# Why is this joke funny (from "1776") **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596 "2012-11-01T17:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/1 "2012-11-01T17:53:36Z")
In the play, 1776, Ben Franklin makes a this comment comparing a Colonist to an Englishman like an ox being called a bull: “Nor would I, were I given the full rights of an Englishman. But to call me one without those rights is like calling an ox a bull. He’s thankful for the honor, but he’d much rather have restored what’s rightfully his.” Maybe I missed this anatomy lesson, but is he implying an ox is a castrated bull? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/2 "2012-11-01T17:56:41Z")
_An ox (plural oxen), also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable. Cows (adult females) or bulls (intact males) may also be used in some areas._ - from wiki. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/3 "2012-11-01T17:56:55Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Maybe I missed this anatomy lesson, but is he implying an ox is a castrated bull? [Yup.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox) ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/4 "2012-11-01T18:03:29Z")
Ok, so how is an ox different from a steer? ---
**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:** [November 1, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/5 "2012-11-01T18:14:40Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Ok, so how is an ox different from a steer? An ox is a draft animal. A steer is dinner. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/6 "2012-11-01T18:50:07Z")
It’s also hilariious if you are a Freemason. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/7 "2012-11-01T19:27:19Z")
When did you first notice they were missing, sir? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/8 "2012-11-01T19:33:43Z")
Right after I got married, Officer. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/9 "2012-11-01T19:52:35Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Ok, so how is an ox different from a steer? IANAAgronomist, but AIUI, oxen are typically castrated as adults. This allows their testosterone to build their muscle mass. Steers are castrated young, so that they fatten up and their muscles are tender, rather than tough. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/10 "2012-11-01T21:58:33Z")
IDNKT. Live and learn. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/11 "2012-11-02T02:47:26Z")
So, what’s the difference between a bull and a bullock? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/12 "2012-11-02T03:27:25Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So, what’s the difference between a bull and a bullock? Bollocks, apparently… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/13 "2012-11-02T11:51:30Z")
Okay, now I’m confused. I was always taught that an _ox_ is a casdtrated bull – it’s the very definition of the word. (And apparently one that **Junx** was unaware of – until now). The Wikipedia article, hpowever, reads: > [@](#): > > Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable. “commonly”? When the hell is an ox NOT castrated? If castration is not what makes a bull an ox, then what does the word “ox” mean? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/14 "2012-11-02T11:54:23Z")
Frank Costanza : Let me understand, you got the hen, the chicken and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So, who’s having sex with the hen? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/15 "2012-11-02T11:54:53Z")
A quick survey of on;line dictionaries lists the castrated definition, but also lists “a male bovine” as an alternate one, which I have never heard anyone use.\* Then there’s this: > [@](#): > > What Is an Ox? > by Drew Conroy > > An ox, to early American farmers who used the beast, was a mature castrated male belonging to the domestic cattle family, or genus Bos, most likely trained (like draft horses, some never got trained) to work, and at the end of its life inevitably used for meat. > > A steer, by contrast, is also a castrated male of the genus Bos, but is a younger animal that may not be trained, or may not be strong and mature enough for hard work. In the United States a steer is not considered an ox until it is four years old, by which time it is considered large enough and mature enough for any work required of it. > > In Australia and elsewhere, an ox is a called a “bullock.” Same beast, but a different culture. New England teamsters sometimes call oxen “bulls,” even though the animals have been castrated. > > To be culturally and historically accurate when defining an ox, we must use the “right” definition as provided by the Random House Dictionary, which says that an ox is “The adult castrated male of the genus Bos used as a draft animal and for food.” > > Although, by United States standards, this definition is correct culturally, historically, and scientifically, it has its problems. Only two species in the genus Bos used for work are called “oxen”—Bos indicus (Zebu-type cattle with humps) and Bos taurus, the European breeds (no humps). Other species in the genus Bos, such as yaks, may be worked, but are not called “oxen.” > > To define the word “ox” as encompassing all animals in the bovine family would include a lot of species that are not even domesticated. And it would include both males and females. This might be acceptable in some broad, casual context, but not if scrutinized by ox teamsters and agricultural historians in the United States. > > Most oxen weigh about the same as a mature bull of the same breed, but the ox grows taller and leaner in the neck and chest. The following breeds and crossbreeds are most commonly used as oxen in the United States today: [http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox\_paddock/ox\_whatis.htm](http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/ox_whatis.htm) \*The Cambridge Dictionary Online doesdn’t hve that second meaning – to them, an ox has to be castrated: [OX | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/ox) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/16 "2012-11-02T12:15:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So, what’s the difference between a bull and a bullock? > [@jayjay](#): > > Bollocks, apparently… _applause_ Bravo. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/17 "2012-11-02T12:57:06Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Frank Costanza : Let me understand, you got the hen, the chicken and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So, who’s having sex with the hen? Well . . . . :o ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/18 "2012-11-02T13:26:22Z")
God, I love the Dope. It’s like getting an education. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/19 "2012-11-02T13:59:25Z")
I honestly never knew that oxen were the same species as the cow. I thought it was similar to the difference between cows and buffalo. How in the world did I make it to maturity not knowing this? Cows are so plentiful here that there’s a field cows a block away from here. In either direction! ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596/20 "2012-11-02T14:46:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I honestly never knew that oxen were the same species as the cow. I thought it was similar to the difference between cows and buffalo. > > How in the world did I make it to maturity not knowing this? Cows are so plentiful here that there’s a field cows a block away from here. In either direction! LOL…err…cows are ladies. What you mean is “domestic cattle” of which there are many breeds. Although you are probably correct about the local bovines. Female cattle are the most ubiquitous because they give milk and people like that. Plus the lucky young ones as heifers get to meet the bull who…well you get the idea. Anyway then more cows and bull calves arrive. Mum (the cow) now lactates and spends the next 5 years or so being milked. The calves are either - and I’m sorry to explain this - slaughtered as bobby calves to provide veal and soft leather, or raised to be cows, bulls, or steers (or oxen but I’ve never seen this done in NZ). Having said that, dairy cattle do not make good beef so the boy calves really don’t get much life span. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-joke-funny-from-1776/639596.md?page=2)