# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/581 "2026-03-09T23:27:13Z")
I did my usual around-town average, which is usually 27-28, but highway I can hypermile it if need be up over 33 (the official highway number is 31, 2013 Honda Civic Si, which did NOT blow its engine this afternoon, just a bad set of spark plugs, likely corroded from the cold and ice and salt). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/582 "2026-03-10T02:05:27Z")
Laurel and Horror: > [@Mini-Rants for April Fools](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rants-for-april-fools/939176/75): > > Awww! Thanks! And just for the compliment, here’s one for ya. And the weird thing is? I didn’t remember this until this past Tuesday night. Hope you enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/583 "2026-03-10T14:19:30Z")
There should be an option for “I’ve never seen Laurel and Hardy.” I’ve never seen Laurel and Hardy. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/584 "2026-03-10T15:12:43Z")
I’ve only seen a couple of short clips, which I didn’t find funny; but I suppose there might be something in their work someplace which I might find funny. Not going to spend time investigating that possibility, though. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/585 "2026-03-10T16:57:07Z")
Several years ago I moderated the Straight Dope for a short time. Overall it was an enjoyable experience. I just wasn’t in a very good place mentally, so I stepped down. There were definitely annoying people who made _daily_ reports of little substance, and people who would just go off on you without good reason. But it didn’t bother me as much as I would have guessed. Most people were kind and reasonable. There were also an impressive, almost overwhelming number of trolls to manage. People who trolled this board like it was a full time job. I don’t know if it’s still like that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/586 "2026-03-10T19:34:23Z")
The old comedian funny/not funny poll didn’t _quite_ cover all possible perspectives. Absent was “I have viewed them here and there but haven’t really formed a full opinion”, which was the case for everyone other than the Marx Bros., Stooges, and A & C. I used to think Jerry Lewis was hilarious–as a preschooler (I actually met him after a play but he turned to be an asshole and I left said play feeling rather disillusioned), but since then I haven’t seen anything by him since then for the most part (aside from his telethons), I didn’t choose anything there either. Conspicuous by their absence is Laurel and Hardy (whose TV Tropes page I was on earlier today). [Yes yes I know as a poll-maker I am usually on the _receiving_ end of people saying all bases have not been covered, so this is likely my karmic comeuppance…] * * * Turns out am I a mod at long last-on Discord for a group of wargamers testing a scenario I have concocted. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/587 "2026-03-10T19:58:28Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Conspicuous by their absence is Laurel and Hardy L&H were already polled, two posts earlier than mine, so I didn’t think it was necessary to repeat them. And, yes, when I was about 10 years old I thought Jerry Lewis was hysterical. Not so much as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/588 "2026-03-10T19:59:37Z")
Sorry yes I forgot I had voted in it earlier (a provisional yes, tho their humor was more smile quietly than laugh uproariously). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/589 "2026-03-10T20:00:49Z")
Lewis could be funny to me in the old Martin & Lewis comedies. But not by himself. I have not seen enough Lloyd to vote. L&H can be funny, but not always. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/590 "2026-03-10T20:47:09Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > There should be an option for “I’ve never seen Laurel and Hardy.” > > I’ve never seen Laurel and Hardy. I have never seen them either. Heard about them is about it. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/591 "2026-03-10T21:07:05Z")
There is a slight different in wording between the L&H poll and the follow-ups. > [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/6618): > > Do you ever find Laurel & Hardy funny? As opposed to the later polls: “Do you find [XYZ] funny?” Sure, I’m probably putting too much emphasis on “ever” but individual bits land with me, even if most do not. So if “ever” was added to the later polls, I’d probably have said “yes” to all (except the one I hadn’t seen) because I’ve seen some good bits from all of them, even if the majority of their work didn’t land for me. Possibly an unpopular decision, but I didn’t like the Three Stooges much, because so much of the comedy was about the “in character” mean spiritedness. Just doesn’t work well for me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/592 "2026-03-10T21:37:04Z")
The only reason I worded it that way was to avoid having it taken the opposite way, that Yes means you ALWAYS find them funny. Clips of Stan & Ollie have been popping up in my feed lately, and I still get a laugh out of them, more often than not. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/593 "2026-03-10T22:53:11Z")
The Marx Brothers? Funny! The Three Stooges? Funny, at least at their best. (And if you don’t personally find them funny, you have to admire their craftsmanship.) Abbot and Costello? Funny. “Who’s On First” deserves its reputation as a classic. Laurel and Hardy? Too slow to be funny, I thought, when I watched them, but I may not have given them a fair trial. The others? Not familiar enough to render a verdict. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/594 "2026-03-10T22:53:46Z")
I have not watched a single comedian on that list. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/595 "2026-03-10T23:24:27Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Absent was “I have viewed them here and there but haven’t really formed a full opinion”, This; for most of them. Chaplin and the Marx Brothers I’ve seen multiple things by and do find funny. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/596 "2026-03-11T12:54:08Z")
Last year I went to a showing of _The Gold Rush_ with a live orchestra playing the score throughout. Even though movie storytelling has changed significantly over the years, Chaplin remains hilarious. Likewise Buster Keaton - _The General_ still holds up very well indeed as do most of his films. I was a **huge** Abbott and Costello fan in my teens (no, I’m not that old - I just liked them). I don’t think I’ve seen any of their material since then so I don’t know if I’d still find them as funny. The Marx Brothers at their best are brilliant - _A Night At The Opera_ still kills, but I found _A Day At The Races_ a bit tedious. Apart from that one clock scene, I haven’t seen any Harold Lloyd so can’t judge. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/597 "2026-03-11T13:16:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I was a **huge** Abbott and Costello fan in my teens (no, I’m not that old - I just liked them). I don’t think I’ve seen any of their material since then so I don’t know if I’d still find them as funny. _Meet Frankenstein_ still holds up quite nicely. I still watch it, giggling incessantly, every Halloween. Bob Hope can be funny, but also quite lame. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/598 "2026-03-11T13:45:54Z")
Bob Hope is the only comedian in the poll to get a “No” from me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/599 "2026-03-11T13:50:13Z")
I admit that most of my negative impression of Bob Hope is based on the TV specials he regularly hosted when I was a kid and a younger adult, and his appearances on _The Tonight Show_, which largely amounted to him doing standup, and delivering a series of tired one-liners. I only watched a few of his movies, and that was decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/600 "2026-03-11T13:59:18Z")
Well, I do think that Bob Hope survives the test of time less successfully than any of the others, assuming you can approach them with an attitude of taking the material on its own terms and a willingness to find a way to relate to it–that is to say, with an open mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=31)