How would a plant tell a joke?
March 5, 2022 1:42 PM Subscribe
If a plant could grow in a way that would tell a joke, or at least be amusing, how would it do it? I'm not talking about growing in a way that writes something or as a representative sculpture of something funny. Maybe a visual pun, or something else entirely. What could a plant do to cause a laugh?
Perhaps something that reveals the plant needs more water, or really hates the tree beside it.
Originally, I was going to say I'm also not looking for something where a person is involved in making a plant grow in a certain way, but on second thought, why not, because the joke would be for people. However, if you can come up with a way a plant would amuse another plant, go for it.
Perhaps something that reveals the plant needs more water, or really hates the tree beside it.
Originally, I was going to say I'm also not looking for something where a person is involved in making a plant grow in a certain way, but on second thought, why not, because the joke would be for people. However, if you can come up with a way a plant would amuse another plant, go for it.
Best answer: Funny is about timing. A well-timed droop, flex, leaf drop, flowering, etc is the best bet when amusing humans.
To amuse plants, I imagine the equivalent is a very, very, very long shaggy dog story, a tease, told over seasons, spelled out in pH and trace chemicals. There is probably a hilarious tree nearby we know nothing about.
posted by bigbigdog at 2:16 PM on March 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
To amuse plants, I imagine the equivalent is a very, very, very long shaggy dog story, a tease, told over seasons, spelled out in pH and trace chemicals. There is probably a hilarious tree nearby we know nothing about.
posted by bigbigdog at 2:16 PM on March 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
Maybe you'd grow so tall that you'd smash through the greenhouse roof and you can say hi to all your tree buddies? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2730159/amp/No-glass-ceiling-60-year-old-cactus-smashes-greenhouse-reach-25ft-tall-sudden-growth-spurt.html
Or maybe you bloom for only 24 hours once every decade or so and when you do you smell like rotting flesh? (And look very phallic too) https://youtu.be/7bizKqJn5B8
Also I googled "funny plants" and got a bunch of funny, interesting and delightfully weird hits. :)
posted by foxjacket at 2:19 PM on March 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
Or maybe you bloom for only 24 hours once every decade or so and when you do you smell like rotting flesh? (And look very phallic too) https://youtu.be/7bizKqJn5B8
Also I googled "funny plants" and got a bunch of funny, interesting and delightfully weird hits. :)
posted by foxjacket at 2:19 PM on March 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
Trip someone with its root.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 2:20 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 2:20 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
A sunflower could drop its seed and grow little sonflowers.
posted by xo at 2:24 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by xo at 2:24 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
A Plant growing flowers in prime numbers to indicate that they are in their prime.
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:26 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by AlexiaSky at 3:26 PM on March 5, 2022
A guy falls asleep under a tree. The tree next to the first tree looks over and says "Are you gonna finish that?"
Spoken in tree language of course...
posted by Carlo at 3:31 PM on March 5, 2022
Spoken in tree language of course...
posted by Carlo at 3:31 PM on March 5, 2022
Check out the early Doonesbury comics where Zonker talks to his plants, and they talk back. One cute example is when they go to a bar and Zonker orders a drink, and the plant says “a pitcher of water, please.”
posted by Melismata at 3:39 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by Melismata at 3:39 PM on March 5, 2022
If you’re writing a SFF story, check out Sue Burke’s Semiosis duology for a (not really) humorous exploration of sentient plant communication.
posted by matildaben at 4:05 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by matildaben at 4:05 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My Tree Philodendron sends out impressively long roots above the soil. One time, I hadn't looked at it for a while, and found that one of the roots had grown so long, it reached the floor and started traveling about 3' along the baseboard. I thought that was pretty funny! Like what, Phil, you don't like my watering? I rewarded its tenacity by putting a bowl of water down there where it could drink.
posted by oxisos at 4:10 PM on March 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by oxisos at 4:10 PM on March 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
Maybe philodendrons are naturally funny. I have one that used to droop tendrils down from the hanging pot. When the kittens started grabbing the longer ones the plant pulled up the hanging parts and started growing UP.
posted by irisclara at 4:56 PM on March 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by irisclara at 4:56 PM on March 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
I could imagine a tree that teases squirrels by having branches fall away unexpectedly.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:29 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by SemiSalt at 5:29 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I assume the joke needs to be understandable by humans? Which makes it tough. Its also more difficult to think of a joke, as opposed to a plant just doing something funny.
Maybe something to do with the plant's relationship to the insects that pollinate it?
Shaping and scenting a flower like a cartoonishly exaggerated queen bee? But that might only be funny to worker bees, not humans.
posted by Zumbador at 7:43 PM on March 5, 2022
Maybe something to do with the plant's relationship to the insects that pollinate it?
Shaping and scenting a flower like a cartoonishly exaggerated queen bee? But that might only be funny to worker bees, not humans.
posted by Zumbador at 7:43 PM on March 5, 2022
... if we're going for juvenile humor, mixed in with trees or plants that whisper or rattle or whatever other noises they make, is one that decides to fart, instead.
I swear, though, this question triggers memories that I can't quite grab hold of at the moment. I know in the past I've laughed at what a tree/plant had done, but I can't give you examples at the moment. One'll probably come to me in the shower in a week or two.
posted by stormyteal at 9:07 PM on March 5, 2022
I swear, though, this question triggers memories that I can't quite grab hold of at the moment. I know in the past I've laughed at what a tree/plant had done, but I can't give you examples at the moment. One'll probably come to me in the shower in a week or two.
posted by stormyteal at 9:07 PM on March 5, 2022
An ambitious Venus fly trap could grow in an elephant habitat.
posted by ejs at 1:09 PM on March 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ejs at 1:09 PM on March 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: What about an old tree that takes a few decades to buckle a new sidewalk, causing humans to constantly trip and fall, which is often funny to other humans. Whenever the humans try to level the sidewalk, the tree thinks that's hilarious because humans are so short sighted.
posted by oxisos at 3:34 PM on March 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by oxisos at 3:34 PM on March 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Maybe matching the shape of a nearby, totally different plant, like a low-to-the-ground or stalky plant growing in loops or something to look like a bush.
Similarly, clumping all its leaves together or forming a dome or umbrella or something. Or creating a void right at dog-peeing height, which wouldn't be noticeable till a dog tried.
Maybe creating resonant spaces or sticks the right length that play a song or something when the wind blows.
posted by DebetEsse at 1:57 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]