Inside Jokes: Using Humor To Reverse Engineer The Mind

E.B. White famously said, “Analyzing humor is a bit like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.”

We’ll just have to disagree! The study of why we laugh is among the most fascinating of endeavors.  Why in the world does the sight of someone getting a pie in the face make people laugh? How come some people love puns and others loathe them? What’s the deal with the Three Stooges?

Some people believe that there are complex evolutionary forces at work shaping our sense of humor. Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind is one of the newest books on the topic of why we laugh.

Suture Self

A recent examination of the JNJ Library reminded us of one our favorite cartoon collections:Suture Self: A Book of Medical Cartoons by New Yorker Cartoonist

Leo Cullum created these cartoons while battling colon cancer, with some gentle (and not so gentle!) jabs at the medical industry.This is a second opinion- I thought you had something else! one caption reads. Cullum’s cartoons are good for an instant (if sometimes wry!) smile.

Improv Exercises from Izzy Gesell

The directions for The Alphabet Game Improv exercises come courtesy of Izzy Gesell. They’re written for the leader of a small group of people – you can enjoy improv with as few as two people and as you’ll see, in the space of a few minutes.

This makes improv a great tool for nurses who have lots to do and not a lot of time to do it — sound like anyone you know?
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Hate Our Humor? Love Our Jokes?

Okay, JNJ readers — we’ve got a question for you.  In one day, 50% of our mail was telling us our jokes were great.  50% were telling us our humor was horrible.  What we want to know is what you think is funny – what makes you laugh out loud?

Send your jokes, funny stories, or ideas about how we could make the magazine better to Cindy@journalofnursingjocularity.com The more the merrier — let’s give every nurse something to laugh about!

The Laugh Connection

Visit The Laugh Connection to learn about laughter programs, the benefits of laughter, and the role of laughter classes!