from the University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections Library:

 

March 4^th 1963 and June 24^th, 1963

Hello Mr. Exley,

Thank you for submitting to our humor section. In the end, we didn’t feel this joke was a good fit for our periodical. Our readers prefer somewhat lighter fare. Many of them read the magazine in waiting rooms or offices, and they want jokes that uplift them, leave them with a warm feeling afterward. To give you an example, here’s a joke from our most recent issue:

Q: Why is corn the best vegetable to tell a joke to?

A: Because they’re all ears!

You see what I mean? That’s a good example of the type of joke we’re looking for. For your submission to meet our standards, you would need to change the punch line. Maybe instead of the character hanging himself at the end he could slip on a banana peel. Wouldn’t that be funnier?

Sincerely,

Craig Thompson

Reader’s Digest

 

 

Hello Mr. Exley,

While I appreciate that the character remains alive for the duration of the joke, I still feel—tone-wise—we’re quite far apart. Forgive me but I just don’t see the humor in someone becoming intoxicated and falling asleep in a puddle of their own vomit and urine. I’m grateful for your continued interest in our periodical, but I think you might be misguided in your pursuit of publication. Perhaps it would benefit you to share this “joke” with a qualified counselor or support group.

Be well,

Craig Thompson

Reader’s Digest