The “Do you like seafood?” joke is a classic play-on-words joke, especially popular among kids. But be warned, it may gross you out (or leave others with a bad impression of you), so do it at your own risk!
Here’s how it usually goes:
Person A: “Do you like seafood?”
Person B: “Yes, why?”
Person A: “See-food!”
(At this point, Person A opens their mouth to show the chewed food inside, as if to say “see my food.”)
The humor comes from the pun between “seafood” (like fish and shellfish) and “see food” (as in showing the food in one’s mouth). It’s a simple and silly joke that often gets a chuckle, especially when it’s unexpected.
Usage in Pop Culture
There are two notable uses of the “do you like seafood” joke in pop culture.
My Girl (1991)
In this scene from the 1991 movie My Girl, Shelly (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) was asked by Vada (played by Anna Chlumsky) if she likes seafood.
Shelly walked straight into Vada’s trap when she responded, “Uh-huh, what?”, before being shown a mouthful of chewed food.
She took it like a champ and was unfazed, whereas I lost my appetite.
The Simpsons – Homer’s Triple Bypass S04E11 (1992)
“Hey, Lis, there was a big train wreck last night. D’you want to see the victims?” pic.twitter.com/clAaWzXA6a
— SimpsonsQOTD (@SimpsonsQOTD) July 17, 2017
In the episode Homer’s Triple Bypass from The Simpsons, a slightly different variation of the “do you like seafood” joke is employed. Instead, here’s how the joke went:
Bart: “Hey, Lise, there was a big train wreck last night. Do you wanna see the victims?
Lisa: “Hmm, okay.”
Bart: “Yaah!” (He opens up his mouth to show Lisa his partially chewed food).
As you can see, this variation of the joke has the same punchline, but loses the pun and instead only manages to gross the other person out. It’s best to just stick with the original for best results.
