“What is the first derivative of a cow?”/“Prime rib.”
A math joke (and a food joke) is:
Q: What is the first derivative of a cow?
A: Prime rib.
The joke has been cited in print since at least 2004 and has been printed on many images.
“Recipe for Prime Rib: Salt, pepper, and butter. Cook for 2, 3, 5, 7 or 11 minutes” and “What beef only comes in 2, 3, 5, 7, or 11 ounce portions?”/“Prime rib” are other prime rib jokes.
Wikipedia: Standing rib roast
A standing rib roast, also known as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, one of the nine primal cuts of beef. While the entire rib section comprises ribs six through 12, a standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs.
Octopus Overlords
Stupid Math Jokes Wanted
by Guy Incognito » Tue Nov 16, 2004 3:05 pm
(...)
Q: What is the first derivative of a cow?
A: Prime Rib!
Google Groups: silverBULLET
Math jokes
Myth
1/22/05
(...)
Q: What is the first derivative of a cow?
A: Prime Rib!
Google Groups: novell.community.chat
Re: Why?
Kim Groneman
10/27/06
(...)
Q: What is the first derivative of a cow?
A: Prime Rib!
Twitter
Exodus (josh)
@tehEx0dus
Q: What is the first derivative of a cow?
A: Prime Rib!
10:19 AM - 21 Nov 2008
4 December 2008, The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK), “Google, and be stupid” by David Zizzo, pg. 4E, col. 4:
What is the first derivative of a cow? Prime rib.
Twitter
Shamrock
@Shambo
Shammy’s Math Lesson: The first derivative of a cow is its prime rib.
9:06 AM - 11 Dec 2008
Google Books
Country Hardball
By Steve Weddle
Blue Ash, OH: Tyrus Books
2013
Pg. 154:
And then he thought about how the girl who wrote that note to him, who’d laughed when he’d told her the first derivative of a cow was prime rib, how he’d never be with her.
Google Books
The Tragic Age:
A Novel
By Stephen Metcalfe
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin
2015
Pg. 46:
“What is the first derivative of a cow?” he’ll says. “Prime rib.”
No one laughs.
Reddit—Jokes
What is the first derivative of a cow?
submitted August 21, 2016 by Kenzlea
A prime rib.