Lightbulb joke
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]
Early versions of the joke, popular in the late 1960s and the 1970s, were used to insult the intelligence of Poles ("Polish jokes").[3][4] For instance:
- Q. How many Polacks does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. Three—one to hold the light bulb and two to turn the ladder.
In Germany the same joke is told about East Frisians, with the difference that the one who holds the bulb is standing on a table turned by four of his compatriots.[citation needed]
Although lightbulb jokes tend to be derogatory in tone (e.g., "How many drummers..." / "Four: one to hold the light bulb and three to drink until the room spins"), 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]
Variations
Many versions of the joke are puns on the words "change"[7] or "screw":[8]
- How many psychiatrists [or, in a less common but more accurate version, psychologists] does it take to change a light bulb?
- None–the light bulb will change when it's ready or One, but the light bulb has to want to change.[9][10]
Lightbulb jokes may be responses to current events, particularly those related to energy and political power.[11] For example, the lightbulb may not be changed at all due to ongoing power outages.[12] The Village Voice held a $200 lightbulb joke contest around the time of the Iran hostage crisis, with the winning joke being:[13]
- How many Iranians does it take to change a light bulb?
- You send us the prize money and we'll tell you the answer.
The following joke is a cross-over of the dick joke and the lightbulb one:
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How many Freudians does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to screw in the bulb and the other one to hold the penis, er - ladder! [14]
References
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- ↑ Dundes, 261.
- ↑ Kerman, 454–5.
- ↑ Kerman, 456–7.
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- ↑ Dundes in Boskin, 255–6.
- ↑ Dundes in Boskin, 253–5.
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- ↑ Dundes in Boskin, 255.
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- ↑ Dundes, 264.
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Notes
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Alan Dundes (1981). "Many Hands Make Light Work or Caught in the Act of Screwing in Light Bulbs". In Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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