A year-long online search for the world鈥檚 funniest joke is over. The winning rib-tickler emerged from two million ratings of 40,000 entries, submitted by people from more than 70 countries.
The LaughLab experiment was run by psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. The data showed clear national differences in humour, Wiseman says.
People from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand preferred jokes involving word plays. American and Canadians found gags involving someone else looking stupid most entertaining. And many European countries preferred the surreal entries.
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Overall, Germans gave the LaughLab jokes the highest ratings. But they did not express a strong preference for any type of joke. Wiseman鈥檚 team travelled widely to examine global humour. They found that verbal jokes are common around the world, except in one country. 鈥淚t is very, very difficult to find joke-telling in Japan,鈥� he says.
The results suggest that people from different parts of the world have fundamentally different senses of humour. 鈥淗umour is vital to communication and the more we understand about how people鈥檚 culture and background affect their sense of humour, the more we will be able to communicate effectively,鈥� says Wiseman.
Quack quip
The LaughLab results might also help scientists attempting to get computers to create truly entertaining jokes, he says. And they should also provide tips for people. The team鈥檚 analysis has also revealed the world鈥檚 鈥渇unniest animal鈥� 鈥� the duck. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck,鈥� Wiseman says.
Visitors to the site were asked to rate jokes on a five-point scale. Of ratings for the world鈥檚 second funniest joke, 64 per cent were a four or five. But an entry submitted by a psychiatrist in Manchester, England, triumphed, with 65 per cent:
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn鈥檛 seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: 鈥淢y friend is dead! What can I do?鈥� The operator, in a calm soothing voice, says: 鈥淛ust take it easy. I can help. First, let鈥檚 make sure he鈥檚 dead.鈥� There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy鈥檚 voice comes back on the line. He says: 鈥淥K, now what?鈥�
This joke won because it appeals to people in many countries, to men and women, and young and old alike, the data analysis shows. 鈥淭his one had real universal appeal,鈥� Wiseman says.
However, about one third of jokes submitted to LaughLab were rejected by the moderators for being offensive or rude. Acceptable jokes had to be deemed suitable for a 10-year-old to repeat.