “How do death rays work?” or something similar, but I didn’t stay tuned after shortly scanning it once. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/2 "2003-08-29T13:36:34Z")
Discussion in [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207657) with link to original thread. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/3 "2003-08-29T14:14:15Z")
Yers, that’s where it started. I’d like to know when it will _end_, though. Someone please shoot this joke and bury it. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/4 "2003-08-29T14:38:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Someone please shoot this joke and bury it. \*\* _Please_ don’t leave openings like that lying around… 😃 Grim ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/5 "2003-08-29T15:16:07Z")
The question I’ve been wanting to ask is: Why did the 20’s Style Death Ray catch everyone’s imagination, rather than the Two 14-Year-Old Humpers or Jesus as a Sports Car or ??? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/6 "2003-08-29T15:29:06Z")
The 1920’s style death ray just had something… magical about it. ---
**Author:** ![Giggle\_Gaggle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@Giggle\_Gaggle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giggle_Gaggle)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/7 "2003-08-29T16:43:49Z")
The inventor of the death ray, Nikola Tesla, is something of a patron saint to underappreciated geeks and nerds everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2003, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-all-those-death-ray-jokes-to-me-please/198416/8 "2003-08-30T07:33:18Z")
The magic of the death rays was short lived.