The town holds an annual contest called “Worst Dad Jokes,” and the winner gets banned for life.

Photo Credit (Pixeles)

A peculiar custom in a small hamlet far from the bustle of the city has grown into an annual event that locals look forward to. The “Worst Dad Jokes” competition has become a popular yearly event that unites people of all ages for a night of facepalms, moans, and laughs. But this year, something genuinely surprising occurred. Everyone was in a state of astonishment after the event, which is all about honouring the most embarrassing and groan-worthy jokes, took an unexpected turn.

The local community centre is hosting the event, which invites attendees to share their best—or worst—dad jokes. For those who are unfamiliar, dad jokes are usually cheesy, pun-filled one-liners that have become a commonplace in family dynamics. Fathers typically tell them to make their kids laugh—or, more often, groan. However, the worst dad jokes are the main attraction in this town, and the more eye-rolling they are, the better.

Participants from all backgrounds register each year to contribute their jokes in an attempt to win the coveted title of “Worst Dad Joke of the Year.” The audience, which consists of local fans, families, and friends, evaluates the jokes not on their humour but more on how horribly embarrassing they are. The competition has previously been a humorous event with quips like “Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They lack the courage! or “My knowledge of the alphabet is limited to 25 letters.” I have no idea why. People always laugh (or cringe) at these jokes, and participants go home feeling proud of themselves for making others laugh—in the most embarrassing way imaginable.

However, things took a crazy turn this year.

As is customary, the competition began with contestants taking the mic to share their most cringe-worthy anecdotes. As the jokes were spoken, the audience burst out laughing (or maybe more correctly, a mixture of laughter and agonising moans). Up until one specific participant—an unidentified newcomer—took the stage, it was all fun and games. Although he didn’t appear unusual, his prank was anything but. His name was Greg Walker.

Greg took the microphone with assurance, glanced out over the audience, and grinned as he stated, “I used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough dough.” I am currently making a lot of money as a banker. The audience initially laughed politely at the obvious pun, seemingly taking it in stride. Then Greg gave it to me again. And yet another. A succession of jokes followed, leaving the audience in stunned silence, with some individuals shaking their heads in shock. Greg’s unrelenting quest for pun-filled humour swiftly escalated from somewhat entertaining to downright painful.

Greg’s performance stood out not only because of his terrible jokes but also because he didn’t stop. He barely stopped to catch his breath before launching into a torrent of dad jokes without waiting for responses. I pointed out to my wife that she was raising her eyebrows excessively. She appeared taken aback! “What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?” he asked again. A carrot! Additionally, “I’m reading an antigravity book.” There is no way to put it down!

It was obvious that something had changed as the audience grew more uneasy. What had started off as a fun competition suddenly felt more like a test of endurance. The audience was grimacing and pleading for pity instead of laughing. With Greg’s constant stream of offensive jokes beating their ears, some started to go. The judges, who were always calm and severe, began to look at each other uneasily. Greg, however, was having a great time and had no intention of stopping.

At that moment, the event organisers chose to step in after seeing a change in the atmosphere. The organisers made an extraordinary move after several unsuccessful attempts to gently usher Greg off the stage. They demanded that he stop performing and announced that Greg would be permanently barred from the competition for his intense devotion to the art of ill humour.

Despite their first horror, the audience erupted in cheers. The contest returned to its typical light-hearted tone as the energy changed from discomfort to relief. Although Greg’s triumph was brief, his involvement in the worst dad jokes competition will go down in local history as the most intense—and maybe intrusive—performance the town has ever witnessed.

Reactions to the decision to ban Greg for life were mixed. Some said that stretching the limits of offensive humour was part of the contest’s enjoyment, and that the organisers were being overly severe. Some, on the other hand, believed that Greg’s constant jokes went too far and broke the mood of the occasion, therefore they backed the ban. Greg’s performance made a lasting impression on the contest’s history, regardless of whether his jokes were indeed the “worst” of the evening.

The community was abuzz with talk about the notorious performance in the weeks after the catastrophe. Memes, hashtags, and videos of Greg’s tirade of puns went viral on social media, and his face quickly appeared on local news sites. Some locals mockingly called him the “Dad Joke King,” while others sarcastically asserted that Greg’s quips were so awful they were an art form.

Despite the lingering effects of Greg’s notorious performance, the yearly “Worst Dad Jokes” competition remains a beloved tradition. A new rule has been added to the competition: no contender may tell more than five jokes in a row without the organisers calling a “joke timeout.” The event planners apparently took away a useful lesson: even the worst dad jokes can go too far at times.

Even though Greg’s reign was brief, he will always be remembered as a local legend. Even though he is no longer permitted to compete in the competition, the town’s folklore will always remember his unrelenting search for the worst dad jokes. The remaining competitors are now aware that there is a thin line separating hilarious and unacceptable dad jokes.