# The funniest thing ever is when.... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919 "2008-01-25T04:25:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/1 "2008-01-25T04:25:15Z")
Actors/Comedians corpse in the middle of an act. I can guarantee you that something already funny can ensure that I will laugh twice as hard if one of the people in it themselves can’t help laughing either. So what do you think is the funniest thing ever? I’m not looking for particular funny things, sketches, events, that were funny; but general things that you always find hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/2 "2008-01-25T04:30:26Z")
[This outpost.com commercial](http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzbMcsrK-tw) is, without anything nearing the slightest inkling of a doubt, The Funniest Thing Ever. ETA: Whoops…just reread the OP, and my answer is much more specific than what you were looking for. Ah well…I’m still too busy giggling over the commercial to come up a more relevant answer right now. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/3 "2008-01-25T04:34:12Z")
For me, it is when someone completely blows a joke and someone ad-libs something about blowing the joke or makes it funnier. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal both seem to have this talent. Oddly enough, I don’t find either funny when they do prepared stuff. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/4 "2008-01-25T05:01:10Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] Actors/Comedians **corpse** in the middle of an act. [/QUOTE] So “to corpse” means to laugh? I’ve never seen this word used for anything other than a dead body. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/5 "2008-01-25T05:04:00Z")
As far as I know, “to corpse” means the specific instance of a someone laughing during a performance (when they’re not supposed to, that is). Well, aside from the dead thing too. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/6 "2008-01-25T05:41:01Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] [This outpost.com commercial](http://youtube.com/watch?v=fzbMcsrK-tw) is, without anything nearing the slightest inkling of a doubt, The Funniest Thing Ever. [/QUOTE] Marvelous! > [@](#): > > Cute little guy. > Fire. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/7 "2008-01-25T05:53:26Z")
The funniest thing ever is when people fall. If you’re with me and you fall, I \*will \* laugh. I’ll make sure you’re okay, and show empathy and all that, but I’ll also laugh. It’s funny. Especially when someone on a treadmill falls- _that_ is hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/8 "2008-01-25T06:06:06Z")
I agree about falling. I love falls. Prat falls. Accidental falls. They all kill me. The funniest thing I have ever seen in my entire life is when my sister fell. She walking towards the couch and talking to me, and then she hit the floor. She didn’t trip over anything. She didn’t slip. To this day, she doesn’t know why she fell. She was just walking and then she was on floor. She was fine. She doesn’t know why she fell. I couldn’t even help her. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t even breathe. It was okay, she was laughing just as hard. Hell, I’m laughing about it right now. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/9 "2008-01-25T06:22:57Z")
How about bad puns? In regards to the OP, wouldn’t you say that they _slay_ you? hoohoo ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/10 "2008-01-25T06:43:21Z")
[QUOTE=SSG Schwartz] For me, it is when someone completely blows a joke and someone ad-libs something about blowing the joke or makes it funnier. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal both seem to have this talent. Oddly enough, I don’t find either funny when they do prepared stuff. SSG Schwartz [/QUOTE] Sort of along this line, I think my funniest moments have all been when hanging out with a group of friends, new or old, and referencing something that happened earlier in the night. I can’t think of specific examples right now, but you see it all the time in sitcoms that have running jokes throughout the whole episode. Or, jabs at people that aren’t mean, but are funny. For example, I was hanging out with a gal earlier tonight who manages an apartment complex. We were outside, and she said, “It sure is quiet around here, for an apartment complex, don’t you think?” “Well, they do have a warden for a manager…” She was not impressed, but I couldn’t stop laughing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/11 "2008-01-25T07:25:51Z")
Non sequiturs crack my shit up. Or simply things that shift focus rapidly, seemingly out of order, even if it has something to do with the matter at hand. “Diane, I’m holding in my hand a small box of chocolate bunnies.” Also, things that shouldn’t be thought about for too long, being thought about for too long. That Viagra commercial where all the dudes are together jamming in an otherwise empty bar? Who’s idea was _that_? No, no, not the ad execs, I mean, if these were real people, why would they do this? Who was the initiator? Who said, “Hey guys, we all love Viagra so much, let’s jam! And instead of Viva Las Vegas, let’s sing _VIVA VIAGRA_! Wouldn’t that be the ultimate in sweet?” AND THEY ALL AGREED! That is beyond priceless. And those commercials for adult diapers? Where they show them living life, doing normal(ish) things, showing you can still have fun while wearing Depends? My mother pointed this one out: while they are dancing, that lady is peeing herself. I also like it when someone majorly stumbles or flubs a common saying, or word, and doubly so if they are using it in all seriousness. I laugh at myself, too; I’m certainly not innocent of muddling things. I’ve posted some of them here, but an ex-buddy of mine used to come out with some doozies: Rigor mortis instead of _rigamarole_ (paraphrased: “My dog has to go through the whole rigor mortis before she settles down in the backseat”), “never _lick_ a gift horse in the mouth”, German warfare instead of _germ_ warfare, etc. Also, [Student Bloopers](http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~beej/bloopers.html), [Newspaper Headlines](http://www.ems.psu.edu/~schall/news.html), and [Real Insurance Claims](http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2002/insurance-p1.php) leave me gasping for breath. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/12 "2008-01-25T08:00:32Z")
I’m not proud of this, but…farts. It’s a _cheap_ laugh in movies and TV shows, but it’s hilarious. I hate the fake-sounding ones, but a well executed fart joke will keep me giggling weeks later. Even a joke _about_ farts will give me a good laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Wheeljack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@Wheeljack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheeljack)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/13 "2008-01-25T08:04:49Z")
The funniest thing ever is when somebody does something idiotic in traffic, like move into your lane ahead of you and then slam on the brakes, and when you get a good look at the car you see damage on it corresponding to another accident caused by the exact same bonehead move, like a smashed up rear end. I guess it’s not really that funny, but it sure seems that way when it happens. And it happens a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/14 "2008-01-25T12:16:10Z")
I love it when people get hit in the groin by things. In the movie _Idiocracy_ – which is about how dumb the world has gotten 500 years in the future – one of the characters just sits around watching a show called “Ouch My Balls!” It’s about people getting hit in the groin. I’d totally watch that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/15 "2008-01-25T12:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] Actors/Comedians corpse in the middle of an act. I can guarantee you that something already funny can ensure that I will laugh twice as hard if one of the people in it themselves can’t help laughing either. [/QUOTE] Gotta agree with this one . [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JDK1ISQkp80/hqdefault.jpg "Michael breaks up! Dead parrot.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDK1ISQkp80) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/16 "2008-01-25T12:39:15Z")
While I’ve never heard the verb “to corpse”, and it’s not in my dictionary, I agree with the OP. Even non-funny comedians are hilarious when they lose it. The best part of the WGA strike is watching John Oliver break Jon Stewart on a nightly basis. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/17 "2008-01-25T15:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] Actors/Comedians corpse in the middle of an act. I can guarantee you that something already funny can ensure that I will laugh twice as hard if one of the people in it themselves can’t help laughing either. [/QUOTE] I totally agree! Tim Conway effortlessly and purposely made Harvey Kormann lose it on several occasions. Of course, many times, he was hoisted with his own petard, because Harvey’s helpless laughter would crack Tim up as well! Here’s [one example](http://youtube.com/watch?v=SEGuVb-mtf0&feature=related). ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/18 "2008-01-25T15:16:32Z")
Under the subject of falling, even funnier than humans falling is when cats fall. They always try to save face after, too. The disgusted “I meant to do that. . . no one saw me, did they?” look on their face is the best. That is why falling cats are funnier than falling dogs - dogs don’t care about their dignity. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/19 "2008-01-25T15:20:57Z")
I’d never heard the term “corpsing” until I watched the DVD extras for the HBO show _Extras_, which happen to contain some hilarious examples. Such as watching Daniel Radcliffe and Warwick Davis trying to get through the “Wood-elf, why do you cry?” scene. And it’s a wonder anyone at all can get through a scene with Ricky Gervais. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919/20 "2008-01-25T15:24:03Z")
In general its funny, but Jimmy Fallon cracking up in every single SNL sketch he was ever in, is not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-funniest-thing-ever-is-when/434919.md?page=2)