“Why did the pilgrim eat a candle?”/“He wanted a light snack.”
A riddle about “having a light snack” is:
Q: Why did the monster eat a light bulb?
A: He wanted a light snack.
“Why did the boy go to the lamp shop to eat his lunch? He wanted a light snack” was printed in a newspaper feature in November 1968. “Q: Why did the frog eat a lamp? A: Because he wanted a light snack” was printed in a newspaper feature in March 1990.
A Thanksgiving version was posted to the newsgroup alt.humor.puns on November 23, 2001:
Q: Why did the pilgrim eat a candle?
A: Because he wasn’t very hungry and wanted a light snack.
8 November 1968, San Diego (CA) Union, “Fun Time—The Riddle Box,” pg. X-9, col. 2:
Why did the boy go to the lamp shop to eat his lunch?
He wanted a light snack.
11 March 1990, Washington (DC) Post, “Mighty Funny’s Mini Jokes,” The Mini Page, pg. 3, col. 2:
Q: Why did the frog eat a lamp?
A: Because he wanted a light snack.
(Sent in by Theresa Carter)
Google Books
Kids’ Funniest Jokes
By Sheila Anne Barry
Illustrated by Jeff Sinclair
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
1993
Pg. 69:
Why did the monster eat a lamp?
He wanted a light snack.
CAITLIN CARSON, 8
Google Groups: alt.tasteless.jokes
Q’s & A’s
Polar
10/24/99
(...)
Q. Why did the elephant eat the candle?
A. He wanted a light snack!
Google Books
Jokes, Riddles and Wisdom:
The Best Collection Ever
By Roger Kuder
San Jose, CA: ToExcel Press
2000
Pg. 54:
Why did the monster eat a light bulb?
Because he wanted a light snack.
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
Puns of the Weak 11/23/01
Stan Kegel
11/23/01
(...)
Why did the pilgrim eat a candle?
Because he wasn’t very hungry and wanted a light snack. (Bree Schultz)
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
Puns of the Weak 08-22-03
Stan Kegel
8/22/03
(...)
Why did the man eat the firefly?
He wanted a light snack (Rogelio, 10)
Google Books
Beastly Laughs:
A Book of Monster Jokes
By Mark Moore
Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window Books
2004
Pg. 15:
Why did the monster eat the street lamp?
Because he wanted a light snack.
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
Kids Puns Of The Weak 11-30-04
Stan Kegel
11/30/04
(...)
Why did the pilgrim eat a candle?
Because he wasn’t very hungry and wanted a light snack. (GMNI Rising)
Google Books
What’s So Funny?
By Kevin Sheedy
London: Penguin UK
2010
Pg. ?:
Q: Why did the monster eat a light bulb?
A: He wanted a light snack.
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Really Silly Jokes
By Geoff Tibballs
LondonL Constable & Robinson, Ltd
2011
Pg. 84:
Why did the elephant eat the candle?
Because he wanted a light snack.
Google Books
Corny Thanksgiving Jokes to Tickle Your Funny Bone
By Linda Bozzo
Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
2012
Pg. 10:
Why did the Pilgrim eat a candle?
He only wanted a light snack.
Google Books
Funny Jokes 2015
By Peter Crumpton
PeteyRF Creative
2015
Pg. ?:
Why did the elephant eat the candle?
He wanted a light snack!