  Comedy
This week: Hitting the Headlines Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Now What?  
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I received a 'forward' which contained funny headlines.
After Dad and I stopped chuckling, I started to think ...
what was so funny about them?
Here's what I came up with. |
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Dear Reader,
Did you know that bugs flying around with wings are flying bugs?
I didn't know that, so I was really grateful for the newspaper headline that told me so.
Yes, yes, it's a real newspaper headline, and it says just that:
Bugs flying around with wings are flying bugs.
Did you chuckle? I hope so. I certainly did.
Then I started wondering why it was so funny. Here are the reasons I came up with:
1. It's obvious. It's something all of us know. So having it told to us in a headline is funny.
2. When I read it out to my Dad, I found myself emphasizing the word 'flying' since I knew it was going to be repeated. So I think that's another reason why it's funny is that -- the repetition of the same word, which makes what was already obvious even more obvious.
Here is another one:
Statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25.
Well, I'm glad about that, aren't you? The less 25 year old teenage parents we have, the better it is for all concerned.
Why is this funny? Is it because it's obvious that a 25 year old isn't a teenager any more, so doesn't fall within the scope of these statistics, anyway? Is it because the one who wrote the headline doesn't seem to know that a 25 year old isn't a teenager? Or is it because of the word 'significantly', which somehow implies that just sometimes, teen pregnancy doesn't, in fact, drop off after age 25? A combination of these?
Try this one:
Parents keep kids home to protest school closure.
Nice to see such action on the part of concerned citizens, huh? 
Again -- the 'obviously' factor comes in. The text gave the 'real' picture: it went on to say that the parents were protesting a proposed move to close the school, the school wasn't closed at the time of writing the headline. So -- it was an incomplete version that made this funny. Incomplete, but kind of true, anyway ...
How about:
Marijuana issue sent to a joint committee.
Well, that's a pun plain and simple. The word 'joint' has two meanings, both of which apply here. But also, for me, there's somehow a feeling that it wasn't a deliberate pun, which makes it funnier.
I leave you with one more:
Bridges help people cross rivers.
Uh. No comments.
Thanks for listening!
 |
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Thanks for the responses to "Comedy Newsletter (May 28, 2014)"
Don't you just love Wodehouse?! I think Jeeves may have been the first snarker (snarkee?). This is always the first newsletter I read, sometimes it's the only rotflmao moment I get all day. Thank you very much. Chriswriter 
Hi Sonali! I love your "squelch" definition and loved all the quotes from Wodehouse, especially the first when he mentions bears eating his critic.  I bet a LOT of authors wish the same thing on their critics. ~ Laura LJPC - the tortoise
Hi Sonali! A great newsletter with very funny quotes. The thing about Wodehouse's squelches is that they are witty. That's what makes me laugh, anyway. blunderbuss |
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Comedy: October 15, 2014 Issue [#6597]
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