Funny Only Once

In The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein, Mycroft, the trickster sentient computer that joins the revolution because he’s bored and wants friends, (I figure he’s their Benjamin Franklin figure) tries throughout the book to figure out humor.

In fact, his “first human friend” Manny finds out that Myke has woken up because Myke plays a joke. He pays someone about 100 times what he should be paid.

Part of Manny educating Myke is “funny only once.”

Now part of the funny only o...