As we do most years, we opened Christmas crackers—those little cardboard tubes that pop when pulled, revealing small toys, paper crowns, and jokes.

I thought I’d share a particularly brilliant joke from one cracker, one that made me think of object-oriented philosophy as much as it did Christmas (even if it mistakes an object for its attributes). Here goes:

Why is an elephant large and wrinkly?

Because if it were small, white, and smooth, it would be an aspirin.

Merry Christmas to all my readers who celebrate it!

published December 25, 2009