Jokes That Don’t Translate Well
Sometimes jokes don’t make sense unless you know the local customs and/or language. Here are three jokes that come to mind:
Guatemala:
- A mother sends her son to the tienda down the street to get some tortillas. At the tienda the T.V. is playing the Miss America Pageant. When the boy returns home he says, “Mommy, Mommy! At the tienda I saw on the television Miss California, Miss Arizona, and Miss Oregon!”
His mom replies, “And mis tortillas?”
“Uh, no, her I didn’t see.”
[When you say “Miss” and “mis” pronounce is like meece.] - A motorist gets pulled over by the police. The officer asks the man, “Can I see your drivers license?”
“Would you believe it, officer?” said the man. “I left my license in my other pants.”
“Okay, then. How about your vehicle registration,” asked the policeman.
“Would you believe it, officer, I left that in my other pants as well.”
“Ohhhh!” Exclaimed the policeman. “And don’t tell me that you left your billfold in your other pants too!”
[You have to bribe the police to avoid going to jail for made up violations.]
Canada:
Q: What do you call a traffic jam on the reservation?
A: A blood clot!
[They’re called Blood Reserves up there.]
