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1]Thejoyoflaughingatafunnystoryisuniversal,probablyasoldaslanguageitself.But,whatisitthatmakesastoryorajokefunny?[2]AsonewhohasenjoyedhumorsinceIfirstrecognizedit,I'vemadeanattempttoexplainanddiscusshumorwithstudentsinsuchdiverseculturesasLatinAmericaandChina.I'vedonesomeseriousthinkingaboutfunnystories.Ithasbeenalaboroflove[N]![3]WhyisitthatseveralstudentsinaclasswillfalloutoftheirchairslaughingafterItellajokewhiletherestofthestudentslookasifI'vejustreadtheweatherreport?[N]Obviouslysomepeoplearemoresensitivetohumorthanothers.And,werecognizethatsomepeopletelljokesverywellwhileothersstruggletosaysomethingfunny.We'veallheardpeoplesay,Ilikejokes,butIcan'ttellonewell,andIcanneverrememberthem.Somepeoplehaveabettersenseofhumorthanothersjustassomepeoplehavemoremusicaltalent,mathematicaltalent,etc.thanothers.Atrulyfunnypersonhasajokeforeveryoccasion,andwhenoneistold,thattriggersanentirestringofjokesfromthatperson'smemorybank.[N]Ahumorlesspersonisnotlikelytobethemostpopularpersoninagroup.Itisreasonabletosaythatthetrulyhumorousindividualisnotonlywellliked,butisoftenthefocusofattentioninanygathering.[4]Evensomeanimalshaveasenseofhumor.Mywife'smotheroftenvisitedusforextendedstays.[N]Shenormallydidn'tlikedogs,butshefellinlovewithBlitzen[N]—afemaleLab[N]wehad,andtherelationshipwasmutual.Evenwhenyoung,BlitzenwouldteaseGrandmabyveryselectivelycarryingoneofherbedroomslippersintothelivingroomwhereGrandmasatinherfavorite,comfortablechair.BlitzenprancedjustbeyondthereachofGrandmauntilGrandmawastemptedtoleaveherchairtogettheslipperfromBlitzen.WhenGrandmaleftherchair,Blitzenwouldquicklyjumpintothechair,flashingherLabsmilefromsparklingbrowneyeswhichclearlysaid,Aha,Ifooledyouagain.[5]Typicaljokesorhumorousstorieshaveathree-partanatomythatiseasilyrecognized.FirstistheSETUP(orsetting),nextistheBODY(orstoryline),andthesearefollowedbythePUNCHLINE[N](anunexpectedorsurpriseending)whichwillmakethejokefunnyifitcontainssomehumor.Usuallyallthreepartsarepresent,andeachmustbeclearlypresented[N].Ithelpsifthestory/joketellerusesgesturesandlanguagewhicharewellknowntotheaudience.[6]Humor,asaformofentertainment,canbeanalyzedinordertodiscoverwhatmakesafunnystoryorjokeseemfunny.Here,forexample,aresomeofthemostcommontypesofhumor.Theyrangefromthemostobvioushumortothemoresubtletypes.[7]SLAP-STICKisthemostobvioushumor.Itslanguageissimple,direct,andoftenmakesfunofanotherpersonorgroup.Slap-stickwasandisthetechniqueofthestand-upcomedian[N]andtheclown.Itappealstoallagesandallcultures.NearlyeveryEnglish-speakingcomedianinthiscenturyhasusedthefollowingjokeinoneformoranother.Onemanasksanother,WhowasthatladyIsawyouwithlastnight?Theotherreplies,Thatwasnolady,thatwasmywife.Thehumorliesinthefactthatthesecondmanissayingthathiswifeisnotalady.Inotherwords,sheisnotarefinedwoman.Thejokeisnolessfunnybecauseitissooftenused.Theaudienceknowsinadvancewhatwillbesaid,becauseitisclassichumor,andanyaudiencevaluesitevenmorebecauseofitsfamiliarity.[8]Chinesecross-talkisaspecialtypeofslap-stickinwhichtwoChinesecomedianshumorouslydiscusstopicssuchasbureaucrats,familyproblems,orotherpersonaltopics.Cross-talkcanbeheardanywherefromsmallvillagestagestothelargestBeijingtheatres,andtoradioandtelevision.ItisclearlyatraditionalformofhumorwellunderstoodbyChinesepeople.[9]APLAYONWORDSisnotsoobviousasslap-stick,butitisfunnybecauseofmisusedormisunderstoodlanguage.MyfavoriteexampleisthestoryofthreeelderlygentlementravelingbytraininEngland.Asthetrainslowedforastopthefirstmanasked,IsthisWembley[N]?No,saidthesecond,It'sThursday.SoamI,saidthethirdman.Let'sstopforabeer.Weknowthatolderpeopleoftendonothearthingsclearly,sothemisunderstandingofbothWednesday(forWembley)andthirsty(forThursday)makesanicesetupforthepunchlinedeliveredbythethirdman.[10]ThefamousChinesecartoonistandhumoristDingCongisamasterofwordplay.Inoneofhisfunnycartoons,ateachersays,Howcome[N]youcompletelycopiedsomebodyelse'shomework?Theyoungstudentreplies,Ididn'tcompletelycopyit.Mynameonthepageisdifferent.InanotherclassicDingCongcartoon,anirritatedfatherasks,Tellme,what'soneplustwo?Thesonsays,Idon'tknow.Theimpatientfatherthensays,Forexample,you,yourmother,andIaltogetherarehowmany,youidiot?Thesonproudlyanswers,Threeidiots.Whetherthesestoriesarecartoonsorjokes,toldbyaslap-stickcomedianoracross-talkingteam,theyappealtopeopleeverywhereasfunnystoriesbecausetheyhaveanote[N][N]ofrealitytothem,andtheunexpectedpunchlineisquitefunny.[11]PUNSareevenmoresubtleformsofwordplay.Theyusethetechniqueofsimilarsoundingwordsoralternativemeaningsofthesameword.Punsarethoughtbysomecriticstobethelowestformofhumor,butIdisagreewiththis.Punsrequiremoresubtleandsophisticatedlanguageskillsthanmosthumorforms,buteventheveryyoungcanusethemintheirsimplerforms.Forexample,theriddleortrickquestionoftenusesapuninthesetup,thestoryline,or,moreoften,thepunchline.PunsarethefirsttypeofhumorIlearned,andatabout5yearsofageIrememberhearingthefollowingriddle.Onepersonasks,Whatisblackandwhiteandredallover?Theotherpersonusuallycannotanswertheriddle,sosays,Igiveup.Whatistheanswer?Theriddl