Mom Jokes Hit Twice As Hard As Dad Jokes Using Half As Much

When my sister and I were kids, my mother took us to a clothing store and made a Mom Joke.

Salesperson: “And today, this particular sweater is 50% off.”

Mom: “Oh, does that mean half of the sweater is missing?”

Salesperson: *Completely serious* “No, actually, it means we take half off the price.”

For years, Mom told this story as a funny example of someone not understanding what should have been obvious humor. Now that I’ve read NAR, I see it completely differently: either the salesperson legitimately thought my mom was a stupid customer because that’s not too implausible, or the salesperson had heard so many similar jokes and just wasn’t having it anymore.