Moberly Area Community College - Mojuco Yearbook (Moberly, MO)

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lady comes hobbling along the poorly lighted hallway and reaches for the first step only to fall all the way to the basement. Waiting for her as she lands is Johnny and all his little friends of the neighborhood, who have come in to see the fun. Granny promptly belts Johnny over the ears with the stair- case and everyone is happy. The joke was highly successful, it drew a large crowd, and both parties got a good laugh. Now isn't that practical? THE AFTER DINNER JOKE Another very unfunny form of joke is that used by the after dinner speaker. Imposing upon the good nature of the audience after a fine meal he begins, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, and my friends . . . A polite murmur of amusement fol- lows from the audience. When I came in here tonight, only' God and I knew what I was going to say, and now only God knows. At this point the serene look of self-satisfaction on the speak- er's face signals for a general outburst of appreciative laughter. And so, his duty done, he lapses into his prepared speech, and the audience, having failed to hear the new one that they hope for, goes back to sleep. THE FUNNY JOKE, NOW OBSOLETE Now, after dwelling so long in the sodden humor of various types of jokes, we come to the type that gives the supreme thrill of the deep throated laugh, This rarest of rare types is that which can be called the truly funny joke. But alas, all I can think of are the ones that have been repeated so many times they are almost legends. Never having heard a joke of this type, I probably wouldn't recognize one if I heard it. Yet many people have the colossal crust to practically pin a per- son down in order to pass on the lat- est one, probably told about 15 million times, and then start explaining the in- tended point until the victim catches on H A favorite way of baiting a trap for an unwary thinker is to ask a suppos- edly normal question as What two kinds of wood made a match ? Then after several minutes of wracking his brain for a sensible answer, the poor fellow gives up only to blush with shame when the joking individual deri- sively says, He would and she would, of course! Now, maybe you too will believe that the word joke is the most frequently misused in the English lan- guage. ONE HUNDRED Fully Auto-matic Heat With a Combustioneer Stoker MOBEBLY ARTIFICIAL ICE COMPANY Moberly, Mo. Tot cmd Teen Shop 505 West Reed St. Moberly, Mo. Youth's Style Center Compliments of GoIdmcm's Store :EEEEZEE ,.:: .EEZ Il: E. E . .,., flu: flgll vdfbif Battle ' I When you get thirsty the bright 7- Up sign nivites you to fresh up with a chilled bottle of 7-Up. The familiar bottle is your guarantee of the drink that likes you. '7-Up North Missouri Co. 701 Concannon St. Phaonef 1707 Mdberly ELEVEN

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Ioke -- The Much Misused Word CBy Elbert Stringerj From The Moberly Mirror of February 6, 1942 AUTHOR'S NOTE fThe information contained herein is not entirely factual and does not neces- sarily express the views of the author. All jokes used as examples are borrow- edg therefore, any semblance to any- thing funny is purely coincidental.J DEFINITION The New Century Dictionary defines the word joke as, Something said or done to excite laughter or amusement. Oh, how much more enjoyable life would be if this denotation was known and fully understood by all. But no, every person seems to have a decidedly dif- ferent definition of the word in mind, and each one mutilates it as much as possible, depending on his so-called sense of humor. From this hodge- podge of misinterpretations I have formed a connotation of the word joke, and it is not at all similar to its defini- tion in the dictionary. To me it means, a group of words usually spoken at an ill-timed moment by a person who ex- pects me to laugh heartily in spite of the fact that I have heard the same words innumerable times before and did not think them funny at any time. PROBABLE ORIGIN There is no known record of the first joke that was told in the history of the world, but I am certain that it was told by the first man who could speak. In support of this statement I maintain that there has never been a man who did not fancy that he had a fine sense of humor, Also, there has never been a man with a sense of humor that did not call on him to crack a joke here and there throughout his life. Yes, I can just imagine the first weak attempt made in the Garden of Eden. The dia- logue probably went something like this: Well Educated Ape: Adam, who was that lady I saw thee with last night ? Adam: That was no lady, Bimbob. That was my wife. Probably as this last bit was uttered, both parties doubled up with gales of laughter and rolled in fits of unrestrain- ed glee on the velvety grass and beau- tiful flowers. THE LOWEST TYPE There are many types of jokes, and each has a definite grade as to its mirth-making qualities and degree of intelligence. To my knowledge that sly little rogue in the field of humor, the pun, is the lowest grade that can be reached. However, as a sort of protec- tion, there is one tip off that is almost infallible when a person is about to make a pun. Invariably at the moment when he thinks of his clever little play on words, a fan-atical gleam comes into his eye. For instance, at a time when the conversation shifts to any- thing in or around Germany, Russia, or Finland, this little number is always dusted off by the first one to think of it: The person will say after properly leading up to it in some manner. One time when Hitler was visiting Stalin during the Finnish war he lost all of his money. So he says, 'Josef, if you will lend me a Finn or two to get home on, I will send you a Czech for the amount when I get back to Berlin' The speak- er will then burst into launghter and will go to no end of trouble to explain the two words which he so heavily em- phasized, Generally, if the person who is vic- timized has been exposed before, he will brace himself as securely as pos- sible as soon as he detects the tell-tale gleam of warning. His only regret will be that he didn't think of the pun first. But the novice, with his uncalloused ears, will be taken unawares. Then, as the story unfolds, a sickly grin will warp his features, and the 11-ang-dog look of a mistreated innocent will sweep over his face. This is the hard way to learn, but seldom again will he bite on so obvious a trick. THE PRACTICAL JOKE The type of joke that is only slightly above the utmost depths of the pun is the well known practical joke. Any person who will play one of these usual- ly has sort of a misshapen attitude to- ward life. There are not a tremendous lot of common practical jokes. They seem best when made up to suit, or un- suit, the occasion. One of the more popular ones that is typical of most of the others is this one. Cute little Johnny hears his old crip- pled grandmother on the second floor of their home. Searching for a good laugh he decides to remove the top step in the stairs, and he does so. The old ONE HUNDRED TEN H

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