[Jamestown1630]

I got the feeling that these young men were just trying to create some humor out of a lousy situation.

[lee martell]

Yes. Probably so, for the fun of it.
It reminded me of

“Put your right foot in
Take your right foot out
Put your left foot in
And shake it all about.
Do the Hokey-Pokey every time you turn around.
That’s what it’s all about!”