# Why Was Slapstick Once Considered Funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811 "2018-07-30T13:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/41 "2018-07-31T03:37:29Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Ever step on a bannana peel? The really are that godamn slippery. They are? Or they’re not? Several posts ago, someone said the old-fashioned breed of bananas had a much more slippery peel than the modern one. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/42 "2018-07-31T03:43:32Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > They are? Or they’re not? > > Several posts ago, someone said the old-fashioned breed of bananas had a much more slippery peel than the modern one. On a smooth surface (like in a grocery store), they are super dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/43 "2018-07-31T06:21:06Z")
Slapstick appears to be hard-wired into us; some nonhuman primates even appear to appreciate it, seeing it stimulates activity in a portion of the brain that we share with them whereas other types of humor don’t. Why _specific types_ of slapstick fall in and out of fashion is a different question. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/44 "2018-07-31T12:57:37Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Still some of the best slapstick I’ve ever seen. > > [Peter Sellers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ8x5LXr5Rs) To me, that highlights the issue. For example: the “fight” scenes between Clouseau and Cato. The first was nice enough. The second was somewhat repetitious but the new bits were good. Then the fraction of novel stuff was lower and lower until you just wanted them to stop doing the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/45 "2018-07-31T15:33:27Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > They are? Or they’re not? > > Several posts ago, someone said the old-fashioned breed of bananas had a much more slippery peel than the modern one. The outside of the peel is grippy while the inside is super slick. If you put one down with the inside surface against a floor (concrete, tile, etc.) and step on it your shoe will grip to the peel on the grippy side and the slick side will slip like you’re on ice. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/46 "2018-07-31T15:47:11Z")
Just about any fruit peel or meat tossed on the ground could be slippery. Bananas are just naturally funny fruit, readily recognized, and discarded in one large piece making the set up for a gag quick and simple. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/47 "2018-07-31T15:55:40Z")
I think the climate of modern society frowns on the violence. Look at the old Tom and Jerry, Bugs and Daffy, and Elmer and Bugs cartoons and see how much violence there is in them compared with a lot of the stuff these days. Personally, I really enjoy the Stooges and the old cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/48 "2018-07-31T16:09:42Z")
Whenever a comedian has physical business to do he does what slapstick comedians have done forever, with a little temporal modification. If you watch Baron cohen, or any comic writer actor you can see it. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/49 "2018-07-31T21:16:20Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > The outside of the peel is grippy while the inside is super slick. If you put one down with the inside surface against a floor (concrete, tile, etc.) and step on it your shoe will grip to the peel on the grippy side and the slick side will slip like you’re on ice. As an inquisitive 10 year old I tried it out and I can verify that banana peels are very slick on linoleum. Also, floors hurt your head. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2018, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/50 "2018-08-01T01:36:25Z")
ITSM that such shows like _America’s Funniest Home Videos_ rely heavily on slapstick. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/51 "2018-08-01T05:12:45Z")
[Bottom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_(TV_series)) had their moments, Eddie trying to pluck Richie’s nose hairs with a pair of pliers was good for a larf. ---
**Author:** ![ScarletNinny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ScarletNinny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletNinny)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/52 "2018-08-01T05:59:10Z")
[The BBQ Pit: Why do hyoo-mons find humor funny?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21120887) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/53 "2018-08-01T06:08:44Z")
as long as accidently getting hit in the crotch and pro wrestling are popular I was watching am old talk show and moe and an old pro wrestler (who was promoting a local show) was on and moe decided to show how some of the smacking went on and it was all slight of hand and noise enhancement and the wrestler commented that moe could of had a heck of career in the ring , ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/54 "2018-08-01T09:52:50Z")
A lot of Kramer’s appeal on Seinfeld was slapstick. ---
**Author:** ![Shagunathor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Shagunathor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagunathor)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/55 "2018-08-01T10:12:30Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You ever see someone slip on a banana peel? I have, in fact, slipped on a banana peel that someone had discarded in a parking lot. About 10 years ago. Despite the mild sprain, I think a properly done banana peel gag can potentially be funny. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/56 "2018-08-01T12:04:14Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Do it really, really well and you can [win an Emmy Award without a single word of dialog.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpImet3Xwgw) David Hyde Pierce did a lot of physical comedy in Frasier. There’s another scene where he finds out his wife is cheating on him with her fencing instructor and challenges him to a duel. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/57 "2018-08-01T12:16:35Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > David Hyde Pierce did a lot of physical comedy in Frasier. There’s another scene where he finds out his wife is cheating on him with her fencing instructor and challenges him to a duel. One very succesful non-musical currently on Broadway, [The Play That Goes Wrong](http://www.broadwaygoeswrong.com/), is a parody of live theater that includes \*\*\*a lot \*\*\*of “accident comedy”. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/58 "2018-08-01T12:34:38Z")
My wife and I recently watched the first couple seasons of Third Rock From the Sun. Many funny moments in the show - a lot of clever dialogue and ridiculous situations, but some of our hardest belly laughs came when Sally did the old long plank on her shoulder trope, repeatedly whacking Harry in the head. Or when Harry would fall down the steps. My wife and I have asked each other more than once why we find it so funny when a character is apparently hurt… ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/59 "2018-08-02T21:26:07Z")
Mrs Daffy threatening to “slap the bill off your face” and then actually doing it, is funny and timeless. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2018, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811/60 "2018-08-03T07:13:22Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > With few exceptions, comedy doesn’t age well. I look at some of the comedy acts of the 70s and just cringe. True. I look at comedy of the 2010’s and just cringe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-slapstick-once-considered-funny/818811.md?page=4)