Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Tell your favourite story

gekko513

gekko513

macrumors 603
Original poster
Oct 16, 2003
6,301
1
I'm having some difficulty explaining this, so bear with me.

Some people like to tell stories at social gatherings or parties. I've observed the type of stories that are told can be quite different in different sociocultural settings, and some people seem to tell stories of a type that have very old cultural traditions.

I don't tell stories because I'm not very eloquent, I don't like getting too much attention at once and I have trouble memorising and recalling information in an orderly fashion. :)

But I would very much like to hear if anyone else have any stories to tell and also if the story is linked to a story telling tradition in your culture.
 
I´m intrigued, but not sure I understand the type of story you mean. Can you give an example of the type of story that someone might tell here in Norway?
 
There are several types.

There's the type called "skrøne" which is a made up story usually told as if it was true and happened to the person that's telling it, but it's all made up of course. Some older people like to tell "skrøner" about things that supposedly happened when they were young and "til sjøs" (sailors, at sea).

There's also the "røverhistorie" which is almost the same thing, but I think it's not as common that the story teller includes himself/herself in the story.

And then there are of course ghost stories, urban and rural myths/legends, fairy tales and similar.
 
I usually tell this one...


A family walks into a talent agency. It's a father, mother, son, daughter and dog. The father says to the talent agent, "We have a really amazing act. You should represent us."

The agent says, "Sorry, I don't represent family acts. They're a little too cute."

The mother says, "Sir, if you just see our act, we know you would want to represent us."

The agent says, "OK. OK. I'll take a look."...
 
I don´t get it :confused:

Now if the DOG had said, "Sir, if you just saw our act..." :p

But is this the kind of story you mean, Gekko? I´ve got some like this, but I´ve always thought of them more as jokes???
 
Well, jokes are OK, too. Most of them have a mini story in them, don't you think?

But I'm even more interested in longer more unusual stories.

Edit: There are also entertaining stories that are told when people in a specific line of work or field of study meet. Those are also welcome, possible along with an explanation on what makes it entertaining if it's hard to get for the rest of us.


rdowns: I don't get your story either. Did you cut it short? It sounds familiar ... is it that very dirty one?
 
gekko513 said:
Well, jokes are OK, too. Most of them have a mini story in them, don't you think?

But I'm even more interested in longer more unusual stories.
Click to expand...

Ok, here´s a longer joke ;) :

Sam and Jim Frank are brothers, and despite their different personalities, they are best friends.

They live to a ripe old age, but when they die, Sam goes to hell and Jim goes to heaven.

This weighs heavily on them - they really miss each other, having spent most of their free time together while on earth.

Jim decides to talk to St. Peter about this. He asks for permission to visit his brother Sam in hell.

St. Peter says, "Well, all right, but on two conditions: You are back within 24 hours, and you bring your harp with you as a passport back into heaven."

Jim is overjoyed, and trots down the long path to hell.

Sam and Jim have a wonderful reunion. Turns out Sam is running a lucrative business down in hell; he owns a disco bar that has become the center of hell´s social scene.

Sam and Jim have such a good time, that Jim doesn´t keep track of time. Suddenly, he realizes he only has a few minutes of his allotted 24 hours left, so he sprints back up the long path to heaven.

He arrives, panting, just in time. St. Peter says, "Well, you made it back, but where´s your harp?"

Stricken, Jim turns white and says,

"Oh, no! I left my harp in Sam Frank´s disco!"
 
gekko513 said:
I don't get that one either ... maybe I'm dense today. :confused:
Click to expand...

I wondered if you would. To get it, you have to know that there´s a song called "I Left my Heart in San Franciso". So maybe it´s only "getable" to musicians and English speakers. People usually say "OOhhhh, BAD one!" when I tell it, because it´s actually very good - you really don´t see that last line coming :p
 
Abstract said:
But even after reading that, it STILL wasn't funny. :p
Click to expand...

Boils down to types of humor, I suppose. I didn´t like it either, but I´m sure some people would. In light of that, I think this thread will be interesting. What some people find interesting or funny, others don´t get or like at all.
 
Abstract said:
But even after reading that, it STILL wasn't funny. :p
Click to expand...
That's what I thought, too. It also dawned on me that I heard it before somewhere.

However, since the story has such an interesting cultural connection, it is perfect for this thread, I think, even if I don't quite get it yet.
 
Interesting thread, gekko. I stopped believing in narrative sometime around 1999 -- I know a lot of folks will argue that humans are essentially storytelling creatures, that thought and perception take narrative form -- but as far as I can tell, narrative is a big, fat fraud that provides answers (no matter how unsettling) while too infrequently asking (metaphysical) questions. Narrative is too theological, too violent -- too assuming about arrangement of object, event and "meaning."

So, just to tilt the thread a bit, some vaguely confrontational, non-narrative poetry (which I have read at a party!):

My you
Gain is rainy life
See
The Here end
Gain rainy end again the end see the
Feet. Utter. Cry know
Is Now,
The outside when Now

(18 seconds of silence)

.
 
Haha! Nice one RDowns, I wanna here the rest :D

Howcome nobody gets it??? :confused:

But Gekko, I still don't get what kind of story you mean, can you give another example?
 
annk said:
Ok, here´s a longer joke ;) :

Sam and Jim Frank are brothers, and despite their different personalities, they are best friends...
Click to expand...

I sent this one to my parents in San Fran. They're going to love it. Thanks!
 
One of my favorite stories was one sent to me in a brief email. Here goes:

A "nerdy" kid is walking home from school with a bunch of books. He drops the books, and the kids walking behind him laugh and do not help him. They boy begins to pick up the books, when a second boy who is one of the "jocks" stops and helps him carry his books home. The two boys introduce eachother, talk, and eventually become best friends. Four years later, the "nerdy" boy is valedictorian at their senior graduation. And during his speech, he tells the story of a friend who saved his life. And that boy is the "jock". The "nerdy" boy was carry all of those books that night because he had cleaned out his locker so that his mother would not have to, because he was so badly picked on that he planned to kill himself. But the fact that the "jock" stopped and helped him, made him change his mind. And therefore, a friendship truly saved his life.
 
Caitlyn said:
One of my favorite stories was one sent to me in a brief email. Here goes:

A "nerdy" kid is walking home from school with a bunch of books. He drops the books, and the kids walking behind him laugh and do not help him. They boy begins to pick up the books, when a second boy who is one of the "jocks" stops and helps him carry his books home. The two boys introduce eachother, talk, and eventually become best friends. Four years later, the "nerdy" boy is valedictorian at their senior graduation. And during his speech, he tells the story of a friend who saved his life. And that boy is the "jock". The "nerdy" boy was carry all of those books that night because he had cleaned out his locker so that his mother would not have to, because he was so badly picked on that he planned to kill himself. But the fact that the "jock" stopped and helped him, made him change his mind. And therefore, a friendship truly saved his life.
Click to expand...

That one is lovely. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back