Humorists Panic

Humorists grieved this week as the "knock knock joke" went the way of the dodo, the Edsel and a truly progressive income tax after a Supreme Court ruling rendered the joke "completely unfunny," according to the American Humorist Association.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that police could enter an apartment after orally announcing their presence, without waiting for the occupant to answer the door. Humorists were horrified. "They got rid of the knock!" said entertainer Wiley the Clown.

Funny people now maintain that the ruling destroys the comedic import of the knock-knock joke and renders it obsolete. "All of a sudden, it's, at best, knock-knock and you have to go right to the punchline. No who's there. It's awful," said Stan Menchnik, a comedian from Brooklyn.

Menchnik demonstrated. "Knock knock. Sam and Janet Evening," he said without a pause. "Here's another: Knock knock. Orange you glad I didn't say banana."

"You see?" he said. "Not funny."

Menchnik said that comedians are attempting to create a new joke, the "barge right in" joke. "Here's how it goes: Police!"