Mitch Hedberg was a one of a kind comic, which only makes his passing back in 2005 all the more tragic. He was the king of offbeat one-liner jokes, and has been credited with inventing Twitter-style comedy before Twitter even existed. Now, to celebrate what would have been his 48th birthday, a fan paid tribute to Hedberg in the best way possible, by placing a doughnut and the doughnut’s receipt on his grave.
To understand that joke, you gotta hear this joke:
“I bought a doughnut and they gave me a receipt for the doughnut … I don’t need a receipt for the doughnut. I give you money and you give me the doughnut, end of transaction. We don’t need to bring ink and paper into this. I can’t imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a doughnut. To some skeptical friend, ‘Don’t even act like I didn’t get that doughnut, I’ve got the documentation right here… It’s in my file at home. …Under D.’”
The joke recently popped up on the receipts at a Freshest Donut Pros shop after a passionate fan was given the ability to modify the writing at the bottom, proving that while Mitch may be gone, his humor lives on.
A few more Mitch Hedberg classics:
“I’m always on the road, and I drive rental cars. Sometimes I don’t know what’s going on with the car, and I’ll drive for ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn’t say a lot for me, but it doesn’t say a lot for the emergency brake. What kind of emergency is this? I need to not stop now. It’s not really an emergency brake, it’s an emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever.”
“I don’t get the regular AIDS test anymore. I get the roundabout AIDS test. I ask my friend Brian, ‘Do you know anybody who has AIDS?’ He says, ‘No.’ I say, ‘Cool, because you know me.'”
“If a drink was ice cold, it would be impossible to drink. Because it would be solid. Here’s a drink, Mitch. It’s ice cold. I guess I could lick it.”
“You know you can’t please all the people all the time, and last night, all of those people were at my show.”
(Note: Mitch Hedberg’s birthday is actually February 24, so you’ve got today and tomorrow to celebrate.)