65 Light Bulb Jokes: 2005 – The YouTube Revolution

In 2005, the internet changed forever with the upload of “Me at the zoo,” the very first YouTube video. It was the year of the Guitar Hero craze, the debut of The Office (US), and the release of the Xbox 360. We were all watching Star Wars: Episode III, obsessed with Wedding Crashers, and wondering if we should switch from MySpace to this new thing called Facebook. The humor of 2005 is high-definition, viral, and a little bit “Paper Company” awkward.

The 2005 Top 10: Viral Illumination

1. The YouTube Vlogger: One to change the bulb, and one to film it, tag it “EXTREME LIGHT BULB CHALLENGE,” and wait for it to go viral.
2. The Guitar Hero Player: One, but they have to hit every note on the orange and blue buttons to get the bulb into the socket.
3. The Michael Scott: “I have a joke. How many light bulbs does it take to screw in a… wait. That’s what she said!”
4. The Dwight Schrute: “False. One light bulb is sufficient, but I have already replaced it with a heat lamp to grow beets in the kitchen.”
5. The Anakin Skywalker: “I have brought peace, justice, and security to my new dark room!”
6. The Wedding Crasher: “Rule #76: No excuse for a burnt-out bulb. Play like a champion!”
7. The Xbox 360 Owner: One, but the bulb gives you a “Red Ring of Death” after twenty minutes.
8. The Motorola Q User: One, but it’s much thinner than the 2004 bulb and has a tiny keyboard.
9. The Batman Begins Fan: “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I screw in that defines me.”
10. The Kanye West (Late Registration) Fan: “I’m not saying she’s a gold digger, but she ain’t messing with no 40-watt bulbs.”

The Full 2005 Archive (Extended List)

11. The Fall Out Boy Fan: “Sugar, we’re goin down… to the hardware store.”
12. The My Chemical Romance Fan: “I’m not okay! (I’m not okay!) …because the light is out.”
13. The Chris Rock Fan: “Everybody Hates… dark hallways!”
14. The “Lost” Fan: They don’t change the bulb; they just spend six seasons trying to figure out where the light comes from.
15. The Mariah Carey Fan: “It’s like that y’all… when the filament pops.”
16. The Pussycat Dolls Fan: “Don’t cha wish your light bulb was hot like me?”
17. The James Blunt Fan: “You’re beautiful… but I can’t see you in this light.”
18. The Narnia Fan: One, but the socket is hidden behind some old coats in a wardrobe.
19. The King Kong Fan: One, but he’s too big for the ladder and ends up swatting at planes.
20. The Madagascar Penguin: “Smile and wave, boys… smile and wave in the dark.”
21. The 40-Year-Old Virgin: “Be brave! Be brave! …Wait, is the bulb supposed to be that hot?”
22. The Grey’s Anatomy Doctor: “I need 50mg of electricity and a 60-watt bulb, STAT!”
23. The How I Met Your Mother Fan: “It’s going to be legen—wait for it—dary! …The light, I mean.”
24. The Gorillaz (Feel Good Inc) Fan: “Windmill, windmill for the land… turn the bulb with your hand.”
25. The Gwen Stefani (Hollaback Girl) Fan: “A few times I’ve been around that track, but I ain’t no hollaback… bulb.”
26. The Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) Fan: One, but they have to swim through a lake and fight a dragon to get it.
27. The Million Dollar Baby Fan: “Always protect yourself… especially from electrical shocks.”
28. The Brokeback Mountain Fan: “I wish I knew how to quit you… and this dark room.”
29. The Walk the Line Fan: “I keep a close watch on this socket of mine.”
30. The Sin City Fan: One, but the bulb only shines in black and white (except for the red one).
31. The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Fan: One, but the bulb tastes like snozzberries.
32. The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Guy: They don’t change it; they just get into a 20-minute argument with the guy at the store about the “return policy” on glass.
33. The Scientist: “We’ve sent a probe to Titan, but I still can’t find a bulb that doesn’t buzz.”
34. The Librarian: “Darkness is just a silent movie that never ends.”
35. The Gym Teacher: “Drop and give me twenty… because you tripped in the dark!”
36. The Chef: “I’ll change it, but it needs a foam made of argon gas.”
37. The Optimist: “This is great! Now I don’t have to see how much laundry I haven’t done.”
38. The Pessimist: “The bulb didn’t burn out; it gave up on a dark world.”
39. The Pro-Wrestler: One, but they have to hit the bulb with an ‘RKO’ out of nowhere.
40. The Detective: “The victim was a 100-watt Soft White. The motive? Overuse.”
41. The Tourist: “Is this the same light bulb they use in the White House?”
42. The Reality Producer: “Can we make the bulb-changing feel more like a ‘Flavor of Love’ elimination?”
43. The Bodybuilder: “I’m not just changing the bulb, I’m ‘explosively’ engaging my deltoids.”
44. The Sailor: “A burnt bulb is just a lighthouse with no stories.”
45. The Poet: “The glass orb, once a sun, now a cold moon.”
46. The Bus Driver: “Back of the bus! It’s darker back there, you won’t notice the difference!”
47. The Ghost: “I miss the old Edison bulbs. They had more ‘ghoul-low’.”
48. The 2005 Legend: One, but they do it while wearing a pinstripe vest over a t-shirt.
49. The Starbucks Addict: “Can I get a venti light bulb with an extra shot of wattage?”
50. The America’s Next Top Model: One, but they have to maintain a ‘fierce’ gaze while on the ladder.
51. The Panic! At The Disco Fan: “I chime in with a ‘Haven’t you people ever heard of… closing the goddamn circuit?!'”
52. The Rihanna (Pon de Replay) Fan: “Come Mr. DJ, song pon de replay… and turn the light up!”
53. The Black Eyed Peas Fan: “Don’t phunk with my… light bulb.”
54. The Kelly Clarkson Fan: “Because of you… I never stray too far from the spare bulb drawer.”
55. The Green Day (Holiday) Fan: “Hear the sound of the falling… glass.”
56. The Weezer (Beverly Hills) Fan: “That’s where I want to be… in a room with working lights!”
57. The Nickelback Fan: “Photograph? I can’t see the photograph! It’s too dark!”
58. The Life of Pi Fan: One, but they’re on a boat and the bulb is a tiger.
59. The War of the Worlds Fan: They don’t change the bulb; they just hide in the basement from the giant tripods.
60. The Serenity Fan: “You can’t take the light from me!”
61. The Napoleon Dynamite Fan (Late to the party): “Make yourself a dang quesadilla… in the dark!”
62. The Crash Fan: Everyone in the house argues about the bulb for two hours until they all learn a lesson.
63. The Saw II Fan: One, but the bulb is at the bottom of a pit of needles.
64. The 2005 Trendsetter: One, but they do it while wearing a massive “Livestrong” bracelet and a “Vote for Pedro” shirt.
65. The MySpace Icon: One, but they have to change their profile song to “Light Bulb” by some obscure indie band.