The Lowest Form of Humor Explained by Science

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4566319.stm

― M. White (Miguelito), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:43 (twenty-one years ago)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41176000/gif/_41176509_sarcasm_416.gif

― M. White (Miguelito), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Anybody read Anthony Horowitz's The Killing Joke? It's quite brilliant. Unlike this.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:47 (twenty-one years ago)

That graphic makes me want to ask the kind of questions that could tear ILX apart.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

In a "dissection" kind of way?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Best thread ever.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Kid 1: Wow, this music is cool.
Kid 2: Are you being sarcastic, dude?
Kid 1: I don't know any more

― beanz (beanz), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

And why is sarcasm the "lowest" form of humor?

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I really liked that sketch on the Mary Whitehouse Experience about the guy who could only speak in a sarcastic tone of voice.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

The highest form of humour is obviously a bunch of squaddies taking a break from raping local women and re-enacting a Peter Kay video.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. It stil towers over pie-fights and racial slurs in the humor dept.

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Is "the Mary Whitehouse Experience" the UK name for Kids in the Hall?

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought dick jokes were the lowest form of humor. I stand corrected.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 15:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Can people still understand sarcasm after a corpus callosotomy- you know, split-brain surgery?

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought that somebody had righted the wrongs detailed in this post, when sentiment was allowed to stand in the way of science.

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I really liked that sketch on the Mary Whitehouse Experience about the guy who could only speak in a sarcastic tone of voice.

Was that before or after the KitH sketch along the same lines?

I thought puns were supposed to be the lowest form of humor.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Perhaps foot jokes are the lowest form of humor.

― M. White (Miguelito), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Mary Whitehouse was a British show circa the late 80s/early 90s and was surprisingly funny considering the dross that came after when the comedians split up.

― dog latin (dog latin), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:38 (twenty-one years ago)

JOE DONT WORK TOO HARD!

― donut debonair (donut), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Thank you, donut!

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 16:40 (twenty-one years ago)

BBC DON'T PROOFREAD YOUR GRAPHICS TOO HARD.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 05:34 (twenty-one years ago)

according to Ugly Bob, farts are the lowest form of comedy.

― kingfish maximum overdrunk (Kingfish), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 05:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Puns are the HIGHEST form of humour.

― Come Back Johnny B (Johnney B), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 06:22 (twenty-one years ago)

So is diagram 2 what Americans don't have?

[joke]

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 06:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Performing midgets are surely the lowest form of humour?

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 07:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Buns are the lowest form of wheat.

― Archel (Archel), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 08:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I also like how he is staring at the speech bubble. It's funny because he has a massive tumour on his head.

― webber (webber), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 09:03 (twenty-one years ago)

So are left handed people are better at sarcasm.

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 09:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, I wouldn't call the left-handed "people".

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 25 May 2005 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

You mock my father, you bigot.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I really liked that sketch on the Mary Whitehouse Experience about the guy who could only speak in a sarcastic tone of voice.

-- dog latin (doglati...), May 24th, 2005.

Oh yeah, how great _that_ was. I _really_, _really_ liked that. It was _great_. Oh yes.

― mei (mei), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Lowest Common Denominator Reached

― TOMBOT, Wednesday, 25 May 2005 16:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I always feel sorry for this quote, it's one of the most misunderstood (and therefore misused) phrases in history.

When Wilde remarked that sarcasm was the lowest form of wit, he was using "lowest" in the parlance of the time, i.e. "cruellest". Which is possibly true.

For years, then, all the eejits who basically couldn't understand sarcasm (see fig.1) and would therefore respond with said quote were hopelessly malinformed - you could even argue that they were shooting themselves in the foot by saying it, but then you wouldn't want them to take that literally. Probably.

― Huey (Huey), Thursday, 26 May 2005 08:37 (twenty-one years ago)

The Darkness are the lowestoft form of humour.

― NickB (NickB), Thursday, 26 May 2005 08:42 (twenty-one years ago)

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