20 Jokes That Become Funnier When They’re Explained

As a general rule, jokes become less funny when they require an explanation. There are, however, a few notable exceptions. Case in point: A Redditor shared a saying his dad uttered throughout his childhood, which didn’t become funny until it was explained: “Here I sit brokenhearted, paid a dime but only farted.”

On its surface, it sounds like a scrapped line from a now-banned Dr. Seuss book. But the Redditor’s dad explained that there were public pay toilets when he was a kid, which brings a lot more gravity to the woefully lost 10 cents. Now it’s funny.

Other Redditors have told their favorite zingers that get funnier with additional context, including ones about Chinese nomenclature, a bike that can’t stand and how to get down from an elephant.