People ask me where these shirt ideas come from.
Usually that’s followed by, “Is this what you do all day?”
Well…more than I’d probably like to admit.
Truth is, bad puns don’t keep office hours.
They don’t usually wait until I’m sitting at my desk. They’ll show up while I’m shaving, standing in the grocery line, or right in the middle of somebody else’s conversation.
Once one gets lodged in my head, it’s about as easy to get rid of as a burr in your sock.
So here’s how one of these ridiculous ideas usually makes its way onto a T-shirt.
First, somebody says something perfectly normal.
My brain immediately improves it…or ruins it, depending on who you ask.
That part doesn’t take any effort at all. It’s just the way I’m wired.
Next, I say it out loud.
I admit, I do get some looks during this step.
I don’t take those looks too seriously.
After that, somebody with a little artistic talent steps in. I can write the joke, but if I tried drawing it myself, you’d think a chicken had gotten loose with a crayon.
After it gets the graphics added, suddenly, my silly little pun starts looking like something you’d actually wear.
Then we try it to see how it looks on a tee or a hoodie or a rocks glass.
And finally…
Some ideas make the cut.
Some don’t.
Not every bad joke deserves a long career. The ones that don’t become shirts usually end up tucked away for another day. They may become a joke or even a blog post. And sometimes, they just get a laugh from me and I decide to toss them. Maybe the world isn’t ready for them. Yet.
If you have a pun that’s been rattling around in your own head, send it along. I can’t promise it’ll wind up on a shirt…
…but I can promise it’ll get a fair hearing.
And around here, that’s about as much as any bad pun can ask for.
H.D. Ingles is a humorist, author, and the man behind RUNutsNetwork.com — Official Merch for the Officially Nuts. If this post made you think of somebody you ought to call, go ahead and call them. The merch will still be here when you get back.
