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da:Vittighed de:Witz nl:grap sv:skämt ru:Анекдот A joke is a short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorous by the listener or reader. This sort of "joke" is not the same as a practical joke. Laughter, the intended human reaction to jokes, is healthy, uses the stomach muscles, and releases endorphins, natural happiness-inducing chemicals, into the bloodstream. Daily laughter is recommended to every human being. Jokes have been the subject of serious academic study, a notable example being Sigmund Freud's "Jokes and Their Relationship to the Unconscious".
Types of jokes
Jokes often depend for humour on the unexpected, the mildly taboo (which can include the mildly distasteful or socially incorrect), or the playing on stereotypes and other cultural myths. Many jokes fit into more than one category. Sexist jokesA sexist joke is one that expresses the sexist belief that one gender or sex is somehow superior to the other. Examples
Blonde jokesBlonde jokes are jokes about people, generally women, who have blonde hair and are assumed not to be very smart. These jokes are generally considered to be derogatory, but are usually taken with good humor. They are usually variants on traditional ethnic jokes. Examples
Dirty jokesA dirty joke is one that depends for all or part of its humour on reference to taboo sexual content. Many dirty jokes are also sexist. Many jokes from other categories are dirty. The effect of the dirty joke may be enhanced by the addition of further taboos, as in the subgenre of nun jokes. Example
Note that this joke involves a pun (the word "wears" for "where's") as well as the sexual taboo. Another subgenre is that of unmet expectations, in which the joke is the absence of the sexual content which the audience has been led to expect. Example
Little Johnny jokesMain article: Little Johnny. Little Johnny jokes are about a small boy who likes to ask innocent questions and has a very straightforward thinking. At times he is all too well educated in the terminology of sex, then he is known as "Dirty Johnny", while at others he is all too innocent. He also has cousins across the world, Dirty Ernie, Spanish Jaimito, Brazilian Joãozinho, Russian Vovochka, Czech Pepíček and Italian Pierino.
Ethnic jokesEthnic humor is particular to a certain ethnic group or culture and may or may not be the same as an ethnic joke. An ethnic joke relies for humorous effect on peculiarities of a particular ethnicity, real or imaginary. Many of them rely on stereotypes about particular ethnicities, often those from different (neighbour) nations or minorities. For example Finns tell jokes about Swedes and Gypsies. Sometimes they are considered in good taste, meant to poke fun at or about another culture, while other times they are considered offensive or racist. Sometimes the difference between the two judgements is in the nature of the joke, and sometimes the difference is in the perception of those hearing it. In an attempt to preserve the humor of ethnic jokes without their derogatory nature, on rare occasions such jokes are told with the word ethnic or some variant in place of the nationality of the subject. For example: "Two ethnics are out duck hunting. They hunt and hunt and hunt and still have not killed one duck. Finally, ethnic #1 says to ethnic #2: 'Maybe we'd do better if we threw the dog up higher.' " Another twist is letting people of that same target group enjoy a monopoly on telling jokes about themselves. Many ethnic jokes appear in several cultures with nothing changed except the group being disparaged. For example, many American jokes about Poles, Canadian jokes about Newfoundlanders, British jokes about the Irish, and Indian jokes about Sikhs are identical except for the ethnic group which is the subject of the joke. A traditional British form of ethnic joke starts "An Englishman, an Irishman, and a Scotsman … " and may go on to make fun of any of the three by comparison with the other two. A very special case is Jewish jokes. The humour of them is very specific. Also the form is very unusual in many languages using slang words from the Jewish community. The purpose of these jokes is not discreditation of Jews. Jewish jokes are favourite even among Jews. Examples
See also: Newfie, Molbo story, Russian joke: Ethnic stereotypes Jokes about animalsJokes about animals have signs of fable. The animals, which live in the forest, behave like humans. They are depicted with human properties. A fox is usually clever, bear strong and hare astute and cheeky. Example
Yo' mama jokesMain article: The dozens. Jokes of this kind originate in the dozens, an African-American custom with West African roots in which two competitors -- usually males -- go head to head in a competition of comedic, often ribald, trash talk. The target of the traded insults is most often the opponents' mothers, but can involve other family members, as well. Political jokesPolitical jokes tell about politicians and heads of states. Examples
See also: You have two cows Question - answerOften posed as a common riddle, the answer is twisted humorously. Q: What is black and white and read (red) all over? A1: A newspaper. (The oldest and most common answer, because red is also the pronunciation of read; this class of joke works only when spoken aloud so that which homophone is meant is misconstrued because of the inclusion of other colors.) A2: A bloody skunk. (A Penguin, a nun, or any likely wearer of a tuxedo are often also used in place of a skunk. Also "sunburnt" can be used in place of "bloody". This is funny primarily because most people are familiar with the older joke and expect the interpretation to be "read" rather than "red".) A3: A blind nun reading a cheese-grater. (This is a less tasteful variant on A2.) A4: A Goth on her Period and so on
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Although perhaps the most famous of all jokes in the English language, this joke is a Non-joke, in that its humor value comes from the fact that it is expected to be funny. Additionally, it is rarely told on its own, but it is referenced, modified, or parodied in a number of other jokes.
Elephant jokesUsually a riddle of the form "Why did the elephant...?", where the answer is ridiculously impossible. Examples
Dead baby jokesA subgenre of jokes derives their humor simply from violating taboos and being so blatantly offensive in their subject matter that (for some) the situation becomes funny, not macabre. A staple of these jokes and the source of the name is dead babies, a subject which would usually be considered the opposite of "funny." A fair number of the jokes are derivations of each other, told in sequence for maximum effect. Others derive their humor from the implication that the teller knows from personal experience. These sorts typically work best in a verbal rather than a written context. Examples
Profession-targeted jokesThese target the perceived flaws of people in certain trades. Lawyer jokes are traditionally popular in the United States. Example
Italians trade jokes about the Carabinieri national police force, and this fact is rather good-humouredly acknowledged even in the force's own website, probably because the Carabinieri know that, jokes aside, they do enjoy a high degree of respect. Carabinieri are factually known to be occasionally willing to tell a few such jokes themselves. It is also known that they have a small office in Rome devoted to tracking, developing and collecting jokes (but this is a joke). Example
Shaggy dog storiesA shaggy dog story is an extremely long and involved joke with a weak or completely nonexistent punchline. The humor lies in building up the audience's anticipation and then letting them down completely. Shaggy jokes appear to date from the 1930s, although there are several competing variants for the "original" shaggy dog story. According to one, an advertisement is placed in a newspaper, searching for the shaggiest dog in the world. The teller of the joke then relates the story of the search for the shaggiest dog in extreme and exaggerated detail (flying around the world, climbing mountains, fending off sabre-toothed tigers, etc); a good teller will be able to stretch the story out to over half an hour. When the winning dog is finally presented, the advertiser takes a look at the dog and states: "I don't think he's so shaggy". You have two cowsA large number of jokes, beginning "You have two cows...", describe what would be done with the cows under a certain political or economic system. The jokes satirize many countries, television shows, religions, and systems, especially bureaucracy, communism, and capitalism. Examples
Other classes of jokes
See also
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