Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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THE DAD COMEDY STORE — Many look down on the dad joke. In fact, there are more eye rolls per dad joke than any other kind of joke. I believe that stat is in a textbook somewhere.
Say what you will about the dad joke, but it's an art that takes decades to master.
You can't just show up one day and expect to create a pun that causes laughter due to a lack of comfort and not humor. It's not easy to manipulate wordplay to turn the word "intense" into a joke about sleeping outside in a tent. This takes years of practice, fanny packs, white socks with sandals and a sixth sense as to when anyone touches a thermostat.
It takes great timing and a quick mind to put together a joke about submarine sandwiches when your bread gets soggy in a cooler, or ask someone if they "forgot their keys" when you see a random stranger turn around while on a run. The ability to tell dad jokes doesn't just fall from the sky; it takes commitment and a total lack of caring about what others think of you.
While any dad takes great pride in landing a brilliant dad joke, it pales in comparison to watching their own offspring spring a dad joke. Imagine that feeling Archie Manning must have had after watching his son Peyton and then his son Eli win Super Bowls and Super Bowl MVP. Now multiply that feeling by 50 and that's what the dad in this video is feeling.
His daughter comes in and sets him up perfectly with an interesting anecdote. The bait is cast and mom is all in — "a celebrity has been stabbed, how awful," is what is written all over mom's face.
Dad, however, is somewhat interested but not enough to pull away from the computer. Now the daughter really hooks dad with an opportunity. She only says the first name of a celebrity, "Reese . . ." Why is this move so brilliant? Because the only thing a dad enjoys more than a good dad joke is showing everyone he's knowledgeable and right. Immediately dad jumps in with, "Witherspoon?" Hook, line and sinker, my friends. Dad is about to be reeled in and the daughter will greatly exaggerate the size of her catch for years to come. Well, that is, if she's learned anything from her dad, which she clearly has. The daughter then delivers the punchline, "No, with a knife."
Mom doesn't know what to do. She smiles as people often do with dad jokes, but you can almost see sunbeams explode from dad's head as the realization of what just happens sinks in.
Whatever was going on with that computer is no longer of interest. This man's daughter just dad-joked the dickens out of this man and his knees are weak with pride. Dad gets up, nearly in tears, and immediately goes to embrace his baby girl all grown up. He will no doubt get emotional at her graduation, wedding and birth of her children, but this, this is pride. This is love. This is dad heaven.
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