Borrowing clothes from your parents is a time-honored tradition—sometimes you raid their closet for a vintage jacket or stylish piece, other times you just grab whatever basic T-shirt or pair of socks is clean and available.
It’s convenient, easy, and usually harmless.
But one Florida woman learned that grabbing a random shirt without checking what’s on it can lead to an unexpectedly mortifying experience.
Woman Wears Dad’s Shirt To Gym, Receives Unexpected Attention
In a viral video with more than 25,000 views, content creator Tatum (@tatumluka) recounted the awkward experience of wearing her father’s shirt to the gym without checking what was on it first. She explained that older men kept approaching her throughout her workout, telling her they liked her shirt.
“I thought this was, like, one of my dad’s shirts, like, his construction shirt,” she said in the video. Assuming it featured something patriotic like an American flag with a “go America” slogan, she initially brushed off the compliments. But as more people commented on it, she grew suspicious.
“This is weird. Like, it’s a lot of people saying they like my shirt,” she recalled thinking. That’s when she decided to look at what was printed on the back.
The text read: “Crack kills, but I still have mad plumbing skills.” Below the words was an illustration of a handyman with his butt crack out—exactly the kind of crude joke shirt that’s popular in the trades.
“I’m literally a butt crack, and I’m like, I did not just wear a shirt that had a butt crack on it,” she said. “I’m literally so mad.”
“Always double check before you wear a man’s shirt you never know what saying they’ll have on the back,” she wrote in the caption.
Why Are Dad Jokes Like This?
Tatum’s experience stumbling upon her dad’s joke shirt touches on a broader cultural phenomenon: dads and their relentless commitment to corny humor.
The psychology behind why dads gravitate toward these groan-worthy jokes reveals something surprisingly meaningful about parent-child relationships.
Dads continue telling bad jokes even as their children age out of finding them funny because they’re chasing that initial positive reaction, Fatherly states.
When kids are young, they genuinely laugh at simple wordplay, but by the teenage years, those same jokes earn eye rolls instead of laughter.
But dad jokes might be more sophisticated than they seem. Research analyzed by Relational Riffs found that dad jokes aren’t failed attempts at humor—they’re linguistic puzzles that rely on homonymy, homophony, and other forms of wordplay.
The groans they produce aren’t rejection but rather “connection disguised as complaint,” signaling that everyone understood the joke and participated in a shared ritual.
The Seattle Times explains that dad jokes function as “anti-humor”—they’re so unfunny they become funny again.
Humor researcher Marc Hye-Knudsen suggests they may serve an educational purpose, helping children “build self-confidence and resilience” by pushing their limits for handling embarrassment.
The jokes also reduce tension and stress by triggering endorphins, creating moments of connection even in awkward situations.
Commenters React
“I thought you were taking this video from a jail cell at first,” a top comment read.
“Oh the dads thinking where they can get one,” a person said.
“It’s giving dad joke energy,” another wrote.
“On behalf of the coalition of all dads, you have made us proud!!” a commenter added.
@tatumluka always double check before you wear a man’s shirt you never know what saying they’ll have on the back 😑🥲😂 #funny #bluecollar #dadsoftiktok #viral #fypシ
BroBible reached out to Tatum for comment via email and TikTok direct message.