NJFlorets
Olaf Falafel , compared with Noel James
Randomly shouting out 'broccoli' and 'cauliflower' means you might have florets (Tourette's).
“I keep randomly shouting out "Broccoli" and "Cauliflower'"- I think I might have florets”
Dave's Joke of the Fringe (winner), Edinburgh, 2019quote source ↗find on YouTube ↗
James said he co-wrote the same gag around 2005 with Swansea artist Mathew Walters and had done it on the circuit for nearly 15 years. (paraphrase)
UK club circuit, 2005find on YouTube ↗
The same florets pun almost word for word, but printed versions from 2006 point to a widely circulating joke reached independently.
- Premise 39/40
- Structure 27/30
- Punchline 28/30
- Premise39/40Same pun: shouting out broccoli and cauliflower means florets, as in Tourette's.
- Structure27/30Both are one-liners with the same shape; James's exact phrasing is not on record.
- Punchline28/30Both land on florets; printed versions from 2006 show the pun was already circulating.
Setup
I keep randomly shouting out broccoli and cauliflower
Setup
Same vegetable-shouting set-up; exact wording not on record
Turn
I think I might have
Turn
Same self-diagnosis turn
Punchline
Florets
Punchline
Florets
Scores and beats are our editorial reading of the public record, not a ruling.
Context
When and where
Noel James says he co-wrote the gag around 2005 and performed it on the UK circuit for almost 15 years. Olaf Falafel's version won Dave's Joke of the Fringe in Edinburgh in August 2019. Chortle found printed versions from 2006 (a Stephanie Calman book, a vegan forum and a parody MySpace page).
What followed
Falafel said he'd only gigged with James once or twice, would never have used the joke had he heard it, and called it 'genuinely a case of parallel thinking'. Chortle found printed versions from 2006 but nothing earlier than James's claimed date.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Olaf Falafel by DChickpeas, CC BY-SA 4.0