"Tenants” is a word that sets up the obvious joke:
Q: How many ants are needed to fill an apartment?
A: Ten ants (tenants).
“How many ants make a landlord? 10 ants (tenants)” was cited in print in 1860.
Google Books
Wit and Wisdom:
Jokes, Conundrums, Sentiments, and Aphorisms
By Wit
London: Ward and Lock
1860
Pg. 31:
How many ants make a landlord? 10 ants (tenants).
29 September 1923, Chicago (IL) Defender, “Humor,” pg. 14, col. 4:
How many ants make a landlord?
Ans.: Ten-ants.
24 July 1972, Springfield (MA) Union, “Fun Time—The Riddle Box,” pg. 27, col. 1:
How many ants will make a landlord happy?
Tenants.
19 June 1981, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), magazine, pg. 18, col. 3:
Q. How many ants will make a landlord happy?
A. Ten-ants.
Becky Cravens
Louisville, Kentucky
Google Groups: aus.tv
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7/5/05
(...)
How many ants are needed to fill an apartment? Tenants
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6/20/06
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How many ants are needed to fill an apartment? TENANTS
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11/7/06
(...)
How many ants are needed to fill an apartment ?
Ten ants !
Twitter
d.arren
@dearsammm
欠鞭冷笑话 [A is for Ants]: Q - How many ants does it take to fill a house? A -Ten-ants!
9:35 AM - 9 Jun 2009
Twitter
Chris Knight
@WestonGreenMan
How many ants do you need to rent an apartment? Tenants......
4:55 PM - 28 Aug 2009
Twitter
Pearl ‘Penny’ Lane
@PearlLaneSoliz
[Joke Time] How many ants are needed to fill an apartment? ... Ten ants. (tenants) #jokes #funny
3:35 PM - 6 Apr 2010
Google Books
The Mammoth Book of Really Silly Jokes
By Geoff Tibballs
London: Constable & Robinson Ltd
2011
Pg. 12:
How many ants are needed to fill an apartment?
Ten ants.
Facebook
Jim Chapman
May 31, 2014 ·
How many ants does it take to fill a flat?
TENANTS!
reddit
How many ants does it take to rent a house?
submitted November 10, 2015 by emusw
Ten ants
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik.