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#82767 10/06/02 02:04 PM
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Here we go, tsuwm...the LaughLab site is back up again:

http://www.laughlab.co.uk/


#82768 10/06/02 02:09 PM
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from the LaughLab site

LEAGUE TABLE OF HUMOUR

We asked everyone participating in LaughLab to tell us which country they were from. We analysed the data from the ten countries that rated the highest number of jokes. The following ‘league table’ lists the countries, in the order of how funny they found the jokes:

Most funny

Germany
France
Denmark
UK
Australia
The Republic of Ireland
Belgium
USA
New Zealand
Canada

Least funny

Fascinating differences also emerged between nations in terms of the jokes they found funny. People from The Republic of Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand expressed a strong preference for jokes involving word plays, such as:

Patient: “Doctor, I've got a strawberry stuck up my bum.”
Doctor: “I've got some cream for that.

Americans and Canadians much preferred gags where there was a sense of superiority – either because a person looked stupid, or was made to look stupid by another person, such as:

Texan: “Where are you from?”
Harvard grad: “I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions.”
Texan: “Okay – where are you from, jackass?”

Finally, many European countries, such as France, Denmark and Belgium, liked jokes that were somewhat surreal, such as:

An Alsatian went to a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote:
“Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof.”
The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: “There are only nine words here. You could send another ‘Woof’ for the same price.”
“But,” the dog replied, “that would make no sense at all.”

These European countries also enjoyed jokes that involved making light of topics that often make us feel anxious, such as death, illness, and marriage. For example:

A patient says: “Doctor, last night I made a Freudian slip, I was having dinner with my mother-in-law and wanted to say: “Could you please pass the butter.” But instead I said: “You silly cow, you have completely ruined my life”.”

Interestingly, Germany was the exception. Germans did not express a strong preference for any type of joke - this may well explain why they came first in our league table of funniness – they do not have any strong preferences and so tend to find a wide spectrum of jokes funny.

Dr Richard Wiseman commented ‘These results are really interesting – it suggests that people from different parts of the world have fundamentally different senses of humour. Humour is vital to communication and the more we understand about how people’s culture and background affect their sense of humour, the more we will be able to communicate effectively’.




#82769 10/06/02 02:15 PM
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Can't find it on the LaughLab site. Guess you'll have to buy the book, tsuwm!


#82770 10/06/02 02:43 PM
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Found this in the course of my perusings, and had to share it:

CONDOM CONUNDRUMS

A young man goes into a drug store to buy condoms. The pharmicist says the condoms come in packs of 3, 9, or 12, and asks which the young man wants.
"Well," he said, "I've been seeing this girl for awhile and she's really hot. I want the condoms because I think tonight's "the night." We're having dinner with her parents, and then we're going out. And I've got the feeling I'm gonna get lucky after that. Once she's had me, she'll want me all the time, so you'd better give me the 12-pack."
The young man makes his purchase and leaves. Later that evening, he sits down to dinner with his girlfriend and her parents. He asks if he might give the blessing, and they agree. He begins the prayer, but continues praying for several minutes. The girl leans over and says, "You never told me you were a religious person."
He leans over to her and says, "You never told me your father is a pharmacist."





#82771 10/06/02 04:16 PM
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Am I the only one that finds it irritating that the joke declared "world's funniest" was in fact merely the one with the most people who thought it was funny at all? It's more of a most common denominator type approach and really doesn't address the degree of hilarity at all. (Sorry to be such a crank, especially on the subject of humor.)


#82772 10/06/02 08:38 PM
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Woof. Woof. Woof, woof, woof. Woof, woof woof woof.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#82773 10/07/02 12:04 AM
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Howye fokes

Alex - ya may have a bit of a pint there but I think the Capt got the last laff. It's the way ya tell em, ya see.

Be seein ya

GT


#82774 10/07/02 02:26 AM
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Oh I think the "woof woof woof" joke is ten times funnier than the two hunters joke, which is more of a "smiler." That's not really the point, but...

http://cs-netlab-01.lynchburg.edu/users/briggs_w/classes/141/programs/p1/farside2.gif





#82775 10/07/02 02:41 AM
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Woof. Woof. Woof, woof, woof. Woof, woof woof woof.

Hey - that's my line!


#82776 10/07/02 11:21 AM
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No, no, you put the emphasis on the wrong woof.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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