Five Jokes Explained: Why is it Funny?

Humor.

It's funny. But WHY is it funny?

One form of humor is jokes. What makes a joke funny? Let's look at some funny jokes:

Let's start with a very short joke for Joke number 1

A guy walks into a bar and says "Ouch!"

Why is this joke funny? The poor guy hurt himself, and not even in a funny way! Some forms of humor, some jokes, are funny because of the situation they portray. Think of slapstick, which a lot of people find hysterical. But this is different. This joke is funny because we expect something different. Jokes that start with "A guy walks into a bar and says ...." are supposed to continue with some sort of humorous conversation. This joke is also funny because we are surprised at the use of the word "bar", which originally seems to mean "place where people go to drink" and then changes.

Joke number 2 is a slightly longer joke:

A priest, a minister and a rabbi walk into a bar and the bartender says "What is this, some kind of joke?"

Why is this joke funny? This joke is funny because, again, of surprise - like the first joke, it violates the form. The form of "priest, minister, rabbi" jokes is to say something humorous or sometimes derogatory about the religions. Also, in "bar" jokes, the bartender is supposed to be the straight man. Here, she's the funny one.

Joke number 3

What's the difference between heaven and hell?
In heaven, the English are the police, the French are the cooks, the Italians are the lovers, the Swiss are the administrators and the Germans are the mechanics.
But in hell...... the Germans are the police, the English are the cooks, the Italians are the administrators, the Swiss are the lover and the French are the mechanics

Why is this joke funny? This joke is a partial take off on ethnic jokes - but I've told it to people of a lot of ethnic groups, and no one has been offended so far! That's because it says nice and nasty things about each nationality. It plays on stereotypes, but in a funny way. It's also a build-up joke. This joke wouldn't be so funny if it was just "In heaven the English are the police, but in hell they are the cooks". The joke also depends on knowledge of the stereotypes. I don't think someone who had never heard these stereotypes would find this joke funny! There's another way this joke differs from many ethnic jokes - it really depends on the ethnicity. You can revise many offensive ethnic jokes by just substituting adjectives for groups. "Did you hear about the guy who was so stupid ....?" or so greedy, lazy or whatnot. That won't work in joke number 3!

Joke number 4

A hick from the sticks is admitted to Harvard. Just after arriving, he is standing in Harvard Yard, looking for the library. He stops a guy who happens to be an old line, 4th generation Harvard alum from the heights of Boston society, and says

"Pahdon me, but do you know where the library is at?"

The Bostonian looks down his nose and intones

"Don't you know that it is not proper to end a sentence with a preposition?"

"Alright then, Do you know where the library is at, ASSHOLE?"

Why is this joke funny? This joke is funny because, first of all, most of us don't like pompous jerks. It's not so much making fun of Bostonians as it is making fun of pomposity. Notice how the guy "looks down his nose". And, while the hick "says" things, the Harvard guy "intones". And the Harvard guy is 4th generation. And, of course, the hick comes up with a brilliant comeback, on the spot, which is always good.

Finally, one of my favorite jokes:
Joke number 5

A guy is flying in a hot air balloon, and he's lost. He lowers himself over a field and calls to a guy "Can you tell me where I am and where I'm headed?"

"Sure. You're at 41 degrees 2 minutes and 14 seconds North, 144 degrees 4 minutes and 19 seconds East; you're at an altitude of 762 meters above sea level, and right now you're hovering, but you were on a vector of 234 degrees at 12 meters per second"

"Amazing! Thanks! By the way, do you have Asperger's Syndrome?"

"I do! How did you know that?"

"Because everything you said is true, it's much more detail than I need, and you told me in a way that's no use to me at all."

"Huh. Are you a clinical psychologist?"

"I am, but how the heck did you know that???!!??"

"You don't know where you are. You don't know where you're going. You
got where you are by blowing hot air. You put labels on people after

asking a few questions, and you're in exactly the same spot you were 5 minutes ago, but now, somehow, it's my fault!

Even clinical psychologists find this funny! But why is this joke funny?
First, this joke is funny because of buildup. In fact, it's a double buildup. Told right, to a crowd, the laughs on this joke commence with mention of latitudes and longitudes. They build, and crescendo with the psychologist's reply, and then build again to the finale.
Second, like joke number 4, there's the put down of the pompous.

By the way, this joke can be varied a lot by substituting different people on the ground and in the balloon. I made up this version, but it's been told many ways.