Serious Humor

Accidental Humor
One type of accidental or unintentional humor is linguistic, such as in the form of misspellings or errors in logic. Headline writers, for example, are especially apt to create accidental humor because they are trying to attract attention and communicate a whole story in only a few words, as shown in these examples:

Dr. Ruth Talks about Sex with Newspaper Editors
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
Defendant’s Speech Ends in Long Sentence
Blind Woman Gets New Kidney from Dad She Hasn’t Seen in Years

—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor

International Wordplay
Most players of the Pac Man video game do not know that its name comes from a Japanese slang word paku-paku. The word describes a person’s mouth opening and closing while one eats. Others have not heard the story about the almost-as-popular Donkey Kong, which features an aggressive gorilla. According to the story, the Japanese manufacturer intended to name the game Monkey Kong in honor of King Kong, but confused a d for an m.

—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor

Putdowns and Rejoinders
Put-down humor is best appreciated when it occurs between people of equal status who respect each other and so can enjoy the teasing as a display of wit rather than meanness. Celebrity roasts succeed because the person being roasted is clearly respected. Snappy rejoinders are also funnier when the person on the receiving end has somehow “asked for it.” When William Gladstone attacked fellow statesman Benjamin Disraeli in front of the British Parliament by saying that Disraeli would die “either on the gallows or of a horrible disease,” Disraeli responded, “That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.”

—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor

Slang
Long before the days of mass media, slang was effectively spread by word of mouth. Modern mass media can spread slang instantaneously around the world. “Yada, yada, yada,” “master of my domain,” and “it’s in the vault” all made their way into popular culture through television’s Seinfeld sitcom. “D’oh!” was adopted from cartoon character Homer Simpson’s expression of disappointment or self-disgust. Earlier generations picked up such signature lines as Jackie Gleason’s “How sweet it is!” Jack Parr’s “I kid you not!” Arte Johnson’s “Verrrry interesting!” and Gilda Radner’s “It’s always something!”

—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor

Politics and Humor
Besides building a sense of community, self-deprecating humor can be effective in disarming political foes if a candidate is able to beat his critics to the punch by making voters laugh about something that worries them.

John F. Kennedy countered those critics who charged that he had an unfair campaign advantage because of his family’s wealth. He pulled an envelope from his pocket and read a fake telegram from his father: “Don’t buy one vote more than necessary. I’ll be damned if I’ll pay for a landslide.”

—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor—Jessica McCann