The word “funny” is so widely used these days that it has practically become a part of everyday speech. Even when not spoken aloud, the meaning of the word is clear to most everyone. When a person is having a bad day, a funny quote or funny line might be the perfect thing to cheer them up. Many people even consider funny as synonymous with humorous and vulgar. It is only natural that humor is associated with laughter.
How does one find humorously wrong or funny? Incongruities are an interesting way to determine what is funny. Incongruities are when two or more similar things are found in a situation which would normally be expected to have completely opposite meanings. For example; an act of kindness and self sacrifice is considered funny when it is acted out against someone who considers such acts as immoral or disgusting. The same can be said for; a woman’s need to keep her hair up can be considered funny when it is presented against a man who shaves his eyebrows. The two types of incongruities are usually not seen to be mutually exclusive or even compatible.
The other way people find humorously offensive is through the use of other forms of ridicule. Humor results from the integration of different incompatible concepts or ideas into the presentation of the joke itself. This is commonly seen in children’s jokes where there is usually some sort of conflict between what the child thinks is funny and what others think is not so funny. Children are often the most flexible of anyone else in this regard. In fact children are capable of understanding and interpreting the difference between what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.
Adults, however, tend to be more resistant to humor when it is not presented as a conflict between what they consider to be acceptable and what is considered to be unacceptable. Incongruities are, therefore, often used by adults to poke fun at another person’s perceived inability to understand what is appropriate. While the adult may be aware that the concepts underlying the joke are absurd, he or she will still find the funny part as a way of mocking those concepts. Ironically, while the jokes may not have any underlying meaning, the implicit meaning is that the adult is making an effort to make the other person feel foolish.
An important example of the use of humor in human relationships is found in the relationship between husband and wife. On one level, it would seem that there would be no need for humor if life was like a sitcom, with every relationship in need of a funny scene. However, a closer examination of how married couples actually live shows that husband and wife take each other and their relationship seriously. Each individual in a married relationship takes the other as he or she is. A funny scene can easily break this cycle of seriousness.
The Internet provides many venues for sharing funny things. Websites that host “jokes” or “comedy” are an excellent place to start. You can also try forums and blogs dedicated to sharing humorous stories. In fact, if you Google “funny stories” you will likely find many sites dedicated to funny stories. If you do not have time to check out these sites, simply Google “joke.”