This friday night i was hanging around Humphrey's (well, i am hanging around Humphrey's every friday night, but stay with me here), and was talking with some girls that were sitting next to my friend and me at the bar. It was relatively slow, being as it was early in the night, so the bartender was talking with us as well. Over the course of the next half an hour, everyone there was just busting a gut, when i took a step back later to think about it, it was almost unreal, i haven't laughed that hard in a long time. It all started when we were talking about how one of the girls is a nanny, and how girls are across the board far better nannies then guys. I said, "of course they are, if they ask me to feed their kids something healthy, all i can think of is lean pockets." Over the next half hour, people were making jokes about gushers (the candy), we did at least 15 more min. on hot pockets, and we even poked fun at the dollar shot, and how its insane we pay a dollar for raspberry Kool-Aid.
I am not sure why all of this was so funny, the material wasn't much better then when my friends and i were sitting around making jokes about an "S" themed costume party, and all of the different stupid costumes we would use if we were to go (it helped the sting that we weren't invited). And then tried to make every other word start with an S for 45 min. It was a good time, we laughed, but we weren't busting up like i did when i was at the bar.
Reflecting now, i think there were several factors that led to the higher level of hilarity. 1st, we were all drinking at the bar, but it was early yet, so none of us were drunk, just feelin' a little good. 2nd, we were around people we didn't know all that well, so we were enjoying the new company. 3rd, the bartender, a pretty solid role to play in bar conversations, was there with us so it gave us a feel of belonging. 4th, the girls were cute, so it encouraged our jokes, and our laughing at theirs.
I fell like that isn't even all of it, but it was very interesting when i thought of the event in light of this class.
John's Little Kid Joke of the Week
How can you tell if you are sleeping in the same bed as an elephant?
Monogramed PJ's
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I really liked this post because you touched on a supper important point about how being intoxicated (really with any drug) can change a persons outlook on what they find funny. I wish you would have expanded more on why you think this is. Is it because we sort of regress when we are intoxicated or is it something else. I guess this is more of a psychology question but I like the way your thinking man.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeletewhat I find most interesting isn't the drinking--that always enhances humor. But the fact that you enjoyed it with relative strangers--or rather, used it as a point of community. I think you can look at this in the same way as you would Cicero's idea that humor is a good way to start out a speech--it ingratiates you with your audience. Jokes tend to put people at their ease--which goes back to one of the early theories of laughter (rather than humor) --that it dissipates tension. Pretty cool that you can use humor theory to get a date, huh?