A guilty pleasure

"Yo mama so stupid she tried to put her M&Ms in alphabetical order." Heh. As kids or in the movies (think Meet the Spartans), we've all heard "Yo Mamma" jokes. They range from offensive to hilarious. In America, the sometimes elaborate insult contests, commonly known as "playing the dozens," originated in the slave quarters of New Orleans, according to Michigan State Univ. researcher Mona Lisa Saloy. But Yo Mamma contests go way back. William Shakespeare used it in "Timon of Athens," Act 1 Scene 1. Painter: "Y'are a dog." Apemantus: "Thy mother's of my generation. What's she, if I be a dog?" Whether or not these lines produced loud guffaws in Ye Olde England's Globe Theatre we'll never know. But somehow, I doubt it could top: "Yo mama so stupid she went to the orthodontist to get a blue tooth." Or my personal favorite: "Yo mama so stupid she got locked in a mattress store and sleep on the floor." Hah!