Lightbulb joke explained

A lightbulb joke is a joke cycle 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.^{[1] [2]}

Early versions of the joke, popular in the late 1960s^{[3] [4]} and the 1970s, were used to insult the intelligence of people, especially Poles ("Polish jokes").^{[5] [6]} For instance:

Although lightbulb jokes tend to be derogatory in tone (e.g., "How many drunkards..." / "Four: one to hold the light bulb and three to drink until the room spins"), the people targeted by them may take pride in the stereotypes expressed and are often themselves the jokes' originators,^[7] as in "How many Germans does it take to change a lightbulb? One, we're very efficient but not funny." where the joke itself becomes a statement of ethnic pride. Lightbulb jokes applied to subgroups can be used to ease tensions between them.^[8]

Variations

Some versions of the joke are puns on the words "change"^[9] or "screw",^[10] or "light":

Lightbulb jokes are often responses to contemporary events.^[11] For example, the lightbulb may not need to be changed at all due to ongoing power outages.^[12]

The Village Voice held a $200 lightbulb joke contest around the time of the Iran hostage crisis, with the winning joke being:^[13]

Lightbulb jokes can also be about sports, teasing about their team's past, future, etc.

Lightbulb jokes can also be related to religious groups and denominations.

Notes

• 1499697. Many Hands Make Light Work or Caught in the Act of Screwing in Light Bulbs. Alan Dundes. Western Folklore. 40. 3. 261–266. 1981. 10.2307/1499697. Western States Folklore Society.
• Alan Dundes (1981). "Many Hands Make Light Work or Caught in the Act of Screwing in Light Bulbs". In Book: Humor prism in twentieth-century America. Joseph Boskin. 250–7. 1997. Wayne State University Press. 978-0-8143-2597-1.
• 10.2307/539876. 539876. The Light-Bulb Jokes: Americans Look at Social Action Processes. Judith B. Kerman. The Journal of American Folklore. 93. 370. 1980. 454–458. American Folklore Society.

Notes and References

1. News: Light Bulb Jokes: Screwed-Up Humor. Elaine Viets. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1991-09-04. 2007-12-14. Some light bulb jokes make fun of ethnic groups, gays and women. Others shed light on certain professions....
2. News: How Many Students Does It Take... New York Times. 2004-11-07. 2007-12-14. Colleges have become the theme of at least one chestnut: the lightbulb joke..
3. News: Daily Review (Hayward, Cal.). 11 July 1965. Try and Stop Me. 7 May 2014. 4. Q. How many morons does it take to change a light bulb? Three: one to hold the bulb while he stands on a ladder! two to revolve the ladder..
4. Simmons . Donald C. . July–August 1966 . Anti-Italian-American Riddles in New England . Journal of American Folklore . 79 . 303 . 478 . 10.2307/537513 . 537513 . 7 May 2017. How many Italians does it take to change a light bulb? Three -- one to hold the light bulb and two to turn the ladder..
5. Dundes, 261.
6. Kerman, 454–455.
7. Kerman, 456–457.
8. 3342661. Shedding Light on Public Health. Richard M. Grimes. Journal of Public Health Policy. 17. 1. 99–101. 1996. 10.2307/3342661. 8919963. Palgrave Macmillan Journals. 41885788.
9. Dundes in Boskin, 255–256.
10. Dundes in Boskin, 253–255.
11. Dundes in Boskin, 255.
12. Web site: And the winner is ... California. Michael Miller. Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal. 2001-02-16. 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?.
13. Dundes, 264.