I am amazed at the ability of some Wikipedians to capture a non-serious topic (like bar jokes) in a serious, encyclopedic tone, with citations and all:

This form has become so well known that it is the subject of at least one joke about the popularity of the joke itself: "A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar. The bartender looks at them and says, 'What is this, a joke?'".[7][6]

And yet, somehow, the article doesn't come across as too dry in my opinion. Maybe it's the well-measured application of examples to sneak jokes in? Just enough to break it up, provide some substance to the description but not become trivial.

It reminds me of Sufism, which frequently used humorous aphorisms and tales to transmit wisdom.