Preparing for this post, I collected some scholarly research on humor and abstracts on research about the link between humor and health. Boy, though, were they dry. Here’s a sample:
Humor is a complex phenomenon and is thought to involve three stages: 1.The listener encounters incongruity (the punch-line); 2. The listener tries to resolve the incongruity between the punch-line and the expectation shaped by the joke (surprise and coherence); and 3.The listener concludes that what actually makes sense is pleasant nonsense (appreciation). Functional imaging during laughter reveals that different areas of the brain are involved with each of these stages. Interestingly, men and women often perceive jokes differently, as indicated by gender differences in both behavioral response and functional brain imaging during a humorous event. (The Health Benefits of Humor)
I’ll bet you didn’t even read that.
Make your own decision about whether or not humor helps your health, because the research is mixed. If humor is important to you and helps you cope, it probably does. It certainly can’t hurt.
So, instead of getting all intellectual, let’s link up some more funny websites:
College Humor
Cracked.com’s funny younger brother.
Funny or Die
The home of some of the best parody videos on the net. I love their Dora parodies.
Huffington Post Humor Page
Every Wednesday they post a collection of Pages You Should Be Wasting Your Time On. They also collect the best of the late-night monologues.
BoredShorts TV
I don’t remember how I found these, but my kids and I are hooked. They get kids to narrate old family stories or make up scenarios, tape their voices and then have adults act them out with the kids’ voices. My favorite is “Healthy Food.” Many of the quotes have made their way into our family’s lexicon: “There’s only one minute left in my brain!” “Here’s your perfectly normal pancakes, kids!” Might as well just embed it for you here:
Photo credit: Wickenden on Flickr
I am home with a sick kid and this is great and much welcomed. Definitely skip the scholarship and go right to the humor 🙂
“Damnyouautocorrect.com” is my go-to tears-in-my-eyes site. I have to make sure not to read it at night, as my suppressed laughter irritates the heck out of the person trying to sleep. 🙂
Also love the Kid History videos. Inspired!
Hey Colleen! Keep up the posts on humor! Def skipped the scholarship on humor, too dry!