If we asked you think of one funny thing right now, you’d understand the trouble of developing original content in a time like this. There is quite a transition that humor takes from being a witty statement to a full-fledged joke.  

This might come as a bit of a shock to most millennials out there – but there was a time when jokes were not purely contained to tiny images a.k.a memes. They came in a variety of shapes and sizes, and some types went on to attain a classic status as well as a category of its own.

What do I meme? It’s a funny little story, so take a trip down memory lane to revisit jokes of the past.

 

1) Traditional jokes

The widest category of them all, these include everything from knock knock, anecdotal, blonde, etc. This list could honestly go on forever, but some of the favourites that feature even on today’s comedy scene include:

Knock Knock –

Knock knock

Who’s there?

Cows go

Cows go who?

Cows go moo.

Anecdotal jokes –

As is evident from the title, these are funny stories derived from your personal experiences. For example –

Honey, both that journalist and the engineer proposed to our daughter!

So who’s the lucky man?

The engineer. Our daughter married the journalist

A man walks into a bar –

These jokes come with various alternate endings, and the blindingly obvious or unrelated punchlines are what have kept them going. It’s mostly either one man, a couple of men, and since the rise of feminism – a woman.

A man walks into a bar….and breaks his nose.

 

2) Vocabulary

Why stop at using the language to crack people up? Take a few cracks at the language itself, and you’ve got a whole new arena of jokes to explore! Puns, Wordplay, Satires, Irony, etc. are all different genres of jokes under this arena. We must admit, they are quite punny.

Puns –

What do you call a dinosaur with an impressive vocabulary?

A thesaurus.

Word play –

What is the difference between a snowman and snowwoman?

Snowballs.

Irony –

The word came into English as a figure of speech in the 16th century as similar to the French ironie. It derives from the Latin ironia and ultimately from the Greek εἰρωνεία eirōneía, meaning dissimulation, ignorance purposely affected. In simple words, remarking at the rhetoric of the situation. These jokes can often get dark, as visible below.

Wouldn’t it be funny if a person dies in the living room?

 

3) Cultural Jokes

These don’t necessarily mean the mocking of a person’s culture, however stereotypes, situational jokes and mostly pop culture references do fall under this category. It isn’t necessarily a bad genre in jest, and often represents a better assimilation into the culture and language.

Stereotypical Jokes –

These jokes basically target a demographic based on anything ranging from colour, gender, profession, etc. Since they started triggering a lot of people the wrong way, it’s best to avoid them outside a predetermined safe circle.

An Irish man walked into a bar with his American friend. Frustrated with all the Irish jokes, he said – “These jokes make me so mad! I will do something about it – once I finish my beer.”

Pop Culture Jokes –

Relevant to the contemporary times, these jokes are usually made depending on whatever the audience can relate to at that point of time, and especially on what’s trending.

Why did Adele cross the road?

To sing Hello from the other side

 

4) Parodies

The most practical form of jokes, this genre includes slapstick comedy, pranks, stand-up comedy and everything that is a comic imitation of someone or something. It borders on mockery, and usually ridicules an artist, his endeavour or a genre widely. Parodies in today’s times are usually performed as comedy sketches on social media, or by comedians performing stand-up, such as – Russell Peters, Vir Das, etc.

People usually tend to differ on categories when it comes to classifying these jokes, and most seem insistent on the inclusion of dirty jokes (sexual innuendos and such)! Whichever way you might go, remember that a joke is only funny as long as it gets across clearly and in the manner you intended. Or you might end up as the laughing stock yourself.

If you don’t believe me, check out these famous companies that skipped proofreading to give their PR team a nightmare!