i think it's time to lock this thread before no-one can make any more jokes ever again.
there's an asimov story about that. but anyway
i think asimov wrote a short story--or maybe just an editorial--about jokes and their origins. the story began by asking why there are so many traveling salesmen jokes when there haven't been traveling salesmen for decades.
i think they figured out all jokes came from aliens. except the worst jokes--puns--which people made up. maybe it was arthur c clarke.
i also don't think that intention needs to be part of a joke. to explain, an example:
there was a black adder episode where hugh laurie looks like he makes a legitimate mistake and combines Black Adder's name into "Bladder." Rowan Atkinson takes it in stride and incorporates the mistake into the show. I think we can all agree that calling Black Adder "Bladder" is a good joke. Regardless of intention, the joke "works" the same way. Is the joke more funny if it was written into the script? Or is the joke funnier if it really was an accidental slip up by Laurie? If it was written, the actor/director/editor made the slip up seem as unintentional as possible. intention has nothing to do with this joke, and i don't think it solves any of the potential problems of joke analysis.
a lot of the humor mentioned in this thread doesn't come down to "jokes." laughing about the way someone describes a rape/assault/death isn't a joke at all--it has to do with humor and comedy, but not jokes. about a decade ago, i listened to Loveline with Adam Carolla and Dr Drew--a show that could sometimes be full of inappropriate humor. when this lady described a sexual assault as "dry anal rape"....well, it sounded much funnier than it reads. it certainly is not a joke, but it is comedic.
turning anne frank's life into a twitter feed--now that's a joke.