Science suggests cringeworthy dad jokes may serve a real purpose
Link to article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/06/15/science-suggests-cringe-worthy-dad-jokes-may-serve-an-actual-purpose/
Humor is a surprisingly important aspect of parenting, and that silly one-liner may help strengthen the bond between fathers and children
When does a joke become a dad joke? When it becomes apparent.
At some point, you’ve probably been bamboozled by a good (or terrible) dad joke — those silly one-liners known for their pun-y, often groan-worthy humor. But there may be more to them than you think. Research suggests that humor may play a meaningful role in parenting, and shared laughter may help strengthen father-child bonds.
“It’s a fun genre of humor because it’s welcoming. It’s kind of affable, it’s good-natured, it’s lighthearted,” said Paul Silvia, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
But what makes a dad joke work?
While there are few studies on dad jokes themselves, Silvia has been analyzing them to determine what makes some funnier than others. In a preprint of his study titled “What’s brown and sticky?” (hint: a stick), Silvia and a colleague analyzed more than 32,000 dad jokes from a subreddit, r/dadjokes, and identified three qualities that appeared to make up the best dad jokes — puns, literalization and pedantic humor, he said.
Silvia said some of the most classic ones use a pun: “So long, boiling water. You will be mist.”
Literalization, which turns a common concept or expression into a physical reality, is widely used, as well: “I’m worried about the calendar. Its days are numbered,” he said.
With pedantic humor, he said, the jokester sets up the joke and then derails it: “What’s blue and smells like red paint? Blue paint.”
“So there is at least a weak recipe for humor,” Silvia said.
Using Reddit comments and upvotes as popularity metrics, Silvia determined that when it comes to a solid dad joke structure, people found the question-and-answer framing funnier, such as: “Did you hear about the two thieves who stole a calendar? They each got six months.”
And in a survey portion of the study, people reported that they connected more with the jokes that used family characters such as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents and animals.
Topics such as nature, health care and money resonated, whereas those about politics, religion and war did not. But, Silvia said, “people are so different in what they find funny.”
That’s why we turned to you — our Washington Post readers — and asked you to submit dad jokes that you find funny. Here are just a few responses that had us simultaneously rolling our eyes and slapping our knees (feel free to share your own in the comments):