Talk:Knock-knock joke

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[edit] Early posts

To my knowledge, the "knock knock" joke was originated by my late uncle, Bob Dunn, who was a nationally syndicated cartoonist ("They'll Do It Every Time", "Little Iodine", etc.)....

Somebody a few edits ago added the "missing lines" to the Dr. Who joke, and I took them back out again, so I feel the need to explain myself. I think leaving them out entirely is more illustrative in how knock-knock jokes, while usually following a specific structure, may have the structure broken for extra effect. Even though it was noted that the two lines were only in some variations, since they were put in the joke itself where the "missing" lines "belonged", it loses its punch.

Of course, the point is to write an article, not tell a funny joke, but I prefer to let the effectiveness of the device to speak for itself.

--Furrykef 10:32, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Can someone explain the Gibraltar joke? (I explained my Grape joke) -- Leonard G. 03:53, 1 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Knock Knock. Who's there? Ko-po. Ko-po who? Ko-po there a Deq on my Uji? I suspect the anonymous editor who put this in was playing a joke of his own; his five edits (Special:Contributions/219.77.73.223) were all made within one 31-minute period, and the other four were all nonsense. This one probably was too. --Metropolitan90 June 29, 2005 05:34 (UTC)

This is an informative entry (as the joke's format isn't known in Brazil, for example), but the creation date and/or first records of the knock-knock joke are missing; the "time-honored" part made me wonder. -- Calebe 14:41, 2004 Oct 19 (UTC)

In spain there is a very similar kind of jokes, they use to be about placing orders in a restaurant:

Camarero, camarero. Una de mero ...
Una de mero, dos de febrero, tres de marzo cuatro de abril ...

which is a pun about a kind of fish and a popular song of "San Fermines" party

[edit] Wikibooks

There is now a b:Joke book on Wikibooks. Please consider whether parts of this article should moved and/or copied to that project. Rossami (talk) 05:28, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I've got another one.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Taupo.
Taupo who?
Taupo Laa-Laa wants her.
(Tell Po Laa-Laa wants her.)

Should this go into the article or b:Joke book?

I've got another one.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Bee.
Bee who?
You should "Bee" in bed

Should this go into the article or b:Joke book? Scott Gall 04:57, 2005 Apr 11 (UTC)

I invented this "prank" knock knock joke as a small child, although i wouldn't be surprised if others have done the same. It's supposed to go like this:

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Knock knock.
Knock knock who?
Knock knock joke!

But many people never realize they should reply with "Knock knock who?", and keep repeating "Who's there?" until they give up. --Anomie 17:05, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Deletion of the Jokebook

Jimbo Wales has announced that he will be deleting the Jokebook from Wikibooks within 24 hours. See Wikibooks:Staff lounge. Uncle G 16:30, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

what happened to the knock knock joke from flowers for algernon?

[edit] Copyvio ?

Is the appearance of Shel Silverstein's joke subject to "Fair Use"? Mdotley 16:58, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Ya know, I was gonna ask the same thing. I don't think it is. But I'm not sure. Is it better to be safe rather then sorry and remove it? Or maybe just cut it down to a few illustrative lines rather then the entire poem? ~ ONUnicorn (Talk / Contribs) 13:35, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
If the poem had been published as a standalone, there would be no question that it's a copyvio. But since it is only a small part of a book, I'm not sure what rules apply. Mdotley 21:22, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jokebook

This article is starting to turn into a jokebook. I reverted the last few additions, but I think that we, the editors, need to come to some consensus about an appropriate number of examples to illustrate the concept. Mdotley 21:24, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

C'mon, liven up. Don't be a spoil sport. please :-(. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.42.160.107 (talk) 2006-11-08 17:09:41

Mdotley is right. This article is nowhere near being an encyclopaedia article. There's plenty of source material to be found on the subject of knock-knock jokes, such as articles by Neal R. Norrick in the International Journal of Humor Research (and the Journal of Pragmatics) and research by folklorists into the cycle. This article hardly covers any of the territory covered in the literature, is wholly unsourced, and contains several paragraphs that are apparently original research. The several long lists of "variations" and "more variants" that have no accompanying analysis give it all the appearance of being an excuse to write a joke book in the middle of the encyclopaedia. There are plenty of places that have the aim of collecting as many knock-knock jokes as possible into a list. Wikipedia is not one of them. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia. Uncle G 11:15, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

So, what can we do about it? ~ MD Otley (talk) 15:08, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Orange

I find Aunt works much better. The second joke is adjusted slightly:

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Granny. Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Granny. Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Aunt.
Aunt who?
Aunt you glad I got rid of the Grannies?

--80.175.250.218 16:40, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Language

This kind of format for this joke is not popular in Spanish speaking countries. FYI —Preceding unsigned comment added by Camilo Sanchez (talk • contribs) 19:32, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History

The earliest reference to Knock Knock jokes in the article is from the early 50's however, Spike Jones song "Knock Knock (who's there)" which is a prescriptive procedure on knock knock jokes complete with examples was recorded in the 1940's. I have no idea if Spike invented the genre or was inspired by it, but I believe that his recording preceeds other mentions of the history of the knock knock joke.

StateOfTheUnion 10:50, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hindi "khat-khat"

I added a reference to "khat-khat" jokes in hindi now heard on radio channels in India. Sorry it smacks of OR, but I it's hard to get references. Amit@Talk 16:02, 27 October 2007 (UTC)