The Humor Code (43 page)

Second City (Tokyo),
113

Seinfeld, Jerry,
35
,
37

Seinfeld Strategy,
12
,
15

Seinfeld
(TV program),
17
,
43
–44

self

censorship of,
130

and enjoying your own humor,
189
,
193
–94,
200

making fun of,
199
,
200
,
201

self-preservation jokes,
163
–64

Sellers, Peter,
97
,
98

selling: of mass-market humor,
51
–54

Semantic Mechanisms of Humor
(Raskin),
24

Semmerling, Jeff,
182
–83,
187

sense of humor

definition of good,
22

factors influencing,
95

HUNT-2 study and,
180

measurement of,
22

politics and,
112
–13

relationships and,
75
–76

self-rating of,
22

September 11, 2001,
60
–61,
205

Serbia: and “black swan” argument,
168
–69

set-ups

everyday laughter and,
212

linguistic theory of humor and,
24

and who is funny,
26
–27

settlers, Israeli: humor about,
171

sex,
75
,
141
,
142

See also
dirty jokes; gender

Shakur, Tupac,
79

Shilimpaka, Margaret,
91

Shore, Mitzi,
19

Shore, Sammy,
19

sick jokes,
134

Sikh put-downs,
98

silence: in Osaka,
101

Singer, Jeff,
21
,
22
–23

Skelton, Red,
179

sketch comedy

See Watan ala Watar

slapstick: superiority theory and,
6

smallest bar in the world (Osaka, Japan),
103
,
104

Smalls, Biggie,
83

Smith, Moira,
140
–41

Soviet Union

collapse of,
167

jokes in,
154
–55,
157
,
167

Spa World (Osaka, Japan),
101
–2

Spiegelman, Art,
127

Squire Lounge (Denver),
1
–2,
5
–6,
13
–15,
202
,
209
,
211

St. Claire, Lisette,
33
–34

stand-up comedy

audience-comedian relationship in,
23

creativity in,
57

Dean's class about,
23
–24,
25

experience as key in,
25
,
199

improvisation compared with,
29
–30,
37
–38

laughter and,
72

and McGraw and Warner's lessons learned from travels,
199
,
206

McGraw's first official attempt at,
1
–2,
5
–6,
13
–15

McGraw's preparation for,
199
–202

McGraw's run-through for,
202

McGraw's second official attempt at,
197
–203,
206
–10

Osaki's views about American,
116

personality and,
37
–38

politics and,
112

at Squire Lounge (Denver),
1
–2,
5
–6,
13
–15

Zoglin's views about,
34
–35

See also specific comedian

STANDUP (System to Augment Non-speakers' Dialogue Using Puns) (robo-jokester),
50

“Stars and Bucks Café” (Ramallah),
158

Steinberg, Saul,
56

Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy
(Dean),
25

stereotypes,
36
,
141

Stewart, Jon,
111
,
112
,
165

Stewart, Patrick,
111

Storytelling

experiment with,
38
–39

See also rakugo
(Japanese storytelling)

stress: laughter and,
90
,
92

stupidity jokes,
98
–99,
137

subversion: humor as tool for,
165
,
173

successful comedians: what makes,
34
–35,
37
–38

Superiority Theory,
6
,
8
,
12
,
122
–23,
141
,
206

Supreme Court Building, U.S.: Mohammad image in,
127
,
140

survival humor,
163
–64

See also
coping/relief

Svebak, Sven,
180

Sweden

derogatory jokes in,
169

McGraw and Warner's trip to,
143
–48,
211

Swift, Jonathan,
165

Syria: reactions to Mohammad cartoons in,
131
–32

“Take my wife—please” quip,
26

Tanganyika

See
Tanzania

Tanzania

laughter epidemic in,
67
–71,
73
,
74
,
83
–85,
87
,
89
–91

McGraw and Warner's lessons learned from,
199
–200

McGraw and Warner's trip to,
67
–92,
211

sense of humor in,
95

teasing,
6
,
140

terrorism

creativity and,
60
–61

See also
September 11, 2001

Terry (McGraw's friend),
202

theory of verbal humor,
13

therapeutic humor movement,
176
–78,
180

therapy programs: for comedians,
36

“ThriftOnline” (fictional company): creating advertising headlines for,
43

Thurber, James,
56

tickle robots,
11

tickling,
7
,
11
,
79
–80

timing

and benign violation theory,
205
–6

difficulty of,
60

and humor in tragedy,
60
–61

Japanese humor and,
99

and “too soon” jokes,
61

and who is funny,
26
–27

Tokyo, Japan

McGraw and Warner's visit to Yoshimoto in,
112
–17

New Star Creation comedy school in,
104
–6

The Tonight Show
(TV program),
17
,
20

“too soon” jokes,
61

tragedy

humor and,
60
–61

See also type of tragedy
or
specific tragedy

translations of jokes,
104

trickster motif,
113
–14

truth: comedy and,
28
,
30

Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation
(Halpern),
28

tsukkomi
(Japanese straight-man),
106

Twain, Mark,
60
,
154

tweets: about Hurricane Sandy,
170

“two-ness,”
30

Uganda: McGraw and Warner's trip to,
67

Understanding Humor In Japan
(Milner-Davis et al.),
113

United Nations,
124

United States

diversity of humor in,
103
–4

influence on Japan of,
113

political jokes in,
111
–12

See also
Los Angeles, California; New York City;
specific comedian

universal humor,
114
–15,
118
,
200

University of California, Berkeley: Folklore Archive at,
135

University College London: tickle robot at,
11

University of Colorado

See
Humor Research Lab (HuRL)

University of Sheffield: clown study at,
187

University of Southern California: academic comedy concentration at,
19

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) (Los Angeles),
27
–28,
37
–38,
39
,
115

USS
Pueblo
incident,
153
–54,
170
,
190

variety shows,
113

vaudeville,
113

Veatch, Thomas,
8
–9

Venn diagrams,
63
–66,
208
–9

Vilks, Lars,
143
–46,
147
,
148

Vohs, Kathleen,
110

Wallace, George,
35
–37

Warner, Gabriel (son),
4
,
182
,
188
,
210

Warner, Joel

family background of,
150
–51

impact of global expedition on,
210
–12

personality of,
4

See also specific topic

Warren, Caleb,
9
–10,
12
,
32
,
43
,
52
,
110
,
128
,
170
,
190

Watan ala Watar
(TV comedy show),
150
,
159
–61,
162
,
164
,
165

Wengert, Joe,
27
,
29
–30,
38

West Bank

McGraw and Warner's trip to,
149
,
150
,
152
–53,
165
–66

restrictions in,
157

See also
Ramallah (West Bank): McGraw and Warner's trip to

Westergaard, Kurt,
133
–37,
139
,
143
,
148

Westword
(Denver newspaper),
2
,
5

White, E. B.,
207

Why the French Love Jerry Lewis
(Gordon),
97

Wiig, Kristen,
27

Williams, Lawrence,
128
,
170

Williams, Robin,
20

Wilmer Grace and His Dog
(made-up movie): Warner in,
27
–28

Wilson, David Sloan,
76
–79

Wilson, Pam,
180

Wilson, Steve,
180

Wiseman, Richard,
114
,
115

With, Aaron,
58

wolfman in a barbershop (cartoon),
41
,
43
,
46
–48

wood-mill accidents study,
190

World Humor and Irony Membership (WHIM),
6

World Laughter Tour,
15
,
180
,
210
–12

See also specific nation or city

world's funniest joke,
114
–15

Wright, Steven,
34

Yelp.com: study of business ratings on,
190
–91

“yo mamma” jokes,
36

yoga, laughter,
178
–79,
212

Yorihiro, Aki,
106
,
116

Yoshimoto Kogyo (Japanese comedy company),
105
–6,
107
,
112
–16

Youngman, Henny,
26
,
27

Zamen (Ramallah cafés),
156
,
157
,
161

Zebra (Danish artist co-op),
125

zingers,
50
–51,
110
,
114
,
201

Zoglin, Richard,
34

Zubeidi, Zakaria,
165
,
169

Simon & Schuster

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright © 2014 by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition April 2014

SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.

Designed by Esther Paradelo
Jacket design by FDT Design
Jacket photographs: Globe © Photobucket; Glasses © Getty Images