I feel like these don't work well because the punchline comes in the middle of the joke. Let's try rearranging some:
> Why did the scarecrow win a prize? For years, he rotted, until he was forgotten. He was outstanding in his field.
> How does a penguin build a house? Like all animals, it is an automaton, driven by blind genetic imperative, marching slowly to oblivion. Igloos it together.
> I don’t really like playing soccer. Like all of humanity, I pretend to enjoy things, and others pretend to care about my charade. I just do it for kicks.
> You hear about the moon restaurant? If you eat there, you forfeit your life, which would make no difference to the universe as a whole. My rating: good food, no atmosphere.
> I feel like these don't work well because the punchline comes in the middle of the joke. Let's try rearranging some:
You just don't understand which part is the punchline. The entire standard joke is the setup, and the nihilist addition is the punchline. Your versions completely mess that up, doing exactly the thing that you complain about. :\
Coming from the opposite perspective, some of us grow into nihilism as it offers a retreat from the natural implied significance of every aspect of life, as it is stressed to young people.
> Why did the scarecrow win a prize? For years, he rotted, until he was forgotten. He was outstanding in his field.
> How does a penguin build a house? Like all animals, it is an automaton, driven by blind genetic imperative, marching slowly to oblivion. Igloos it together.
> I don’t really like playing soccer. Like all of humanity, I pretend to enjoy things, and others pretend to care about my charade. I just do it for kicks.
> You hear about the moon restaurant? If you eat there, you forfeit your life, which would make no difference to the universe as a whole. My rating: good food, no atmosphere.
I think they read better this way.