How to Kill a Joke

There’s a joke I love, but finding the right audience for it is almost impossible. When I first heard it, I laughed heartily while glaring at the teller. Sure, it was funny to me, but the teller defied social convention in saying it. Ever since hearing this joke, I’ve only managed a successful retelling once or twice, but each time was well worth the effort. The joke is this:

Three pregnant women are in a doctor’s waiting room, knitting. The first mother checks her watch and takes a pill from her purse. Popping it in her mouth, she smiles, and tells the other mothers “Vitamin A. Good for mom, good for baby!” and continues knitting. Then the second mother takes a pill out and swallows it, beaming, saying “Vitamin B, good for mom, good for baby.” She resumes her knitting. The third mother takes a pill, smiles, and says “Thalidomide… I can’t knit sleeves.”

For some, the punchline to this joke falls flat. Others react with shock and disgust. Finding a listener who both understand the joke and thinks that it is funny is quite difficult, but immensely rewarding. Before explaining the format of the joke, or why anyone would find it funny, the requisite knowledge for understanding it needs to be explained.

All jokes rely on the listener being familiar with elements of the joke, which are in most cases simple. This joke, on the other hand, has highly specific familiarity requirements, mostly because the punchline relies on the person’s familiarity with the drug thalidomide. If the listener hasn’t heard of the drug before, or is unfamiliar with its notorious effects, the entire joke is ruined, and none of it is funny. To them, the punchline is simply a non-sequitur.

The joke has the potential to be funny to someone with more knowledge o...

... middle of paper ...

...thers included,) I can’t be sure that they wouldn’t feel targeted.

This joke is shocking to many, offensive to some, and understood by very few, making it a very bad joke to have in your back pocket for your next dinner party. The joke is, however, funny when taken in the correct context and when paired with the correct knowledge. Assuming the listener is familiar with the effects of thalidomide, the humor in this joke comes from the shock value of the statement made my the third mother, the absurdity of the situation that woman has pur herself in, and the incongruity between her comment and those of the other moms. The most the teller can hope for in the listener is a laugh followed by a wave of shame for having enjoyed the joke. Letting this wave pass by, or combatting it, can be a freeing experience for the two parties, and may even contribute to the joke’s humor.