About

Anti-humor is a type of indirect humor that involves the joke-teller delivering something which is intentionally not funny, or lacking in meaning. The audience, sometimes referred to as the Victim, is expecting something humorous, and when this does not happen, the irony itself is of comedic value. Anti-humor is also the basis of various types of pranks and hoaxes. It is considered to be very postmodern.
The humor of such jokes based on the surprise factor of absence of an expected joke or of a punch line in a narration which is set up as a joke.

Origin

The origin of this meme is currently unknown, but traces have been found that date back to before 2000. One of the most well known jokes is:

"Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!"

There was a book published in 1990 titled A dictionary of Catch Phrases, British and American , by Eric Partridge. This featured some "Anti-Jokes" throughout the book, and seems to be on the the first sources for Anti-Jokes.

Usage

In Conversations

"Why did the boy drop his ice cream?"
"Why?"
"Because he was hit by a bus"

"What is blue that smells like red paint?"
"What?"
"Blue Paint"

Spread

Notable Examples

Popular Jokes according to anti-joke.com:

"What's worse than finding a worm in your apple? The Holocaust."

"Why did the boy drop his ice cream? Because he was hit by a bus"

"Roses are red, violets are blue, I have a gun, get in the van"

"How do you confuse a blonde? Paint yourself green and throw forks at her."

Spinoffs and Related Memes

Anti-Joke Chicken
Rasta Science Teacher (Bait and Switch)
Successful Black-Man (Bait and Switch)
Buzzkilling (A form of Anti-Joke)