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Some jokes are funny on their own, but the ones that make you stop and think, “Wait, that’s actually true,” hit differently. From sarcastic replies that leave no room for a comeback to ridiculous observations about everyday life, there’s something really satisfying about a joke that cracks you up while making a surprisingly good point.

We’ve rounded up some hilarious memes and jokes that nail this kind of humor perfectly. They might even be better than ice cream on a sunny day. Keep scrolling, because you might go from laughing at a clever comeback to nodding along like, “Okay, fair enough.”

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Technically true jokes are a good example of benign violation theory, developed by psychologists Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren. The theory suggests that humor happens when something breaks an expectation but still feels harmless.

Think of a joke that takes a phrase literally or points out a ridiculous flaw in everyday logic. It goes against how we expect language or the world to work, but because nobody is actually being harmed, the absurdity feels safe enough to laugh at.

For a joke to work this way, it needs to surprise you by breaking an expectation while remaining harmless enough to be funny.

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Some people answer a question by focusing on exactly what was said, completely ignoring what the person actually meant. Ask someone to pass the salt, for example, and they could answer “yes” without moving a finger. Technically, they’ve answered correctly. They’ve just failed the assignment spectacularly.

Research into how people understand language shows that we rely on context and the speaker’s intentions to understand what someone really means. These memes exploit the gap between the words people use and what they’re actually trying to say, and the results are ridiculously funny.

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Some words have multiple meanings, and a clever meme can exploit that little linguistic loophole to send your brain in two directions at once. You start with one interpretation, then the punchline reveals another.

This study found that puns tend to be funnier when they play on multiple meanings or lead to an unexpected interpretation. It also showed that clever word twists can turn an ordinary sentence into a joke that catches you off guard.

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Some technically true jokes make you question things you’ve accepted your whole life without a second thought. You call something by a certain name, follow a particular rule, or accept that something is normal simply because that’s how it’s always been.

Then someone points out one unexpected detail, and now, you’re wondering why it never seemed strange before. That’s the fun of humor that plays with social norms and expectations: it makes you see ordinary things in a surprisingly different light, and sometimes, that’s all it takes to make you laugh.

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Humor can be very useful when a conversation starts getting tense. Imagine two people arguing over something petty, with both determined to have the last word. A clever joke can give them a way to laugh at the situation instead of continuing the argument.

Using humor during disagreements can sometimes prevent conflict or help end it. Of course, a joke can fall flat if the other person isn’t in the mood, but the right line at the right moment can take some of the heat out of a conversation.

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There’s a difference between telling the truth and telling the whole truth, and technically true jokes love to play in that gap. Someone can give you a perfectly accurate answer while conveniently leaving out the one detail that would change how you understand it.

Think of a product advertised as “50% off” when its original price was doubled the day before. The discount might be real, but the deal is far less impressive in context. These jokes tap into that same trick, using facts in ways that are technically defensible but hilariously misleading.

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Some jokes are funnier when the person delivering them acts as though they’ve just shared an important scientific discovery. Imagine someone explaining, with a perfectly straight face, that a skyscraper is called that because it scrapes the sky. The explanation is ridiculous, but the complete lack of hesitation makes it even funnier.

This is known as deadpan humor. It means delivering something absurd in a serious, matter-of-fact way. There’s no wink or dramatic pause to give the joke away. The speaker treats it like a perfectly reasonable observation and leaves everyone else to deal with the nonsense.

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Technically true jokes can be surprisingly hard to argue with, which is part of their charm.

Your first instinct might be to reject the claim, but then you think about it for a second and realize the logic holds up. Now you’re stuck trying to explain why something that sounds ridiculous is actually correct.

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The best technically true jokes leave you laughing, questioning your common sense, or reluctantly admitting that someone has a point.

Now we want to know: what’s the funniest technically true joke you’ve come across? Drop it in the comments and give us all something to overthink today.