What Makes You Laugh?

[postscript]

This is a repeat of a reply in the thread about Katherine Jenkins' jokes. Simply repeating the post to start a new thread is 'on topic' since it deals with hearing jokes again.. and again... to see how they stand the test of time..

I did think, Mods, of putting it under 'Off Topic' then found this sub-board.

I am suggesting that this is not for telling jokes--there is a thread for that. 'What Makes You Laugh' I would suggest is an entirely different approach on discussing the NATURE OF humour.

Also, perhaps we could discuss whether or not Hyaley should be encouraged to tell jokes. I am inclined to say 'no'. Her natural chat, which can be humorous, is Hayley being Hayley. That is how she should stay. BUT, the world changes around her and she needs to stay in play, so were she consdiering a change of speil, perhaps we might help her here with what would or would not work?

roger said:

Hi Nicola,

I have also heard the penguin joke before; quite recently too. I guess it is doing the rounds at the moment. Perhaps Katherine should stick to singing and leave the jokes to the comedians... but they don't make me laugh either!

Glad everything worked out for you.

Roger

Yes, the good comedian is hard to find BUT when found, somehow simply repeating the joke brings it all back and is just as funny the second or third time round, within a reasonable space of time.

This was intended as a quick response but... How about a thread, 'what makes you laugh?'

Peter S.

[jons]

I am of the Simpsons, Family Guy and Friends style humor as you may of seen in my 'Hayley Fiction' thread on the Decca forum, Incidentally, Hayley's fave comedy if Friends.

[nicola]

I really like 'British humour'. I love the satire and the sarcastic. Satires are particularly funny for me, as they point out the obvious stupidity in something which people just don't seem to see. The satire is also used as serious mode of critiquing something so I don't see it as a low blow.

The telling of jokes normally do not make me laugh.

Things that are a little strange, or a twist of the ordinary makes me laugh too. The hyperbole also tickles my funny bone. Does anyone here watch Top Gear? They did an episode on caravans and the horribleness of the caravan was exaggerated to extreme lengths; it was just so funny. Also, has anyone seen the Magic.FM advert of the Zoo Keeper in a bear enclosure having it on? The DJ is asking the person over the phone who sung 'It's a Bit of Magic', the girl on the phone was going 'erm... erm...' and the grizzly bear gets up and starts growling 'QUEEN!' 'QUEEN!'

I know I know... but I have never laughed so hard at an advert...

[jons]

I backed a horse the other day at ten to one. Came in at twenty past four! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

I went into a shop to buy a pair of camouflage trousers.
But I couldn't find any. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Tommy Cooper was one of the best!

[Martin]

What makes me laugh? - forum postings on HW.com by a certain 'Well! Saving gun.'

Martin

[comet]

It is like a slug leaving a trail every where it goes !

[Joe]

Hi all,

I must say I'm rather hooked on British comedy. No, not on this forum...on the telly.

I really like Steptoe and Son, Are You Being Served?, and Last of the Summer Wine.

There is a lot of double-entendre and dry wit in many of the programmes. No comparison to American comedy.

[fusilier23]

I'm kind of ashamed to admit I like slapstick and broad, physical comedy. I used to fall over laughing at some of the old Peanuts cartoons and specials where the humor all flowed from someone getting kicked or hit or someone's foot getting stomped on and him yelling "AAAUUUGGH!" or someone's nose getting tweaked hard with a loud "BEEP!" The live-action Batman with Adam West was also funny, with the screen erupting in "POW!" 'SOCK!" "WAP!" "BIFF!" "OOF!" everytime someone got hit. Sometimes the more obvious something is, the funnier it is.

And this from the guy who writes long legal briefs and whose idea of fun is reading obscure history and writing essays on it.

[Richard]

martin said:

What makes me laugh? - forum postings on HW.com by a certain 'Well! Saving gun.'

Hello Martin!

I think I know who you mean, and I agree. Instead of clay pigeon shooting, let's try clay gull shooting instead!

I wish he'd stop going on about Manchester United. Hayley is the official mascot of the All-Blacks, and they've never lost when she's sung the New Zealand National Anthem before their matches. She inspires them to victory and sends the opposition into a trance! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes,

Richard

[postscript]

nicola said:

I really like 'British humour'. I love the satire and the sarcastic. Satires are particularly funny for me, as they point out the obvious stupidity in something which people just don't seem to see. The satire is also used as serious mode of critiquing something so I don't see it as a low blow.

The telling of jokes normally do not make me laugh.

Things that are a little strange, or a twist of the ordinary makes me laugh too. The hyperbole also tickles my funny bone. Does anyone here watch Top Gear? They did an episode on caravans and the horribleness of the caravan was exaggerated to extreme lengths; it was just so funny. Also, has anyone seen the Magic.FM advert of the Zoo Keeper in a bear enclosure having it on? The DJ is asking the person over the phone who sung 'It's a Bit of Magic', the girl on the phone was going 'erm... erm...' and the grizzly bear gets up and starts growling 'QUEEN!' 'QUEEN!'

I know I know... but I have never laughed so hard at an advert...

Sounds to me, Nicola, as if you are close to describing the difference between comedy and farce. Old-stager thespian though I am it should come trippingly off my tongue and it won't. Perhaps Grant can contribute. Following that I have a feeling, Nicola, you will glibly cover my weakness.

It is something like: 'Comedy is abnormal people in normal situations while farce is normal people in abnormal situations.'

Come on Grant, chip in!.

Peter S.

[postscript]

Tommy Cooper sure does get my support. Now, was it him, or someone else and if so whom, who played the piano disastrously badly but just once, and may be twice in his career did actually play the music properly proving he could, as we always suspected, play the piano extremely well.

Peter S.

Added thought. I think it was Tommy Cooper because he was playing a concerto with André Previn conducting a major orchestra. Previn complained that Cooper was playing all the wrong notes. Cooper (if it was he) replied that he was indeed playing all the right notes--he justn't wasn't playing them in necessarily the right order!

PS

[postscript]

I take it your comment of 'no comparison to American comedy', Joe is intended as a compliment to British comedy?

If so, is it the double-entendres that makes British comedy some times difficult for American ears? Having said that, I know an awful lot of British comedy has gone down very well in America, whether it is 'straight out of the can' or adapted to the American scene.

Peter S.

[grant]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Peter (or, on the other hand, for dropping me right in it!)

It’s taken me a while to find a response for this thread. Although I do laugh quite a lot, the cause of my laughter varies – often it will depend on a mood. Something that will make me laugh one day will seem completely unfunny the next!

I laugh at jokes, but they have to be funny, like those simple one liners Jon S offered earlier.

Clint Eastwood in many of his “Dirty Harry” movies would come up with some very darkly funny one liners when they were least expected. A bit risqué to include here though!

I laugh at other’s mistakes, especially my theatrical friends because they will be the first to laugh at my mistakes! I accept that and can laugh at myself because of it. I also feel that in this context it creates a bond that suggests caring and trust.

Children make me laugh. Coming home from Canterbury on the train I sat close to a mother with two young children, they had presents so presumably were going to a birthday party and maybe it was their first time in London but, as the train crossed the Thames, the little boy asked “Are we still in England mummy?” I still titter to myself remembering that.

One of the funniest things I’ve ever heard is a monologue by Hoffnung entitled “The Bricklayer” It basically describes the antics of a bricklayer using a bucket to get bricks up to height on a building site. What is most funny about it are the pauses because the listener anticipates what is coming next and is in hysterics before the line is delivered!! Very clever!

If you’ve never heard it, it is worth trying to find a copy!

Grant

[graemek]

You asked for it Grant.!!!
It took so many milliseconds to appear on google.
I must confess that when I first read this (long time ago) & anticipated each successive development I laughed myself silly. (Yes it's permanent) Enjoy....Graemek

Caution: There are certain members of the fair sex who may not find the following account funny.
If this is the case then (for the guys) the story becomes even funnier. Especially when efforts are made to explain why it's so funny while crying.

BRICKLAYER'S ACCIDENT
-------------------------
This is a bricklayer's accident report that was printed in the newsletter of the English equivalent of the Workers' Compensation Board. So here, thanks to John Sedgwick is this Bricklayer's report.

Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-storey building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs.

Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3, accident reporting form.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground-and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs.

I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.

[jons]

I shouldn't, but I can't resist:

'Evon Guillemots' meets:

Hayley

Hayley: Hi Evon!

Evon: Hi, do you think ManU will win premier league?

President Bush

Bush:Howdy!

Evon: Hi your Highness, I predict ManU winning International.

The Pope

The Pope:Blessings upon you

Evon: Yes, do you think Rooney will sustain another injury soon?


Evon joins the army

Sargent: So you want to join up? Do you have any questions?

Evon: Does the army support Manchester United?

i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

He'll kill me!