6-year-old sets up 'drive-by, walk-by joke stand' in his driveway to make people laugh

Callaghan McLaughlin knows the world could use a laugh or two right about now. And what better to make people laugh than some good old jokes? Although he only knows about 16 or 17 jokes, this 6-year-old from Saanich, British Columbia, wasn't about to stop that from setting up his very own 'Drive-by, walk-by joke stand' in his driveway to offer passersby the opportunity to enjoy a kid-friendly joke before they carry on with their day. Given the economic downfall and all that, the little comic believes it's only fair that he provide his services to the community free of cost.

"There's a lot of stress in the world," the wise little one told CBC, "and I kind of want to get some smiles on people's faces." Callaghan's comedy career began about six months ago when his mom Kelsea McLaughlin bought him a kid-friendly joke book with one-liners. After being his exclusive audience in the months since his family felt it was time they shared the 6-year-old's comedic genius with the rest of the world. "Callaghan has been actively telling us one-liners and knock-knock jokes for the past six months or so," Kelsea told Yahoo Life. "We felt it was time for a fresh audience!"

Although Callaghan had originally planned to set up a lemonade stand out in his driveway this summer, given the global health crisis and the need for social distancing, Kelsea felt a joke stand would be a better idea. "'Lemonade stand' is always top of the list," she said. "Obviously this time around things were a bit different so I had to come up with an idea for how he could still be out in the community but still be physically distant." And thus, Callaghan's 'Drive-by, walk-by joke stand' has been serving jokes to neighbors since April 14.

"We sent a plea out on social media to come and stop by for friends and neighbors. I knew that he would feel more successful if he got a few friendly and familiar faces," Kelsea explained. "He typically sets up around 9:30 a.m. and spends about an hour outside. He goes back after lunch for another hour and a half or so. Our front yard also has a pretty neat treehouse so he toggles back and forth when he spots a potential 'customer' approaching."

She revealed that Callaghan—who is the oldest of three and an extremely social extrovert—was starting to miss interacting with neighborhood kids because of the pandemic. "I tried to find an idea where he could still be socially present in our community but be distant at the same time," she said. "Most people at minimum give him a smile or wave. Several people do stop and ask to hear a joke, and typically reciprocate with one of their own."

Callaghan's joke stand has captured the attention of many online, including Ryan Reynolds, who—as you may know—has quite the funny bone. However, for the little comic, the only attention that matters is that of his community. "I like getting to be outside and sometimes my friends walk by that I haven’t seen for a while from school," he revealed. "My principal came by too!" Explaining why he believes it's important to offer his services for free, the 6-year-old said: "I want people to save their money for other things. Some people need the money for groceries now instead of jokes."

Although the joke stand has propelled him to fame, Callaghan only sees it as a side hustle. He wants to be a scientist when he grows up. "I want to invent things to make the world safer and cleaner," the little boy explained. I'll leave you with his favorite joke of the moment: "Where does a trout keep its money?... A river bank."