# Please explain to me the funniest joke ever told by Johnny Carson **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [July 28, 2025, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428 "2025-07-28T15:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/121 "2025-08-11T04:29:35Z")
Take a look at the Google Ngram for the word “nimrod”. Notice that it peaks in 1944, drops until 1991, and peaks again at 2013. This is consistent with the 1940 Bugs Bunny cartoon causing it to become popular as an insult, then it dropped until the 1997 Green Day album _Nimrod_ was released, then it increased again, and then it dropped again: > **[Google Books Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=nimrod&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3)** > > Google Ngrams: nimrod, 1800-2022 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/122 "2025-08-11T04:30:05Z")
Bugs Bunny also originated the epithet “maroon” as a mocking jibe at his antagonist’s intelligence. It was probably a play on “moron” and not a racial slur as some have suggested. However I don’t think “maroon” ever came to be as widely used as “nimrod”. Although I’m pretty sure it inspired Maroon Cartoons in _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/123 "2025-08-11T04:38:01Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Duck. The video mentions Bugs, but there’s no instance of him using it, at least that I can find. Bugs called Yosemite Sam a Nimrod in “Rabbit Every Monday” ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/124 "2025-08-11T15:48:09Z")
You’re right. Just watched it. All the research I had done said it was a Mandela. It’s usually reported that he said it to Elmer in A Wild Hare instead of Yosemite, but he did say it. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/125 "2025-08-11T16:10:42Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Bugs Bunny also originated the epithet “maroon” as a mocking jibe at his antagonist’s intelligence. It was probably a play on “moron” and not a racial slur as some have suggested. However I don’t think “maroon” ever came to be as widely used as “nimrod”. Is that from _Bully for Bugs_? I vaguely remember Bugs saying “what a maroon. What a nin-cow-poop.”. Deliberately mispronouncing the second because he was fighting a bull. Is there some way that the mispronunciation of ‘maroon’ was somehow bovine related? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/126 "2025-08-11T17:07:25Z")
Maybe, Mel Blanc misread the script and said “maroon” instead of “mooron”. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/127 "2025-08-11T18:45:11Z")
I’m sure Bugs said “what a maroon” in several cartoons. I found a few: In [Devil May Hare](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSZ1h-bydS4) he says “what a maroon” in reference to the Tasmanian Devil. In Bully for Bugs he calls the bull an “[ultramaroon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuxJqIs2a-Y)”. Not sure which cartoon [this](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1905026326432547) is, but he says “poor little maroon” in reference to Yosemite Sam. I’m sure he’s called Elmer Fudd a “maroon” as well, probably more than once, but I haven’t found a clip. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/128 "2025-08-11T19:24:54Z")
He also called Elmer Fudd a nimrod in at least the three cartoons “What’s Up Doc?”, “Rabbit Seasoning”, and “The Quick Draw Rabbit”, according to a search I just did. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2025, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/129 "2025-08-12T00:13:04Z")
I have all 1000 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.“What’s Up Doc?” **Nope** , “Rabbit Seasoning” **Nope** , and “The Quick Draw Rabbit” **no such cartoon.** ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/130 "2025-08-12T01:10:45Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > I have all 1000 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.“What’s Up Doc?” **Nope** , “Rabbit Seasoning” **Nope** , and “The Quick Draw Rabbit” **no such cartoon** > **[What's Up, Doc? (1950 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Up,_Doc%3F_(1950_film))** > > What's Up, Doc? is a Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson and produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 17, 1950 and stars Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. > While relaxing poolside, Bugs Bunny engages in a retrospective discussion about his ascent to fame during a phone interview. Bugs traces his journey from early artistic endeavors to his eventual breakthrough in the entertainment industry. > Bugs is a rabbit navigating a human-dominated world. ... > **[Rabbit Seasoning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_Seasoning)** > > Rabbit Seasoning is a 1952 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. Released on September 20, 1952, the short stars Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. > It is the sequel to the previous year's Rabbit Fire, and the second in the "hunting trilogy" directed by Jones and written by Michael Maltese (the only major difference in format between them is that Rabbit Fire takes place during the spring, while Rabbit Seasoning takes place in the autumn. The third cartoon, Duck! Rabb... I cant find the last title, but remember, titles did change. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/131 "2025-08-12T01:17:43Z")
Maybe I wasn’t clear. I watched them and Nimrod did not come up. I’ve never heard of a title changing. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428/132 "2025-09-13T18:48:56Z")
Turns out I was mistaken. He calls Yosemite Sam Nimrod in Rabbit Every Monday (1951). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-the-funniest-joke-ever-told-by-johnny-carson/1021428.md?page=6)