After literally minutes of searching, I've found what appears to be a translation of the Facaetiae. I also went looking for the Alan Dundes Auschwitz jokes collection, but it wasn't freely available. Aw! Like I should pay for it?

Seems by looking date it was recorded it was only a happy coincidence.

Quoting kjkeys88: Seems by looking date it was recorded it was only a happy coincidence.

Good observation, kj. Right you are. Another bit of fun ruined by facts.

A superb diavlog; I found myself convulsing to the point of near seizure-like fits throughout. (aka laughing.) perfect bathroom viewing! One addendum, however: it seems to me that crying is the other human activity along with laughter that would appear absolutely baffling to the visiting extra-terrestrial. (well, that, and the success of Adam Sandler movies.)

Good conversation on Jewish humor. One essential thing that was left out is that Jewish humor is virtually exclusively the creation of Yiddish culture and should more accurately be called Ashkenazi humor. This is the humor that came out of European ghettos and shetls. It the humor of the culture exterminated by Hitler. Israeli culture, which deliberately distanced itself from Yiddish, and where the Ashkenazi population is the minority, is unlikely -- for better or for worse -- to produce anything like the great Jewish humorists of the past. A great no-holds-barred book on Yiddish culture and humor is Michael Wex's "Born to Kvetch."

Time to bring the comments section down into the gutter ... I wasn't going to until Jim took a shot at me (a descendent of a long line of Unitarians ... I myself am not one but will acknowledge that they could be right about things) with a form of my own personal favorite: How can you tell when an Asian has moved into the neighborhood? The Mexican's buy car insurance.

From the New York Times obit (he was actually just 98, according to NYT):

On a plane trip following the Republican National Convention in August, accompanied by, among others, John W. Dean 3d, the former White House counsel, Mr. Butz made a remark in which he described blacks as “coloreds” who wanted only three things — satisfying sex, loose shoes and a warm bathroom — desires that Mr. Butz listed in obscene and scatological terms.

Referring, of course, to "a tight pussy, loose shoes, and a warm place to shit."

Is it interesting that no part of the dialog about jokes mentions the dramatic use of humor in America to proselytize an ideology? Norman Lear's funding of Left causes is entirely based upon the fortune he made skewering the Right on television; Michael Moore's films also use humor to blast the Right. Jon Stewart's career; Bill Maher.

Magic Flea: I remember back when this happened, when Rolling Stone was the only big name news organization with enough guts to print that Butz joke verbatim. I've always held that as a big point in their favor. Good for you for not getting the vapors, either. Sometimes euphemisms just won't do.

http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/127...8&out=00:13:50

I wonder if Jim found any serious science to support the idea that humor is therapeutic. Could laughing be related biologically to healing? This notion, some will recall, was popular a few years ago in the writing of Norman Cousins:

Cousins also served as Adjunct Professor of Medical Humanities for the School of Medicine at the University of California, where he did research on the biochemistry of human emotions, which he long-believed were the key to human beings’ success in fighting illness. It was a belief he maintained even as he battled heart disease, which he fought both by taking massive doses of Vitamin C and, according to him, by training himself to laugh. He wrote a collection of best-selling non-fiction books on illness and healing, as well as a 1980 autobiographical memoir, Human Options: An Autobiographical Notebook. Late in life Cousins was diagnosed with a form of arthritis then called Marie-Strumpell's disease (Ankylosing Spondylitis--although this diagnosis is currently in doubt and it has been suggested that Cousins may actually have had Reactive arthritis). His struggle with this illness is detailed in the book and movie Anatomy of an Illness.

Told that

How's this for a tasteless joke: Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, ‘Where is that marvelous ape?’ --John McCain 1986 In the mother-of-all irony, the media has spent the past several months questioning Obama's character!!

A little known fact: Jim Holt moonlights as John McCain's joke writer: http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/127...7:24&out=27:32

Quoting Wonderment:
A great no-holds-barred book on Yiddish culture and humor is Michael Wex's "Born to Kvetch."

Heh. I heard Michael interviewed on NPR... sounded like a great book.
Then again, years ago I lived next door to a Sephardic couple from Portugal. So maybe their sense of humor wasn't top notch, but the food! (sigh. beautiful memories)

Hope I don't put the bhtv/NYT relationship in jeopardy.

Quoting uncle ebeneezer;
: When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, ‘Where is that marvelous ape?’ --John McCain 1986

In '08, McCain should try a better ending ... the doctor asks if it hurts to which the victim replies (paraphrasing) "Does it hurt? He doesn't write, he doesn't call!!!" Extricating myself from the gutter, I just completed a refresher on what I think are completely reasonable harrassment laws in CA. Basically, if a reasonable person could be offended by your jokes, you're exposed. However, it is indeed ok to tell the joke if everyone who hears it (including eavesdroppers) is not offended. In other words, it's ok to tell a blond joke to a woman or a joke about blacks to an African American if indeed they, or anyone within earshot, are not offended. How would people feel if those rules were in play on internet forums?

Heh. I heard Michael interviewed on NPR... sounded like a great book.

It really is. He is one of very few relatively young bicultural native speakers left. Today's native speakers of Yiddish are almost all ultra-Orthodox and unlikely to be willing or able to interpret Yiddish culture to a secular public. The Jewish humor derived from Ashkenazi Yiddish culture, however, really is pervasive in American culture. One of the problems with "Seinfeld" and "Curb your Enthusiasm" is that there are no plausibly Gentile characters. George Constanza (Jason Alexander) and his parents, for example, just don't make it as Christians, and Cheryl, Larry David's wife in "CYE," comes across as a Jewish woman pretending to be a stereotypical Christian. Maybe everyone has an Ashkenazi sense of humor now, along with a Jewish mother.

Quoting Magic Flea: Referring, of course, to "a tight pussy, loose shoes, and a warm place to shit."

You would be well on your way to happiness if you had those three things. Why do racists think they are insulting blacks for having normal desires? Same goes for watermelon and fried chicken. I love watermelon - and I have regularly gotten take out at Harold's Chicken Shack (something unique to Chicago - even has an unofficial blog). What kind of white guy am I?

I thought this was a good Mathematician joke: Q: How do you tell if a Mathematician is an extrovert? A: He looks a _your_ shoes when he talks to you.

The only joke I ever remember is not quite suitable for polite company, so here goes: A prince is getting to the age where he needs to get married and produce an heir, so he summons all of the most beautiful women in the land to his palace for a ball. He narrows his choice down to three stunning princesses but he just can't choose between them, so he devises a test. He gives each of them 100 gold pieces, thanks them for a lovely evening and tells them they are free to leave. One week later he summons them back to the palace. He asks the first one "What did you do with the 100 gold pieces?" She says "Your Highness, I spent it all on magnificent gowns and jewelry to make myself even more beautiful." He then asks the second princess the same question, to which she replies "Your Highness, I gave it all to the poor, who need it more than I." Finally he asks the third princess what she did with the 100 gold peices. She anwers "Your Highness, I put it all in the bank to save for the future." So which

Very enjoyable diavlog. I lived a version of the "Pretentious? Moi?" joke. Back in college a friend of mine objected to my "pedanticness."
"'Pedantry,' you mean," I shot back. Then after a pause I had to laugh at myself (unfortunately no one else thought it was as funny as I did). Has anyone else read Freud's Jokebook (_Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious_?) I did a long time ago. It's a real scream -- there are some really good Jewish Jokes.
The one I sitll remember is the one about the Schadchen (marriage broker) who takes the family of the prospective groom to see the prospective bride's family. The Schadchen keeps pointing out the fancy china and crystal etc. that the family have about the house to demonstrate that they are a wealthy family.
The father of the groom eventually says, "yes, but they might just have borrowed all this stuff."
The Schadchen replies, "Are you kidding? Who would lend these people anything!"
Jim's book sounds good -- I'll look for it. (Is there a Kindle edition?)

I prefer Mr. Ford's version.

Quoting HarryLime: The only joke I ever remember is not quite suitable for polite company, so here goes:

A prince is getting to the age where he needs to get married and produce an heir, so he summons all of the most beautiful women in the land to his palace for a ball. He narrows his choice down to three stunning princesses but he just can't choose between them, so he devises a test. He gives each of them 100 gold pieces, thanks them for a lovely evening and tells them they are free to leave. One week later he summons them back to the palace. He asks the first one "What did you do with the 100 gold pieces?" She says "Your Highness, I spent it all on magnificent gowns and jewelry to make myself even more beautiful." He then asks the second princess the same question, to which she replies "Your Highness, I gave it all to the poor, who need it more than I." Finally he asks the third princess what she did with the 100 gold peices. She anwers "Your Highness, I put it all in the bank to save for the future." So which

Quoting AemJeff:
Speaking of esoteric knowledge, in responding to someone who had adopted the name "Harry Lime," I feel a need to ask whether or not you're aware that the Swiss have never made cuckoo clocks?

So what you're saying then is that in 500 years of brotherly love, peace, and democracy, the Swiss produced absolutely nothing of value, correct? ;>

Eh, that wasn't bad. Of course, I laughed out loud reading the description of a proposed SNL skit by Al Franken that concerned an Andy Rooney monologue about raping Leslie Stahl and Mike Wallace. According to both the people quoted in the linked article and another piece by Michael Kinsley, this skit is terribly offensive and unfunny. I'll concede the first point but strongly dispute the second.

Quoting nyc123: I thought this was a good Mathematician joke:

Q: How do you tell if a Mathematician is an extrovert?

A: He looks a _your_ shoes when he talks to you.

Good one! I laughed anyway.

Will's comment that he can't remember jokes reminds me of a new book from magician/joke teller Michael Closes titled THAT REMINDS ME. It has some clunkers, to be sure, and things you've heard before, but it also has some funny jokes on a variety of topics. My favorite Jewish joke is the one about the guy on a desert island. Rescuers one day come and notice he has three huts. Why? "Well, that first hut is the one I sleep in; the second hut is the temple I go to." What about the third one? "That's the temple I refuse to go to." Which reminds me of grandmother, a funny lady. I was with her when the doctor explained she had cancer and Alzheimer's. She was surprisingly chipper though, exclaiming, "Well, at least I don't have cancer!" Which reminds me of my grandfather and why I got offended by some of the Holocaust "humor" in this diavlog. He died in a concentration camp... he was drunk and fell out of a guard tower. Which reminds me of a politically incorrect joke from the Close book:

A man is sitting watching a football game. He says to his wife, "Get me a beer." She says, "Get your own damn

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: So what you're saying then is that in 500 years of brotherly love, peace, and democracy, the Swiss produced absolutely nothing of value, correct? ;>

Yeah, who do they think they are? The Borgias? Heh. I knew I couldn't be the only one!

Eh, that wasn't bad. Of course, I laughed out loud reading the description of a proposed SNL skit by Al Franken that concerned an Andy Rooney monologue about raping Leslie Stahl and Mike Wallace. According to both the people quoted in the linked article and another piece by Michael Kinsley, this skit is terribly offensive and unfunny. I'll concede the first point but strongly dispute the second.

It's interesting when the joke backfires or offends. The joke establishes intimacy, a social bond, but it often has that erotic component that makes it resemble a sexual advance. Maybe that explains all the wild laughter, like you're getting tickled. But when the advance is rejected, other strong emotions emerge: the cold "I don't get it"; the "ewww, that's disgusting"; the rejection ("I don't like off-color jokes or jokes about women/gays/ethnicities") and often rage and feeling of violation (sometimes as a response to a joke that's openly about sexual violence).

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: Eh, that wasn't bad. Of course, I laughed out loud reading the description of a proposed SNL skit by Al Franken that concerned an Andy Rooney monologue about raping Leslie Stahl and Mike Wallace. According to both the people quoted in the linked article and another piece by Michael Kinsley, this skit is terribly offensive and unfunny. I'll concede the first point but strongly dispute the second.

Could this be a graphic example ot the line between parody and sexism? While neither example is considered appropriate today, The Franken bit is different in that it is a parody of Rooney saying things he would never say, While the Mccain joke is direct sexism, as it is about a nebulous woman having enjoyed the violation.
Of course, your real point is nothing but an attack on Al Franken, in response to an attack on a perceived media bias toward Mccain. Kind of like attacking Iraq in response to an attack by Saudi terrorists trained in Afghanistan. So... nice metaphor! I almost missed it... for a second I thought you were some kind of a wingnut that couldn't miss an opportunity to nullify an inappropriate

Quoting handle: Could this be a graphic example ot the line between parody and sexism?

While neither example is considered appropriate today, The Franken bit is different in that it is a parody of Rooney saying things he would never say, While the Mccain joke is direct sexism, as it is about a nebulous woman having enjoyed the violation.

So the McCain joke would've been okay if, rather than being about a nebulous woman, it would've been about a well-known female enjoying being raped? I don't find your distinction very convincing. I'm of the opinion that rape -- like dead babies, child molestation, genocide, mental retardation, and whatever else -- can be a topic for humor. See George Carlin, Monty Python, and early SNL for notable examples.

Of course, your real point is nothing but an attack on Al Franken, in response to an attack on a perceived media bias toward Mccain.

Yes, that's exactly what I was doing. Notice how I cleverly admitted that the description of the Franken sketch made me laugh out loud. What an effective attack I made!

Thank the great metaphor-for-the-unknown you provided proof by linking to the fair and balanced channel (50% partisan intent backed by 50% agenda driven

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: So the McCain joke would've been okay if, rather than being about a nebulous woman, it would've been about a well-known female enjoying being raped? I don't find your distinction very convincing.

Omit the word nebulous, and read it again, if you still don't get it, I not going to waste any more time.

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: I'm of the opinion that rape -- like dead babies, child molestation, genocide, mental retardation, and whatever else -- can be a topic for humor. See George Carlin, Monty Python, and early SNL for notable examples.

And should help a political career?

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: Yes, that's exactly what I was doing. Notice how I cleverly admitted that the description of the Franken sketch made me laugh out loud. What an effective attack I made!

I never said it was effective..

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: Did you read either article? It's not Fox News that originally reported the Franken joke, they quoted the description from a 1995 profile in New York Magazine. That 1995 profile doesn't appear to be online. Kinsley quoted the Fox News report, and I did the same. If you have evidence that Fox made up the New York Magazine quote, please provide it.

Dug up is more like it, reading it is why I saw it as agenda driven research.

Quoting Thus Spoke Elvis: Why that should matter

I laughed for around an hour straight when I heard this joke the first time although the punchline in the version I heard was "a chicken".

Classic scrawl on the bathroom wall I once saw back in the day: "Save the Russian Jews" to which someone had appended "and win valuable prizes."

How about a religious joke? A young boy who attended public school received his report card-he got all D's and an F in math. So his parents put him in a Catholic school.
When they got his first report card, they were shocked to see that he had straight A's. They asked the boy what accounted for the drastic improvement. The boy replied, "My first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they meant business here!"

Quoting Wonderment: It's interesting when the joke backfires or offends. The joke establishes intimacy, a social bond, but it often has that erotic component that makes it resemble a sexual advance. Maybe that explains all the wild laughter, like you're getting tickled.

But when the advance is rejected, other strong emotions emerge: the cold "I don't get it"; the "ewww, that's disgusting"; the rejection ("I don't like off-color jokes or jokes about women/gays/ethnicities") and often rage and feeling of violation (sometimes as a response to a joke that's openly about sexual violence).

That's an evocative metaphor: humor (some forms, at any rate) as seduction. I'd never really thought about it in exactly those terms before. But it really fits and even, to a degree, seems to explain the function of transgression and the associated risk. The metaphor works regardless of whether the underlying joke has any overt sexual content (there's all sorts of ways to be transgressive, of course.)

Quoting themightypuck: I laughed for around an hour straight when I heard this joke the first time although the punchline in the version I heard was "a chicken".

I've heard a lot of versions, and one of the interesting features of this particular joke is that it's open to a huge number of punchlines. For reasons that I couldn't clearly explain if asked to, I think the best, most canonical form is the one I used. Your mileage may vary.

Finally, the jokes start flowing. Math Joke: i and Pi are deep in an argument when i throws his hands up in disgust and exclaims "C'mon, be rational!" but is immediately rebuffed when Pi retorts "Get real dude!" Joke my then 8 year old made up: I told him people sold houses on e-Bay (he was heavy into Pokemon card trading and was quite familiar with the concept). He expressed surprise, thought for a second and then asked "Do they charge shipping and handling for that?" Joke I made up: I was surprised to be told that there are actually Libertarians in favor of CA's new hands free cell phone requirements (apparently, they feel that slow drivers in front of them are violating their "liberty"). My position ... "Tell them to get their own road then." Then of course, there is the greatest joke ever:

Religious Jokes Thread: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/forums/viewthread/1397/

Will Wilkinson: Master of Comic Timing

Given his alleged lack of cooking skills and clear lack of comic timing, I've got to figure Will really knows how to satisfy a woman.

To Jim & Will: Love your diavlog! Here's one: Two Martian ethologists on their way back from an expedition to Earth... One says to the other: "Amazing, isn't it, how, every 12-15 minutes, these creatures stop their interactions, open their jaws, bare their teeth, and engage in rhythmic expiratory noises, before resuming their previous interactions." The other says: "Ah those Earthlings! They're always good for a laugh."