In Literally, the Best Language Book Ever,  the chapter called You Thought You Were Clever, But… includes statements (often attempts at humor) that were clever at one point, but overuse means that they’re now as funny and charming as being caught in a monsoon without your umbrella. Mocking the  Snuggie has officially fallen into that category.

Even though the overuse of these jokes is horribly trite and annoying, we often use these same tired lines the next time the opportunity presents itself—-as if the next time that we ask “Are we having fun yet?” at a non-funny time will result in non-stop laughter because of your undeniable charm and wit. I’ll give you a hint about your audience, though:   If you didn’t think it was funny the last thousand times that you heard it, then your audience won’t be entertained this time, when you say it. It’s not about delivery. It’s not about picking the right opportunity. It’s over–it’s not funny any longer.

Now that every comedian, talk-show host, celebrity, blogger, and the not-so-funny guy in the office has made fun of the Snuggie, it’s time to move on. We know that it’s dumb to pretend that you can’t answer the phone while under a regular blanket. We know that people look like monks when they wear them. We know that a blanket with sleeves is effectively a robe, which isn’t revolutionary. We know. We know. We know.

By the way, the marketers were brilliant. They knew that they had a lame product, and they capitalized on the fact that people love to make fun of lame products. They even run the lame commercial on the Web site. Can you imagine how many were bought as jokes? There’s a huge profit margin in selling a piece of cloth with arm holes–for 20 bucks, plus shipping and handling. The problem is that the lame part is now the incessant jokes about the Snuggie.

Well, except for this one (the WTF Blanket)–it’s still funny.

–Paul