When I think of dad jokes, a clear memory comes to mind - an amalgamation of something that happened multiple times in my childhood.
It's a lazy afternoon - Dad's trying to have a nap after a week of doing night work, and I barge in with what I think is a very pressing issue.
"Dad, I'm bored."
And without fail, no matter how deep he'd been in slumber, he would respond the same way: "Nice to meet you, Bored. I'm Dad."
I would plead with him not to spin the line - I knew, even then, it was not an original response - and ask, this one time, could he take my plight seriously?
It's hard to relate to that feeling now - the level of frustration and almost betrayal that came with his repeated response. Aside from the fact that having nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon now sounds like the dream.
But what I have come to appreciate is that even my father - an incredibly smart man who spent his days and nights trying to work out all he could about supernovae - would still tell what at its heart is a very dumb joke. Even smart people, it appears, happily tell dumb jokes.
Don't get me wrong - I like that it's a dumb joke. It's part of its charm. And I think the defining element of a dad joke is that it is almost too simple.
It is a very special thing, the dad joke. It is the foundation of the fun, carefree side of the father-child relationship. And I say father because, well, it's Father's Day, but also because that was the experience I had. Perhaps if I ever have kids I will embody the dad joke approach to create a light-hearted mother-child relationship. A relationship that carries the fun (and slightly annoying) nature of a dad joke into the years to come.
Every moment in my adult life where not only my dad has made a joke at my expense, but I have made a joke at his, can be traced back to those moments of him introducing himself to some kid called Bored.
There was a period where I would post every ridiculous interaction I had with my dad on social media.
The moments where he said things like "There's nowhere to put these mugs - we're gonna have to smash a few" and "If you do an angry face at a pug, it probably just looks like you're imitating their face".
But according to psychologists, dad jokes are more than just the beginning of a fun family relationship.
A report by the British Psychological Society earlier this year - aptly titled Dad jokes? That's the way eye rolls... - found fathers are typically more vigorous and challenging with their play than mothers. Part of this means that children are pushed to the limits of what they can handle.
Their humour reflects this style of play and when children are approaching adolescence and prone to embarrassment, that's when dad jokes - specifically the ones that are unfunny - start to roll in, as a way of embarrassing their kids.
"That connection between dad jokes and the male psyche is cemented in the concept's analogues in other languages and cultures," the article reads.
"While 'dad jokes' is the undisputed term for the phenomenon in Anglo-American culture, the Japanese have a similar concept, oyaji gyagu, which can be translated to 'old men's gags' or 'middle-aged men's gags'."
Ideally, when not teetering over the line into bullying, dad jokes should build a child's resilience and train them to withstand minor attacks and bouts of negative emotion.
Perhaps when you reach adulthood, it's a matter of reminding your dad that there are minor attacks he still needs to withstand.
Maybe you can teach an old dad new tricks, after all.
