# What do you never find funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169 "2011-03-18T16:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/161 "2011-03-27T18:21:59Z")
There is a certain amount of that attitude on the Dope still (that women are always right, and if they’re wrong, see rule #1 kind of bullshit), and I make it my business to try to call people on it whenever I see it. YOU married a woman who can never admit she’s wrong; not all women are like that, and not all marriages are like that. I think a lot of the attitude comes from movies and tv commercials and shows that have the “Idiot Man-Child” stereotype in it, complete with “Empowered, Bossy, Always Right/Always Gets Her Way” woman stereotype, and people have come to see this skewed view as normal, which it isn’t. So, to sum up, I rarely find that funny, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/162 "2011-03-27T19:12:29Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I didn’t want to single anyone out because > \<… blah blah blah…\> > I honestly think this is the ONLY kind of humor that I find consistently unfunny. Must be that time of month… (No one’s mentioned “period” jokes yet, so either I’m safe, or you guys are slacking.) (sorry) ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/163 "2011-03-27T20:12:42Z")
Some great examples in this thread. Other tedious humor… people who think they’re being very witty by repeating bumper sticker slogans that everyone’s seen a thousand times. Countless times I’ve heard “when I die, they can bury me upside down so the whole world can kiss my ass”, or “you know how a politician’s lying? His lips are moving”, but these kinds of slogans are always presented as if they’re the height of creativity. “Inside jokes” - some people compulsively drop non sequiturs in conversation. When nobody responds, they explain it’s about “that time we were in Denny’s last year and the people next to us spilled their milk, blah blah blah, you had to be there”. Even if I get the joke, it’s still a waste of time and never funny. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/164 "2011-03-27T20:17:00Z")
_Never_ find funny? People actually hurting someone or damaging property is about it, really. Theoretical dead babies, punting dogs, rape, incest, ball hits, or wife beating are usually not funny, but I reserve the right to laugh my ass off if the joke happens to be a really good one. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/165 "2011-03-27T20:44:19Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > I don’t like jokes about > > Peanuts 😕😕 Oh, the cartoon. I was like, what’s wrong with peanut jokes? ---
**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 27, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/166 "2011-03-27T21:25:16Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Must be that time of month… I can only get so pissed off about PMS jokes because I’m one of the few women who actually does totally lose my shit when I’m PMSing. It’s called [PMDD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premenstrual_dysphoric_disorder). I never use it as an excuse for my behavior, but I fully admit when I am not taking the right BC, my ability to make rational judgments is significantly compromised. This problem only affects a minority of women, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chapulin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Chapulin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chapulin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/167 "2011-03-28T23:10:33Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Y una leche, whites from Argentina are no more gringos than blacks from Sweden are. On the other hand, it is perfectly possible for someone to be gringo and not white. > > “Practical jokes” in general: hidden camera, those first thing in the morning prank calls… Sorry but I disagree, with your statement, " it is perfectly possible for someone to be gringo and not white. " At least where I live in the U.S and where I have traveled to in Mexico, no other races are gringos except whites. Traveling through Mexico with my three black friends, I was the only one called a gringa, out of all three of us. I wonder why? Because gringa is a white american girl, not black. Black girls are called, " moyas, morenas, or negras, not gringas. " One of my professors is from Spain, and like many Spainards is very white. He says that living here in the U.S when Mexicans/latin americans see him they often call him a “gringo”. He then corrects them ( in Spanish none the less!) and says, I’m from Spain, I’m not a gringo. " Why was he called a gringo then? BECAUSE HE IS WHITE SKINNED. If a person from Argentina were to come to the U.S, ( most from Argentina are very light skinned.) local Mexicans would probably call them gringos if they didnt know where they were from. Seeing their white skin they would just assume they are Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/168 "2011-03-29T11:11:54Z")
But your two examples are mistakenly called gringos, and I have witnessed myself quite a few instances of someone not white being called a gringo in the derogatory sense, as well as of Americans (in diferring shades including “black chocolate”) being described as “he’s American but not gringo if you know what I mean”. I’ve told before the two stories of guys stating (paraphrased) that “whomever said gringas don’t have nice asses need to look at that one’s” and explaining that the ass in question is Hispanic. Very much Hispanic, me being the original kind. Gringo is not a description of coloring. In the bad sense it’s a description of behavior (the “ugly American”); in the neutral sense, it means (white) USAnian. Ugly Americans come in all colors - as do Hispanics. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/169 "2011-03-30T04:20:01Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Me too. I recall once a long time ago when I was about as broke as broke can be, and I found what I thought was a 20 dollar bill on the sidewalk (that would have been about two weeks’ groceries at that time). It turned out to be some jackass’ advertising scheme - I felt broke that morning, and I felt broke and miserable after that. They make Christian tracts like that, my old church had a couple in a giant rack full of tracts. I had gotten one months ago that half looked like money except it was blue and had some crapola about Obama being evil… but i didn’t keep it and only half read it before tossing it away. I think sometimes waiters and waitresses get them but i don’t know any waiters who had got them, AND have never waited tables myself so i don’t know how often this happens. That’s a shithead dog-fucking thing to do to someone who works a hard job like a waiter. ---
**Author:** ![Ura-Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/51bf81/32.png) [@Ura-Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ura-Maru)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/170 "2011-03-31T03:57:47Z")
Telling a joke is like making love. Almost anything’s fair game, as long as it’s done with affection and everyone’s enjoying themselves. It gets better if both parties are willing to push the comfort zones a bit, but only to a point. Past which it gets creepy and weird. Also in that everyone seems to be doing it except me, but that’s not germaine. I usually don’t like racial and deliberately offensive jokes not because they’re racist or offensive, but because they’re usually **not funny.** Shock is a crutch, if you make someone uncomfortable, they’ll often laugh out of nervousness. It’s the Dark Side of comedy. Quicker, easier, but it can turn you into douche of Hayden Christensen-esqe proportions. That said, there are funny jokes in the shock humor areas, but they require some combination of cleverness, timing, observation, and wit. Just like non-shock jokes. I can’t think of a funny racial joke, but I’ll admit I laughed at the chloroform joke. I felt a little bad about it, but not enough to stop me from repeating it. Joking about something you don’t have some affection for is surprisingly difficult. Notice how all good parodies are done by people who actually like what they’re making fun of? That’s not a coincidence. Joking (well) about something you hate is HARD. There’s a reason why Stewart, Colbert and Maher have shows. Two of them have a rare gift, and Maher sacrificed three virgins to Nyarthothep. See? That was mediocre **at best.** Mahar annoys me, so I used a joke structure for an insult, without realizing I hadn’t made the insult clever. Nyarthothep DOESN’T EVEN WORK IN SHOW BUSINESS! Take the three feminist light bulb jokes above. The first (Not Funny!) is silly and playful. It uses an shopworn stereotype, but isn’t mean about it. A good light joke. The second (Wishing it was the socket) is nastier, but is pretty clever. More effort, but more rewarding. The third, (Blowjob!) pushes, but there’s nothing behind it, that’s all there is. That’s just not funny. Well, unless say, Gertrude Stein’s husband was saying it, and she was standing right behind him, facepalming. That would be hilarious. – Though, back when I was younger, I was telling myself two, sometimes three jokes a day . . . ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Goliath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/171 "2011-03-31T08:38:28Z")
Sheesh, when did Zoidberg start posting here? woopwoopwoopwoop ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/172 "2011-03-31T12:22:25Z")
i hate it when people insert “wet” in front of “dream” as a hyperbole - especially women. SOOOOOOO offputting. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/173 "2011-03-31T17:18:31Z")
If there’s one form of humor I find particularly non-compelling, it’s the generic social confusion/awkwardness that tended to permeate sitcoms back in the day I actually watched TV. A large part of it is my own social confusion/awkwardness that makes it very difficult to see humor in a situation where I identify with the person who’s confused. To me, it’s nearly the equivalent of torture by proxy, watching someone else go through a difficult situation that you know you’d go through yourself in the same circumstances. As a subset of the above, jokes that involve someone getting embarrassed. Humiliation has already been covered, but even light embarrassment humor is not funny for the same reason as above: I identify very strongly with the victim. As another subset, supposedly funny situations with people courting each other, or similar situations involving people potentially dating. I really don’t find anything about the process or mate selection (to use a more animalistic term) to be humorous. I saw A Fish Called Wanda recently that had a lot of extremely funny bits, but too much of it involved Jamie Lee Curtis going after John Cleese for my liking. The movie really can’t work without those parts so I don’t really blame them, but I found it very hard to sit through. Similarly, any jokes in mainstream media dealing with sexual matters, mainly because they often have to skirt the censors and it’s only “funny” in the sense that you know what they mean but they couldn’t actually say it. I prefer not being subject to the sexual activities of other people that are not based on a truly loving committed relationship, and there’s just nothing particularly funny there unless you get into the mechanics of the act and thus force yourself into pornography. That’s why I find Oglaf incredibly funny some of the time, although not always; the throwing away of all inhibitions about showing sexual activity allows the author to make very interesting jokes about it without getting caught up in the “OMG they’re having sex!” thoughts. So what do I like? Absurd situations, non-sequiturs, unexpected connections between things, and the general silliness that’s typical of Monty Python. I really liked the act Mitch Hedburg had, as his humor was generally short and to the point and he generally avoided the topics mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![Chapulin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Chapulin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chapulin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/174 "2011-03-31T18:06:09Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > But your two examples are mistakenly called gringos, and I have witnessed myself quite a few instances of someone not white being called a gringo in the derogatory sense, as well as of Americans (in diferring shades including “black chocolate”) being described as “he’s American but not gringo if you know what I mean”. > > I’ve told before the two stories of guys stating (paraphrased) that “whomever said gringas don’t have nice asses need to look at that one’s” and explaining that the ass in question is Hispanic. Very much Hispanic, me being the original kind. > > Gringo is not a description of coloring. In the bad sense it’s a description of behavior (the “ugly American”); in the neutral sense, it means (white) USAnian. Ugly Americans come in all colors - as do Hispanics. Like I said before, I have never seen a person of color called a gringo/a, only whites. Yes, some people do use it for all colors, but its not that often. In Mexico with my black friends if I was ever called a gringa it wasnt because of an " ugly american" attitude, because I am a fluent Spanish speaker and by no means represent the " ugly american" attitude. Mexico is like a second home to me. I was called this because hispanics often call american white girls gringas thinking we will think its cute or funny or make us feel accepted, it wasn’t because of my attitude. And my black american friends? No one even thought to call them gringas. Gringo/a is a term almost always give to WHITE americans. ( a brown skinned chicano wouldnt be called a gringo, even though he/she was born in the u.s. Why not? because they are brown. they would therefor be called " moreno/a, chicano/a etc.." > [@](#): > > But your two examples are mistakenly called gringos Yes, and why were they mistaken for gringos? Because of their SKIN COLOR. Why else would you call a random white girl walking down the street a gringa without even knowing where she is from? Some people are ignorant and assume all light skinned people in the u.s are from the u.s, when many of them are actually hispanic. If a woman from Argentina is walking down the street and a man who thinks shes attractive calls out " que hermosa eres gringa! " or something similar, she is going to turn around and say " por que me dices gringa? Que te hace pensar que soy de este pais? Acaso no podria ser de Argentina? and the man is going to say " pues pense a lo mejor eres de aqui, como eres wera pareces gringa"… ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/175 "2011-03-31T18:28:24Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Will Ferrell. > > Snide digs made by modifying a standard word or name - “repuglicans,” “dumbocrats,” etc. I thought it was Rippedpublicans and Demoncrats? :smack: Like porn I know it when I see it. A lot can be the setting. Me and the neighbors sitting around our porches kidding each other (especially doing dozens) is one thing; some stranger at a party telling the same kind of joke would bother me. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/176 "2011-03-31T20:33:00Z")
most recent joke that left me stonefaced: “braves starting things off right 2-0! perfect season in the works!” which is the close cousin of “the perfect bracket lives” halfway into the play-in game from 3 weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/177 "2011-04-02T23:49:50Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Did you hear the one about the half jewish half chinese dead baby with a speech impediment that farted after she was locked in her room after her mom humiliated her? well? don’t leave us hanging. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/178 "2011-04-02T23:58:29Z")
> [@pope\_hentai](#): > > well? don’t leave us hanging. The punch line is: she was circumcised. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/179 "2011-04-03T03:01:41Z")
I don’t think dead baby jokes are funny. They’re just gross. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169/180 "2011-04-03T11:44:45Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > The punch line is: she was circumcised. given the context of debates on this forum, i actually found humor in that punchline. Out in the wild however… i would have been disappointed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-never-find-funny/575169.md?page=10)