Jokes have been used for centuries to produce laughter and highlight human imperfections. Types of jokes include puns, practical jokes, observations about similarities and differences, ethnic jokes, self-deprecating humor, and question/answer jokes. These jokes can incorporate puns, taboo humor, and cultural observations.
Many different kinds of jokes have been a part of the human experience for millennia and were likely used before our earliest historical records were made. The usual intent in telling a joke or playing a joke on someone is to produce laughter and to portray human imperfections in a humorous light. The types of jokes enjoyed by modern cultures include puns or puns, practical jokes, clever observations about similarities and differences, and simple question/answer jokes, among others.
A pun is a pun that exploits the similarities between words or phrases. One of the best known puns is a play on the name of one of the bones in the upper arm, called the humerus. This bone is commonly referred to as the “funny bone,” due to its proximity to a sensitive area in the elbow and a pun on “humerus” and “humorous.”
Several types of jokes aren’t necessarily verbal in nature, but they are jokes nonetheless, and these are collectively known as practical jokes. In a practical joke, an unsuspecting person is led into a frustrating or uncomfortable, but ideally harmless situation. Once the person realizes they are being used for a joke, humor ensues at their expense.
An example of a practical joke would be what is sometimes called the invisible rope trick. In this joke, two people stand in the middle of a residential street at dusk and when a car approaches, they pretend to stretch a rope across the street in the car’s path. Due to the dim lighting, the driver of the car cannot see that there is no rope and often slows down or stops, sometimes getting angry at the two individuals, while their friends look on laughing from a short distance.
Many comedians make extensive use of humorous observations about the similarities and differences between people and things. Comedian Demitri Martin, for example, wrote an entire comic song along these lines, called “Same and Opposites,” in which he remarks: “An ex-girlfriend is the same thing as an okay movie. I liked it at the time, but I don’t want to see it again.” These types of jokes tend to be among the most common and the most timeless.
Ethnic jokes often poke fun at the perceived differences between people of different ethnic heritages. These can be considered offensive and are best used between close friends rather than mixed company. Self-deprecating humor can be similar in some ways to racial jokes, but in this case the humor is directed at oneself, rather than outwardly, avoiding the possibility of offense. For example, a reporter once told billionaire investor Warren Buffet that people in the financial world were watching his every move. He replied, “Believe me, I’ve been watching my every move for years and I haven’t been that impressed.”
Question/answer jokes can serve a variety of humorous purposes and can incorporate other types of jokes. For example, jokes that start with a question like “How many ______ does it take to replace a light bulb?” they may include puns or taboo humor, as well as cultural observations. This question/answer format is among the oldest types of jokes still in use.
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