As hilarious as birthday cake in March
I'm perfectly willing to accept that I have an odd sense of humor. Actually, that's a charitable way to put it. A more accurate description of my humor is "No one else thinks it's funny". But it's been a gift that I've been able to accept that the most important thing with my humor is that I entertain myself, and if anyone else wants to come along for the ride, they're more than welcome.
With that in mind, here's a short list of some things that I will never, ever think are not funny, and I couldn't for the life of me explain why they make me laugh.
The spit take
It's a classic, and there's not a single time ever when it hasn't made me laugh. It's funny in comedies, in tragedies, in real life, in dreams, when it's mimed, when it's on The Simpsons, at weddings, birthday parties and funerals. It's funny any time, anywhere, for any reason.
Similes and sayings that don't make any sense
Like, "gay as a Swedish Fish" or "a bigger liar than the Alps put together" or "drunker than the son of God". That sort of thing. Doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't make any sense. It also helps if they're offensive, obviously.
The football referee who explained an unsportsman-like conduct penalty as "he was giving him the business"
I've never even seen the clip myself, but I can't get enough of hearing the story.
The phrase "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Even when it's said seriously, I still think it's funny.
Giving cards that are completely wrong
...like giving a "From your loving children" birthday card to a friend or sending out cards with a "Happy 70th, Grandma" poem on the front as Christmas cards. Everytime I think of buying a card for someone, I always want to do that, but almost never do. But it makes for endless personal entertainment everytime I go card shopping.
Eddie Izzard's "Englbert Humperdinck is dead" skit
The more he keeps nodding and shaking his head, the funnier it gets. One of the best examples of the scientific principle of "hilarity increases with repetition".
Also funny is pointless lists.
8 comments:
You will also likely be amused then to learn that I received a Valentine's Day card that began "To My Loving Wife". In defense of the giver, said words were just ever so slightly embossed on the front in such an unassuming way that I never would have even noticed if it wasn't requested that I examine the card closer to discover something funny. Also, said giver may have been in a Vicodin-induced haze at the time of the offending card's purchase.
cake or death?
That is funny, but it's also true, Xtian. I've always said about you that you're as loving a wife as ever climbed the riverbank.
Yeah, but when you said that you were drunker than the Sultan of Brunei on the Fourth of July...
These are all true. I'm guilty of sending birthday cards to friends that say (proclaiming in big, rounding letters,) "Today you are 2!" One year I sent out Christmas cards (to special friends)...in Vietnamese.
The spit take is burlesque. It's a classic. It's the "badda bing" of humor.
Eddie Izzard, despite his personal quirks, has some cutting edge, insightful humor going on, and I always enjoy listening to him.
What's a spit take??
Two people are talking. One person takes a sip of fluid (the historical take is "coffee") while another person says something offbeat or funny...can be either one. The fluid drinker then spits out the liquid in either disbelief or because they are laughing..usually in disbelief, though. The most famous comic for doing spit takes was Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas' father, who had a television show on during the 1950's called "Make Room for Daddy." He did a spit take in almost every episode. It's an old vaudeville "bit."
I was going to say, "wow who knew that there was a name for that?" But then clearly everyone else does but me!
Thanks for clearing that up. The whole post seems to make so much more sense now. :)
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