View from the North 40: How to Kill a Joke 101

I always said the quickest way to kill a joke was to explain it, but I think scientists have discovered, unbeknownst to themselves, that the most efficient way to kill a joke is to research it and explain the research. Thoroughly.

Apparently, academic study of jokes and laughter is a real thing.

Salvatore Attardo and Lucy Pickering at Texas A&M University Commerce wrote a study called “Timing in the performance of jokes” that I would like to share with you in part today.

In reference to punch lines they wrote: “Punch lines were identified using the standard Hockett (1973; 1977) met...