Comedy

[kandrathe]

The "correct" answer is never what you think. The humor is in showing the reader how ignorant he is because of how "obvious" the answer is. If the reader already knew the answers to these jokes, they would fail to amuse.

Many of these types of jokes (word play, or misdirection) are funny because the listener wouldn't know the right answer, or didn't think about it in the way the comic presents it. It's not an ignorance or buffoon thing. Example; Comic says, "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.", or "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." It's not disparaging anyone, the comic is giving a bit of pithy wisdom, and the listener, finds the turn of phrase amusing. In the second example is funny because it's chemistry humor, and that is what makes it funny.

Another example, "Success took me to her bosom like a maternal boa constrictor. " Is success a tragedy? We visualize the a poor individual being hugged extremely tightly, but what is funny is its use in describing success.

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die. " -- Mel Brooks

"Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it." -- Bill Cosby