Is this really the funniest joke of the Fringe? | Old pun takes the title

Is this really the funniest joke of the Fringe?

Old pun takes the title

An awful pun about chocolate has been named the funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe.

Comic Rob Auton’s groaner: ‘I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa’ topped a poll conducted by TV company Dave.

Jokes about the brand have abounded since it launched in 1981, most commonly with the line: ‘Why has George Michael got chocolate all over his face? He was careless with his Wispa.’ And a spoof Chinese Wispa to mark the Beijing Olympics was even mocked up for a design and marketing competition in 2008.

Auton, from York, who has been doing stand-up for five years, won almost a quarter of the online votes for his one-liner.

The 30-year-old said: ‘I am honoured to receive this award and just pleased that a joke that tackles the serious issue of the invention of a new chocolate bar can be laughed at by the people of Britain.’

Steve North, general manager of TV channel Dave, said the poll ‘highlights the best one-liners coming out of the Fringe’.

The other gags in the top ten gags, as decided by the channel were:

‘The good thing about lending someone your time machine is that you basically get it back immediately.’ – Chris Coltrane

‘I was adopted at birth and have never met my mum. That makes it very difficult to enjoy any lapdance.’ – Bobby Mair

‘The universe implodes. No matter.’ – Liam Williams

‘You know you are fat when you hug a child and it gets lost.’ – Marcus Brigstocke

‘The Pope is a lot like Doctor Who. He never dies, just keeps being replaced by white men.’ – Phil Wang

‘I can give you the cause of anaphylactic shock in a nutshell.’ – Gary Delaney

‘My friend told me he was going to a fancy dress party as an Italian island. I said to him “Don't be Sicily”.’ – Tim Vine

‘I'm in a same-sex marriage... the sex is always the same.’ – Alfie Moore

‘I used to work in a shoe-recycling shop. It was sole-destroying.’ – Alex Horne

Published: 20 Aug 2013

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