Pull my finger is a

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

regarding flatulence in which a

victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...

is asked to pull the finger of the joker, who simultaneously breaks wind so as to suggest a

causal relationship Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the ca ...

between the two events. A comparable activity is attributed to a character in a short story by

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and '' Barney's Version'' (1997). His 1970 novel '' St. Urbain's Horseman'' and 1989 novel ...

(collected in ''

The Street The Street may refer to: Geographical *Wall Street in New York City's Financial District * The Street, Lawshall, Suffolk, England * The Street (Heath Charnock), a building and bridleway in Rivington, Lancashire, England Film and television * ''The ...

'', 1969): A variation on this joke appears in

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

's film ''

Good Morning "Good morning" is a common greeting in the English language. It may also refer to: Television * ''Good Morning!!!'' (Australian show), a children's show * ''Good Morning'' (New Zealand show), a daytime talk show * ''Good Morning'' (Russian ...

'' (

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

). Schoolboys ask each other to push their foreheads, responding with an expulsion of gas. In 2008, an iPhone app from Air-O-Matic called Pull My Finger was one of the most popular apps in Apple's App Store, purchased over 50,000 times in less than one week. It allowed users to pull a virtual finger, activating the sound. there is a legal battle between Pull My Finger and InfoMedia's iFart Mobile app over the use of the phrase. In 2015, an MRI study of how knuckles trigger popping sounds was jokingly called the "pull my finger study." In the Disney movie ''Lightyear'', Izzy Hawthorne believes that Buzz wants her to pull his finger, and gets upset.

References

Comedy Flatulence humor Practical jokes English phrases Fingers {{comedy-stub

See also

References