A lightbulb joke is a joke that asks how many people of a certain group are needed to change, replace, or screw in a light bulb. Generally, the punch line answer highlights a stereotype of the target group. There are numerous versions of the lightbulb joke satirizing a wide range of cultures, beliefs and occupations.[1][2]
The original formulations of the joke, popular in the late 1960s and the 1970s, were used to insult the intelligence of Poles.[3][4] For instance:
- Q. How many Poles does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. Three—one to hold the light bulb and two to turn the ladder.
Although lightbulb jokes tend to be derogatory in tone, the people targeted by them may take pride in the stereotypes expressed and are often themselves the jokes' originators.[5] Lightbulb jokes applied to subgroups can be used to ease tensions between them.[6]
Notable cases
The Village Voice held a $200 lightbulb joke contest around the time of the Iran hostage crisis. The winning joke was:
- Q. How many Iranians does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. You send us the prize money and we'll tell you the answer.[7]
References
- Alan Dundes (1981). "Many Hands Make Light Work or Caught in the Act of Screwing in Light Bulbs". Western Folklore 40 (3): 261. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1499697.
- Judith B. Kerman (1980). "The Light-Bulb Jokes: Americans Look at Social Action Processes". The Journal of American Folklore 93 (370). http://www.jstor.org/stable/539876. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ Elaine Viets (1991-09-04). "Light Bulb Jokes: Screwed-Up Humor". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SL&p_theme=sl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB04D52E02E46F3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D. Retrieved 2007-12-14. "Some light bulb jokes make fun of ethnic groups, gays and women. Others shed light on certain professions..."
- ^ "How Many Students Does It Take...". New York Times. 2004-11-07. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/education/edlife/117JOK.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/C/Comedy%20and%20Humor&pagewanted=print&position=. Retrieved 2007-12-14. "Colleges have become the theme of at least one chestnut: the lightbulb joke."
- ^ Dundes, 261.
- ^ Kerman, 454–5.
- ^ Kerman, 456–7.
- ^ Richard M. Grimes (1996). "Shedding Light on Public Health". Journal of Public Health Policy 17 (1): 99–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3342661. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ Dundes, 264.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
