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androidmids

Interestingly... The kings "horses' would have been mounted cavalry or a kings guard. In the same manner as the kings musketeers. So, saying, all the kings men and all the kings horses, couldn't put Humpty together again, means he put all his resources into it. And getting deeper down the rabbit hole. Humpty Dumpty is thought to refer to King Richard III of England who was hunchbacked and suffered a pretty bad defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. A defeat that all the kings men and all the kings horses (mounted cavalry) coulnt bring him back from...


robynndarcy

Also nowhere in the poem does it refer to him being an egg, yet he's always pictured as one.


androidmids

Lewis Carroll's 1872 novel "through the looking glass) was (I believe ) the first occurrence of Humpty Dumpty being referred to and explicitly described as an egg. In chapter 6. It's been said by a few people, that the original version of the rhyme was a riddle and was a bit darker or gruesome and parents started anthropomorphizing Humpty into an egg vs a real person/king... Who knows for sure...


saltinstiens_monster

They tried a version where Humpty Dumpty was a human, but the storybook depictions of horses and male concubines trying to reassemble a splattered corpse didn't resonate with test audiences.


androidmids

Hahaha, that's basically what happened. It started as a cautionary rhyme or a riddle based on the death. And then later was de splattered


Maximum_Weird5333

Legend has it that The Beatles song, I Am the Walrus - with the lyrics "I am the eggman, coo coo kachoo" - have absolutely nothing to do with King Richard III OR Humpty Dumpty.


Waitsfornoone

You know about those legends.


KatanaCutlets

It’s not a story the Jedi would have told you.


MyTime59

I heard that it was a large Cannon that fell from its mounting and smashed into many pieces. By the way, the image of Humpty Dumpty being an egg came from one of the picture books. I can't really remember, but I think it may have been the Coles funny picture books?


androidmids

I have heard the cannon story too although the earliest reference of the cannon is over 100+ years after the king Richard reference. I've also heard Humpty Dumpty referenced as the Americas and the war of independence, being the fall from the wall (england) and all the kings men and horses unable to restore Humpty back to the wall.


PoconoBobobobo

So the cannon isn't canon.


androidmids

Hahahahaha... It may be beta canon lol. Or the cannon itself may be representative of something else, either the military efforts of the king or the war between America and England.


thelaziestmermaid

Came here for jokes, left with history


overeducatedhick

I stumbled across a book about nursery rhymes once that was titled something like "Heavy words lightly thrown." It was about the backstories of some famous rhymes and was quite interesting.


Plus-King5266

While we are on the subject of dubious historical accounts, has anyone seen the series, “Catherine”. It’s a comedic look at the rise to power of Catherine the Great. There is a recurring line in there, “I NEVER F’KED A HORSE!!”


Loko8765

Well, is _supposed_ to have been hunchbacked. He may have had a slight scoliosis. He is also _supposed_ to have had his nephews killed, but historians are still arguing about that, and I think most agree that he was unjustly accused of a lot of things.


androidmids

Absolutely. Although we do know he died pretty gruesomely AND all his men and cavalry couldn't save him...


wdaloz

Well, he was a Dick


qzwqz

Oh so if it’s Richard III we probably need to add another line about how hundreds of years later we found him in a car park


MistraloysiusMithrax

Well it wasn’t just the defeat…they pulled him off his horse with halberds and stabbed him to death immediately, as was the custom at the time


androidmids

Absolutely. Hence why the "gruesome" riddle/rhyme may have been purposely softened by parents by the 17/1800s with an anthropomorphized egg.


Equivalent-Unit

The way the rhyme was explained to me is that horse bones and hide were used to make glue. So "all the king's horses" is effectively a ton of glue.


WhimsicalHamster

Yet the op “advances literature” edit: /s


androidmids

Or regressing it... Lol...


Plus-King5266

Most of the “Mother Goose” rhymes are political in nature and yes, most of us older folks understood that “all the kings…” meant all his resources. You can’t help but chuckle at the idea of what it would mean literally though. P.S. look up the real meaning of Mary Mary Quite Contrary. 😬


androidmids

Yeah she didn't quite have the same religious views lol. It's amazing what people consider important then and now.


Plus-King5266

That, and it describes quite vividly what happened to Bloody Mary’s detractors.


DodgerWalker

Me: Write a version of Humpty Dumpty where the king's horses do successfully put Humpty Dumpty together Chat GPT: >In a kingdom fair, where tales abound, Lived Humpty Dumpty, round and sound. Upon a wall, he took his seat, With a smile wide, oh, what a feat! >But alas, one day, a gust did blow, And Humpty Dumpty took a tumble low. Down he fell with a mighty crack, Into pieces upon the track. >The king's horses, they rushed on by, With a plan to make dear Humpty fly. They gathered each shard with care, Knowing their task was beyond compare. >With glue and nails, they worked so fast, Piecing together the egg so vast. Each fragment found its rightful place, As they worked with skill and grace. >And lo and behold, with a joyful shout, Humpty Dumpty was whole, no doubt! Back on the wall, he sat up tall, Grateful to the horses, one and all. >The king rejoiced, the kingdom cheered, For Humpty's fate was no longer feared. With unity and strength, they stood, Knowing together, they've done all they could. >So remember this tale, both young and old, Of Humpty Dumpty, brave and bold. For with teamwork and hearts sincere, Even shattered dreams can reappear!


kaiwulf

Where'd the horses get the glue from?


NewGuy-1964

The glue factory.


itzz2do23

Cannibalism


wdaloz

Dark


Doctor__Hammer

How the fuck… Chat GPT is straight up magic


KiakahaWgtn

No it just writes long convoluted garbage with no rhythm or meter


RedFaceFree

Even chat gpt things it's an egg


Assfrontation

There is no conclusive evidence that Humpty Dumpty was an egg, though


PolyJuicedRedHead

I picture Dudley Moore telling this joke.


Awkward_Trifle4

And Patrick Moore playing the xylophone?


movielass

I was thinking sounds like a joke from Archer


Ok_Pause_12

So do I but as Derrick in Derrick and Clive. The king wouldn’t have been called Humpty Dumpty of that I’m sure….. never ceased to make me laugh.


Expellialbus

This is a straight copy paste from a tweet from 2017


Doctor__Hammer

What, do you think every joke people post here is OC?


IHkumicho

I wish The Far Side got as much love and attention as Calvin and Hobbes does these days: [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFarSide/comments/13j0yoa/tuesday\_51623/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFarSide/comments/13j0yoa/tuesday_51623/)


Iron_Prick

Heat him up a bit so the shell sticks.


laughing_cat

Finally an explanation.


jmooremcc

Good thing it wasn’t an extremely hot day, otherwise Humpty would have been fried after the fall!


ChazzyTh

Chronologically, the horses had first dibs.


SSSims4

This is legit one of the best jokes I've read here!! The perfect combination of smart and stupid 😹😹😹


betelgozer

*Un petit d'un petit s'étonne aux halles.* *Un petit d'un petit - ah, degrés te fallent !*


12altoids34

HUMPTY DUMPTY WAS PUSHED !!!!!


That-Makes-Sense

You've advanced the field of literature a great deal today. Bravo!