A new convict arrives in prison, and he’s sitting in his cell with his new cell mate. Suddenly someone yells “243” and the whole cellblock starts laughing. A little while later someone yells, “23” and again everyone starts laughing. This happens every day between 2pm and 3pm.
The new guy has no idea what is going on, so he asks his cell mate, “what’s so funny”? The cell mate goes on to explain, “There is only one book in the prison, and it’s a joke book. We’ve all read it so many times that we’ve memorized the jokes. So now, we only have to hear the numbers.”
So, the new guy goes to the library and studies the book. After a couple of weeks he’s ready… Two o’clock rolls around and someone yells, “119”. The whole cellblock erupts in laughter. The new guy yells “198”. There is dead silence.
He asks his cell mate what happened? The cell mate replies, “Some people can tell a joke, and some people can’t.”
I’ve never been to prison, but that sounds like a joke a “new guy” would tell.