If you only know Daniel Tosh from “Tosh.0,” do yourself a favor and look up his standup. He’s a force of nature.
When we discuss how you can become more funny, I talk a lot about “Apple-Apple-Tampon” – the perfect setup for a rapport-breaking joke.
Apple – something normal.
Apple – something else normal.
Tampon – something completely out of left field.
There’s a GREAT example of this joke setup in the second Daniel Tosh special. A super concise one, too.
Here’s the joke:
“People assume I’m some bleeding-heart liberal! What?! I’m conservative in nearly every way it counts. I hate the poor!”
See what he did there?
Apple – protests his political beliefs being misinterpreted. Normal.
Apple – asserts his TRUE political beliefs (conservative). Normal.
Tampon – proudly asserts something that NO actual conservative would ever say (at least not with a straight face), but which fits the liberal stereotype of a conservative.
Uproarious laughter.
Honestly, you could probably just steal this joke and pull it out of nowhere for a group of girls, ESPECIALLY more liberal girls. They’ll think it’s hilarious … and 99.99% of them will NOT have seen the Tosh special, so they won’t know you’re ripping him off.
Watch Tosh. Repeatedly. Take notes.