A lightbulb joke is a joke that asks how many people of a certain group are needed to change, replace, or screw in a light bulb. Generally, the punch line answer highlights a stereotype of the target group. There are numerous versions of the lightbulb joke satirizing a wide range of cultures, beliefs and occupations.
Early versions of the joke, popular in the late 1960s and the 1970s, were used to insult the intelligence of Poles ("Polack jokes"). For instance:
- Q. How many Polacks does it take to change a light bulb?
- A. Three—one to hold the light bulb and two to turn the ladder.
Although lightbulb jokes tend to be derogatory in tone, the people targeted by them may take pride in the stereotypes expressed and are often themselves the jokes' originators. Lightbulb jokes applied to subgroups can be used to ease tensions between them.
Read more about Lightbulb Joke: Variations
Famous quotes containing the word joke:
“You said that my manner in that book was not serious enough—that I made people laugh in my most earnest moments. But why should I not? Why should humor and laughter be excommunicated? Suppose the world were only one of God’s jokes, would you work any the less to make it a good joke instead of a bad one?”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)