A popular joke about a “stable diet” is:
Q: Why are most horses so slim?
A: They are on a stable diet.
This joke was cited on Twitter on December 30, 2012. The “stable diet” pun/joke has had several forms. In 1924, it was about eating like a horse:
“No, Dora, people on stable diets are not supposed to eat like horses.”
In 2006, it was about eating a horse:
“During WW2, a lot of people’s stable diet was horse meat!”
In 2007, it was about eating what horses eat:
“My doctor’s put me on a stable diet – hay and oats three times a day.”
3 October 1924, San Diego (CA) Evening Tribune, “Sunshine Pellets” by Dr. W. F. Thomson, pg. 4, col. 3:
No, Dora, people on stable diets are not supposed to eat like horses.
Google News Archive
26 May 1961, The Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, MO), pg. 1, col. 4:
Little Liz Says:
A stable diet doesn’t guarantee that the guy eating it will have good horse sense.
Google Groups: demon.local
15 June Puns
nemo
6/15/06
(...)
Oats: A horse’s stable diet!
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
16 October Puns
nemo
10/17/06
(...)
During WW2, a lot of people’s stable diet was horse meat!
Google Books
Man Walks into a Bar:
Over 6,000 of the Most Hilarious Jokes, Funniest Insults and Gut-Busting One-Liners
By Stephen Arnott and Mike Haskins
Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press
2007
Pg. 168:
My doctor’s put me on a stable diet – hay and oats three times a day.
Google Books
How to Double the Meaning of Life
By Anil
Xlibris Corporation (Xlibris.com.au)
2011
Pg. 27:
a stable diet hay and oats
Twitter
Hodoug
@dougigem
Why are most horses so slim?
Because they are on a stable diet.
12:26 PM - 30 Dec 2012
Twitter
Pet Journals
@MyPetJournal
Pathway Horse Joke of the Day!
Q: Why are most horses in shape?
A: Because they are on a stable diet. http://fb.me/LbzXLEgg
10:26 AM - 29 May 2013
Google Books
Gigglers: Sporty Jokes
By Toby Reynolds
London: Scholastic UK
2016
Pg. 58:
Q. Why are racehorses so fit and healthy?
A. Because they are on a stable diet!
Twitter
Godd Howard
@SophiaVenneri
Why are horses always so fit? They’re on a stable diet. #Jokes #Terrible
1:03 AM - 12 Jun 2016
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Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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