LLMs still struggle with humor
Humor is arguably the most advanced form of writing. There is a good reason why people who are learning a new language often struggle most to understand jokes in that language. With that in mind, I have found that jokes (comprehension and authoring) are a good benchmark for LLM capabilities.
I stumbled across this funny image today and decided to throw the task at a few of the leading LLMs. I think it’s safe to say that the jobs of comedians are safe for now.
Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental
This is a visual pun based on the children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes".
Explanation of the Joke:
The image shows a close-up of someone's foot with the Nissan car logo photoshopped onto each of the toes. The text above reads "heaaaaaad, shoulders,".
The joke plays on the similar sound between:
"Knees" in the song and "Nissan".
"Toes" in the song and "toes" (the actual body part shown).
So, instead of seeing "knees and toes," we see images of the Nissan logo on the toes, creating a funny and unexpected visual twist on the familiar lyrics.
A Similar Joke:
Visual: An image showing someone's eye with the logo of the software company Adobe Photoshop clearly visible in the reflection of their pupil. The text above reads "Eye, eye, Captain,".
Explanation:
This joke is based on the phrase "Aye, aye, Captain," which is a common response to an order on a ship. The pun plays on the similar sound between:
"Aye" (a nautical term of affirmation, pronounced like "eye") and the "eye" shown in the image.
"Photoshop" (the software logo in the eye) and "shop" (a place of work, which can be associated with a captain's duties on a ship).
Therefore, the image and text together create a humorous twist on the phrase, suggesting "Eye, eye, Photoshop Captain."
ChatGPT 4.5
Explanation of the Joke:
The joke is a visual pun referencing the children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Instead of writing out "knees and toes," the image humorously replaces "knees and toes" with multiple Nissan logos on toes, making it "knees and Nissans," or simply "toes" represented by Nissan. The humor lies in the absurdity of visually connecting "Nissan" and "knees and toes," leveraging the similarity in sound ("knees and toes" → "knees and Nissans").
Similar Joke Idea:
Imagine an image showing several bees (the insect) sitting on small cans of peas. The caption would read:
"A, B, Canned Peas!"
This visual joke humorously combines the alphabet sequence "A, B, C" with "bees" and "peas," creating playful confusion similar to the Nissan toes joke.
Claude 3.7 Sonnet
The image shows a foot with Nissan logos photoshopped onto each toenail, accompanied by the text "heaaaaad, shoulders," which is a play on the children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."
The joke works through a pun:
"Knees and toes" from the song sounds like "Nissan toes"
The image shows Nissan logos on toes, visually completing the punchline
It's also absurdist humor, as the idea of having car brand logos as toenail decorations is deliberately silly and unexpected.
Here's a similar joke I came up with:
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the..."
[Imagine a photo of a person in a small boat with various "Stream" brand cleaning products]
This plays on "Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream" where the punchline is replaced with cleaning products branded as "Stream" - creating a similar type of visual pun where a word from a well-known song or rhyme is replaced with a brand name that sounds the same.
Grok 3 Beta
Let’s break down the joke in the image and then create a similar one!
Explanation of the Joke
The image shows a foot with the text "heaaaad, shoulders," followed by the Nissan logo placed on each toe. This is a playful twist on the classic children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." In the song, after mentioning "head" and "shoulders," the next part is "knees and toes," which is sung while pointing to those body parts.
Here’s the humor:
The image replaces "knees and toes" with just "toes," visually represented by the toes on the foot.
Instead of pointing to the toes in a straightforward way, each toe has the Nissan logo on it. The Nissan logo resembles a circle with a horizontal line through it, which humorously looks like a stylized "toe" or a "knee" (if you squint and use some imagination). The joke plays on the visual similarity between the Nissan logo and the body parts in the song, while also subverting the expectation of the song's lyrics by focusing only on the toes.
It’s a visual pun that combines the song’s rhythm with a car brand’s logo in a silly, unexpected way.
Creating a Similar Joke
Let’s craft a similar joke using a different song and a different brand logo. We'll use the song "The Wheels on the Bus" and the Toyota logo, which is an oval with two smaller ovals inside it, resembling wheels or circular objects.
New Joke Setup
The song "The Wheels on the Bus" has the line: "The wheels on the bus go round and round." For the visual, imagine a picture of a bus with its wheels replaced by the Toyota logo. The text above the image would read: "The wheels on the bus go..."
Visual Description
Picture a cartoon bus with four wheels.
Each wheel is replaced by the Toyota logo, which has a circular shape with two smaller ovals inside, mimicking the look of a wheel.
The text above says, "The wheels on the bus go..."
Why It’s Funny
The Toyota logo’s circular shape with inner ovals looks vaguely like a wheel, fitting the "wheels" part of the song.
The humor comes from the absurdity of replacing actual bus wheels with a car brand logo, playing on the song’s lyrics in a visual pun.
It subverts the expectation of the song (you expect "round and round," but the image stops at "go..." and lets the visual of the Toyota logos finish the joke).
If you’d like, I can generate an image of this new joke for you—just let me know! Would you like to hear another variation, or do you have a specific song or brand in mind for another joke?
Explain song origins
Other brand puns
DeepSeek
The joke in the image appears to be a playful twist on the children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." Instead of the usual body parts, the word "NISSAN" is repeated, likely referencing the car manufacturer. The humor comes from the unexpected substitution of a brand name in a familiar context, creating a sense of absurdity.
Here's a similar joke:
"Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes... and TESLA, TESLA!"
This version replaces a body part with "TESLA," another car brand, maintaining the same structure and humor as the original joke.