My friend The Kid told me that I don't have a sense of humour. And that too because I don't laugh at his silly puns. Hmph. Not willing to let it go just like that, I investigated.
What makes me laugh? Woody Allen's books and his movies or even just a picture of him. Micheal Palin's dry wit. Yes Prime Minister. Russel Peters stand up acts. Candid Camera. A fish called Wanda. Oscar the movie. Eddie Izzard's History of the World. Winston Churchill. The Mahabharat scene from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. Hasya Vyang that used to feature on DD. Oscar Wilde. Ogden Nash and 'when you see a panther, don't anther'.
Dry, witty, sarcastic humour gets me rolling and smiling all day, but I love my share of surdy jokes as well. But puns, somehow, get my goat, unless they're intelligent and not hugely corny. A friend of mine was working with the Times, and he walked into a room where there were dying carnations in a vase that were being watered. He quipped 'reincarnation' and no one laughed. It had me rolling. I'm surrounded by people who pun. Are puns the easiest access to humour? Is it that everyone can pun, well or terribly, since even a bad pun is a comedy act, but not everyone can tell a good joke?
Can people be coached to be funny? I googled 'being funny' and saw that it's big business. There are coaches like Stanley Lyndon who uses the God model and promise to make you funny in 7 days! Woody Allen said 'I think being funny is not anyone's first choice'. People wished to be astronauts and engineers and actors, but not stand-up comedians. Though that's changing. Serious brands are willing to look at the funny side of things to connect faster to their customers, bosses now crack a lot more jokes to seem approachable and the fun chap at work is looked up to. Even sadhus and politicians and newscasters crack jokes to keep people interested. Being funny is now not considered being immature or not serious. It's been seen as a talent and there are careers to be made of it.
I also came across Laugh Lab who researched nations with the best sense of humour - strangely Germany tops the list. They also said different countries reacted to different kinds of jokes.
People from Ireland and the UK loved wordplay. Patient: "I've got some strawberry stuck up my bum" Doctor: "I've got some cream for that."
The Americans and Canadians liked gags which had a sense of superiority. Texan: "Where are you from?" Harvard Grad: "I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with propositions" Texan: "Ok, where are you from, Jackass."
France and Belgium liked ones which had a surreal element in them. Like 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."
Ha ha ha ha. So the next time The Kid says I don't have a funny bone, I've decided to just laugh it off.
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