In heaven, the Englishman is responsible for jokes, the Italian man for food, and the German man for law and order. In hell, the Englishman is responsible for food, the Italian man for law and order, and the German man for jokes.
Heaven and Hell Stereotypes
Categories
Explanation
Experiment
The joke plays on national stereotypes. In heaven, things are supposedly well-organized, so the German is in charge of order. In hell, everything is a mess. So the stereotype is flipped. The Italian known for food in heaven, is now responsible for order in hell, and the German for jokes, implying that they are not good at it.