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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Joke is Only as Good as the Payoff

I once was going to buy some gross purple and gold Minnesota Vikings' Zubaz-style pants for my brother-in-law Ben, knowing he would find them hilarious, and even wear them every day, just to keep the joke going.  But then I saw that they cost $10, and decided the joke just wasn't worth the price tag.  So instead, I told Ben about it and we laughed and laughed.  For free!

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And then other times, 'free' jokes take tons of time and the payout isn't worth it.

Take for example this Batman mask I saw on the back of my Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  It took me FOREVER to cut it out.  (Covertly, in my bathroom, during commercial breaks from 30 Rock reruns).  My plan was to somehow nonchalantly surprise Summer as Batman.  Well then she went to bed and my surprise didn't really happen.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to cut out the eye holes on these things?

Sometimes the most hilarious part of the joke is the time it takes to bomb.




I have an idea for a new iPhone photo app...


Have you ever put tons of effort into what you thought would be a wildly hilarious joke and then...crickets?



2 comments:

  1. Yes. This has happened to me. Almost daily, but never mind, you wouldn't think it was funny either.

    You should always keep an x-acto knife handy; I know I do. It's great on cereal boxes.

    For $10, those pants were probably worth it?

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  2. Hey remember that time you spent 480 times those pants on a couch that wasn't a joke?
    Also... McDonald's breakfast sandwiches... though the toll was more than time. Stay tuned... on MY blog. Ok see you in the morning.

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