# Does anyone in the world LIKE clowns? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2004, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811 "2004-03-06T03:12:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/21 "2004-03-06T14:57:14Z")
You’ve got a strongly self-selected survey here. Clowns are old-fashioned, so by modern standards they are “lame.” But I always enjoyed them as a kid & still enjoy them as an adult. They’re unsophisitacted, but so are the Three Stooges and any other physical comedy. The idea that modern foul-mouthed standup comeny is somehow a higher art form is pretty silly once you think about it carefully. The whole thing I don’t get about “evil clowns” is that the joke loses it’s meaning once clowns aren’t viewed as good guys. The thing that makes evil clowns so evil is that they’re going against their nature. Once you decide all clowns are evil to begin with, where’s the no-sequitur or inconsistency that’s the root of the humor? ---
**Author:** ![Eggerhaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@Eggerhaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eggerhaus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/22 "2004-03-06T15:10:23Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > I like clowns. Quite a lot actually. > > With fava beans and a nice chianti, of course. yeah…but don’t they taste funny? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/23 "2004-03-06T17:10:54Z")
I have yet to meet a kid not scared to death of clowns. They can’t walk and they don’t talk–they’ve got painted-on frowns. A clown with a gun I hope I never see Would he shoot himself, or shoot me?\* My BIL has done clowning. He’s not bad at it, but it’s still kinda creepy. He does great balloon animals, though. \*Too much joy, _Clowns_–Sorry, I just had to do it. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/24 "2004-03-06T20:48:48Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The whole thing I don’t get about “evil clowns” is that the joke loses it’s meaning once clowns aren’t viewed as good guys. The thing that makes evil clowns so evil is that they’re going against their nature. Once you decide all clowns are evil to begin with, where’s the no-sequitur or inconsistency that’s the root of the humor? At least for me, the funny part about evil clowns is that it reaffirms what I KNOW to be true (all clowns are evil), and smirks at society’s belief that clowns are innocent and harmless. It’s a self-righteous sort of humor. ---
**Author:** ![FabioClone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5f8ce5/32.png) [@FabioClone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FabioClone)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/25 "2004-03-06T20:59:29Z")
When I was a kid, I knew this woman who was a Clown for Christ. She would go to church events in her full clown regalia to try and convert the kiddies. Talk about a dealbreaker. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/26 "2004-03-06T21:30:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Clowns are old-fashioned, so by modern standards they are “lame.” But I always enjoyed them as a kid & still enjoy them as an adult. They’re unsophisitacted, but so are the Three Stooges and any other physical comedy. > > The idea that modern foul-mouthed standup comeny is somehow a higher art form is pretty silly once you think about it carefully. OK. Let’s go down the list. -Clowns: Not funny -Three Stooges: Really, really not funny -Foul Mouthed Stand-up Comics: Not funny I guess that I need something a little more clever to be amused. I must admit that one of the funniest movies of all time in my opinion is about clowns. _Shakes the Clown_. Simply brilliant. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/27 "2004-03-06T22:23:43Z")
I don’t like clowns in their traditional role. But Pennywise, Sweet Tooth (from the Twisted Metal series, especially Black) and those wacky Killer Clowns from Outer Space are amusing in their own way. And, yes, Shakes the Clown is the Citizen Kane of alcoholic party clown movies. Oh, yes, they all float down here. And when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/28 "2004-03-07T04:31:06Z")
I agree that this is a fairly self-selecting survey, so I’m going to come out and say that as a kid I loved clowns. Not sure why, now that I think about it, because they were never quite funny in a laugh-out-loud way, but they were entertaining nonetheless. Heck, I still like clowns. \*\<@:O) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/29 "2004-03-07T04:42:03Z")
I think [that chick on _Big Comfy Couch_](http://www.wuft.tv/Loonette%20Hugs%20Molly.jpg) is hotter than hell. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/30 "2004-03-07T04:45:52Z")
**Tentacle Monster** , loved _Shakes the Clown_. [_Vulgar_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120467/) is way up there too, only about a million times more disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/31 "2004-03-07T04:54:43Z")
I thought Bob Goldthwait was the perfect guy to make “Shakes the Clown.” I mean, who knows more about being obnoxious, talentless, and hopelessly unfunny than Bob Goldthwait? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/32 "2004-03-07T06:05:03Z")
As [Zorak said](http://members.aol.com/essobmcc/brakbook/songbook/noclowns.htm), > [@](#): > > But then came the clowns. Uggh! No, not the clowns! > Don’t send in those clowns, blaah! Anything but them. Ugggh! > Don’t send in the clowns! No, why did it have to be clowns? > I ran home from the circus and I never went again. Phooey! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/33 "2004-03-07T06:22:40Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I think [that chick on _Big Comfy Couch_](http://www.wuft.tv/Loonette%20Hugs%20Molly.jpg) is hotter than hell. Oh my God. Me too. I forgot all about her. I don’t have kids but I was at a friend’s house and he was watching it with his kids. I was enthralled, especially when she did the clock thing. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/34 "2004-03-07T08:52:08Z")
Clowns capitalize on physical “humor” and loud sounds, like horns and whistles, none of which is remotely funny or entertaining. Perhaps the first clown was funny, but the rest are just cheap knock-offs who use tired old gags. The fact that they only get courtesy laughs, and that there is no actual purpose for the costume and make-up is why we find them horrifying and wish for them all to be piled up and destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/35 "2004-03-07T13:46:24Z")
Clowns are evil. Period. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/36 "2004-03-07T14:54:38Z")
I like clowns. 🙂 Somebody ought to do a study on the corelation between clown hate and self-hate. For all you self-haters out there, [The Clown Killer](http://www.matazone.co.uk/halloween_special_2002.html) (wait for it to load). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/37 "2004-03-07T15:00:02Z")
> [@FabioClone](#): > > When I was a kid, I knew this woman who was a Clown for Christ. She would go to church events in her full clown regalia to try and convert the kiddies. Talk about a dealbreaker. To paraphase Hank HIll, having just read the Threadspotting Thread: You’re not making Christianity better. In fact, you’re making clowns worse. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/38 "2004-03-07T15:12:34Z")
> [@ggurl](#): > > Stephen King’s “IT” and John Wayne Gacy haven’t done much to boost clowns’ reputations, IMHO. Well at least Gacy confined his evil activities to his own home. ---
**Author:** ![BabaBooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BabaBooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BabaBooey)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/39 "2004-03-07T17:34:38Z")
“To me, clowns aren’t funny. In fact, they’re kind of scary. I’ve wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811/40 "2004-03-07T20:25:52Z")
We’ve had several clown-hate threads in the past, usually with terrifying links . . . I, too, detest clowns and all things clownlike. When my Mom was in the hospital last month, they sent a _clown_ in while I was visiting her! Big mistake. I drew the clown aside and whispered, “_Just between us dear–a little heavy on the blush,_” and pushed her out of the room. _Why_ do hopsitals send clowns around to people when they are at their weakest and least able to resist? Are they trying to clear out a few beds? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-in-the-world-like-clowns/232811.md?page=3)