A joke is a short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorous by the listener or reader. This sort of "joke" is not the same as a practical joke.
Laughter, the intended human reaction to jokes, is healthy, uses the stomachmuscles, and releases endorphins, natural happiness-inducing chemicals, into the bloodstream. Daily laughter is recommended to every human being. Jokes have been the subject of serious academic study, a notable example being Sigmund Freud's "Jokes and Their Relationship to the Unconscious".
An ethnic joke relies for humorous effect on stereotypes about particular ethnicities, often those from different (neighbour) nations or minorities. For example Finns tell jokes about Swedes and Gypsies. Sometimes they are considered in good taste, meant to poke fun at or about another culture, while other times they are considered offensive or racist. Sometimes the difference between the two judgements is in the nature of the joke itself, and sometimes the difference is in the perception of those hearing it.
In an attempt to preserve the humor of ethnic jokes without their derogatory nature, on rare occasions such jokes are told with the word ethnic or some variant in place of the nationality of the subject. For example: "Two ethnics are out duck hunting. They hunt and hunt and hunt and still have not killed one duck. Finally, ethnic #1 says to ethnic #2: 'Maybe we'd do better if we threw the dog up higher.' " Another twist is letting people of that same target group enjoy a monopoly on telling jokes about themselves.
Examples
An old gypsy goes to his local council and says, "My wife has become ill, and we need to come off the road. Can we have a council house?"
A Somali stole a magic bottle from a bazaar. He opened the bottle and a spirit came out. The spirit promised two wishes to man who got him free. Somali thought a moment and answered: "First, I'd like to be fully white, and second I'd want to go inside a white woman." The Somali was turned into a tampon.
How do you kill 5,000 Ukrainians at once? Plant mushrooms on the freeway.
What was the dirtiest fight ever fought? An Icelander and a seagull fighting on a beach over a rotten fish.
How do you make twelve Jews/Ukrainians get into a Volkswagen? Throw a penny/dime into the backseat.
Playing the dozens is an African-American pastime in which two competitors -- usually males -- go head to head in a competition of comedic trash talk. They take turns "cracking on," or insulting, one another, their adversary's mother or other family member until one of them has no comeback. The game has its roots in U.S. chattel slavery, when violence among slaves was treated as a property crime, with potentially draconian consequences. Verbal sparring became a substitute for physical contention. And, while the competition on its face was usually light-hearted, smiles sometimes masked real tensions. The dozens could be a harmless pastime, but just as frequently, it was a contest of personal power -- of wit, self-control, verbal ability, mental agility and mental toughness. Defeat could be humiliating; but a skilled contender, win or lose, gained respect.
"The dozens" refers to the devaluing on the auctionblock of slaves who were past their prime, who were aged or who, after years of back-breaking toil, no longer were capable of hard labor. These enslaved human beings often were sold by the dozen.
Examples
Your mama is so fat...
when I said it was chilly outside, she grabbed a spoon and ran out the door!
she could sell shade!
when she hauls ass, she has to take two trips!
when she wears a red dress, people yell "hey, Kool-aid!"
her favorite food is seconds!
when she goes to the zoo, elephants throw HER peanuts!
when she jumps into the air, she gets stuck!
when she goes to the beach, the tide comes in!
Your mama is so dumb...
she sits on the T.V. and watches the couch!
Your mama is so old...
when God said "let there be light", she flipped the switch!
Yo' mama so-o-o-o bald...
you can see what she thinkin'.
Your sister is so ugly...
that when she was born the doctor slapped your mother!''
Your brother is so stupid...
that he was fired from the M&Ms; factory for throwing away all the Ws!''
A child, an honest politician, and Santa Claus all spot a $20 bill on the ground. Who picks it up? The child, since the other two don't exist.
Bush approved of a new method of testing ready-to-eat meat for the potentially lethal Listeria bacteria found in factories. According to the legislation, ready-to-eat meat will have to pass standardized tests as part of Bush's "leave no hot dog behind" campaign.
A couple are touring a graveyard when they spot a tombstone that reads "Here lies an honest man and a politician." The man says to the woman, "Look honey, there's two people in that grave."
Although perhaps the most famous of all jokes in the English language, this joke is a meta-joke, in that its humor value comes from the fact that it is expected to be funny. Additionally, it is rarely told on its own, but it is referenced, modified, or parodied in a number of other jokes.
Why did the tachyon cross the road? Because it was on the other side.
Why did the chicken cross the Möbius strip? To get to the other ... uh ....
A shaggy dog story is an extremely long and involved joke with a weak or completely nonexistent punchline. The humor lies in building up the audience's anticipation and then letting them down completely.
Shaggy jokes appear to date from the 1930s, although there are several competing variants for the "original" shaggy dog story. According to one, an advertisement is placed in a newspaper, searching for the shaggiest dog in the world. The teller of the joke then relates the story of the search for the shaggiest dog in extreme and exaggerated detail (flying around the world, climbing mountains, fending off sabre-toothed tigers, etc); a good teller will be able to stretch the story out to over half an hour. When the winning dog is finally presented, the advertiser takes a look at the dog and states: "I don't think he's so shaggy".
A large number of jokes, beginning "You have two cows...", describe what would be done with the cows under a certain political or economic system. The jokes satirize many countries, television shows, religions, and systems, especially bureaucracy, communism, and capitalism.
Examples
Canadaism: You have two cows. Vous avez deux vaches.
Communism--Reality: You have two cows. Technically, everyone owns all the cows and everyone is equal. If you happen to be in charge of everyone and their cows, you own more of the cows than everyone else because you are more equal than they are.
Democracy: You have two cows. They outvote you 2-1 to ban all meat and dairy products.
Dictatorship: You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.
Dyslexia: You have two woks.
Political Correctness: You are associated with (the concept of "ownership" is a symbol of the phallocentric, war-mongering, intolerant past) two differently-aged (but no less valuable to society) bovines of non-specified gender.
Totalitarianism: You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.
