The best dad jokes walk a thin line between wit and dumb humor. They are equal parts corny and hilarious, and often have a predictable pun or play on words with a cheesy punch line.

Whether you call them dad jokes, father jokes, or groan-worthy jokes, they can be a great way to break the ice and get everyone laughing. They’re the perfect Father’s Day, Christmas, white elephant, or birthday gifts for any dads, father-figures, or parents in your life.

While there are many different types of humor, some seem to be more associated with certain cultures than others. For example, the popular culture of ajae jokes in Korea is often associated with fathers because they encourage children to learn about the system of language by enjoying these simple jokes (Jong & Choi, 2017).

A lot of people consider dad jokes to be lame, stupid, and unfunny, but there is actually some interesting science behind them. Dad jokes are typically a type of anti-humour, and the reason they make us laugh is because they violate the normal rules of humour.

They’re teasingly annoying, and are the perfect tool for making people groan and roll their eyes for no good reason (Beck, 2015). This is a good thing, as research suggests that laughter is an evolved response to benign norm violations (see Table 1 below).