Zoo Joke: Inside Jokes

Paul was very excited to start his first day of work at his local zoo, having waited years for an opening on the small, tightly-knit staff where no one ever seemed to leave.  When a job finally opened and he was able to start, he was over the moon.  That first day, he enjoyed every minute, up until the moment that he joined the rest of the staff in the breakroom for lunch.

The other keepers were all sitting around the table, eating their sandwiches or salads, when one keeper, at the end of the table, cleared her throat and, once she had everyone's attention, called out "Fourteen!"  Just that.  Nothing else. To Paul's confusion, everyone at the table burst out laughing, then began chattering excitedly among themselves, before settling back to their lunch.

A few minutes later, another keeper chuckled and said "Eight."  Again, the entire staff broke down laughing.

"I don't get it," Paul admitted.  The keeper who had been training him that morning turned to him with a smile.

"Sorry," he said, "I forgot that you were new.  The thing is, we've all been working here for so long and have been telling the same jokes and stories for so many years, that to save time we just numbered them all.  Now, all one of us has to do is say the number and we all remember the story."

"Oh, really?" said Paul.  Eager to fit in, he cleared him throat loudly, and then blurted out "Twenty Five!"

Dead silence.  Everyone stared at him for a moment, then without a word went back to eating.

Awkwardly, Paul turned back to his trainer.  "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," his trainer said, patting his shoulder.  "It's just a talent.  Some people can tell a joke, some people can't."