That car looks nice but the muffler seems exhausted. When Dad Jokes lead to paintball violence…
Are you the type of guy, or girl, who loves to tell a good Dad Joke? You know, the kind where the bigger the groan, the greater the success? Maybe something along the lines of:
Did you hear about the guy who stole a calendar? He got 12 months.
What do you call a fish with no eyes? A Fsh
Boy: Dad, did you get a haircut? Dad: No, I got them all cut!
I am. Though personally, I tend to lean more toward the pun than the joke; throwing out as many as I can, as fast as I can!
Or are you the someone who loathes Dad Jokes? In the past, friends have threatened to shoot me if I said one more pun, though thankfully it was on the paintball field! So I decided to fire off one more. A good pun is all about the execution, I always say! And yes, I did end up with a number of extra welts that day!
It does surprise me a little though that Dad Jokes seem to have developed such a bad reputation. Even the name is intended to be somewhat disparaging; following along the line of a very obvious trend in advertising where the Dad is generally always the goofy, hopeless mess-up, there to be saved or generally pitied by their much maligned wives! But why do some people (i.e. mostly Dads) love them while others treat them so disparagingly?
Do boxes full of Dad Jokes exist? Judging from the amount of laughter in this picture (and the male’s urge to touch), yes they do! Photo by Nicole Michalou from Pexels
They can be goofy, certainly, and need explaining at times. But that alone should not justify the rough treatment they often receive. Admittedly, they are not as good as a well-crafted routine by a stand-up on their game! But nor do most backyard BBQ’s compare with a meal from a hatted restaurant, or a home reno job come up quite as good as a professional interior-design make over, but that doesn’t mean we should throw out the tongs or hang up the toolbelt for good. And nor can we always have a professional comedian on hand to help us laugh.
For me, there are three things that are great about Dad Jokes, though I’m sure you can think of more!
We can all stand to laugh (or groan, as it may be) more. Life can be pretty stressful if we let it. In a world of 8 billion people, bad things happen all the time, and our daily news feeds love telling us all about it. Any chance to have a chuckle, is a healthy way to help step outside of the negativity bubble we can otherwise find ourselves in. As an aside, good things happen all the time too. For some reason we just don’t spend as much time talking about those.
Dad Jokes are harmless. They’re all about play on words and language which, let’s face it, can be pretty absurd at times. Unlike lots of some other forms of humour (I’m talking about you sarcasm), they don’t rely on putting others down or making fun of minority groups. So they hold up better than some other forms of humour.
Dad Jokes are inclusive. You don’t have to be a Dad, or even a man to tell a half-decent Dad Joke. You certainly don’t have to be a comedian, or even particularly funny! You just have to observe the inconsistencies and peculiarities of language and celebrate them.
Humourous banana dad joke? Yes please! Photo by A Koolshooter from Pexels
In these ways I think the simple Dad Joke can be quite powerful. But we must remember that, with great power comes great responsibility! Just like the relative that retells the same story every time you have visited them for the past thirty years, the same Dad Joke told too often can get tedious. And, while humour can be great at lifting the mood, sometimes we, or those around us, need to spend a bit of time with unpleasant emotions like grief or hurt to properly process them. Trying to force a laugh too early in these situations is not the best choice. So, go forth and tell Dad Jokes with pride, but do so responsibly; keep your Dad Jokes fresh and pick your timing!
What side of the Dad Joke fence do you sit? If you have one you’re particularly proud of, please share!