A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

Recent entries:
“Instead of ‘British Summer Time’ and ‘Greenwich Mean Time’ we should just call them ‘Oven Clock Correct Time’...” (3/28)
“Has anyone here ever drank a pint of tequila? I know it’s a long shot” (3/28)
“A pint of tequila? That’s a long shot” (3/28)
“The U.S. should add three more states. Because 53 is a prime number. Then they can truly be one nation, indivisible” (3/28)
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Entry from March 18, 2012
“Old doughnut makers never die, they just get tired of the whole business”

“Old soldiers never die—they just fade away” is an old saying that was popularized by General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) in his farewell address to Congress on April 19, 1951. Many parodies of the saying have been made.
 
“Old doughnut makers never die, they just get tired of the (w)hole business” is a food joke on many Internet joke lists. The line “tired of the hole business” has been cited in print since at least 1959.
 
       
iSearchJokes.com
Old doughnut makers never die, they just get tired of the whole business.
     
Strange Stories, Jokes & Quotes
Funny Jokes about Old Age
Old doughnut makers never die, they just get tired of the whole business.
 
Google Books
The American News Trade Journal
Volumes 16-17
1934 (Google Books date may be incorrect—ed.)
Pg. ?:
Some of those dealers who don’t do a lot toward helping sales and are always complaining, remind you of the baker who stopped making doughnuts. They’re simply tired of the hole business.
 
13 May 1959, Tucson (AZ) Daily Citizen, “The Riddle Box,” pg. 38, col. 2:
When does a doughnut man quit his business?
When he gets tired of the hole business.
 
Google Books
November 1961, Boys’ Life, “Think and Grin,” pg. 82, col. 2:
Jim: Why did the baker stop making doughnuts?
Tim: I don’t know, why?
Jim: He got tired of the hole business.—Bob Stoltz, Carey, Ohio.
 
Google Books
The Internet Kids & Family Yellow Pages
By Jean Armour Polly
Berkeley, CA: Osborne McGraw-Hill
1997
Pg. 251:
Why did the doughnut man stop making doughnuts? Because he was tired of the hole business!
 
Google Books
Extremely Good Clean Jokes for Kids
By Bob Phillips
Eugene, OR: Harvest House
2001
Pg. 71:
Melba: I used to run a doughnut shop.
Kenny: What happened?
Melba: I got tired of the hole business.

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityFood/Drink • Sunday, March 18, 2012 • Permalink


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