It takes a fish

An interesting exchange...

Jeff,

There is a joke on your site "How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb ?  Ans: It takes a fish."

It don't get it.
 
Also, there was a TV show hosted by Lewis Black, originally aired on 2/2/2008, called "History of the Joke".  On that show, one of the comedians told this joke,

 "How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb?  Ans: Yarn"

I really don't get this one.
 
Can you enlighten me?

Thanks,
Roy Rowlett

-----

From: Jeff Goebel
To: Roy Rowlett
Subject: Re: Meaning of a punchline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealist

I am not sure why you would not just look up what a surrealist was, and thus "get" the joke... but here is Wikipedia's take.  The part in red is the general knowledge understanding that makes the jokes silly, but funny.

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members.

Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur; however many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artifact. Leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was above all a revolutionary movement.

-----

Jeff,
Thanks for the response. 
I do know what a surrealist is, and I understand that surrealist humor involves the use of non sequiturs, juxtaposition, etc.  What I don't understand is why the answer always seems to be "fish" or "yarn".  There are a few others out there, but if it is supposed to be a nonsensical answer, then anything would suffice, i.e. bicycle, thunderstorm, corn on the cob, etc.  Why fish, in particular?  Is it a reference to the symbol for Pisces, the juxtaposition of the two fish ?  Perhaps the joke has just been copied to several sites, and they all therefore have the same answers.  I just thought I was missing some obscure reference that made it a funny answer.

Thanks again

----

From: Jeff Goebel
To: Roy Rowlett

When I first heard the joke, I heard the punchline; It takes a fish.

Can I ask you why I would then turn to my friend and tell the same joke with a different ending; It takes a bicycle?  That seems odd.  I don't change the punchline in any other joke I tell.  Despite the fact I COULD change the line and the joke would be the same, I see no reason to do so.  This was somebody's joke.  They thought of it, and it has been passed on by friends, workers and web sites.  To change it seems to belittle the humour.

It's a non sequitur that COULD be anything, but I don't want to change it and take credit.  It's not my joke.  I've never heard the yarn version.  To me, it isn't as funny.  Fish is funnier than yarn.  Yarn seems too silly.  Yarn can't change a lightbulb.

Fish can't either, but at least they know what light is.

I do not believe there is anything to read into - and am fascinated at the time and energy and biblical reference you've come up with.  You have made this silly joke funny again.  Thanks.  I may include this hilarious exchange in my ODD EMAIL archive,

----
From: "Roy Rowlett" <royrowlett@earthlink.net>
To: "Jeff Goebel" <info@frogstar.com>

Most punch lines I have seen for this joke simply say "Fish". not "It takes a fish".  That seems odd to me.  I love jokes, but I do not have much exposure to surrealist humor. 
I had asked you your opinion about it since your website seems to contain many jokes, and I assumed that you are somewhat of a joke aficionado as well.  I did not assume that it was "your joke", since I had first heard it on the TV show I referenced.  Since I heard the "yarn" answer first, I was perplexed about that particular choice of answer.

I prefer traditional humor, I guess.  Another joke that was told on that show is much funnier to me:
"My brother is a financial analyst.  He asked me if I was doing anything to prepare for the future.  I told him I was practicing wring left handed, in case I have a stroke". 

--

You are odd, but thanks for the contribution to our ODD Email archive online.