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JF
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 8:30 pm
Post subject: Why Minnesota? |
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X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
Episode One:
Two fellas from rural Minnesota walked into a pet shop in
Minneapolis. They head to the bird section and Sven says to Ole, "Dat's
dem."
The owner comes over and asks if he can help them.
"Yeah, we'll take four of dem dere little budgies in dat cage up dere,"
says Sven.
The owner puts the budgies in a paper bag. Ole and Sven pay for
the birds, leave the shop and get into Sven's pick-up and drive to the
top of the big cliffs by a lake. At the cliffs, Sven looks down at the
100-foot drop and says: "Dis looks like a grand place."
He takes two birds out of the bag, puts them on his shoulders
and jumps off the cliff. Ole watches as Sven falls all the way to the
bottom, killing himself stone dead.
Looking down at the remains of his best pal, Ole shakes his head
and says: "Dis budgie jumping is too dangerous for me."
Episode Two:
Moments later, Knut arrives up at the cliffs. He's been to the pet shop
too and walks up to the edge of the cliff carrying another paper bag in
one hand and a shotgun in the other.
"Hey, Ole. Watch dis," Knut says. He takes a parrot from the bag
and throws himself over the edge of the
cliff. Ole watches as half way down, Knut takes the gun and shoots the
parrot. Knut continues to plummet down and down until he hits the bottom
and breaks every bone in his body.
Ole shakes his head and says, "And I'm never trying dat
parrotshooting either."
Episode Three:
Ole is just getting over the shock of losing two friends when
Lars appears. He's also been to the pet shop and is carrying a paper bag
out of which he pulls a chicken. Lars grasps the chicken by the legs
holds it over his head and hurls himself off the cliff and disappears
down and down until he hits a rock and breaks his spine. Once more, Ole
shakes his head.....
"First der was Sven with his budgie jumping.... den Knut
parrotshooting.... and now Lars is hengliding!"
--
James Follett.
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Bob
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 8:54 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 13:30:39 +0000, JF wrote:
| Quote: | X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
|
... clip the jokes (sic) ...
Those sound like jokes one college would make about a rival college.
The jokes can't be made generic since they depend not on a general
misunderstanding of English as a language but a confusion over accents
(and a presumed level of cluelessness). That is supposed to be a Swedish
accent the Minnesotans speak with. There is a large population of Sweedish
descent in the area. |
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Tony Cooper
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 9:17 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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On Sat, 5 Nov 2005 13:30:39 +0000, JF <jf@NOSPAMmarage.demon.co.uk>
wrote:
| Quote: | X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
|
Could be? The Irish version has been around as long as the joke.
See: http://www.head-space.org/colours/threads_1.html
or joke #2 at: http://www.lotsofjokes.com/cat_109.htm
I think the reason that your version is based on the Minnesota accent
is that Garrison Keillor used the joke on his "Prarie Home Companion"
radio show. The show, from Minnesota Public Radio, revolves around
characters and towns in Minnesota.
--
Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL
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Jim Lawton
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:38 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 13:54:47 GMT, Bob <bob@dont.spam.me> wrote:
| Quote: | On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 13:30:39 +0000, JF wrote:
X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
.. clip the jokes (sic) ...
Those sound like jokes one college would make about a rival college.
The jokes can't be made generic since they depend not on a general
misunderstanding of English as a language but a confusion over accents
(and a presumed level of cluelessness). That is supposed to be a Swedish
accent the Minnesotans speak with. There is a large population of Sweedish
descent in the area.
|
See "Fargo".
--
Jim
the polymoth |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:43 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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"Tony Cooper" <tony_cooper213@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:f7fpm1t3eaevrd7igrdjcg3gcf28e81qli@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Sat, 5 Nov 2005 13:30:39 +0000, JF <jf@NOSPAMmarage.demon.co.uk
wrote:
X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English
by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make
Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
Could be? The Irish version has been around as long as the joke.
See: http://www.head-space.org/colours/threads_1.html
or joke #2 at: http://www.lotsofjokes.com/cat_109.htm
I think the reason that your version is based on the Minnesota accent
is that Garrison Keillor used the joke on his "Prarie Home Companion"
radio show. The show, from Minnesota Public Radio, revolves around
characters and towns in Minnesota.
|
"My name is yon yonson I come from visconsin." I think there is
more to this chant, be I'll be damned if I can recall it. The melody is
like that in "My home's in Montana". Wisconsin has a goodly number of
Swedes, Norwegians, Danes and Finns. (I don't really know if the Finns
are considered Scandinavian, though.) The most common jokes about that
large group usually deal with Ole and Lena. Sorry to see the budgie
joke cast a bad light one of them. I have heard any number of
dialect/nationality jokes. Then, back in the 70's and 80's, there were
a lot of Polish jokes, but I think that was a nationwide phenomenon.
Then in the first years of this century there have been many French
jokes, though I guess back in the 19th C lawyers and Frenchmen got a
good tooling by Sam Clemens. I tried a politics chatroom (Yahoo!) the
other day, just to see if my sound was working, and the first thing I
heard was some Arabic speech. Then a member came and told me she was
just checking out the newbies. She said the regulars didn't talk
politics. They "ignore" the "towelheads" and keep the chats private.
Well, I forbore to relate to her the recent joke about the arabs
preferring to have their towels relabeled as sheets.
My niece, raised in Minnesota, told me she didn't mind all the jokes
about stupid Minnesotans told by Wisconsinites, because the Minnesotan's
butt is Iowans. So help me, I can't think of a funny thing about
Iowans, and they are our neighbors, too. Of course, we used to talk
about Illinois drivers.
Even during WWII, the jokes I heard in my mixed European-descent-society
usually tore up 3 nationalities at the same time. English/German/Irish
or German/Irish/Italian (even Jewish/Catholic/Protestant). For the most
part one could see that the teller of the joke could easily switch the
nationality of the butt of the joke. . .the stupidest, the weakest, the
worst smelling.
The jokes about Blacks could have been Ole and Lena jokes, with
different names. Don't hear many of those any more. |
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ray o'hara
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 10:51 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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"Pat Durkin" <durk183@sbcglobal.com> wrote in message
news:%q4bf.13005$tV6.11209@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...
| Quote: |
"My name is yon yonson I come from visconsin." I think there is
more to this chant, be I'll be damned if I can recall it. The melody is
like that in "My home's in Montana".
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My name is Yon Yonson, I live in Visconsin ,I vork in a lumber mill dere.
As I valk down the street I tell all that I meet,My name is Yon Yonson I
live in Visconsin I vork in a lumber mill there... |
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jerry_friedman@yahoo.com
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:15 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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Pat Durkin wrote:
....
| Quote: | My niece, raised in Minnesota, told me she didn't mind all the jokes
about stupid Minnesotans told by Wisconsinites, because the Minnesotan's
butt is Iowans. So help me, I can't think of a funny thing about
Iowans, and they are our neighbors, too.
|
Why does the University of Iowa football stadium have artificial turf?
So the cheerleaders won't graze.
No, please, hold your applause.
--
Jerry Friedman heard that one from a Minnesotan. |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:47 pm
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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<jerry_friedman@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1131207331.095390.293660@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Pat Durkin wrote:
...
My niece, raised in Minnesota, told me she didn't mind all the jokes
about stupid Minnesotans told by Wisconsinites, because the
Minnesotan's
butt is Iowans. So help me, I can't think of a funny thing about
Iowans, and they are our neighbors, too.
Why does the University of Iowa football stadium have artificial turf?
So the cheerleaders won't graze.
No, please, hold your applause.
Jerry Friedman heard that one from a Minnesotan.
Well, that is funny! The only thing I can remember hearing about Iowa |
that even verges on humor is that sometime in March, they celebrate
"National Pig Day". I suppose one of their congressmen got a resolution
passed to make it a national day. But when I talked about it to one of
my cousins in Iowa, he looked insulted. And not only does he live in
Ames, but he is in some research program for the US Dept. of
Agriculture. He's got to know about pigs, right? |
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JF
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:12 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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X-No-Archive: yes
In message <%q4bf.13005$tV6.11209@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net>, Pat
Durkin <durk183@sbcglobal.com> writes
| Quote: | The jokes about Blacks could have been Ole and Lena jokes, with
different names. Don't hear many of those any more.
|
In England they were Rastus and Annabel. As you say, they seem to have
died out.
Annabel: (Doing crossword) Rastus -- who were the first men
to fly the Atlantic?
Rastus: Alcock and Browne.
Annabel: You sure is, honey. But that don't help me none with
my crossword.
--
James Follett |
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Donna Richoux
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:16 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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Tony Cooper <tony_cooper213@earthlink.net> wrote:
| Quote: | On Sat, 5 Nov 2005 13:30:39 +0000, JF <jf@NOSPAMmarage.demon.co.uk
wrote:
X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
Could be? The Irish version has been around as long as the joke.
See: http://www.head-space.org/colours/threads_1.html
or joke #2 at: http://www.lotsofjokes.com/cat_109.htm
|
I noticed the line in JF's version, "Dis looks like a grand place." That
struck me as wrong -- Americans use "grand" for some things, but not
often in the sense of "good, suitable." ("Great" is more likely.) It
sounds Irish to me, and I see it's in one of the Irish versions you
provided.
| Quote: |
I think the reason that your version is based on the Minnesota accent
is that Garrison Keillor used the joke on his "Prarie Home Companion"
radio show. The show, from Minnesota Public Radio, revolves around
characters and towns in Minnesota.
|
I find that the joke is posted at the Prairie Home Companion Website, by
a listener from Oklahoma City, but that's not quite the same as having
been used on the show, though I suppose it still might have been. "Send
us a joke and we'll put it in our joke database," the site says.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:41 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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"JF" <jf@NOSPAMmarage.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:nM$GyMBGgObDFwL0@marage.demon.co.uk...
| Quote: | X-No-Archive: yes
In message <%q4bf.13005$tV6.11209@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net>, Pat
Durkin <durk183@sbcglobal.com> writes
The jokes about Blacks could have been Ole and Lena jokes, with
different names. Don't hear many of those any more.
In England they were Rastus and Annabel. As you say, they seem to have
died out.
Annabel: (Doing crossword) Rastus -- who were the first men
to fly the Atlantic?
Rastus: Alcock and Browne.
Annabel: You sure is, honey. But that don't help me none with
my crossword.
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Rastus I recall. Maybe my girl was Liza. |
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John Dean
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:43 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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Jim Lawton wrote:
| Quote: | On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 13:54:47 GMT, Bob <bob@dont.spam.me> wrote:
On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 13:30:39 +0000, JF wrote:
X-No-Archive: yes
I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood
English by people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota
the butt of such jokes in America? In England the joke could be
rejigged to make Irishmen the fall (sic) guys.
.. clip the jokes (sic) ...
Those sound like jokes one college would make about a rival college.
The jokes can't be made generic since they depend not on a general
misunderstanding of English as a language but a confusion over
accents (and a presumed level of cluelessness). That is supposed to
be a Swedish accent the Minnesotans speak with. There is a large
population of Sweedish descent in the area.
See "Fargo".
|
Fargo, North Dakota?
--
John Dean
Oxford |
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ray o'hara
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:47 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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"Pat Durkin" <durk183@sbcglobal.com> wrote in message
news:Bm5bf.13017$tV6.4106@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...
| Quote: |
jerry_friedman@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1131207331.095390.293660@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Pat Durkin wrote:
...
My niece, raised in Minnesota, told me she didn't mind all the jokes
about stupid Minnesotans told by Wisconsinites, because the
Minnesotan's
butt is Iowans. So help me, I can't think of a funny thing about
Iowans, and they are our neighbors, too.
Why does the University of Iowa football stadium have artificial turf?
So the cheerleaders won't graze.
No, please, hold your applause.
Jerry Friedman heard that one from a Minnesotan.
Well, that is funny! The only thing I can remember hearing about Iowa
that even verges on humor is that sometime in March, they celebrate
"National Pig Day". I suppose one of their congressmen got a resolution
passed to make it a national day. But when I talked about it to one of
my cousins in Iowa, he looked insulted. And not only does he live in
Ames, but he is in some research program for the US Dept. of
Agriculture. He's got to know about pigs, right?
|
Are you sure you're not confusing Iowa with North Carolina. |
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:51 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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John Dean wrote:
| Quote: | Jim Lawton wrote:
Bob wrote, in part:
The jokes can't be made generic since they depend not on a general
misunderstanding of English as a language but a confusion over
accents (and a presumed level of cluelessness). That is supposed to
be a Swedish accent the Minnesotans speak with. There is a large
population of Sweedish descent in the area.
See "Fargo".
Fargo, North Dakota?
|
Bob may have been referring to the movie "Fargo." But either way, Fargo
ND is just across the state line (border) from Minnesota. I think Duluth
(Minnesota) and Superior (Wisconsin) are close neighbors. And then
there's Detroit (Michigan) and Windsor (Ontario, Canada).
--
Maria Conlon |
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Don Phillipson
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 2:57 am
Post subject: Re: Why Minnesota? |
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"JF" <jf@NOSPAMmarage.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:TZxbXjA$PLbDFw8d@marage.demon.co.uk...
| Quote: | I was sent a joke this morning that depends on misunderstood English by
people from rural Minnesota. Are those from Minnesota the butt of such
jokes in America? In England the joke could be rejigged to make Irishmen
the fall (sic) guys.
|
This general class of jokes used to be known in the
USA as Polish Jokes (and in Canada as Newfoundland
Jokes.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada) |
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