“Why are farts funny?”
“Why are farts funny?”
Most of my life has been spent researching this phenomenon and reporting the various circumstances for its embellishment. My nickname has long stuck with me and I am sure over the years it has set off a few people . . . some with disgust (from the smell) others with laughter (from the sounds) leaving some in pure astonishment (jumping up and cutting one while in the air).
Well, I’ve thought about this and I think I know why farts are funny. I do believe it’s the surprise factor. In comedy, a joke is funny because the punch line is unexpected. A fart is like a smelly little punch line.
This theory is confirmed by the fact that the funniest farts are the ones that are the least expected. For example, a fart is funnier if it comes from someone who doesn’t usually fart or when the fart sneaks up on you in an inappropriate location (Nordstrom’s, church, job interview, etc.). Another that I have discovered as I gotten older (seems to be common for the senior crowd) is what I call the ‘walking farts’. It is one of those that you don’t really think about or know it is coming until it just spurts out in little short ‘toot’ blasts. You have probably heard them around your grandparents (though the dog was blamed for them) as they walked to the dinner table at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with all of the family over.
Even if it’s your own fart and you know the fart is coming or if your dear friend or spouse announces an impending fart, the element of surprise is still there. How will the fart sound? How will the fart smell? Will everyone gag? Will I be so bold to hold the covers over someone’s head? Will people eventually divorce over this smelly situation or continue to live lives of quiet desperation?
In summary . . . yes, farts are funny.
This theory is confirmed by the fact that the funniest farts are the ones that are the least expected. For example, a fart is funnier if it comes from someone who doesn’t usually fart or when the fart sneaks up on you in an inappropriate location (Nordstrom’s, church, job interview, etc.). Another that I have discovered as I gotten older (seems to be common for the senior crowd) is what I call the ‘walking farts’. It is one of those that you don’t really think about or know it is coming until it just spurts out in little short ‘toot’ blasts. You have probably heard them around your grandparents (though the dog was blamed for them) as they walked to the dinner table at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with all of the family over.
Even if it’s your own fart and you know the fart is coming or if your dear friend or spouse announces an impending fart, the element of surprise is still there. How will the fart sound? How will the fart smell? Will everyone gag? Will I be so bold to hold the covers over someone’s head? Will people eventually divorce over this smelly situation or continue to live lives of quiet desperation?
In summary . . . yes, farts are funny.
No big surprise there.
Just my perspective anyway!
Ice
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