Although I do remember one from my youth, back when TV was black and white. There was Dick Clark on American Bandstand asking a boy to say the phrase, “What am I doing?” four different ways, like emphasizing one word each time.
Jokes aren’t the only things with punchlines. Ads often have them. I like those that are clever, but of course
clever runs the gamut from the Three Stooges to Lily Tomlin to Doonesbury or
the Far Side. One current ad campaign that
I think is clever is the new “fair and square” slogan and logo for JCPenney. It hasn’t gotten me into their store yet, but
who knows?
Sometimes waiting for the other shoe to drop is like waiting
for the punchline. Maybe that’s where
the phrase, “Life is one big joke” came from.
Do you remember learning about laughter or jokes and what
was supposed to be funny? Sure, we
probably all went thru the ‘knock knock’ stage.
My conundrum was with the elephant jokes – How do you know there was an
elephant in your refrigerator? By the
footprints in the butter. Some of them
had us in stitches and others were a ‘huh?’
Or coming of age and not quite understanding the dirty jokes.
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| My cat Millie and friend |
It’s actually good that what tickles my funny bone may not
do a thing to yours. Variety provides
that spice. But what I really celebrate
today is when we can share a laugh, or even a smile.
Other than one friend who is studying humor, I think we all need more intentional laughter in our lives. Is there anything surefire in your life that makes you
laugh?
Oh, back to Dick Clark.
The answer is “Making a fool of yourself!” Now, did you hear the one about….?
I find a lot of pop culture humor builds on things that make us uncomfortable (e.g., Meet the Parents). I often wonder if this is harmful in the sense that it makes us less empathetic-- i.e., more apt to laugh at others in difficult situations?-- or more attune to that which is universally (or at least culturally) uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteBut for me, little kids' perspectives on the world is the surefire way to make me laugh, a la Kids Say the Darnedest Things. :) My nieces say the funniest things, but I might be biased...