After a few days he noticed that, when the prisoners were allowed out into the recreation area for their daily exercise, there was a small group of men sitting in a circle away from the others. Every now and again they roared with laughter.

He decided to ask one of them what this was all about. They told him they only had one joke book between them and they'd been in prison for so many years that they all knew the jokes off by heart. All they had to do was, one of them would say the number of a joke, as listed in the book, and they could remember it and have a laugh.

He wanted to join in, so the next day he sat with the group. It came round to his turn and he said:
"One hundred and three!"
No-one laughed.
So he said: "twenty four!"
Still no laughter.

This went on for a couple more goes without anyone even so much as smiling. He eventually asked the man next to him what the problem was with the jokes.

The man said: "You aren't telling them right".