Foreign Humor

Shortly after he left office, Jimmy Carter was perplexed to
find his opening anecdote in a speech to a college in Japan greeted with
uproarious laughter. When he asked why the joke had gotten such an
extraordinary response, he received this reply from his Japanese interpreter:
“I told the audience, ‘President Carter told a funny story; everyone must
laugh.’” 

—Jascha Hoffman, “Me Translate Funny One Day”