Talk:Moth joke
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 | A fact from Moth joke appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 1 April 2026 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
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Did you know nomination
[edit]- The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. You can locate your hook here. No further edits should be made to this page.
The result was: promoted by HurricaneZeta (talk) 14:28, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
- ... that a moth flew into a podiatrist's office because the light was on?
- Source: Jackson, Dory (2021-09-15). "Norm Macdonald's beloved moth joke from 2009 resurfaces after his death". People. Archived from the original on 2025-04-27. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
- Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Robert Uzgalis
- Comment: I think this hook only works for WP:DYKAPRIL.
voorts (talk/contributions) 19:45, 19 October 2025 (UTC).
Article is brand new, no copyvio or plagiarism concerns--quotes have refs, reliable sources are used, and bondafide quirky! MisawaSakura (talk) 21:30, 19 October 2025 (UTC)
I believe @Voorts: was clear that this only works for DYKAPRIL, and I agree.--Launchballer 10:52, 17 November 2025 (UTC)
@Voorts and Launchballer: Pulled per disagreement at WT:DYK#Moth joke (nom) on whether or not this hook violates DYKFICTION. This hook shouldn't be timed out, but this should give it more time to reach a resolution. HurricaneZetaC 01:24, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
- One issue is that the hook as written only works for AFD and would be a clear DYKFICTION violation if it ran on any other day. The question was if the wording, given AFD practice, was telling a fictional story, or if it is reporting that a joke about said story exists. The best thing to do, given it is unlikely that the hook as currently written would be allowed on any day other than AFD, I would suggest proposing alternative hooks. Courtesy pings to the nominator Voorts, as well as to Viriditas who is a supporter of the original wording, with the understanding that a new hook is probably needed either way. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 04:39, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
- I have re-pulled this as there was no actual consensus to re-promote the hook, and the DYKFICTION concerns have not been satisfactorily addressed. I'm open to a compromise version of the original hook that at least has a clear real-world connection: I know it is an AFD hook, but it is my understanding that hooks still have to be accurate if misleading, and I'm not sure if the bar is sufficiently cleared with the other wording. I disagree that the other proposals are weak, and I think they are reasonable alternatives that don't have the baggage of the current hook. The argument for the hook is that it's a joke, and a funny one at that, but jokes tend to be subjective and they don't always land with people. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 13:51, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
- Naruto's action was a misreading of the discussion. There is indeed a rough consensus to promote the originally approved hook for AFD; see count here. Dclemens1971 (talk) 14:17, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
- I have re-pulled this as there was no actual consensus to re-promote the hook, and the DYKFICTION concerns have not been satisfactorily addressed. I'm open to a compromise version of the original hook that at least has a clear real-world connection: I know it is an AFD hook, but it is my understanding that hooks still have to be accurate if misleading, and I'm not sure if the bar is sufficiently cleared with the other wording. I disagree that the other proposals are weak, and I think they are reasonable alternatives that don't have the baggage of the current hook. The argument for the hook is that it's a joke, and a funny one at that, but jokes tend to be subjective and they don't always land with people. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 13:51, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
- One issue is that the hook as written only works for AFD and would be a clear DYKFICTION violation if it ran on any other day. The question was if the wording, given AFD practice, was telling a fictional story, or if it is reporting that a joke about said story exists. The best thing to do, given it is unlikely that the hook as currently written would be allowed on any day other than AFD, I would suggest proposing alternative hooks. Courtesy pings to the nominator Voorts, as well as to Viriditas who is a supporter of the original wording, with the understanding that a new hook is probably needed either way. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 04:39, 30 March 2026 (UTC)
January 2026
[edit]The influence section could probably also point out that the joke had a profound impact on John Green, in that it encouraged him not to pursue easy opportunities after the success of his novel. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ~2026-51589-3 (talk) 10:32, 24 January 2026 (UTC)
Scrubs S4E15
[edit]I'm watching Scrubs and noticed that this joke is actually told in the Season 4 episode "My Hypocritical Oath". JD asks Turk for the joke Mickhead tells, and Turk responds "A guy walks into a dentists office and says I think I'm a moth. The dentist then says well if you think you're a moth why'd you come to the dentists office? The guy then says "the light was on"."
JD also forgets the punchline. -- TIB (talk) 03:19, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
How the hell is this Wikipedia worthy?
[edit]This just shows the “librarians” just do what they want and appreciate parts of internet popular culture that are clearly not encyclopedic ~2026-20181-23 (talk) 15:42, 1 April 2026 (UTC)