When is a joke not funny?

Most of us hear jokes every now and then. They have become part of life because they make people laugh and make life lighter. The sudden burst of laughter brings joy in the air and we all love that, don't we? A merry feeling that makes us forget all our troubles, concerns, the reality of a difficult job, loneliness, or perhaps our own insecurities.

Do we all know what the word 'joke' really mean? According to Wisegeek.com - 'Jokes have a generic meaning of verbal humor, including one-liners, riddles, and other things that make us laugh; but the joke is also a form, a funny, made-up story with a punchline told by one person. A joke is distinguished from an anecdote, which may be a funny story and have a punchline, but is about a real or true incident. Because it is a form of story, the joke has some of the attributes of a story, such as a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning is the set-up for the joke. While the setting, mood, and tone of, say, a short story or novel are established over time, these elements are often compressed into as little as a single sentence in a joke.'

When you're little you probably heard other kids making fun of the way you dressed, your looks, status in life and even what you didn't have.. The excuse..it's only a joke! Does that mean your life is a joke too? Do you think not being born with a silver spoon in your mouth or perhaps not able to attend to the famous private University in the country is also a joke? Now before I get carried away let's read some jokes from cleanjokes.com...

At the end of the school year a kindergarten teacher was receiving gifts from her class. The florist's son handed her a gift. She shook it and said, "I bet I know what it is; Flowers." "That's right!" the boy said, "but, how did you know?" "Oh, just a wild guess," the teacher replied.

The next student was the candy shop owner's daughter. The teacher held her gift, shook it and said, "I bet I can guess what it is; A box of sweets." "That's right said the little girl, but how did you know?" "Oh, I've been around for many years," said the teacher proudly.

The next gift was from the son of the liquor store owner. The teacher held he package, but it was leaking so she grabbed a drop off the leaking contents with her finger and put it on her tongue for a taste test."Is it wine?" the teacher asked. "NOPE," the boy replied, with some excitement. The teacher repeated the process, tasting a larger drop of the leaking package. "Is it champagne?" she asked. "NO MAM," he replied, with even more excitement!

The teacher with all her knowledge finally took one more big taste before admitting, "I give up. What is it?"

With an giant grin the boy replied, “SURPRISE, It's a puppy!"


Now let's try a another one with adult humor.

A couple had been married for 40 years and also celebrated their 60th birthdays. During the celebration, a fairy appeared and said that because they had been such a loving couple all these years, she would give them one wish each.Being the faithful, loving spouse for all these years, naturally the wife wanted for herself and her husband to have a romantic vacation together, so she wished for them to travel around the world. The fairy waved her wand and boom! ... The wife had the tickets in her hand.Next, it was the husband's turn and the fairy assured him he could have any wish he wanted, all he needed to do was ask for his heart's desire.He paused for a moment, and then said, "Well, honestly, I'd like to have a woman 30 years younger than me."The fairy picked up her wand and kazoom! ... The husband turned 90!

It's funny isn't it??Not all of us have the ability to deliver a joke that's why some tend to say something in hope that the listener will find it amusing. Because it borders on the fine line of what was uttered was funny or not so a third person would call it a JOKE.

Have a read with this one from the mail-archive..

A woman rushes to see her doctor, looking very much worried and all strung out. She rattles off, "Doctor, take a look at me. When I woke up this morning, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my hair all wiry and frazzled up, my skin was all wrinkled and pasty, my eyes were blood-shot and bugging out, and I had this corpse-like look on my face! What's wrong with me, Doctor?" The doctor looks her over for a couple of minutes, then calmly says, "Well, I can tell you one thing... there ain't nothing wrong with your eyesight."

Is it funny enough? I'd say there is humor to it and it's a fact of life. All us will grow old, change hairstyle, bear and raise children, bulges grow from here to there and it gets difficult at times. It's even difficult when someone takes the mickey of how you look. I think the important thing is you are happy with who your are and doesn't cause others trouble at all. A joke is a joke, one could only take it with a pinch of salt and if anyone comes to you and say you are ugly and mean it as joke, will you still find that funny?? Perhaps..

This is from my favorite band.. Enjoy!