3075. A bad joke © Bruce Goodman 4 January 2025

A relief teacher, whose task was to fill in when a regular teacher took ill, was amazed at how the students in class took turns calling out numbers. In response, sometimes they would roar hysterically and other times they would quietly chuckle. Upon enquiry the relief teacher was told that each joke was allotted a number and they only had to call out the number and all would appreciate the joke. To put it to the test, the relief teacher entered the classroom and said “one hundred and twenty four”. The number was greeted with stony silence. The relief teacher asked the headmaster if he knew why they found the joke “one hundred and twenty four” so unfunny. “Oh,” said the headmaster, “some can tell a joke and some can’t.” Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story