The Joke: Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 ate 9! The "punchline" works because of the way we count: seven, eight, nine. In English, the word for the number 8 sounds exactly like the past tense of the verb "to eat," which is ate. When you hear the joke, your brain processes the answer in two ways: - The Math Meaning: You are just listing the numbers in order: 7, 8, 9. - The Funny Meaning: You hear "Seven ate nine." So, the number 6 is afraid because 7 is a "cannibal" that just finished eating their neighbor, 9!