It could be argued that the cliché “so stupid it’s funny” earned its cliché status almost entirely thanks to dad jokes. Each one is so dumb that it’s impossible not to lol — some combination of idiotic pun or blissfully ignorant corniness that somehow grows more charming when it’s heard over and over again. And while Dad’s jokes may be embarrassing at some point in your life (most likely between the ages of 10 and 25), they’re actually kind of hilarious before (when Dad’s the funniest guy you know) and after (when it’s just fine for Dad to be Dad). To pay these jokes the grudging respect they deserve, we’ve illustrated, in one-panel New Yorker style, a few we collected from the real-life dads of a bunch of different people we know.
Comics by Spencer J. Olson
