Had a Byte

Title: Had a Byte

General Information about Item:

  • Joke
  • English
  • United States

Informant Data:

  • Milan Chuttani is a Dartmouth ’18. He majors in Government and minors in computer science. He is most familiar with the computer languages Java and Python. He grew up in the state of Massachusetts.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • This type of joke would be most common at the more introductory levels of programming such as in a beginner course. The depth of understanding required is quite shallow so it is easily accessible.
  • Cultural Context
    • This joke simply requires a basic understanding in computer storage space and its units. In the modern age, this probably extends well beyond just computer programmers. People interact with computers enough that while this qualifies as a programming joke, the average english speaker would have no trouble understanding the joke. In a way this reflects how important technology has become for people that information and terminology originally restricted to certain fields has become part of common vernacular.

Item:

Q: What did the computer do at lunchtime?

A: It had a byte.

Transcript:

  • Robert: Could you please give your name and background?
  • Milan: Yeah, my name is Milan. I am an 18’ and a Gov major and computer science minor.
  • Robert: Could you please tell your joke?
  • Milan: Yep, what did the computer do at lunchtime?
  • Robert: What?
  • Milan: Had a byte.
  • Robert: Could you please tell me where you first got this joke from?
  • Milan: I saw it online.
  • Robert: Could you please briefly explain the joke?
  • Milan: A byte is the smallest unit of data in computer programming. It is a play on words due to it sounding like ‘bite’ which implies eating.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

 

Collector’s Name: Robert Sylvia

Tags/Keywords:

  • Joke. Computer Science. Pun. Byte.

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