Joke: I'm looking here because the light is better (1932)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Many stories are attached to a popular folklore figure who is shared
by multiple countries named Nasreddin. The name has several alternate
spellings, e.g., Nasrudin and Nasruddin. Below is a story that has
points of similarity with the lamppost-search anecdote. Wikipedia
places the Nasreddin figure in the 13th century, but it seems that the
stories associated with the figure have changed and evolved.

Title: Classic Tales of Mulla Nasreddin
Author: Houman Farzad
Year: 1989
Publisher: Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California
Page: GB Page 26
(Google Books snippet data; may be inaccurate)

[Begin excerpt]

Looking for the Missing Ring

Mulla had lost his ring in the living room. He searched for it for a
while, but since he could not find it, he went out into the yard and
began to look there. His wife, who saw what he was doing, asked:
"Mulla, you lost your ring in the room, why are you looking for it in
the yard?"

Mulla stroked his beard and said: "The room is too dark and I can't
see very well. I came out to the courtyard to look for my ring because
there is much more light out here."

[End excerpt]

Thanks to correspondent Dave Lull who drew my attention to a version
of this story with Nasrudin.

Garson

On Fri, May 3, 2013 at 4:36 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Joke: I'm looking here because the light is better (1932)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Some earlier citations for this anecdote-allegory have been located
> and the QI entry has been updated. The earliest cite (known to me) is
> now in 1924.
>
> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/11/better-light/
>
> On May 24, 1924 a Massachusetts newspaper printed an instance with a
> Boston setting. A police officer saw a man on his hands and knees
> “groping about” around midnight and asked him about his unusual
> behavior:
>
> [ref] 1924 May 24, Boston Herald, Whiting’s Column: Tammany Has
> Learned That This Is No Time for Political Bosses, Quote Page 2,
> Column 1, Boston, Massachusetts. (GenealogyBank) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
>     “I lost a $2 bill down on Atlantic avenue,” said the man.
>     “What’s that?” asked the puzzled officer. “You lost a $2 bill on
> Atlantic avenue? Then why are you hunting around here in Copley
> square?”
>     “Because,” said the man as he turned away and continued his hunt
> on his hands and knees, “the light’s better up here.”
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Fri, Apr 12, 2013 at 8:56 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: Joke: I'm looking here because the light is better (1932)
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Paul Johnson wrote:
>>> There is a 1942 french film by Georges Clouzot called "_The Murderer
>>> Lives at Number 21_"
>>> <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034478/>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034478/
>>> with the same joke, only this time the drunk has climbed the pole for
>>> even more light
>>
>> Paul Johnson: Thank you for pointing to this film. I obtained a copy
>> of the French 1942 version "L'Assassin Habite... Au 21" with English
>> subtitles. I viewed the scene and updated the post on the QI website
>> to include this example. The acknowledgement was also updated to
>> include your name.
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> In 1942 the film "L'Assassin Habite... Au 21" directed by
>> Henri-Georges Clouzot was released in France. It included a scene with
>> a version of the joke. A policeman approached a character named Jean
>> Baptiste who was sitting adjacent to a streetlight fixture on a strut
>> that projected from the wall and supported the lamp above the street.
>> The policeman asked Jean Baptiste what he was doing up there.
>>
>> He initialed replied that he was waiting for a bus and then stated he
>> was looking for something. The policeman enquired "What?" "My
>> matchbox. The light is better up here" was the reply. In French the
>> search object was: "ma boīte d'allumettes".
>>
>> [ref] 1942, Film in French: "L'Assassin Habite... Au 21", Directed by
>> Henri-Georges Clouzot, Adapted by Henri-Georges Clouzot and
>> Stanislas-André Steeman from a novel by Steeman, (Scene occurs at  13
>> minute mark of 1 hour 20 minute version), Films Sonores Tobis.
>> (English version of film released in 1947 as "The Murderer Lives at
>> Number 21") (Data form IMDB) [/ref]
>>
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> Your help is appreciated,
>> Garson
>>
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>
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