# Nyuck Nyuck Nyuck

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 21, 2000, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109 "2000-05-21T14:05:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/1 "2000-05-21T14:05:34Z")

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Why don’t women find the Three Stooges funny? I just spent a few minutes running in circles on my shoulder. My wife was not amused. Whats up with that? It’s a classic.

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**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/2 "2000-05-21T15:10:37Z")

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If you find a woman that laughs at the Stooges, marry her.  
As for why they don’t like them, your guess is as good as mine.

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**Author:** ![saucy\_potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/edb3f5/32.png) [@saucy\_potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucy_potato)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/3 "2000-05-21T15:23:15Z")

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I’m a woman and I like them. They’re stupid, but I like them. I have no idea why…

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**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/4 "2000-05-21T15:41:48Z")

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My observation is that most women don’t like them because it’s entirely physical comedy, with no consideration of any feelings. In the same sense, when it comes to drama, most women seem to prefer stories of people’s emotional interactions with each other; men prefer to see things getting blown up.

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**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/5 "2000-05-21T21:31:34Z")

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My wife and I were talking about this recently. She actually does like the Stooges (funneefarmer, take note!), but not as much as I do.

The conversation drifted to other comedy teams, specifically, the Marx Bros., and I posited the theory that, while Curly is everyone’s favorite Stooge, the Marxes are more varied in their appeal. And most women choose Harpo as their favorite Marx. Why? Because Harpo (and Curly) are the most childlike members of these comedy teams.

My personal favorite Marx is Groucho (see sig. line) because of his quick wit and ability to double-talk his way out of every situation, even ones he creates himself. Aah, the bliss of being able to insult everyone you see, stiff cab drivers, tug the beards of the Establishment and get away with it every time!!!

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**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/6 "2000-05-21T21:57:46Z")

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I find the Stooges funny. Maybe not as much as guys do but I do like them. I’ll watch my Grandparents Stooges video sometimes and ours too (But I haven’t watched them in ages…)

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**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/7 "2000-05-21T22:33:56Z")

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I like the three stooges. I loved them when I was younger, and if I’m flipping through the channels and nothing better is on, I’ll watch them. I love when Moe do the v thing with his fingers and tries to poke out Shep’s eyes, but Shep does the one-handed block. Classic.

My favorite episode is the one when they go to a haunted house. Pure comedy.

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**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/8 "2000-05-22T16:11:19Z")

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When I was a kid, I hated the Stooges (my brother watched them) because they were “stupid”, of course. Of course, there were lots of things I didn’t like then, for I was but a wee lass and had much to learn of the ways of life. When re-exposed as an adult, I was able to peer more closely into the zen of the Nyuk, and I became a heartfelt fan.

By the way, I hate shopping, soaps, most dramas, relationship movies, and disease-of-the-month miniseries, so maybe I lack some common female gene (but I haven’t missed it, since I definitely have all the ones that matter). 😃

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/9 "2000-05-22T21:24:41Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> My observation is that most women don’t like them because it’s entirely physical comedy, with no consideration of any feelings.  
> \*\*

So what ARE women predisposed to laugh at, as long as we’re making sweeping statements?

Noel Coward? Teevee sitcoms? The Firesign Theater? Samuel Beckett?

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**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/10 "2000-05-22T21:29:40Z")

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“So what ARE women predisposed to laugh at, as long as we’re making sweeping statements?”

–The sight of you guys strolling over to us at a bar and using one of your sure-fire pick-up lines on us, for one thing.

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**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/11 "2000-05-22T22:17:47Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> So what ARE women predisposed to laugh at, as long as we’re making sweeping statements?

Nothing makes me laugh harder than Seinfeld. I know a lot of people hate Jerry, but that show is the only one that causes me to laugh out loud like a mentally challenged 6 year old. The episode where Jerry and George pretend to be “O’Brien,” the leader of the US Neo-Nazi party, for a free limo ride, gets me every time. And the masturbation one is a riot too. I love witty, sarcastic observations of real life.

Also, “Malcolm in the Middle” is a great new show. Reminds me of my childhood, and it is so realistic.

I agree with Eve as well. 🙂

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**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/12 "2000-05-22T22:40:45Z")

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I’m a woman and I LOVE the Three Stooges. But then, I also love MST3K, Futurama, ice hockey, Itchy & Scratchy, film noir, whiskey, Italian sports cars, and John Wayne war movies.

In the environments where I work, here is a typical “love” list for women who are my peers: Hallmark card stores, tupperware parties, baby showers, soap operas, Saturn cars, little junky plastic trinkets by the hundreds, sugar-pink romance novels, and sugar-pink wine coolers. Aaacccckkk.

Guess I’m weird.

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**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/13 "2000-05-22T23:49:54Z")

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I’m male. I’ve never seen a Stooges movie all the way through, but I never found the snippets I’ve seen all that amusing.

I’ve never seen the Marx Brothers either, but I saw the Harpo episode of I Love Lucy the other day and didn’t really see the appeal of Harpo.

Oh, and just so you all will think I have absolutely no sense of humor:

1. Monty Python was stupid much more often than they were funny;
2. even classic SNL wasn’t that good;
3. Time Bandits wasn’t a good movie, it was just incomprehensible (I know that has nothing to do with humor, but needed to get it off my chest).

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**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/14 "2000-05-23T00:32:05Z")

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Obfus, you can’t judge Harpo’s appeal on one I Love Lucy episode. FYI, the mirror scene in I Love Lucy was a re-creation of the classic mirror scene between Groucho and Harpo in Duck Soup. You may not find it funny or appealing, but it is fascinating, especially when you realize that there is absolutely no soundtrack. It’s about 7 minutes of silent movie in an otherwise sound film.

Again, you may not find them funny, but I think you owe it to yourself to rent Duck Soup (and maybe A Night At The Opera) and see what vintage Marx Brothers are all about. Harpo is much more appealing as a younger man than he was when he made that Lucy episode. He was about 60 years old by that time, fer crine out loud.

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**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/15 "2000-05-23T02:44:14Z")

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Conk me on the head with a coconut, Ike. Sorry about the sweeping statement, it didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. Put it another way, in my depressing limited experience with women, I’ve seen a lot more of them laughing at romantic comedies, Jerry Springer-ish talk shows (romantic comedy satire), and good TV sitcoms, than at Monty Python, Benny Hill, and Itchy & Scratchy. Only one ever laughed at the Stooges. I took funneefarmer’s advice.

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**Author:** ![mega\_the\_roo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mega\_the\_roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mega_the_roo)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/16 "2000-05-23T04:04:24Z")

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Hell, I have a Three Stooges tie!

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/17 "2000-05-23T13:38:26Z")

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**Gilligan:** Nah, _I_ should apologize, little buddy. I was really and truly curious about what most women find funny and had a powerful urge to hijack this nice Three Stooges thread, and the “sweeping statement” line just popped out of my fingertips. If I had edited more carefully (at all), I would’ve replaced it with something less perjorative.

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**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/18 "2000-05-23T14:12:14Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*
> 
> By the way, I hate shopping, soaps, most dramas, relationship movies, and disease-of-the-month miniseries, so maybe I lack some common female gene (but I haven’t missed it, since I definitely have all the ones that matter). 😃  
> \*\*

cygnus, will… will you marry me? 🙂

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**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/19 "2000-05-23T14:13:38Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*\*  
> I’m a woman and I LOVE the Three Stooges. But then, I also love MST3K, Futurama, ice hockey, Itchy & Scratchy, film noir, whiskey, Italian sports cars, and John Wayne war movies.
> 
> In the environments where I work, here is a typical “love” list for women who are my peers: Hallmark card stores, tupperware parties, baby showers, soap operas, Saturn cars, little junky plastic trinkets by the hundreds, sugar-pink romance novels, and sugar-pink wine coolers. Aaacccckkk.
> 
> Guess I’m weird.  
> \*\*

NO WAIT! **Pushes cygnus down**  
puglver, will… will you marry me? 🙂

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**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2000, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109/20 "2000-05-23T14:34:07Z")

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Love the Stooges!

Didn’t get to watch them regularly until I was well into my teens. My Mom forbade it.

(You hit your brother in the head with a frying pan **ONE TIME** , and it’s like this major federal crime or something. Damn.)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyuck-nyuck-nyuck/20109.md?page=2)
