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Twitter users react to death of Kim Jong Il

The death of 69-year-old Kim Jong Il was confirmed on Monday. As soon as the news of the longtime dictator's demise broke, Twitter users began doing what they do best — rushing to beat each other to every punchline.And the punchlines were certainly likely to flow. In life, the mysterious — often reviled — North Korean dictator was the butt of many jokes, due to eccentricities of appearance
epa03038276 (FILE) A photograph made available on 25 August 2011 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-il leaving after his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (not pictured) at Sosnovy Bor military garrison in Zaigrayevsky district outside Ulan-Ude in Buryatia, eastern Siberia, Russia, 24 August 2011. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who isolated his country and brought it to the brink of economic ruin while leading one of the world‘s largest armies and provoking international fears with a nuclear programme, has died, state media reported 19 December 2011. Kim died on 17 December 2011 of a heart attack brought on by 'great mental and physical strain' during a train journey, the North Korean Central News Agency KCNA said.  EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV/RIA NOVOSTI/KREM MANDATORY CREDIT
epa03038276 (FILE) A photograph made available on 25 August 2011 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-il leaving after his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (not pictured) at Sosnovy Bor military garrison in Zaigrayevsky district outside Ulan-Ude in Buryatia, eastern Siberia, Russia, 24 August 2011. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who isolated his country and brought it to the brink of economic ruin while leading one of the world‘s largest armies and provoking international fears with a nuclear programme, has died, state media reported 19 December 2011. Kim died on 17 December 2011 of a heart attack brought on by 'great mental and physical strain' during a train journey, the North Korean Central News Agency KCNA said. EPA/DMITRY ASTAKHOV/RIA NOVOSTI/KREM MANDATORY CREDITDMITRY ASTAKHOV/RIA NOVOSTI/KREM / Today

The death of 69-year-old Kim Jong Il was confirmed on Monday. As soon as the news of the longtime dictator's demise broke, Twitter users began doing what they do best — rushing to beat each other to every punchline.

And the punchlines were certainly likely to flow. In life, the mysterious — often reviled — North Korean dictator was the butt of many jokes, due to eccentricities of appearance and behavior. When the state media explained that the leader died of "great mental and physical strain" during a train ride, the Internet's denizens couldn't help but snicker. Those who knew who Kim Jong Il even was, that is.

I took the time to round up some of the early reactions and jokes posted by Twitter users below. You'll notice that they include what can now be considered a standard mix of responses — the obvious puns, the confused users, and the complaints over the overabundance of jokes.

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Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.