Dad Jokes on Zoom; Are They Even Remotely Funny?
It happens in every family Zoom call - somewhere between the male members in the family trying to speak, sing (and yes, maybe even fart) the loudest and "You're still muted, Aunt Gladys" - the dad joke gets unleashed. At first, everyone stares blankly at the Brady Bunch gallery-view window with the offender in it. In the meantime, he's thinking the pun is good, his delivery was confident and the joke inescapably funny. That's when the reaction happens: a chorus of eye-rolls, deep sighs and at least one "Really, Dad?" And yet, the strangest thing happens. Even though everyone in the family audibly groaned at the joke like Grandpa trying get his head through the arm hole of his favorite polo shirt, it sticks around. It gets repeated. Mom tells it at work or to the members of her book club or cooking class. The teenager who rolled his eyes a week earlier is telling the same 'lame' joke to their friends in class, and they are laughing. Ironically, ...