July 24th is Tell An Old Joke Day

Every July 24 is Tell An Old Joke Day. There are several holidays each year dedicated to humor or laughter. The first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day. January 24 is Global Belly Laugh Day. November 20 is Absurdity Day. August 11th is Presidential Joke Day. All of April is designated a National Humor Month. While I have been able to locate all these holidays and celebrations in various locations, I have not been able to find a history behind them. I have to ask, who cares how they started? Creating opportunities to add celebration and humor to our lives is a good thing.

A woman with a duck on her head walks into a doctor's office. The duck says, "Doc, can you get this woman off my butt?"

Some people might dismiss Tell An Old Joke Day when it rolls around. After all, old jokes are more likely to elicit groans than laughter. Please keep in mind that a groan is really nothing more than a low frequency laugh. Remember also that what may be an old joke to you, may be a new joke to someone else.

How do you make an egg laugh? Tell it a yolk.

Laughter is contagious. Only yawns are more contagious. People who are around others sneezing, coughing, sniffling or running a fever may have immunity to the particular condition. Spend time around people who are engaged in a good belly laugh, and it is difficult not to laugh along. Even if you do not know what the other person is laughing at, it is likely you will begin to laugh yourself. That's a good thing. Shared laughter creates a sense of intimacy and joy. Shared laughter helps bind groups together. That is one of the reasons groups, over time, will develop their own private jokes.

Doctor these pills you gave me for BO...They keep slipping out from under my arms!

Laughing has positive physical effects. It releases endorphins that help to diminish pain and to provide protection for excessive stress. Laughter to help to boost immunity. Genuine laughter can increase calories used by up to 20%. Forced laughter is regulated by a different part of the brain and so may have different results in terms of calories usage.

Q: Why was the math book sad? 
A: He had lots of problems.

Laughter adds zest to life. Genuine laughter helps us to let go of fears and anxieties. In the Harry Potter books there is a creature known as a boggart which will shape-shift to show someone their greatest fear. Is it any wonder that the way to defeat such a creature is by making it seem ridiculous and laughing at it. If we can find a way to laugh at a thing, we can often overcome our fear. Perhaps that is why minorities who have suffered persecution have contributed so much to the field of comedy. It allows them to overcome those who oppress them by laughing at them.

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, while dish washing liquid is made with real lemons?

What makes us laugh varies from person to person. I had an great aunt who loved dirty jokes. Being a teenager, I knew a fair number of them. She could not find the joke funny from me; I should not have known about those things. It was alright, however, for me to whisper the joke to my mother who would repeat it to my aunt. My mother was old enough to tell those jokes.

Q: What do you call a French man in sandals? 
A: Philippe Philoppe

Likewise, jokes go in and out of style. When I was growing up, ethnic jokes were acceptable - Italian, Irish, Polish and Mexican. Racial jokes were not acceptable. Religious jokes were acceptable sometimes. Of course, by then and now, it is more acceptable to tell a joke on a group to which you belong. Thus, I have always been able to tell Jewish jokes, but had to ask an Italian friend of mine if it was okay to tell him an Italian joke. He told me it was okay if he could tell me a Jewish joke first. I told him he could. He told me the next joke.

Q: What's bland and blue and floats down river? 
A: A Jew who tells Italian jokes.

Today, racial, ethnic and religious jokes are only funny when told by someone who belongs to the group. There are, of course, rare exceptions like Don Rickles who can tell jokes about everyone without offending.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

One of the things we are losing in our society these days is shared laughter. One of the pleasures in attending a live stage show or a movie is having a crowd around with whom to laugh. Being around others who are laughing gives us the freedom to laugh. One of the reasons for laugh tracks on television is to cue you when to laugh. People are more likely to laugh out loud with the laugh track than without. They feel they are joining with others. In today's society we do not share laughter as often. Where once the network television shows were discussed and laughed about over the water cooler at work, today our entertainment is fragmented. We do not share our experiences as we once did.

Q: What did the boy sheep say to the girl sheep on Valentine's Day? 
A: I Love Ewe!

Tell An Old Joke Day is July 24. I hope as you have read this, you have enjoyed the old jokes I have included. Perhaps they will help you to celebrate the day. If you did not find a joke you want to tell here, head to the public library. You will find tons of joke books there. Keep in mind that joke-telling is a skill. You will get better the more you practice. Don't save your jokes for one special day. Celebrate laughter all year round.