You keep repeating that "based off a joke" thing in reference to DS9's "Trials and Tribble-ations," but you do it in a way that suggests you don't understand why and how that joke worked.
It was the kind of joke that came
this close to breaking the fourth wall. In that scene, Bashir was obviously a stand-in for the audience — looking at the different Klingons and wondering
what's up with that?, just as actual fans had done since 1979. And Worf's response, "We do not talk about it," made him a stand-in for the writers and producers — by way of saying, not that there
was no explanation, but that this (this moment, this episode) was
not the time or place for an explanation. It was
hanging a lampshade on an obvious incongruity about the episode, something that couldn't be avoided but also couldn't be explained at the moment without going off on a tangent from the actual story being told. Playing it off with humor was the most elegant solution, and fit with the tone of the episode as a whole.
That's not to say that an explanation couldn't be offered in a
different story, if a suitable opportunity arose. And, in ENT, obviously it did. Different context, different goals, and hence a different approach, and it worked just fine both times, without breaking continuity either time.
BTW, you haven't responded about what you think of Superman's trunks (which are making a long-overdue return in the upcoming
Action #1000!). 'Fess up now!
You're probably one of those people who thinks Superman's costume looks better without the trunks!...
