“Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar…” (bar joke)
“A guy walks into a bar…” is a typical form of what has been called the “bar joke.” A popular science bar joke is:
“Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. ‘I’ve lost my electron,’ one says. ‘Are you sure?’ asks the other. ‘Yes, I’m positive.’”
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1993. “A neutron walks into a bar…” is another bar joke that is frequently paired with this one.
Google Groups: alt.tasteless.jokes
dumbjokesarethefunniest
Mark Klemkosky~
8/6/93
Two Sodium atoms were walking down the street.
Atom #1: “I think I’m missing an electron.”
Atom #2: “Are you sure???”
Atom #3: “I’m Positive!”
Google Groups: soc.women.lesbian-and-bi
Lesbian movies?
Whitney J.
2/6/96
(...)
Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar.
One says, “I think I lost an electron!”
Her friend says, “Are you sure?”
She says, “Yes, I’m positive!”
Google Groups: alt.comedy.british
Neutron joke
Michael S. Cooper
6/4/96
(...)
Okay… here’s one back…
Two sodium atoms walk into a bar. All of a sudden one of them loses an electron and says “I just lost an electron!” The other one asks “Are you sure?” He says “I’m positive!”
Yucks Digest
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 98 19:35:46 -0700
From: Peter Langston
Subject: Bar Jokes
To: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
(...)
(19) Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, ‘I think I’ve lost an electron.’ The other says ‘Are you sure?’ The first says, ‘Yes, I’m positive…’
A Prairie Home Companion - Jokes 1999
April 6, 1999
Two for the science crowd…
#1: Two atoms walk into a bar. They sit down, order beers, and start talking. One atom says, “Uh-oh.”“What’s wrong?” asks the second atom.The first atom says, “I think I lost an electron.” The second atom says, “That’s terrible! Are you sure?” “Yes,” replys the first atom. “I’m positive!”
#2A neutron walks into a bar and orders a beer. He drinks it and gets up to leave. He asks the bartender, “How much to I owe you?” The bartender looks at the neutron and says, “For you? No charge.”
Mike Richards,Age: 17
Google News Archive
19 August 2003, Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Mr. Bearbull” by Ron Nathan, pg. B2, col. 1:
TWO hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. “I’ve lost my electron,” one says. “Are you sure?” asks the other. “Yes, I’m positive.”
Google Books
Steps of the Plowman
By Dale Miettinen
Victoria, BC: Trafford
2004
Pg. 99:
“Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One sez ‘I’ve lost my electron.’ The other one sez ‘are you sure?’ and the first one sez ‘yes, I’m positive’.”
Google Books
A Guy Walks Into A Bar…:
501 Bar Jokes, Stories, Anecdotes, Quips, Quotes, Riddles and Wisecracks
By Michael Lewis
New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
2005
Pg. 18:
Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, I’ve lost my electron. Are you sure? Yeah, I m positive.
Google Books
The Best ‘A Man Walks Into A Bar’ Jokes
By Billy Brownless
Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin
2009
Pg. 42:
Two atoms walk into a bar. One of them says, ‘Damn – I think I’ve lost an electron!’ The other atom asks, ‘Are you sure?’ ‘Yeah, I’m positive.’
Google Books
Physics on Your Feet:
Berkeley Graduate Exam Questions: Or Ninety Minutes of Shame but a PhD for the Rest of Your Life!
By Dmitry Budker and Alexander O. Sushkov
New York, NY: Oxford University Press
2015
Pg. 71:
Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. The first says to the second: “I think I lost my electron.” The second asks: “Are you sure”? The first replies: “Yes, I’m positive.”