Humor Analysis Update

Skimming through the list of Published Articles in HUMOR, 1988-2010...

Link

I noted that my approach to writing about humor differs slightly: 

At this point in my exploration of humor, I am a growing nonexistent presence in the academia of humor studies. 

On Facebook I have 4,025 friends and 2,192 subscribers to my posts. My posts are not always funny ha-ha - sometimes they're funny-interesting, or funny-peculiar, or funny-check this out, or funny-that's just life. But thanks to four or five fans and my mom, I've got an idea (as well as stats) about what some people consider funny in Facetopia. 

On Twitter I have 99 followers. Like Sheldon Cooper, I'm eagerly awaiting my 100th follower! 

My blog posts on funny concepts or concepts that others have joked about or considered funny, presented in a wide range of literary styles, have received over 1/2 million pageviews. This number nearly matches the total number of individuals - in the history of humanity - who have purposely read a scholarly publication on the subject of humor. 

(In my mind) In Raphael's The School of Athens (1509-1511), Plato points to academia's humor theories, to show the source of humor. Aristotle points downward to earth because his observations, like mine, are based in reality.

The world that makes up Sophy Laughing might not yet look like much to a traditional humor researcher, but courtesy of Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest, YouTube, and a few other social media outlet sources, I have a virtual humor laboratory that provides me with instantaneous data feeds on what people are clicking on - with respect to humor. 

This morning's Tweets

This April will mark the 2nd anniversary of my exploration into humor as well as the publication of a summary of my findings of what thousands of people consider funny. 

From "likes" to "retweets" to pageviews and comments, this data is of potential value to entertainers in the field of humor as well as humor researchers. 

The topics are varied (and non-sucky) enough that some PhD student out there, grappling for a topic for his or her thesis, might even consider including this data in support of another referenced, random hypothesis. 

After all, didn't someone once report that theses receive greater interest (as well as acclaim, notoriety, and instant fame) when professors consider them entertaining to read??? 

Mother Goose Jokes

Historically, *boys have long since been associated with snips and snails, and puppy dog tails, that's what little boys have been associated with; while girls, have been associated with sugar and spice and all things nice, that's what little girls have been associated with - as seen in this Mother Goose poem:

(✿◠‿◠)♫♪

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails

and puppy-dogs' tails,

That's what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?

Sugar and spice

And everything nice,

That's what little girls are made of.

~Origin: Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

19th Century

THE HUMOR OF

MOTHER GOOSE

(✿◠‿◠)♫♪

The authoress of these beloved nursery rhymes was first referenced by name in French writings. In sixteenth century English writings, Edmund Spenser published his satire "Mother Hubbard's tale" (1590), which does reference a similar archetypical country woman, indicating that the character had long-since been in circulation. 

French writings. 

Guy de la Brosse, in his 1628 work "De la nature, vertu et utilite de plantes (On nature, virtue and the utility of plants)", mentions "contes de la mère l'Oye" (stories of Mother Goose). In 1638, in Pieces Curieves en suite de celles by Sieur de S. Germain, Mother Goose is mentioned: "toute ce que je fais imprimer dans mes Gazettes passe desormais pour des contes de ma mère l'oye, et des fables du moisne Bourry pour amuser le peuple...(all that I print in my magazines are tales from Mother Goose, and fables by Bourry to amuse the people)". This indicates that "Mother Goose" had long-since been popularized. 

Later in Jean Lorent's La Muse Histoirque, collected in 1650, he states comme un conte de la Mère Oye (...like a Mother Goose story), indicating, again, that these stories had been in circulation for quite some time.

Much like the International Nyan Cats, jokes, like YouTube videos, are remixed according to changing tastes and popular culture as well as the innate desire to participate or be part of a community. 

ORIGINAL NYAN CAT

MEXICAN NYAN CAT

(remix)

Old Mother Hubbard and Mother Goose belong to a community of archetypical country women who enjoy passing along wisdom to younger audience via tales, riddles, poetry and short stories. What these tales have in common is their underlining sense of community, of belonging, and how we as an evolving species continue to pass along information - for better or worse.

Jokes, much like folktales, short stories, and poems (in many cases jokes do take these forms), are expressions of community.

While some people complain about "Old Jokes", philosophically, they don't exist... (i.e., there is no such thing as a Joe Miller joke).  What we have are global concepts being remixed for newer audiences, in the form of poetry, nursery rhymes, or YouTube remixes...

In this sense, jokes belong to the world community, which is one of the reasons humor is best when shared.

If you enjoyed this post...

[If you enjoy reading this blog, please pass it along...Tweet about it, post it on your Facebook page, Digg it, + it, whatever... just SHARE it... you never know just who might need a laugh.]

*Depiction of: Boys