Picture this. Your new baby family member is being passed around at a family event by aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, everyone. Everything is going well, the toddler is finally peacefully napping on the couch after hours and hours of playtime with you and your family. That is until your rowdy uncle comes in and wakes the baby hooting and hollering about his fifteen pound fish he recently caught. Of course the baby cries, and no one wants to get in trouble by the parents for making the baby cry. Everyone frantically tries to appease the baby with a pacifier, diaper change, toys, everything. Through all the baby chaos, the someone runs over with more objects to try to appease the baby, but unfortunate for them, a they slip on one of the children’s toy cars. This not only dramatically sending them into the air with arms flailing, but also sending the formerly wailing child into a fit of laughter.

This is what we would call slapstick humor. Slapstick humor involves exaggerated physical activity. The name slap stick originates from the Italian word Batacchio meaning “slap stick” in English. Battachio  is a club-like object made of two wooden slats that produces a loud smacking noise when struck without transferring much force. Slapstick humor is almost completely based around hitting, pieing, pushing, and falling down. For whatever reason, young children, toddler aged, seem to really enjoy slapstick humor. They especially love it if their parents, or people they are familiar with, are the butts of the jokes. Slapstick humor seems to have taken off in other audiences and has made its way to TV and movies.

Charlie Chaplin and the three stooges are considered to be in the slapstick hall of fame. Silent films were seen to be the driving force in slapstick humor gaining popularity. Since the films were in fact silent, without subtitles, almost all interactions had to be dramatized. That included any comedic scenes and since the jokes would not be heard, they had to be dramatically displayed ergo slapstick humor. Charlie Chaplin was revered to be the “King of Slapstick.” He was more on the acrobatic side and used that to his advantage in his acting. Even though most of his work was improvisation, he learned to use what was in his environment and combined that with his passion to keep the audience’s attention to create his great slapstick acts. Other actors based their style of humor of off Charlie’s. particularly speaking the Three Stooges. Moe, Larry, Curly all known to be some of the biggest goofballs of this time. Everyone knows their story. they were all newborns left on the doorstep of an orphanage. The three grew up to be best friends, if not brothers, and almost ceaselessly played pranks on one another. Whether it was finger-poking, knocking each other on the heads, slapping noses, whatever, the three always seemed to make the crowd laugh with their ridiculous antics. Slapstick humor always draws in a crowd due to it being so high energy and ludicrous movements. Just as a reminder. Slapstick humor is all an act, so please for your own safety and the safety of those around you, do not try what the three stooges do at home.

“He had the kind of face only a mother could love, if that mother was blind in one eye and had that kind of milky film over the other… but still, he was my identical twin.” –  Colin Mochrie

Everyone always loves to joke around and make fun of his or her friends. Whether it is telling “your mama jokes” in the schoolyard, screaming “What are those?” to your friend with an unflattering shoe, or even simply just dissing your friends. Of course this would really only be acceptable by very close friends. Closer friends and family members seem to be victims of this mocking humor we have. Well until they take part in the jokes, then they’re just as bad as the right of us.

How is it that self-deprecating jokes have become so popular in our culture. Why do we point at trash cans or trash and say “Me”? People from my generation even go to the extremes and reference a Spongebob episode where Spongbob draws faces on his fingers for them to be his only “friends.” Do we really not see ourselves as worthy? Are our egos really that low? Do we lack every bit of self confidence that is possible? This leads me to the question of whether or not we genuinely believe we are this undeserving or so low in the world when we deserve to be here just as much as everyone else.

This type of humor is believed to be developed to relate more easily to the audience. With self-deprecating humor, the entertainer offers a part of himself/herself to the audience and lets them take what they want from it. This also makes the entertainer not seem as though he or she is not attacking one particular group. Instead, when he or she includes himself/herself in the joke, everyone feels more comfortable acknowledging and admitting that they have once done the same thing.

One prime example of someone constantly telling self-deprecating jokes is Eeyore.  Eeyore relentlessly makes self-deprecating jokes to make light of how he really feels inside. He even goes on to say “I have my friends. Somebody spoke to me only yesterday. And was it last week or the week before that Rabbit bumped into me and said ‘Bother!’ when he knows he has plenty of friends. However, he is using this type of humor to get attention from his friends to show them that they could be a little more active in his life.

You have all probably used self-deprecating humor in your life. Whether it was a quick remark about something clumsy you’ve done, something awkward, or an old picture from your childhood. We all use self deprecating humor to acknowledge the bad thing in our lives, but to move past it quickly. Studies have also shown that those who use self deprecating humor also tend to become leaders in different settings. This is believed to be true because whoever is being self deprecating tends to be more approachable and seems to be just like everybody else. Self deprecating jokes have its perks of laughing off awkwardness and of relating to one another more openly, however it also has its downfalls. If used at an inopportune time or place, someone will feel that they are allowed to make the same comments about you when you are no longer present. This can lead to the spread of rumors, hurt feelings, and ending of friendships.  Overall I feel as though self deprecating jokes are good in moderation, however be careful who you make your quips around. It’s alright to call yourself trash every once in a while when you slip up, however don’t do it in front of people who will make you feel like you actually are trash.

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.” – Oscar Wilde

Sarcasm. Some people are easily offended by it, others enjoy it, and then there is the few that take it way too far. Sarcasm is saying the complete opposite of what the person is saying in a quick jibe at someone else with the intention of poling fun and doing a little damage. The word sarcasm comes from the Greek word sarkasmos meaning “to tear flesh, bite the lip in rage, or sneer” Not too many positive connotations coming for the word sarcasm.

The art of being sarcastic is something that must be fined tuned over some period of time. It is more of a refined sense of humor. You have to know when to say your joke, how to say it, and if your audience will laugh at it rather than cry. Some like to even call sarcasm the unloved stepchild of irony. Why? Well I don’t know you go ask it? See not too nice right? Some people think sarcasm should just be cut out of humor. They believe it’s a way that people hide their insecurities and take it out on their friends with a hostile comment covered by a laugh. Well. Let’s put it this way. If your friends are non stop being sarcastic with you after you told them to stop, that’s something you have to take up with the instead of the genre of humor.

I’m not saying sarcasm is the perfect humor, especially not for vicious middle schoolers. Sarcasm just has to come in very, very small increments in order for the humor to be enjoyable and perceived in the right tone. Sarcasm can be needed in a conversation. Especially when you have that one friend who never seems to know what they are doing and who seems to lack something essential called common sense.

One of the most renowned people in the art of sarcasm is Louise Belcher. Who is Louise? Louise is a very sarcastic,
drama loving 9 year old who is just trying to figure herself out and live a happy life on the TV show Bob’s Burgers. Louise thrives on ripping people off their high horses, or even just pushing them around with her dry, sarcastic humor.

Another sarcastic character is Geoffrey. Geoffrey the Butler from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had to be one of the most sarcastic people on air at the time. He always managed to get a dig in with the Banks family. Sarcasm was his way of making fun of how sheltered, spoiled and bratty the kids were along with Uncle Phil’s weight problem. When Uncle Phil was trying to kill a cricket, he expressed that he felt like the captain trying to kill Moby Dick. Of course Geoffrey being him responds rather quickly questioning if Uncle Phil is sure that the cricket is really the whale in the situation. Sarcasm, I would have to say is infamous for how many people laugh at such cruel jokes. I believe sarcasm is alright in close friendships and with acquaintances as long as the joke does not go too far. With sarcasm, the user always has to be aware of others feelings and how they may interpret the joke. However, sarcastic banter can also be an easy relaxing way to poke fun at your friends without them getting too angry with you. My advice to you all is to just use it wisely and in moderation.

“A guy bought his friend an elephant for his room. The friend said ‘thanks.’ The guy said ‘don’t mention it.'”

Most of us had to experience them first hand whether we liked it or not. There almost as impossible to escape as the SATs during the college process. You may have heard them from friends, strangers at parties, or from none other than…your dad. Dad jokes. Dad jokes are typically the cheesiest jokes anyone can tell. This type of joke is a dangerous matter. If you play it too safe, your joke will be ignored and your joke telling credibility will start to diminish. If you are too bold with dad-joking, be careful because you may receive plenty of rolled eyes and disapproving stares. Depending on the severity of the cheesiness of the joke, you may even lose some friends. Dad jokes are not meant to be knee-slapping jokes. You know your dad joke was a hit if your audience laughs at you, gives disapproving looks, and whine to you about just how cheesy your joke was. To which you would reply “Want a little cheese with that wine?”

In the media, particularly on ABC’s television series Modern Family, Phil Dunphy never fails to deliver a dad joke. Before we begin to converse about Phil’s wonderful, if I do say so myself as an avid dad joker, sense of humor, lets get to know Phil. Phil Dunphy is married to Claire and is the father of Haley, Alex, and Luke. Speaking of Phil’s kids, have you heard about the kidnapping recently? It’s alright, he woke up. Get it? Anyway, Phil works as a real estate agent in California and has worked long and hard to establish the role of being the “cool dad.” To just shed a little light on Phil’s dad joking skills, caught in the heat of the moment he tells everyone to “Prepare to Phil the agony of the Dunpheat.” If that doesn’t scream avid dad joker to you maybe his joke about him drawing up plans for a Duckingham Palace will. He can’t find his Duckingham Palace plans, so he decides to just “wing” it. Look, I don’t know about you, but Phil Dunphy is one of my idols for dad-joking. Phil Dunphy’s loving, optimistic, and hilarious personality allows him to consistently make high quality dad jokes throughout the series.

Aside from Phil Dunphy, President Barack Obama has also proven his prowess in the act of dad-joking. This previous year as Obama was pardoning a turkey for a cool Thanksgiving. It was almost chilly enough to grab a bowl and a spoon to eat it. Eh? I’ll try harder. Anyway, he delivered a set of terrible/awesome, depends on how you look at it, dad jokes that even made his daughters laugh and cringe on national television. They included “…TOTUS. The Turkey of The United States” and my favorite “It’s hard to believe this is my seventh year of pardoning a turkey. Time flies even if turkeys don’t.” Come on guys. If you didn’t at least smile reading this, please reevaluate your sense of humor.

Dad jokes are one of the most unappreciated jokes today. They are not limited to just dads, but are open to anyone who likes to tell corny jokes that they can laugh at themselves. I believe that telling dad jokes is like a gateway to more advanced styles of humor like sarcasm and satire. Every person who enjoys telling jokes, having a good sense of humor,laughing at their own jokes should experience the joy of telling dad jokes. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed, or at least tolerated, my blog. If you did not like my jokes, try to be less like a kleptomaniac and stop taking things literally. (Sorry, had to get one last joke in.)

“Humor is just another defense against the universe.” – Mel Brooks

When was humor and comedy first incorporated into our routine lives? The world’s oldest recorded joke has been found and dates back to 1900 B.C. The joke goes “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.” Of all of the different styles of jokes to tell, the oldest joke found is nothing but a toilet joke. Shows just how much society and our jokes have
changed, right?

Anyway, following the oldest joke the oldest surviving joke book is The Philolegos, or Laughter Lover. The Greek anthology dates back to the fourth century and is considered, at least by me, to be the holy grail of joke books. Even though the jokes may not be the best out there, even some of my jokes are better, to hold a piece of history so important to the unifying act of laughing is beyond words.

There are many theories describing why humor has been around all throughout history. When analyzing humor, most philosopher’s have been critical in their assessments. Plato seemed to have not understood the joy of laughing in the Republic where he says that Guardians of the state should avoid laughter because it “provokes a violent reaction.” He also took it as a personal offense that in the Illiad and the Odyssey Mount Olympus was ringing with the laughter of the gods. He believes that it is a malicious thing because we laugh at those who believe themselves to be higher up than what they are. Plato isn’t a complete stick in the mud. He believed that comedy should be allowed in a controlled sense where only slaves and hired aliens get to partake in the act. Plato, a lot less fun than play-dough,  refused to mold his opinions and stuck with his belief that laughing was for the ignorant. Unfavorably for Plato, researchers have found many beneficial theories for the development of humor.

A very popular theory for humor is the relief theory. Lord Shaftesbury describes this theory in his essay “An Essay on the Freedom of Wit and Humor”. Scientists of the day believed, and I swear by it, that our nerves carried “animals spirits” that were gases and liquids. Shaftesbury believed that laughter released the animal spirits from our mind’s zoo to release pressure in the nerves. This theory was furthered thankfully by more scientific research on the physiology of the body. There are two prominent relief theories by Herbert Spencer and Sigmund Freud.  Respectively, the two theories are that laughter is the result of a release of excessive energy and that it is the release of tension or energy. So maybe Shaftesbury wasn’t too far off with the whole animal spirits escaping your body theory.

The most popular theory of humor is the incongruity theory. Aristotle gives the oldest insight into this theory in the Rhetoric. He explained that a comedian, or anyone who likes to make people laugh, should setup an expected joke and switch up to something unexpected at the last moment to “give it a twist.” Reminds me of that awkward phase my generation all went through in middle school. We all wanted to be the “random/funny kid” so we tried are hardest to make people laugh using the one and only rule of this theory. We used to randomly scream “rawr” at our friends and tell them that it meant “I love you ” in dinosaur. Or even buy shirts with awful paired up words that did not make any sense whatsoever.  Some included folded meatball, hairy taco,  or scuba donkey. The worst was when people would substitute the end of their sentences with the word salad leaving the listener with nothing more than craving a healthy meal.

Well now that we know a little about the history of humor time to have some fun right? Yeah! But not right now. If you follow along, this blog will entail the different styles of humor and comedy and some pretty funny or terrible jokes depending on how you perceive them. Make fun of me if you’d please. Referencing the Mel Brooks quote above, I’ve got humor on my side So, if you’re into humor and all things funny, continue along in my adventure. But if you’re like Plato, not even fun to play with and definitely not to eat, click that nice little “x” on the top right of your screen. For those of you who have stayed, let’s get ready to release some “animal spirits.”