“Don’t Ask Who Joe Is” refers to an internet joke and series of memes that set up a punchline involving the phrase “Joe Mama.” The jokes date back to way before the internet but have found new life, both on TV and online.
Here’s how it works:
- The setup: One person mentions “Joe” in a vague context to someone else, often via text. Something like, “Did you hear what happened to Joe?” or “I can’t believe Joe did that!”
- The bait: The other person (ideally) responds, “Who’s Joe?”
- The punchline: The first person then responds, “Joe Mama,” which is a childish twist on “your momma.”
What is the meaning of Joe Mama?
Joe Mama jokes are a variety of “Yo mama!” or “your mom” jokes, which turn the unexpected person’s mom into the punchline. The playground joke entered pop culture in an era where it started embracing crude humor. For example, a 1992 episode of The Golden Girls features a Joe Mama joke.
According to The Huffington Post, one of the oldest recorded “your mom” jokes appears in a Babylonian tablet from ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to around 1,500 BCE. The tablet contains a line that translates to something similar to a modern-day “your mom” insult, showing that this type of humor has deep historical roots.
The modern form of “your mom” jokes blew up during the mid-20th century, particularly within Black communities, where they were often called “the dozens”—what Wikipedia describes as “a game played between two contestants in which the participants insult each other until one of them gives up.”
Don’t Ask Who Joe Is / Joe Mama
In 2019, memes asking people to inquire about Joe began popping up in gaming communities online. It wasn’t until the memes started appearing in creepypasta style that they went viral. The memes would antagonize the reader to ask about Joe. Still, they typically have a cheeky way of telling the reader not to ask.
The Joe Mama SpongeBob meme
Joe Mama jokes also have a place in SpongeBob Squarepants canon, featured in a Season Three episode from 2003 called “The Sponge Who Could Fly.”
In the scene, SpongeBob has a towel on his head and talks to Gary about how his dream of flying is silly as he watches jellyfish go by out the window. He combs and dries his hair when the phone rings. SpongeBob inexplicably sticks the blow-dryer in his pants, filling them with air as he answers the phone
SpongeBob: Hello? No, this isn’t the Bird Man of Bikini Bottom. What? No, I certainly do not live in a birdcage. Who is this? Joe Mama? Well, listen up, Joe. I hate to break it to you, but flying is impossible.
Just then, SpongeBob starts floating into the air and believes his dream has come true. The slick joke goes over the heads of most young viewers.
More meme examples
More memes:
- Explaining the ‘Mi Gente Latino’ meme
- What is the My New Character trend on TikTok?
- ‘Megafon Telefon Gianluigi Buffon’—TikTok’s French brainrot meme
- Explaining the ‘I Don’t Really Care If Something Good Happened to You’ meme
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