A popular lemon riddle is:
Q: What do you call a cat that eats lemons?
A: A sourpuss.
The cat joke has been cited in print since at least 1943.
1 May 1943, Vernon (TX) Daily Record, “Pepsi and Pete—The Pepsi-Cola Cops” (comic strip advertisement), pg. 10, col. 2:
DID YOU SAY THE SARGE HAS A CAT THAT EATS LEMONS?
NO, I SAID HE HAS A SOUR PUSS, AND WANT TO SEE US RIGHT AWAY
9 May 1943, Hartford (CT) Courant, “Pepsi and Pete—The Pepsi-Cola Cops” (comic strip advertisement), pg. E8:
DID YOU SAY THE SARGE HAS A CAT THAT EATS LEMONS?
NO, I SAID HE HAS A SOUR PUSS, AND WANT TO SEE US RIGHT AWAY
1 June 1965, Austin (TX) Statesman, “Fun Time—The Riddle Box” by A. Leokum, pg. 24, col. 5:
What do you call a cat that eats lemons?
Sourpuss.
7 July 1969, Lexington (KY) Herald, “Lemon Aid” by Joe Holdren, pg. 21, col. 1 ad:
Pity the poor Lemon.
It has to survive jokes like “Show me a cat that eats lemons and I’ll show you a sour puss!”
(Shopper’s Choice Super Markets, Inc.—ed.)
Google Books
The Silly Riddle Book
By R. W. Alley
Racine, WI: Merrigold Press
1981
Pg. ?:
QUESTION: What do you call a cat that eats lemons?
ANSWER: A sour puss.
Google Books
Father Christmas “It’s a bloomin’ joke” Book
BY Raymond Briggs
London, UK: Puffin
1994
Pg. 90:
What do you call a cat that eats lemons?
Sourpuss.
6 January 1999, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “The Kids’ Reading Room; Pint-Sized Punch Lines,” pg. D9, col. 4:
What do you call a cat that likes lemons? A sourpuss! (Justine Coleman, 8, Venice, Westminster Magnet School)
Google Books
The Awesome Book of Cat Humor
By Bob Phillips
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
2009
Pg. 27:
Q: What do you call a cat who eats lemons?
A: A sour-puss!
Google Books
Animal Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone
By Michele C. Hollow
Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
2011
Pg. 4:
What do you call a 5 cat who eats lemons?
A sourpuss!
16 October 2017, The Daily Mirror (London, UK), “Greg’s giggle” by Fiona Parker, pg. 41:
Q: WHAT do you call a cat who eats lemons?
A: A sourpuss!
Twitter
Lucky Score
@LuckyScoreNet
Q: What do
you call a cat who eats lemons? -
A: A sourpuss!
#Joke from #CatJokes in #Jokes, #Humor and #Satire
10:41 PM - 19 Oct 2017
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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