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To a plumber, any liquid in a glass is a potential source of income.

The source of the quote (at the very bottom of the page)

I came across this joke and I just can't get it hard as I try. Could anyone help me appreciate its humor explaining how any liquid in a glass and a pipe fitter's potential income may be connected?

Maybe the humor lies in the second meaning of a glass as a mirror, but still, I can't get it.

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    No, it just means plumbers are opportunists.It's a riff on the old "glass half empty/glass half full" (pessimism vs. optism) meme.
    – Robusto
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 18:20

2 Answers 2

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Think about what happens to the liquid once somebody drank it.

It's related to the saying that "You can't buy a beer; you can only borrow it."

-Added- After somebody drinks the liquid, they have to use the toilet. After which it will pass the pipes which are the actual source of income for a plumber.

The joke is a play on the "half full / half empty" thing, so the plumber is always an optimist, because drinking means toilets, toilets and pipes mean income for plumbers.

Not sure what the downvotes are for.

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  • Not me, I don't vote on other answers where I posted one, but the original answer was a non-answer. I think your edited answer is a better explanation of the joke than mine.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 19:48
  • @WeatherVane - I'm not so sure about that. I like your "water in a glass means a leaky pipe somewhere" explanation more than, "more drinks means more flushing means more business" logic. But I think we all agree it's a poor attempt at humor.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 19:52
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You should have posted the whole quote instead of linking it.

To a pessimist the glass is half empty. To an optimist the glass is half full. To a plumber any liquid in a glass is a potential source of income.

I have never heard this joke but I guess that the plumber only cares when there is some liquid in the glass, because if it is catching liquid from a leaking pipe or tap then potentially there is a job for him. Not a very good joke.

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    I upvoted this as soon as you posted the whole quote and said that the OP should have done that for us. It's probably also worth noting that humorous spinoffs of the "glass half-empty/glass half-full" dichotomy aren't all that uncommon. I agree that this plumber version isn't very funny, but here is one I do like: To a pessimist the glass is half empty. To an optimist the glass is half full. To an engineer the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 19:43
  • @J.R. love it - but that should be three times as big because after making detailed and accurate calculations, that was the rule as I knew it. I think the other (previously bad but edited) answer is a better explanation for that poor gag.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Oct 3, 2017 at 19:46

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