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People Explain Which Joke Took Them Too Long To Comprehend

"What's a joke that took you an absurdly long time to get?" –– This was today's burning question from Redditor Mr. Pokemonn, and it's enough to make us cringe.

How did it take us this long to figure that out? You've likely thought this the older you've become. I mean, just the other day I was reminded of the "Dad's trophy" moment on Dexter's Laboratory and I can't believe how ignorant I was.

That said, there are others out there who are more clueless than I was... and certainly more clueless than you!


"I watched that movie..."

In Blazing Saddles, Bart's friend from the railroad says to him "They said you was hung" and Sheriff Bart replies "And they was right."

I watched that movie a hundred times growing up but it took me well into adulthood to notice the double entendre.

starthirteen

"When I was a dumb kid..."

Giphy

"I can give you ten good reasons to never let go of a dime" - Mr. Krabs

When I was a dumb kid I just thought, "wow, he must really know of a lot of ways to spend 10¢.

nomenclate

"I never got why..."

In Airplane, it was the joke about the character having a drinking problem.

I never got why he was pouring water on his head. That's his problem. He has a drinking problem.

AttonRand1

"Reminds me..."

Reminds me of this bit from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

"It's unpleasantly like being drunk."

"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?"

"You ask a glass of water."

ConsciousStill

"9 year old me..."

Shrek thinks Farquaad is "compensating for something" when noticing the size of his castle.

9 year old me thought that was a joke about Farquaad's short stature.

MichaelOChe

"The ending..."

The ending of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Took me probably 20 years before someone pointed out that it was a total cop-out.

cbusalex

"I watched the movie..."

The alchemist sequence in Mel Brooks' History of the World Part I:

The Roman general is trying to find the protagonists who are in disguise, using costumes they have taken from a production of The Trojan War.

General: I say, chemist, can you help us?

Alchemist: What are you looking for?

General: A pack of trojans.

Alchemist: snaps his fingers I just ran out.

I watched the movie with my dad when I was 10 or so, and I didn't get this joke, and dad didn't explain it to me. Nearly a decade later I watched it again with a bunch of college buddies, and I was laughing louder than anyone else. The long delay between hearing it the first time and getting it made it even funnier.

pflashan

"I only recently..."

When a person says "I'll see you later" and the other person responds "NOT if I see you first".

I only recently realized that it meant that if they saw you first, that they would hide.

I never actually gave it any thought up until that point, then one day I heard it on a movie and the light came on. <sigh> I'll see you later.

plyslz

"I never questioned..."

When I was a kid, my dad developed a massive cyst on his back, and my mom took to calling it his "third head." I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard, and went around telling anyone who would listen all about it.

I never questioned what the second head was. It took me up until a few years ago (and I'm 28) to realize that my mom was making a dick joke.

ostentia

"I'm sure I've seen..."

I'm sure I've seen Airplane! a dozen times but just today I came across this exchange that I never picked up on:

Ted Striker : My orders came through. My squadron ships out tomorrow. We're bombing the storage depots at Daiquiri at 1800 hours. We're coming in from the north, below their radar.

Elaine Dickinson : When will you be back?

Ted Striker : I can't tell you that. It's classified.

RandyBeaman

Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

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