I have, "kids are on TikTok, adults are on blood pressure medication."
This is truly a nightmare.
Can we turn these cameras off, please?
Ah, the ancient art of comedy.
Hearing people laugh at something you came up with is one of the most
universally beloved and exhilarating feelings a person can experience, akin to
achieving nirvana. So let's do a little experiment. A couple of comedy
professionals versus a couple of schoolyard bards. Who can write the
funniest jokes?
My name is Wilson McDermut, I am a psychology professor at
St. John's University and I'm also a stand-up comic. I taught a class on the
psychology of humor, published a couple of things on humor and personality.
Knowing the psychology of humor, unfortunately, doesn't make me a better
stand-up comic.
My name is Michael Salgarolo, I'm a comedian and a Ph.D.
candidate in history. The humor of one generation doesn't necessarily make
sense to the next generation. Comedians have similar experiences over time:
present the world in a new and interesting light.
My name is Harris
Mayersohn and I am a comedy writer. I've been
writing comedy since elementary school. Right now I'm unemployed so it's a lot
of just self-doubt, and being sad, and hopefully writing jokes.
The dumbest jokes make me laugh. If somebody would actually tell a funny
joke, I'll just be like, "okay." Like, "ha ha ha." And then if somebody would just tell
like, "what do you call a tree?" A tree." Something like that, just something
dumb. That would make me laugh.
I feel like that's when it's most funny, when
you're not like trying to be so funny, it's just what comes out and it's natural.
I audition for a lot of funny roles. The comedy business would be like
the most like the business that I would want to really be in.
Well I like dark humor.
Cannibalism.
Today's experiment will take place at
Caveat, a comedy club on the Lower East Side with an unusual goal: any show you
see here will make you think as hard as it makes you laugh. The founders are a
theoretical physicist and a Shakespeare director. They met doing science talks in
the back room of a bar and teamed up to create a home for nerds who would rather
come out for a comedy show than stay in watching TED Talks all night. Again.
Today, they're gonna help us put on a show of our own. Each team will have one hour to
create a handful of different jokes and then our neutral stand-up comic will
perform both sets for our audience who won't know which jokes belong to which
team. Most laughs win. Let's go.
So we need: a knock-knock joke,
"why did the blank cross the road" joke, a joke about a historical figure, pun about
an animal, joke about science, an anti-joke.
Oh hey one about a historical
figure, I think we're gonna lean on you for that one. -Yeah I'll get on that.
Personal stories are the best comedic approach.
Stuff that people can relate to.
So like when you're walking down the street and you get eaten by a cat!
No.
You know what's interesting, is that the first joke that everyone learns as children is
an anti-joke. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side. It's
the exact opposite of what a joke should be.
Everybody just write down your jokes
and we'll tell them at the end.
We all list, just go through and try to
write a couple of each ourselves and then come back. In about 15 minutes
we can. That's perfect.
Laughter is vocal but it's not
verbal which means in prelingual times it served a communication
function. And that function at that time was to signal, "hey, we're not under threat
we can actually relax." Developmentally, laughter is the second
form of social communication that emerges. So in infants, the first one
obviously is crying, which is meant to communicate distress and hunger.
the second one is laughter and it serves a bonding function. When infants are bonded
to their parents obviously that has very powerful survival value
Okay. Let's see.
When Isaac Newton discovered gravity, did he get a concussion?
Something like that. - Take your time, take your time.
Oh, oh! Okay! It must be a pretty light snack.
That's a good one! Yeah that's so good.
I've been having dark thoughts recently. My therapist assures me, though, it's
normal to contemplate grad school.
What's a shoe salesman's favorite animal?
Crocs.
Why does why does the cake have antlers?
It's a chocolate mousse.
Strong on puns.
Puns are our strong suit.
OK, if it was soda, it would be flat. That joke just fell flat.
What's the difference between a
microscope and a telescope?
You can only use one to spy on your neighbors.
Maybe we need parallel structure. So it's, one one you use to
ook at bacteria, the other is used to look at your neighbors.
Alright, the math teacher is good with math, gym teacher...
Not athletic.
The next victim of cancel culture? My Audible subscription.
America's first stand-up comedian was a guy that I've actually I've read a
transcript of his whole act. I can't understand any of it. But it was in the
1860s a guy named Artemus Ward. He called it a comedic lecture. And people
were very confused at the beginning. It was theater but with no characters and
no costume. But, that guy inspired Mark Twain, one of America's
first well-known comedians.
Before their time is up, each team will have a few
minutes to workshop jokes with our comic Jessica.
Hi guys. How are we working? - Good.
We might need a plumber, because the government has gone down the drain.
This is a story from my sister. ... So he puts it in the other person's milk,
Then dumps it in the other person's milk and then the person just threw it out.
I'm confused, the hotdog was a straw?
No the hotdog was literally just a hotdog. - Okay.
The term "misdirection."
So you want to say, one thing two things and the third thing is the punchline.
Practice a rule of three.
How many middle school teachers does it take to screw in a
light bulb? Two. One to screw it in, and the other to tell you to sit down and be quiet.
Maybe it's something more like, one to screw it in and the other to tell you
to make a diorama of Washington Crossing the Delaware or something.
Right, something more middle school specific. One to screw it in, the other to...
To tell you to put some deodorant on.
Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to Jessica Saul.
Thank you guys so much for having me. We'll start off here, let's see.
What happened when the grape got pinched? Nothing, he just let out a little wine.
What's the difference between a microscope and a telescope?
A microscope is used to look at bacteria, and a telescope is used to look at your neighbors.
You guys know what a shoe salesman, what their favorite animal is?
Crocs.
Isaac Newton discovered gravity. Did he eat the apple? If he did must have
been just a light snack.
what's the difference between a boy and a man?
One is a child, one pays child support.
How do we fix a broken government? With a plumber.
Because our government has gone down the drain.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
It was leaving KFC. Owwie!
Why did the fart cross the road?
To get to the gas station.
This one's a farter. He looked away. This one's got a lot of gas.
How many middle school teachers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Two. One to screw in the light bulb,
and the other to say, "it's okay that your body is experiencing changes right now.
Here's a CVS coupon I have to go buy some deodorant.
Also, tuck it in. OK.
A math teacher is good at algebra, a science teacher is good at atoms, and a
gym teacher is good at failing at their athletic dreams
I see we have some retired gym teachers here.
Could we actually have all of our writers on stage?
I just want to say, amazing job, both teams.
We were using a laugh-o-meter that whole time to
see who the true winner is, and I got to say this was very, very close.
It was the adults.
The adults were probably more relatable.
Because as I can see there's probably ... actually all of these people are adults.
So it was a little unfair.
We would like to confirm, we recognize that this was
unfair. And we're fine with it.