How The Interpreter Made President Carter's Joke Funnier

In a speech at a small Methodist college in Japan shortly after leaving the White House in 1981, Carter began his speech with a joke. The interpreter delivered it in Japanese, and the audience erupted in laughter. Impressed with the interpreter’s skill, he asked how the interpreter managed to get such a laugh. Eventually, the interpreter admitted that he had said, “President Carter told a funny story. Everyone must laugh.”