Unexplainable

[Dishonored]

 Okay, there's an old joke that I've been telling for decades. It's a funny joke, but some people just don't get it. Now, I'm not counting people who get it and just don't think it's funny, but I have never found a way to explain the joke to someone who doesn't get it so they DO get it.
It's a clean joke, perfectly SFW. I'm posting it so others can share it and see who does and doesn't get it, and to see if anyone can find a way to explain it to someone who just doesn't get it. Toss me some feedback, please.
A city gentleman decides to visit his country cousin on a fine summer day. The day was so nice, in fact, that he decided to walk and enjoy the countryside.
As he passed a small farm along the road, he spotted a cow with three legs in a farmer's yard. The farmer was working nearby, so he called him over.
"What's up with the three-legged cow?" he asked.
The farmer's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Oh, this is a special cow! She gives milk, watches my kids, does the chores when I'm sick, even drives the tractor! She's a great cow!"
The city guy looks puzzled. "So why does she only have three legs?"
The farmer says, "Are you kidding? You don't eat a cow like that all at once!"

(I figure Llearch will find a way to explain it to someone who doesn't get it, and I'm really hoping to hear one that works.)

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I heard it told about a pig, actually. I don't know how you'd explain it; it seems perfectly obvious to me.

You don't eat a cow like that all at once, you just have to put your steak in the ground and moo-ve on from there.


... time to leg it. ;-]

[Dishonored]

I heard it told about a pig, actually. I don't know how you'd explain it; it seems perfectly obvious to me.

You don't eat a cow like that all at once, you just have to put your steak in the ground and moo-ve on from there.


... time to leg it. ;-]

*snerk*

Most people get it, but I've also met several who don't. I used to jokingly call it a humor intelligence test, but some people got offended.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

... because they didn't get it? I get ya.

[Razmoudah]

Errrr......although I do get it as a farm brat I don't agree with it.  A cow that good you just don't eat until putting her down is a kindness to her from age, and then you enjoy the 'well aged' beef.  Yes, this is typically the type of joke told by those who are at least 'rural aware' to those who aren't, but that doesn't always make it a good joke.

Now, if I had to guess as to why some people just don't get it, I think the first question to ask many of them is where steak and ground beef come from.  I'm not sure if there's anyone around here old enough to remember the farm crisis of the early 1980s, but there were people who weren't worried about farmers going 'on strike' and not producing crops because they got there food at places like Safeway, with absolutely no idea how the food got there or where it originated from.  I'm willing to bet that most of the people who don't get the joke are like that.

[Dishonored]

 I was raised in cities, but I've lived on a farm in a rural area for almost thirty years now. I've had ample opportunity to tell that joke to various people; it seems to go over equally well regardless of gender, locale, and education. The same is true of those who don't get it. I have noticed, though that younger people tend to get it more, not less.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I was raised in cities, but I've lived on a farm in a rural area for almost thirty years now. I've had ample opportunity to tell that joke to various people; it seems to go over equally well regardless of gender, locale, and education. The same is true of those who don't get it. I have noticed, though that younger people tend to get it more, not less.

That's fascinating. Anecdata, of course, but fascinating all the same.

[Gabi]

I heard it about a pig too. SFW, you say? I'd say it's not safe for anywhere! It's probably the most disgusting joke I've ever heard, and that's saying a lot considering my dad has a habit of telling nasty jokes.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

I heard it about a pig too. SFW, you say? I'd say it's not safe for anywhere! It's probably the most disgusting joke I've ever heard, and that's saying a lot considering my dad has a habit of telling nasty jokes.

... I'm sure I've heard worse. Pretty sure.

[Dishonored]

I heard it about a pig too. SFW, you say? I'd say it's not safe for anywhere! It's probably the most disgusting joke I've ever heard, and that's saying a lot considering my dad has a habit of telling nasty jokes.

Um...sorry if I offended, but the joke does not have any reference to sex, racism, religion, disability, creed, or color. It is not graphic in nature regarding violence, bodily fluids and parts, or consumption of disgusting substances (unless you're a vegan). The only possible angle I can see is a reference to animal cruelty, which is mitigated by the fact that in the joke the cow isn't held captive; it can leave at any time. (Yes, a fence is mentioned, but the intent was a low picket fence, not prison.)