“Two elephants and cymbals fall off a cliff. Boom-Boom-Tss”

The rimshot became famous as a drummer’s support of a comedian after a (usually bad or unusually corny) joke. The drum sounds are written as “boom boom” and “ba dum tss.”
   
“Two elephants fell off a cliff. Boom Boom” was posted on the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc on December 4, 1990. “Two elephants walk off a cliff… boom boom” was printed in a 2001 newspaper. “‘Two elephants walk off a cliff ... boom, boom!’ – Tommy Cooper” was printed in a 2014 book. Welsh prop comedian and magician Tommy Cooper (1921-1984) is often credited for the joke, but earlier sources are needed.
 
“Did you hear about the two elephants and the cymbal that fell off a cliff? ba-boom, ching!” was posted on the newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett on June 12, 1999. “Two drums and a cymbal set fall off a cliff…ba dum dum CSHH!!!” was posted on the newsgroup alt.smokers.pipes on March 31, 2005. “Some guys actually tested out ‘Two drums and cymbals fall off a cliff, badum-tsst’ to see if it actually works” was posted on Twitter on May 30, 2009.
 
A snake was eventually added to the joke. “2 elephants and a snake fall off a cliff….. Boom…. Boom…. hissssssss” was posted on Twitter on December 10, 2010. “Da sum hiss @GRCraig85 - that wasn’t a drum roll, two elephants and a snake just fell off a cliff. Here all week” was posted on Twitter on July 7, 2012. “Although ‘Two elephants and a snake fall off a cliff. Bazinga’ doesn’t work as well as doing the drum and cymbal noise. #BaBamTsss” was posted on Twitter on August 7, 2013.
 
A goat was added to the joke. “A goat🐐 some drums and a snake 🐍fall down a cliff @Ashton5SOS *Ba dum tiss*” was posted on Twitter on August 25, 2014. “I saw you.. and my heart sounded like a goat, a drum and a snake altogether..BAA-DUMMT-SSS!!!” was posted on Twitter on August 18, 2015.
 
A sheep version is, perhaps, the most popular. “A sheep, a drum and a snake fall down a cliff. BA-DUMM-TSS” was posted on Reddit—Jokes on August 14, 2015. There is also a lamb version that quickly followed. “A lamb, a drum and a snake falling down a cliff. Ba-Dum-Tss” was posted on Twitter on August 18, 2015.
   
“A guy walks into a bar…” is a typical form of what has been called the “bar joke,” and there is a rimshot version. “A sheep,drum kit and snake walk into a bar…BAA-DUMM-TSS” was posted on Twitter on August 17, 2015. “A sheep, a drum, and a snake walk into a bar…Ba-dumm-tsss” was posted on Reddit—Jokes on August 19, 2015.
     
“I don’t usually brag about my drum jokes, but um…tss” is a related joke.
 
           
Wikipedia: Rimshot
A rimshot is a percussion technique used to produce an accented snare drum backbeat. The sound is produced by simultaneously hitting the rim and head of a drum with a drum stick: “the sound is part normal snare and part loud, woody accent,” “generally sharper, brighter and more cutting,” as this produces large amounts of overtones. The stroke is used on the snare in rock, pop, and blues and on the tom-toms in Afro-Cuban music and reggae.
(...)
Drummer Gene Krupa is credited with having invented the rimshot.
   
Know Your Meme
Rimshot (Ba Dum Tss)
(...)
Origin
The Rimshot was invented by the jazz and big band drummer Gene Krupa, and has since then been used over the years by many comedians and musicians. After the invention of the rimshot many other comedians and musicians have been playing this note to either refine their skills, or just highlight a really lame joke. The usage of the rimshot has been dated back since the 1960’s during Gene’s life time.
 
YouTube
Ba Dum Tss!
CaptainEagle09
Published on Mar 26, 2011
         
Google Groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
IBM AT executables for GhostScript 2.0 wanted
Zen
12/4/90
(...)
Two elephants fell off a cliff. Boom Boom.
 
Google Groups: aus.music
All That Falls wants DRUMMER
Zen [Stuart Bishop]
9/7/92
(...)
Two elephants fell off a cliff. Boom Boom.
     
Google Groups: alt.fan.pratchett
Duck Joke
James Polley
6/12/99
I hate to do it to you, but….
Did you hear about the two elephants and the cymbal that fell off a cliff?
ba-boom, ching!
       
11 June 2001, Belfast (Northern Ireland) News Letter, “LOOKING down on life” by Geoff Hill, pg. 8:
Two elephants walk off a cliff… boom boom.
   
Google Books
Westside Storeys
By Dotun Adebayo
London, UK: X Press
2003
Pg. 140:
“Two elephants fell of a cliff — boom, boom!”
 
Google Groups: sfnet.keskustelu.uskonto.kristinusko
Pimenkirje
Riku Teräs
1/24/05
(...)
“Two drums and a cymbal set fall off a cliff…”
   
Google Groups: alt.smokers.pipes
Took wife out!
Leonardo Herrera
3/31/05
(...)
Two drums and a cymbal set fall off a cliff…
 
ba dum dum CSHH!!!
 
Google Groups: alt.fan.pratchett
Re: -- What are the best TP’s TISH, BOOM BOOM jokes?
Jeff Howell
1/9/07
Len Oil wrote:

 
> “TISH, BOOM BOOM” would be a reference to a percussionists contribution
> to (for example) the Las Vegas Lounge Comedian’s act, providing the
> “that was a punchline, you may now laugh at what I just said” indicator.

I’ve always thought of it more as a ba-dum-tish sound - two hits on a snare and a hit on a cymbal.
 
Which gives rise to the joke:
 
Two snare drums and a cymbal fall off a cliff. (fx: ba-dum-tish)
 
Twitter       
Alistair Fairweather
@afairweather
For once I’m happy with a column http://is.gd/9mhm - although I prefer doric to corinthian (cue: two cymbals and a drum fall off a cliff)
4:52 AM - 28 Nov 2008
     
Google Books
Principia Intellegentia:
The Principals Governing Human And Machine Intelligence
By Roger Kingdon
New Delhi, Inda: Allied Publishers
2009
Pg. 166:
Me: Two elephants and some cymbals fall off a cliff.
Jack: Buh-dum-chh!
 
Twitter
Nathaniel
@nhfruchter
Some guys actually tested out “Two drums and cymbals fall off a cliff, badum-tsst” to see if it actually works. http://is.gd/K0sO
1:34 PM - 30 May 2009
   
Twitter
Matthew Wester
@MatthewWester
Did you hear about the two bass drums and cymbals that fell off the cliff? ba-dum Csh!        :-D My favorite worst joke.
1:21 PM - 13 Aug 2009
 
Twitter 
Paul Kramer v Kramer
@P_K_Tips
Replying to @MattEdmondson
@MattEdmondson Sorry this is 5 days late for your drum segment… 2 elephants and a snake fall off a cliff….. Boom…. Boom…. hissssssss
9:50 AM - 10 Dec 2010
   
Twitter
Greg Spalding
@Lebowski74
Replying to @AdmMarius
@AdmMarius @emma_lou1983 thats the sound of a drum kit and a snake impacting after falling off a cliff!
5:45 PM - 29 Jan 2011
   
Twitter
ALEX FERENTINOS
@AlexFerentinos7
Da sum hiss @GRCraig85 - that wasn’t a drum roll, two elephants and a snake just fell off a cliff. Here all week.
4:07 AM - 7 Jul 2012
   
Twitter
Geoff
@_TheGeoff
Although “Two elephants and a snake fall off a cliff. Bazinga” doesn’t work as well as doing the drum and cymbal noise. #BaBamTsss
7:41 PM - 7 Aug 2013
   
Google Books
Top 10 for Men: Over 200 More Manly Lists!
By Nick Harper
London, UK: Octopus Publishing Groups Ltd
2014
Pg. 66:
‘Two elephants walk off a cliff ... boom, boom!’ – Tommy Cooper
 
Twitter   
lizzthot
@urbandecayniall
A goat🐐 some drums and a snake 🐍fall down a cliff @Ashton5SOS
*Ba dum tiss* 
Get it? 😂
I’m not funny at all
6:22 PM - 25 Aug 2014
   
Google Books
Born to Drum:
The Truth About the World’s Greatest Drummers—from John Bonham and Keith Moon to Sheila E. and Dave Grohl
By Tony Barrell
New York, NY: HarperCollins
2015
Pg. ?:
The comedy rim shot even has its very own joke: “Two drums and a cymbal fall off a cliff. . .” “Badum tish!”
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum and a snake fall down a cliff
submitted August 14, 2015 by extrohex
BA-DUMM-TSS
COMMENTS
matig123
This joke will go down in hisstory as a pretty decent one!
 
Jatz55
This pun will go down in history as a baad one
     
Twitter
Sabillon Blanc
@ANTONIASABILLON
A sheep, a drum, and a snake fall off a cliff.
Ba-Dumm-Tss
6:05 PM - 13 Aug 2015 (Probably posted after the above.—ed.)
 
Twitter
MArtyCZ
@MArtyC0Z
“A sheep, a drum and a snake falls down a cliff”
Ba-dum-tss
6:23 PM - 13 Aug 2015
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum and a snake fall down a cliff
submitted August 16, 2015 by puLsOr
ba-dumm-tss
     
Twitter
soph
@SophieTheFlop
Replying to @TheTide
@TheTide A sheep,drum kit and snake walk into a bar…BAA-DUMM-TSS
7:25 PM - 17 Aug 2015
   
Twitter
punggolkid
@punggolkid
I saw you..
and my heart sounded like a goat, a drum and a snake altogether..
BAA-DUMMT-SSS!!!
UDDinSGSB2015 #SundownBeats2015
2:48 AM - 18 Aug 2015
 
Twitter
ABCDzulHafiZ ツ
@DzulHafiZ93
A lamb, a drum and a snake falling down a cliff
Ba-Dum-Tss
6:37 AM - 18 Aug 2015
     
Reddit—3amjokes
A sheep, a drum and a snake fall off a cliff self.3amjokes
Submitted August 19, 2015 by spreadurlegs
ba-dumm-tss
COMMENTS
yeahifuck
Two drums and a cymbal fall off a cliff. Same punchline.
 
bipolarrealist
Same re-percussion.
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum, and a snake walk into a bar…
submitted August 19, 2015 by Beejybaby
Ba-dumm-tsss
COMMENTS
hailthebasilisk
They ordered windshots
 
Twitter
iPhone 7 | ايفون ٧
@iPhone_7_
A sheep, a drum, and a snake walk into a bar… http://ift.tt/1MDrtl9
1:45 PM - 19 Aug 2015
 
Reddit—Jokes
I threw out a sheep, a drum and a snake from an airplane
submitted September 7, 2015 by abbepetterssson
Ba-dum-tss
COMMENTS
Orrison123
Ba, the sound a sheep makes. Dum, the sound a drum makes. Tss, the sound a snake makes
         
A Sheep, a Drum, and a Snake fall off a cliff
submitted November 10, 2015 by Xenomemphate
Baa-Dumm-Tsss
COMMENTS
patentologist
I was expecting sssssss-boom-baaa, but I guess that’s the sound an exploding sheep makes.
 
Swagstah
Wouldn’t the baa come before the boom? If is it still conscious?
 
patentologist
I dunno! It was a “Carnac the Magnificent” thing from Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show”. Apparently the longest sustained laughter from the audience he ever got. The clip is on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76wzA2A2T1Q
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum and a snake fall down a cliff
submitted April 1, 2016 by RikudoSenjutsu
Ba - Dumm - Tss
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum and a snake fall down a cliff
submitted April 6, 2016 by ohsnaplookatthis
badum tss
     
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum, and a snake fall off a cliff.
submitted April 7, 2016 by wille179
Baa-dum-tssss.
COMMENTS
RainforestRabbit
Old Johnny Carson joke: (Carnot) The punchline was delivered first - Siss Boom Bah… The envelope is opened and the answer is A stick of dynamite set off underneath a sheep.
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum, and a snake fall down a cliff…
submitted January 23, 2017 by fohsadguy
bahhh dum hisss
     
Reddit—Jokes
A goat, a drum and a snake fall off a cliff.
submitted June 21, 2017 by SrGhSrGh
Bah dum tss!
 
Reddit—Jokes
A sheep, a drum and a snake walk into a bar.
submitted February 6, 2018 by I_spoil_girls
Ba-dum-tss.
   
Reddit—Jokes
A goat, a drum, and a snake fall off a cliff…
submitted March 5, 2018 by k2hegemon
Baa Dum Tss
 
Reddit—Dad Jokes
A lamb, a drum and a snake fell off a cliff (self.dadjokes)
submitted July 1, 2018 by scrott806
Baa, dum, sss