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{{Short description|Result of a massive psychology experiment by Richard Wiseman}} |
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{{pp-semi-indef}}{{About|research on the relative humour in different jokes and cultures|the Monty Python sketch about jokes as military arms|The Funniest Joke in the World}} |
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The '''"world's funniest joke"''' is a term used by [[Richard Wiseman]] of the [[University of Hertfordshire]] in 2002 to summarize one of the results of his [[research]]. For his experiment, named '''LaughLab''', he created a website where people could rate and submit jokes.<ref>[http://www.laughlab.co.uk/ LaughLab official site]</ref> Purposes of the research included discovering the joke that had the widest appeal and understanding among different [[culture]]s, [[demographics]] and countries. |
The '''"world's funniest joke"''' is a term used by [[Richard Wiseman]] of the [[University of Hertfordshire]] in 2002 to summarize one of the results of his [[research]]. For his experiment, named '''LaughLab''', he created a website where people could rate and submit jokes.<ref>[http://www.laughlab.co.uk/ LaughLab official site]</ref> Purposes of the research included discovering the joke that had the widest appeal and understanding among different [[culture]]s, [[demographics]] and countries.{{Fact|date=November 2013}} |
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The History Channel eventually hosted a special on the subject. |
The [[History Channel]] eventually hosted a special on the subject.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/review-television-joke-dc-idUSN1440830120080215 | title=New History Channel special a big joke | work=[[Reuters]] | date=14 February 2008 | access-date=19 October 2014}}</ref> |
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== |
==Winning joke== |
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The winning joke, which was later found to be based on a 1951 ''[[Goon Show]]'' sketch by [[Spike Milligan]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5064020.stm BBC: Spike 'wrote world's best joke']</ref> was submitted by Gurpal Gosal of [[Manchester]]: |
The winning joke, which was later found to be based on a 1951 ''[[Goon Show]]'' sketch by [[Spike Milligan]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5064020.stm BBC: Spike 'wrote world's best joke']</ref> was submitted by Gurpal Gosal of [[Manchester]]: |
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{{ |
{{quote|Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says, "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence; then a gun shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, "OK, now what?"<ref>[http://www.richardwiseman.com/LaughLab/winner.html World's funniest joke - official source]</ref> }} |
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The second place finisher and early leader was this joke, submitted by Geoff Anandappa of [[Blackpool]]: |
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| ⚫ | Researchers also included five [[computational humor|computer-generated jokes]], four of which fared rather poorly, but one was rated higher than one third of the human jokes:<ref>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1719 "Computer crack funnier than many human jokes"], December 20, 2001, ''[[New Scientist]]''</ref> |
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{{bquote|[[Sherlock Holmes]] and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: "Watson, look up at the sky, and tell me what you see." |
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The joke that was submitted to LaughLab the most times was:<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dickerson|first=Kelly|title=Here's the funniest joke in the world|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-funniest-joke-in-the-world-2015-9|access-date=2021-12-03|website=Business Insider|language=en-US}}</ref> |
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Watson replied: "I see millions and millions of stars." |
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{{Blockquote|text=What's brown and sticky? A stick.}} |
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During a [[Science Vs]] podcast episode<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Funniest Joke in the World | Science Vs|url=https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/rnhob8lk/the-funniest-joke-in-the-world|website=Gimlet Media}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Funniest Joke in the World - Public Transcript|url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR-WVKglsZs94WfqHNMMAtRaBOw33q9IQoXkBegmYjW3RjOeKJn6k0pKPIslyWC0G1355qe6_s8jYTw/pub|website=Google Docs}}</ref>, Richard Wiseman said this about whether it's actually the world's funniest joke: |
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Holmes said: "And what do you deduce from that?" |
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{{bquote|It was the joke that most people didn't hate. It's so you can look at any one group. You can look at men or women or young or old or Canadians. And there's always a joke that they thought was much, much funnier. But when you pulled the data, you got the average. And that's the average. It's the average joke.}} |
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Watson replied: "Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life." |
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And Holmes said: "Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent."}} |
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While this was the top joke in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]: |
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{{bquote|A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: "That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen. Ugh!" The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me!" The man says: "You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you."}} |
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| ⚫ | Researchers also included five [[computational humor|computer-generated jokes]], four of which fared rather poorly, but one was rated higher than one third of the human jokes:<ref>[ |
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==References== |
==References== |
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;Notes |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*{{cite book|title=Laughlab: The Scientific Search for the World's Funniest Joke (Humour)|date=2002|author=[[British Association for the Advancement of Science]]|publisher=Arrow Books. |isbn=0099446871 }} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www. |
* [http://www.laughlab.co.uk/ LaughLab official site] |
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*[http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/10/03/joke.funniest/ Article on CNN (2002)] |
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*[http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/12/20/britain.laughter/index.html Article on CNN (2001)] |
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[[Category:Jokes]] |
[[Category:Jokes]] |
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[[Category:Superlatives|Joke]] |
[[Category:Superlatives|Joke]] |
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[[Category:Humor research]] |
[[Category:Humor research]] |
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[[ja:世界で一番笑えるジョーク]]. |
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Latest revision as of 18:29, 4 December 2024
The "world's funniest joke" is a term used by Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in 2002 to summarize one of the results of his research. For his experiment, named LaughLab, he created a website where people could rate and submit jokes.[1] Purposes of the research included discovering the joke that had the widest appeal and understanding among different cultures, demographics and countries.[citation needed]
The History Channel eventually hosted a special on the subject.[2]
Winning joke
The winning joke, which was later found to be based on a 1951 Goon Show sketch by Spike Milligan,[3] was submitted by Gurpal Gosal of Manchester:
Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says, "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence; then a gun shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says, "OK, now what?"[4]
Other findings
Researchers also included five computer-generated jokes, four of which fared rather poorly, but one was rated higher than one third of the human jokes:[5]
What kind of murderer has moral fiber? A cereal killer.
The joke that was submitted to LaughLab the most times was:[6]
What's brown and sticky? A stick.
During a Science Vs podcast episode[7][8], Richard Wiseman said this about whether it's actually the world's funniest joke:
It was the joke that most people didn't hate. It's so you can look at any one group. You can look at men or women or young or old or Canadians. And there's always a joke that they thought was much, much funnier. But when you pulled the data, you got the average. And that's the average. It's the average joke.
References
- ^ LaughLab official site
- ^ "New History Channel special a big joke". Reuters. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ BBC: Spike 'wrote world's best joke'
- ^ World's funniest joke - official source
- ^ "Computer crack funnier than many human jokes", December 20, 2001, New Scientist
- ^ Dickerson, Kelly. "Here's the funniest joke in the world". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
- ^ "The Funniest Joke in the World | Science Vs". Gimlet Media.
- ^ "The Funniest Joke in the World - Public Transcript". Google Docs.
Further reading
- British Association for the Advancement of Science (2002). Laughlab: The Scientific Search for the World's Funniest Joke (Humour). Arrow Books. ISBN 0099446871.