Dave is hiking alone through very remote mountains when he comes upon a monastery.

The monks welcome him and invite him to stay the night and dine with them. Part way through dinner, one of the monks stands up and yells out “56”… …the whole room bursts into laughter, but eventually resume eating their meal. Dave thinks this is strange, but doesn’t know what to do about it. 5 minutes later, a different monk stands and calls out, “341”, and everyone laughs and laughs, even more than before. This pattern of calling out numbers and laughter continues throughout the meal. Eventually Dave can no longer contain himself, so he quietly asks the monk next to him what is going on. The monk explains that they have all been living in seclusion so long they know each other’s jokes by heart (a bit like reddit…). The monk suggests Dave try it… So Dave thinks up a number, stands up and says “72”… and a deadly silence falls over the room… not one person so much as smiles…

Dave meekly sat down, and whispered to the monk next to him, “what did I do wrong, was that an inappropriate joke for mealtimes, or a joke invented by someone who has died?”. The monk replied, “oh there was nothing wrong with the joke, it was just the way you told it”.