The owner of the UK’s oldest joke shop, Dinsdale Joke Shop in Hull, says classic prank toys from the 1930s are still their best sellers after 95 years in business
The owner of the UK’s oldest joke shop says classic prank toys from the 1930s are still their best sellers after 95 years in business – including whoopee cushions, fake poo and chattering teeth.
Dinsdale Joke Shop was founded in Hull by George William Dinsdale in 1930 and has since survived two world wars and a global pandemic.
The time-warp store’s current owner Graham Williams, who is George’s grandson, says his best sellers prove Brits sense of humour has not changed that much over nine decades. Prank items like whoopee cushions, fake dog poos, itching powder, chattering teeth, rubber biscuits and snappy gum are still proving as popular as they did in the 30s.
But he admits many items which used to be sold would be deemed too risque and offensive these days – due to changing attitudes and “wokeness”.
Graham, who started working at the shop in 1978 when he was 18, said: “People love nostalgia and vintage – so it’s lucky we haven’t really changed the store since I began working here. People say it’s like a time-warp shop and many of our best sellers now are what were most popular in the 1930s.
“So it seems humour hasn’t changed too much, particularly toilet humour as whoopee cushions and fake dog poo fly off the shelves. But also magic sliding coin tricks, sneezing powder, itching power, snappy gum and fake decks of cards, the classics are still the favourites.
“Things change over time but the core jokes are still the same; the dog poos and whoopee cushion were among the first jokes we ever had here.”
He added: “All in all it seems we find the same things funny as we did 95 years ago. Whoopee cushions are popular for all ages. I guess farting has, and always will be, funny to people.”
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