But is it original?

Oh yeah. Slightly different brand, but "I really love this story idea but I feel like I read it somewhere else" happens to me all the time. Was it a book I read a blurb about in a bookstore, someone's idea during NaNoWriMo, am I wasting my time on something that's already been done by someone else, is it even really MY idea? It's not a fun feeling, especially when it's something you're really happy about. Just try to carry on through it.

I doubt there are many ideas out there which are truly original. It's more in how you handle them. Of course, outright plagiarism is wrong, m'kay, but if you concentrate on writing what you want to write and developing your own style, I'm sure everything will be fine.

What they said. Yes, similar experiences have happened to me, and really it is all in the execution, not so much the idea. Developing your own voice and style is the main project, IMO. Then, any theme or idea you come up with, you make it yours because "nobody could ever do that like you do."

Mitch Hedberg wrote a joke about playing Little League as an adult, because he could hit way better than those kids.

Steve Hofstetter considers Mitch Hedberg one of his big influences and he wrote a joke about how it is unfair to pay taxes that support programs for other people's kids to participate in. This joke ended with Steve "going to protest by signing up for Little League, because he can hit better than those kids."

Hofstetter also wrote a joke about Snoop Dog that used lyrics from the rapper's music to tell said joke. I consider Hofstetter one of my big influences and I wrote a joke about Bruce Springsteen's son becoming a firefighter. The joke I wrote?

"It must have been an easy decision, growing up always hearing, 'ohhhh, I'm on fire.'"

My mentor, Amy Tee, wrote a joke about the pregnancy tests at dollar stores. Results in nine months. Another comic blatantly stole her joke. She still has an amazing career and I never heard of the other guy.

The point is, some people may steal your stuff. Some people may become inspired by it. Don't lose sleep over it and just keep doing what you do.

What's funny (not in the haha way) is when you pitch movies to studios/execs/producers like I have, you're often asked in the pitch to compare your script to something already in existence. I.E. "It's Godzilla meets Godfather". A lot of the people able to green light a movie want some sort of a comparison to visualize your project to.

It's the same with books/comedy/etc. There could always be inspiration you've taken from other works, to help you form your own. Just don't blatantly rip anything off and make sure it has what you consider your voice/style.

Colonist17 said:

What's funny (not in the haha way) is when you pitch movies to studios/execs/producers like I have, you're often asked in the pitch to compare your script to something already in existence. I.E. "It's Godzilla meets Godfather".

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Which is a no-no with novels, oddly enough. The idea there is your book should stand on its own without having to be compared to other works. Although I consider most of my books to be in the same vein as Tom Perrotta and Jonathan Franzen with Kurt Vonnegut thrown in when I'm feeling frisky, I don't pitch them to agents as such.

If it makes you feel any better, I feel like all of Larry David's story ideas for "Curb your Enthusiasm" are directly stolen from my day to day, and somehow, he's rich instead of me.

Cheers.

crotch shots are still funny, and they've been done before.

Originally, to a degree, is overrated. There are a lot of people out there who look for the comfort of what they know. These people want a fresh take on old ideas. If you don't believe me, look at the popularity of Romeo and Juliet, vampires, shapeshifters, cowboys and indians (which as morphed into cowboys and aliens over the years.) Humor is the same way. Someone will always laugh at a fart joke even if they have heard 100 others. And then there is the issue of people's sense of humor changing as they mature, then another generation moves into line. A 12 year old is not like to even have heard of the frog in the blenders jokes what my generation loved a few decades ago.

Incidentally, the other day I read an article on body language and the author used a pretty original/unique/clever analogy that I had come up with on my own previously for describing a character's posture. I'm not going to automatically throw it out. Just because something was said/written one other time doesn't make it played out/overused/trite.

As they say, "there's nothing new under the Sun." There's always a chance that an original joke/witty comment has been used before.

I'm writing a memoir so I have a story arc to abide by, and I wouldn't invent a scene just to use a joke that I liked. But I'm comfortable using or recycling material I encounter and like as long as it's relevant to my story and I adapt it with my own spin or take. I think being a good curator or having good taste/a good nose for quality humor is still a skill and still appreciated.

The fact that you've scoured Google (which is a bit overkill, IMHO) indicates to me that your not outright lazily plagiarizing so I wouldn't worry too much about it.