[A guy goes to jail. After a while his cellmate goes to the front of the cell and yells “#37!” The entire cellblock erupts in laughter. The cell mate returns to his bunk. After a few minutes a voice is heard from the hallway “#62!”
Hilarious laughter ensues. A few more minutes go by and someone yells “#17.” The same hilarious result. Finally, the new prisoner turns to his cell mate and asks. “What’s going on with all these numbers?”
“Oh that …” the cellmate says. “We’ve all been in here so long that we’ve given all our favorite jokes numbers, so you don’t have to tell the whole joke any more, you just yell out the number.”
“That’s cool. Mind if I give it a try?” Be my guest. So the new guy goes to the front of the cell, cups his hands, and yells “#43!” Silence. He waits a few seconds “#43!” “… # 43.” Nothing but silence.
Dejected and confused, he looks to his cellmate, who is grimly shaking his head. “Some people,” he says, “Just can’t tell a joke.” SB SM]