X jokes first appeared in the United States in 1962. They were first recorded in the Summer of 1962 in Texas, and gradually spread across the U.S., reaching California in January/February 1963. By July 1963, X jokes were ubiquitous and could be found in newspaper columns, and in TIME and Seventeen magazines, with millions of people working to construct more jokes according to the same formula
Both X jokes and Tom Swifties were in vogue in 1963, and were reported in the U.S. national press. Whilst the appeal of Tom Swifties was to literate adults, and gradually faded over subsequent decades, the appeal of X jokes was mainly to children, and has lasted. X jokes began circulation primarily amongst schoolchildren, and have been discovered afresh by subsequent generations of children, remaining, in Isaac Asimov's words "favorites of youngsters and of unsophisticated adults".
Asimov discusses one particular X joke that he states is notable for the exceptional sophistication of its humour. The joke was told in the aftermath of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, who had walked into Dallas police headquarters carrying a gun, and, in Asimov's words, whilst still maintaining the absurdity necessary for X jokes "carried a quick overtone of chill rationality":
Q: What did the Dallas chief of police say when the X walked into the police station?
A: Nothing! He didn't notice.
X jokes rely upon absurdity and incongruity for their humour, and a contrast with the normal presumptions of knowledge about Xs. They rely upon absurdist reasoning such as that the only way to detect an X in one's bathtub or in one's refrigerator is by the smell of its breath, or by the presence of footprints in the butter; such as that an X would be found dressed in a nun's habit; or such as that an X could climb a cherry tree, that an X would paint its toenails, and that simply painting its toenails in turn would be sufficient in order to camouflage it!!
Both X jokes and Tom Swifties were in vogue in 1963, and were reported in the U.S. national press. Whilst the appeal of Tom Swifties was to literate adults, and gradually faded over subsequent decades, the appeal of X jokes was mainly to children, and has lasted. X jokes began circulation primarily amongst schoolchildren, and have been discovered afresh by subsequent generations of children, remaining, in Isaac Asimov's words "favorites of youngsters and of unsophisticated adults".
Asimov discusses one particular X joke that he states is notable for the exceptional sophistication of its humour. The joke was told in the aftermath of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, who had walked into Dallas police headquarters carrying a gun, and, in Asimov's words, whilst still maintaining the absurdity necessary for X jokes "carried a quick overtone of chill rationality":
Q: What did the Dallas chief of police say when the X walked into the police station?
A: Nothing! He didn't notice.
X jokes rely upon absurdity and incongruity for their humour, and a contrast with the normal presumptions of knowledge about Xs. They rely upon absurdist reasoning such as that the only way to detect an X in one's bathtub or in one's refrigerator is by the smell of its breath, or by the presence of footprints in the butter; such as that an X would be found dressed in a nun's habit; or such as that an X could climb a cherry tree, that an X would paint its toenails, and that simply painting its toenails in turn would be sufficient in order to camouflage it!!
These are 'Elephant Jokes'..Wiki this, n have fun!!
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