"How did Helen Keller burn her hands?"
"Reading the waffle iron."

Helen Keller jokes are crude, offensive, and could serve as a prime example of what's "politically incorrect". Why is this? It seems to be mostly because they poke fun at a cultural icon. A person who triumphed in the face of overwhelming adversity, displaying the best qualities of our species, a shining example of all that makes us human, blah, blah, blah. But that isn't the whole picture. Making fun of heroes is traditional, and goes back at least as far as the dawn of recorded history.

Also missing is the other side of the equation. If no-one found these jokes amusing, they'd die out instantly. But they live on, retold over and over, enjoyed by millions. So there must be some appeal. Part of this, naturally, is the thrill of the forbidden -- something this obviously disrespectful must be naughty.

However, I think there's another piece to the puzzle. The heart of these jokes is the capricious way fate picks on everybody. Even heroes have their foibles, make mistakes, have accidents. Even heroic methods of dealing with life have their pitfalls. And recognizing this universal truth, that we are all indeed equal under the laws of humour, is, to me, as much a part of what makes us human as the qualities that enabled Helen Keller to achieve a full life from dark, lonely, fumbling beginnings.