| Revision as of 02:06, 8 December 2006 editLight current (talk | contribs)30,368 edits →The early days of the Internet: rm joke refs← Previous edit | Revision as of 02:06, 8 December 2006 edit undoLight current (talk | contribs)30,368 edits →Cross-cultural humor: rm further joke paraNext edit → | ||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
| ==Cross-cultural humor== | |||
| Because of their freedom and universality of topics, "two cows" jokes are sometimes considered a good example of "cross-cultural ]". They can be concise examples (not necessarily scientific) of how different cultures can express different visions of the same political concept, by ], ], or ]. In practice, most such jokes reflect the views of outsiders to the systems being satirised. In the spirit of finding international common ground, some also see them as humorous manifestations of an underlying general scheme of ] that would compare legal or political concepts, such as the ]s of ], across cultures around the world. | |||
| ==Other cows and humor== | ==Other cows and humor== | ||
Revision as of 02:06, 8 December 2006
"You have two cows" is the beginning phrase for a series of political joke definitions. "You have two cows" jokes originated as a parody of typical introductory-level economics course material examples featuring a farmer in a moneyless society, using his cattle and produce to trade with his neighbors. The examples ran along the lines of "You have two cows; you want chickens; you set out to find another farmer who has chickens and wants a cow". They were meant to show the limitations of the barter system, leading to the eventual introduction of currency and money. The "two cows" parodies, however, place the cow-owner in a fully fledged economic system where cows are used as a metaphor for all currency, capital, means of production and economic property. The intent is often to point out flaws and absurdities in those systems.
Other cows and humor
Cows themselves are a frequent subject matter of humor, involved in works such as cow ASCII art, cow tipping, and The Far Side. Some have conjectured that the word cow may be an inherently funny word, as invoked in the term "holy cow" and the compound dvigu.
External links
- TheCapitol.Net You Have Two Cows... at YouHaveTwoCows.com
- Two Cows - another list
- You have two cows on Uncyclopedia