The tired and thirsty prospector threw himself down at the edge of the watering hole and started to drink. But then he looked around and saw skulls and bones everywhere. “Uh-oh,” he thought. “This watering hole is reserved for skeletons.”

The joke is a deadpan misreading of danger. A parched prospector starts drinking, notices skulls and bones all around, and concludes the pool is reserved for skeletons, treating an obvious warning as a mere rule of exclusivity. Its absurd logic sounds oddly polite.

Context reviewed 29 September 2026