Q: What lies on the bottom of the ocean and twitches? A: A nervous wreck!\nWhat do you think is the punchline of the above joke?
Explanation: Did you hear that Shakleton’s ship, Endurance, was found back in March? It sank to the bottom of the Antarctic ocean in 1915, and has been lying there since then. Don’t worry, it was not twitching. To twitch means to make small, jerking movements. You may have experienced an eye twitch, or felt a leg twitch when you are falling asleep.
A nervous wreck is a person who is very nervous about something. It is an informal phrase that is quite common. A student might be a nervous wreck before a big test; a patient might be a nervous wreck while waiting for the results of a medical test, expecting the worst. Occasionally, people who are nervous may experience a muscle twitch.
This joke is funny because it plays with the word wreck, and the ideas of a shipwreck and a nervous wreck. If you are interested in shipwrecks, here is one list to check out. If you are interested in the discovery of Endurance, watch this video: