Every nerd has, at some point, heard the following “math joke:”
Q: Why was 6 afraid of 7?
A: Because 7 8 9.
See, it’s funny because, on the one hand, “7 8 9” is part of the well-known arithmetic sequence of integers, whereas on the other hand it sounds like “7 ate 9,” suggesting that 7 hides nightmarish cannibalistic tendencies of which 6 is horrifying aware.
Of course, by funny I mean not really funny after, say, second grade (the Ladybug thinks it’s a riot, for example), but it has nevertheless spawned a number of spin-off jokes, such as
Q: Why was 6 afraid of 7?
A: Because 7 was a registered 6 offender.
which is the equally terrible, on grounds of both paronomasia and taste.
Here are a few more variations on this wearied gag, all of which are similarly nerdy and some of which are even funny. There’s the Grecophile version:
Q: Why was
afraid of
?
A: Because
.
There’s the Whovian version:
Q: Why was McCoy scared of McGann?
A: Because McGann Hurt Eccleston.
There’s the version in which we change base:
Q: Why isn’t 6 afraid of 7 in octal?
A: Because 7 10 11.
There’s the anti-joke version:
And, finally, the pop culture one:
Q: Why was 6 afraid of 7?
A: Because he looked in the box.
