2015-01-09
Explanation
The Joke
A young man asks his great-grandfather how he manages to focus, confessing that he thinks about girls all the time. The grandfather replies that when you get as old as he is, you just do not think about sex that much -- and adds that in his age bracket, there are six women for every man. The grandson asks "Why not?" and the grandfather explains: "I don''t think about sex for the same reason you don''t think about air: because I''m gettin'' it all day long!" He then crows triumphantly: "Rooster in the henhouse, baby! Cockadoodledoo!"
In the final panels, the grandson reports the visit to someone (likely a sibling or parent), who asks if grandpa is "getting senile." The grandson replies "I don''t think so. Why?" -- and his companion says "Then I want to start eating a lot healthier."
The Humor
The joke works through misdirection. The setup leads you to expect the grandfather to confirm the stereotype that old age kills your sex drive. Instead, he reveals that he is having more sex than ever because the gender ratio at his age (women significantly outnumber men in elderly populations) has made him effectively irresistible. His boastful "rooster in the henhouse" metaphor is both crude and delightful.
The secondary punchline in the final panels adds another layer: the person hearing this story does not dismiss grandpa as senile -- instead, they are so inspired by the prospect of a sexually active old age that they immediately resolve to eat healthier so they can live long enough to enjoy the same favorable demographics. The joke thus subverts the usual dread of aging by presenting extreme old age as a kind of paradise for the surviving men.