Humor Theory: A Trio of Ticklers

A cheerful disposition is good for your health;
gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.
Proverbs 17:22 (The Message)

Laugh! It's good for you! Cheerfulness, happiness, and joy may offer different depths and dimensions, but the bottom line is this: lighthearted moments lighten our loads.

If cheerfulness is a giggle, and happiness is a chuckle, then perhaps joy is a deep-seated belly laugh. All three are necessary, if we are to enjoy the ride we call life.

What do we find funny? What makes us laugh?

Comedy theorists have proposed three basic premises for humor. Most jokes, prank, and comic efforts do fall into one of these areas.

Incongruity: What's Wrong With This Picture?

Incongruity is what puts the punch in the punch line. This is the surprise, the startling ending, the "Ooh!" in humor. Incongruity is the oxymoron, the unexpected, or the unlikely comparison. Perhaps two or three items, or people, are linked in a way that strikes us as odd.

It's all about timing. A comedian begins to tell a joke or a story, and we think we know where he is headed. All of a sudden, he comes to the end of his tale (usually quite abruptly), and we are halted in our tracks. The breath catches in our throats, and we burst out laughing. Yep, he got us that time!

Here are a few simple examples:

"Jumbo shrimp. What's with that?"

"Government intelligence? Oh, yeah!"

"Genuine cubic zirconia. Sure, Honey."

Here's a slightly more complicated one, from Groucho Marx:

Q: What do you get when you cross an insomniac, an agnostic, and a dyslexic?

A: Someone who stays up all night wondering if there is a Dog.

It's incongruous. Something doesn't quite fit. And it's funny.

Relief: Surprising Them With a Smile

Certainly, laughter itself is a relief. Laughing is one way we blow off steam and release stress.

However, for comics, the relief theory is much more than that. In fact, the relief theory of humor is a two-sided coin.

First, what makes a joke funny? Much humor is funny simply because we feel a sense of relief at the end of the tale.