More About Jokes From the Laughter Experiment

Dr. Richard Wiseman, who set out to find the funniest joke in the world and study world wide humor, discovered some interesting facts about what makes people laugh.They set up a website called the LaughLab and invited people to come and judge jokes on a scale of one to five.

It's all about timing
Our computers recorded the time that each person rated the jokes in LaughLab. At the end of the experiment, we looked at the data and examined how the degree to which they found jokes funny changed over a the course of the day. People found the jokes funniest at 6.03 in the evening, and least funny at 1.30 in the morning.We also recorded the date that each person visited LaughLab. There were huge differences in how funny people found jokes at different times during the month. People found them funniest on the 15th of the month, and less funny towards the end or start of the month.So, if you want to make people laugh, tell them jokes on the 15th of the month, at 6.03 in the evening.

The brain's funnybone
Towards the end of the LaughLab project, we carried out a brain scan (using a technique known as Magnetic Resonance Imaging) of people listening to some of our best jokes. The results show that there are areas of the brain involved in understanding why a joke is funny.As shown in the image above, this area is mainly located towards the back of the frontal lobes. Interestingly, this fits in with other research suggesting that people who have damaged this part of the brain often lose their sense of humour.

Many of the jokes submitted contained reference to animals. We found that jokes mentioning ducks are funnier than others. Perhaps it’s because of their beaks, or webbed feet, or odd shape. Regardless, the implication is clear – if you are going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck.
One of the most important parts of the body’s defenses against disease and illness is its ‘immune system’. Experiments suggest that people who laugh more, and are able to look on the funny side of life, have healthier immune systems than others. A good laugh also increases our heart rate, helps us breathe more deeply, and stretches many different muscles in our face and upper body. In fact, it is like a mini work-out – a quick visit to the giggle gym. One researcher estimated that a good laugh produces an increase in heart rate that is equivalent to ten minutes on a rowing machine or fifteen minutes on an exercise bike .

Sample Jokes From the Laugh Lab

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?”

A beagle went to a telegraph 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, “then it would make no sense.”

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”

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

Two fish in a tank.One turns to the other and says ‘Do you know how to drive this?’

A woman told her friend: “For eighteen years my husband and I were the happiest people in the world! Then we met.”