It's amazing the discussions that I miss when I'm out of town for a couple
of days!

There is an important point at stake here, which has been touched on, but
maybe needs some addtional emphasis.

The type of joke that is objectionable is a joke that relies on an
insulting stereotype; in other words, an unpleasant assumption about some
characteristic that all members of the group are supposed to have.  It
doesn't really matter whether it is a racial stereotype or some other type
of stereotype; i.e. all blondes are dumb.  Just because the joke relies
upon the fact that a person is black (or disabled) doesn't in itself make
the joke insulting or unacceptable.

The objectionable nature of these kinds of jokes derives from a belief in
individual equality, which, of course, is an important part of the American
creed, as it is of the creed of Western democracy as a whole.  There are
many nations who do not share these beliefs and who must be astonished by
our sensitivity to things of this nature.  (Just to be sure that there are
no misunderstandings, I am not suggesting in any way that Hungary is one of
those nations.)

This extension of equality to make stereotyping objectionable is of very
recent origin.  For anyone who has seen the Kenneth Branagh film of "Henry
V" and also knows the original (or the Olivier version, which is only 50
years old) will be aware a large number of the comic scenes in the play was
cut.  The reason is because the humor relies on racist stereotypes, and
particularly on a stereotype of a Welshman (Welshmen in the UK are
extremely sensitive about this as it goes back about a millenium and a
half!).  In fact, almost all the humor in Shakespeare relies on stereotypes
of one sort or another (stupid servants, nerdlike doctors, etc.), as do
several of the main plots in the comedies.  Directing "The Merchant of
Venice" or "The Taming of the Shrew" is an almost impossible task these
days.   Shakespeare and his contemporaries, living in an era when
inequality was the norm and anyone believing in equality was regarded as
being  somewhat touched in the head (Malvolio for instance), had absolutely
no problem with this kind of joke.  Nor was it a problem 50 years ago.

The rule today, however, is "No Stereotyping".  This, unfortunately,
seriously cuts into the stock of jokes, so we should be very careful not to
eliminate jokes like that of Ferenc (which I thought was quite amusing)
when it is not offending anyone.  This is particularly the case for someone
who's command of English is not perfect.  Ferenc must have wondered what
hit him!

By the way, a grand piano does have three legs and not four.  The pedals
hang from the piano and do not touch the floor.