A popular “tie” pun is:
“Two silkworms were in a race. They ended up in a tie.”
The silkworm joke has been cited in print since at least 1975.
Google Books
Computers and Programming:
A Neoclassical Approach
By Peter Olivieri and Michael W Rubin
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
1975
Pg. 253:
“I’m sorry I’m late, class,” he began, “but on the way over here from the parking lot I stopped to watch two silkworms having a race. They ended up in a tie!”
15 March 1976, Detroit (MI) Free Press, “Yes, Clock Cheated Wolverine Cagers” by Joe Falls, pg. 1-D, col. 1:
The Almighty Swami: “Did you hear about the two silkworms who chased after a lovely girl silkworm and wound up in a tie?”
Google Books
PUNishment:
The art of punning or how to lose friends and agonize people
BY Harvey C Gordon and Rand Kington
Glenview, IL: Punster’s Press
1977
Pg. 17:
Two silkworms were once having a race. However, they ended up in a tie.
8 October 1978, Boston (MA) Globe, “My Favorite Jokes” by Harvey C. Gordon, Parade magazine, pg. 30, col. 4:
Two silkworms were once having a race. However, they ended up in a tie.
Twitter
Studiolit
@Studiolit
Two silkworms were in a race. They ended up in a tie.
1:12 PM - 18 Jul 2008
Twitter
Michael Klobe
@klobetime
Two silkworms were racing; they ended up in a tie.
9:11 AM - 9 Oct 2008
Google Books
5,000 Great One Liners
Compiled by Grant Tucker
London, UK: Biteback Publishing Ltd
2012
Pg. ?:
Two silkworms had a race–it ended in a tie.
Reddit—Jokes
Two silk worms were in a race…
submitted April 12, 2013 by [deleted]
It ended in a tie.
Tearable Puns
Jun 23, 2014
Two silkworms had a race.
Two silkworms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
Reddit—Jokes
Have you heard of the two silkworms that were in a race?
submitted June 27, 2017 by pizzafoIder
They ended up in a tie.
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.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
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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