Dead baby jokes are a joke cycle reflecting dark comedy. The joke is presented in riddle form, beginning with a what question and concluded with a grotesque punch line answer.[1]

History

According to the folklorist scholar Alan Dundes, the dead baby joke cycle likely began in the early 1960s.[1] Dundes theorizes that the origin of the dead baby joke lies in the rise of second-wave feminism in the U.S. during that decade and its rejection of the traditional societal role for women, which included support for legalized abortion and contraceptives.[2][3] It has also been suggested that the jokes emerged in response to images of graphic violence, often involving infants, from the Vietnam War.[4]

Examples

What's the difference between a truckload of dead babies and a truckload of bowling balls?
With bowling balls you can't use pitchforks.[5]

What's more fun than nailing a baby to a post?
Ripping it off again.[6]

What's bright blue, pink, and sizzles?
A baby breastfeeding on an electrical outlet.[6]

How do you get 100 dead babies into a box?
With a blender![6]

How do you get them out of the box?
With nacho chips![6]

How many babies does it take to paint a house?
Depends on how hard you throw them.[6]

Why did the dead baby cross the road?
Because it was stapled to the chicken.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Alan Dundes (July 1979). "The Dead Baby Joke Cycle". Western Folklore. 38 (3): 145–157. doi:10.2307/1499238. JSTOR 1499238. PMID 11633558.
  2. ↑ "Jokes are a serious, 'psychic' business", San Francisco Examiner
  3. ↑ "That's Not Funny - That's Sick // Folklorist Alan Dundes looks at the serious side of sick jokes". St. Petersburg Times. 2 December 1987.
  4. ↑ Bronner, Simon J. (1988). American Children's Folklore. august house. pp. 127. ISBN 9780874830682.
  5. ↑ McWhorter, Diane (Spring 1977). "An Ugly Joke: "Dead Babies" // Dead Babies by Martin Amis". The North American Review. University of Northern Iowa. 262 (1). JSTOR 25117878.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Warner, Andrew (2008). P.S. Dead Baby Jokes Aren't Funny: The Grotesque in Sick Humor (M.A.). Truman State University.
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