The lightbulb joke is an example of an endless-variations joke and has possibly thousands of versions covering every imaginable culture, belief, occupation and special-interest group.[1][2] Generally, the punch line is derogatory to the group that is the subject of the joke. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. ... A punch line is the final part of a joke, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny and to provoke laughter from listeners. ...
The generally acknowledged "original" goes as follows:
Q.How many [insert target group here] does it take to change a light bulb?
A.Ten — one to hold the light bulb and nine to turn the ladder around.
The original joke is almost never told, except as a prelude to a string of variations. Most variations follow this scheme:
Q.How many [insert target group here] does it take to change a light bulb?
A.N — one to replace the light bulb and N-1 to [behave in a fashion generally associated with a negative stereotype of that group].
Often the stereotypical behavior will involve elaborate decision-making processes, and/or Byzantine management and supervision of the bulb-changing. The actual bulb changer may be last in the list for extra punch, especially when following a long recital of various supporting roles, each employing more [members of the target group] than the previous one. For other uses, see Stereotype (disambiguation). ...
This general structure may then be subverted to various degrees:
The nine ladder-turners may be unnecessary because the bulb-holder (like other members of the target group) thinks the world revolves around him.
The quantity (ten, three, two, none, millions) of light bulb changers can be adjusted in unexpected ways in the punchline.
The duration can be introduced as a variable, usually if the answer is "one".
The target group may not want to change the light bulb at all (e.g. emos: "none - they just sit and cry in the dark" / "what light bulb?"), or would not feel it was their responsibility (programmers: "That's a hardware problem").
The joke may also be used to target a particular person the teller is angry at. In the 1980's an alternative comedians joke: How many workers does it take to change a light bulb? None, Thatcher stole them all.
The target group may not be able to change the light bulb at all, due to current real-world situations such as power outages.[3]
The word change can refer either to replacing a light bulb or making a cultural or structural change. Often it is stated that the target group "will never change anything".
The word screw (screw in a light bulb) can refer to twisting a threaded fastener, to make a mess of something, or the act of sexual intercourse.
Another subversion is to make the punchline a complete non-sequitur:
Q.How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?
A.Fish.
As with most variation-based jokes, a well-executed delivery derives its comedic value as much from the gradual dissolution of the joke paradigm, as from the punchlines themselves. Many joke lists found on the internet eschew such finery in favor of sheer volume. Look up emo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Tree limbs create a short circuit in electrical lines during a storm that spawned two tornadoes. ... This article is about screws and bolts. ... It has been suggested that Duration of sexual intercourse be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the rhetoric device. ... Max Ernst. ...
^ How Many Students Does It Take.... New York Times (2004-11-07). Retrieved on 2007-12-14. “Colleges have become the theme of at least one chestnut: the lightbulb joke.”
^ Michael Miller (2001-02-16). And the winner is ... California.. Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. “There are also a dozen light-bulb jokes zooming around the Internet, but what good are lightbulb jokes if you don't have power?”
Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The St. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Peter Anspach's Star Trek Parody Pages — contains scripts for Star Trek Episodes of every flavour, each revolving solely around the business of changing a light bulb.
The lightbulbjoke is an example of an endless-variations joke and has possibly thousands of versions covering every imaginable culture, belief, occupation and special-interest group.
They´ll invade the factory, free the workers, say that lightbulbs are weapons of mass destruction and should be banned, and then deny they sold them to the factory in the first place.
The jokes are by no means limited to English-speaking countries.
So I suggest we take out most jokes, basically rip every list section into a separate article (if they are needed at all) - lightbulbjoke (Star Trek), lightbulbjokes (jobs), lightbulbjokes (nation) or just stuff them all into List of lightbulbjokes.
This article should cover the joke in general, giving the history (the origins of the joke would be very interesting), reasons for its prevalence, similar jokes, overview of variations, how it is spread, what are the general characteristics, etc. Paranoid 20:32, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)
Objectively, may be it's better to move these subculture-specific jokes into a separate article - unless we aim provide a comprehensive collection, there is little reason to provide jokes other than the general ones.
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