Which Countries Have The BEST, WORST, STRANGEST Sense Of Humor?

Self | December 24, 2002 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

Okay, it's Christmas Eve so let's set aside politics here for a bit and discuss something that has interested me for a long time. Which countries/cultures have the Best; the Worst; and the Strangest senses of humor.

I would classify Britain and the U.S.A. as having the Best senses of humor although they are a bit different. The Brits rely more on subtley and wordplay. American humor is more slap-on-the-back. Sometimes both types of humor combine wonderfully such as in the movie The Loved One written by a Brit (Evelyn Waugh) but set in an American funeral home with very American funny characters in it.

Germany is often thought of as having the worst sense of humor but in this category I think we have to award the French with this honor since those folks actually think that Jerry Lewis is some sort of comedic genius. However, there is a lot of truth that the Germans have a lousy sense of humor. I once went out with a German chick named Ernegard (sp?) and not only did she have NO SENSE of humor but she hated it when anybody else thought something was funny. I well remember the many times she would say to me: "Alvays mit der jokes! Alvays mit der shmiles! It's all vun bik joke to you isn't it?" Then Ernegard would get even angrier as I did an impression of her muttering these lines.

The STRANGEST senses of humor goes to the Japanese. I haven't any idea why they laugh at what they do. Once I was in a bar in L.A. filled with Japanese businessmen. I recieved a couple of half dollars at the counter as change so on an impulse I stuck both of them into my eyes like monocles and screamed: "BANZAI!!!" Immediately the Japanese were rolling on the floor in laughter. When they recovered I thought it was a freak accident and I repeated the same bit with the coins and the "BANZAI!" scream and again they rolled with laughter. They laughed so hard that one of them begged me not to do it anymore since he was suffocating from laughing so hard. And why they laughed so much at such a silly routine I don't know but this is why I said they have the strangest sense of humor.

One other thing I have observed is that it also depends on what part of the country some folks are from as to their senses of humor. One of the funniest people I know is from India and works at the food court at the Swap Shop. I often buy breakfast from him because I appreciate the humor. However, he is from (judging from his appearance) South India but the folks from North India seem to have no sense of humor. I recently told a funny story to these two guys from North India and they just glowered at me. Then I told them a really good dirty joke and they acted as if they I were insulting them by telling that joke.

I used to think Chinese folks were super-serious but perhaps the most humorous person I have ever met is my friend, Jessica, from Wuhan, China. The other day I told her my idea for a Chinese Restaurant with a Red Guards theme and not only did she laugh uproariously at the concept but she now wants to incorporate that concept as a business. So if you see a Red Guards Chinese Restaurant in South Florida in the near future, it had its roots in a joke I told.

[PJ-Comix]

What are your observations about humor among different nationalities? There are definitely vast differences in humor perception between different nationalities and cultures.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

What do you expect from a Commie Writer?

As to Ernegard, Mark Twain observed that a German joke is nothing to laugh at. (He also said that Wagner's music wasn't as bad it sounds.)

[Shermy]

I recieved a couple of half dollars at the counter as change so on an impulse I stuck both of them into my eyes like monocles and screamed: "BANZAI!!!"

We need a pic of you to fully fathom the Japanese response. ;)

Not a nation, but New Yorkers are the funniest.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I know you asked for a country, but I truly believe the folks from Indiana have a great sense of humor unless it was just my Dad, his family, and friends. Country? I know the Panamanians have a great sense of humor. They can turn a serious situation into total comedy.

[PJ-Comix]

As I said, I think the French have actually surpassed the Germans as having the world's WORST sense of humor. The other day I actually heard an interview on NPR with a French film critic who castigated Americans for making fun of Jerry Lewis. He then cited The Errand Boy as a movie that "proves" that Jerry Lewis is a great comedic genius. So this is why I now say that the French have the WORST sense of humor.

[MissBaby]

Chinese have the worst sense of humor. What they think is funny is...well...simply not funny.

[PJ-Comix]

I know you asked for a country, but I truly believe the folks from Indiana have a great sense of humor unless it was just my Dad, his family, and friends.

Which part of Indiana? North or South? Two very different places. I am guessing you mean South Indiana. North Indiana is more Mennonite types and they definitely don't have much sense of humor (except for my old Shipshewana pal, Dan the Amishman who was quite funny).

[IamHD]

"The STRANGEST senses of humor goes to the Japanese. I haven't any idea why they laugh at what they do. Once I was in a bar in L.A. filled with Japanese businessmen. I recieved a couple of half dollars at the counter as change so on an impulse I stuck both of them into my eyes like monocles and screamed: "BANZAI!!!" Immediately the Japanese were rolling on the floor in laughter."

LOL! What a dork. (In a good way, too.) I would have laughed, too. :)

[PJ-Comix]

Chinese have the worst sense of humor. What they think is funny is...well...simply not funny.

Maybe it depends on what part of China you mean? My friend Jessica from Wuhan has about the best sense of humor of anybody I ever knew. But when I mentioned that Red Guards Theme Chinese restaurant to another Chinese person, he just glowered at me angrily.

[struwwelpeter]

Russian humor:

---

Muzhchina zaplatit dva rublya za rublevuyu veshch', kotoraya emu nuzhna. Zhenshchina zaplatit odin rubl' za dvukhrublevuyu veshch' kotoraya ey ne nuzhna.

A man pays 2 rubels for a 1-rubel item which he needs. A woman pays 1 rubel for a 2-rubel item which she doesn't.

Zhenshchina bespokoitsya o svoem budushchem do tekh por, poka u nee net muzha. Muzhchina nikogda ne bespokoitsya o svoem budushchem do tekh por poka u nego net zheny.

A woman worries about her future until she has a husband. A man doesn't worry about his future until he has a wife.

Dlya togo chtoby nayti schast'e s muzhchinoy, nuzhno sil'no ego ponimat' i nemnozhko lyubit'. Dlya togo chtoby nayti schast'e s zhenshchinoy, nuzhno sil'no ee lyubit' i dazhe ne pytat'sya ponyat'.

In order to be happy with a man, you must understand him completely and love him a little. In order to be happy with a woman, you must love her completely and not even try to understand her.

Za zhcheninoy ostaetsya poslednne slovo v lyubom spore. Vsyakoe slovo, skazannoe muzhchinoy posle ehtogo, yavlyaetsya nachalom novogo spora.

Women have the last word in any argument. Any word that a man says after that is the declaration of a new argument.

Chto nuzhno, chtoby prozvesti vpechatlenie na zhenshchinu: govorite ey komplimenty, uvazhayte ee, laskayte ee, obnimayte ee, zashchishchayte ee, trat'te na nee den'gi, poyte ee vinom i kormite v restoranakh, pokupayte ey to chto ona khochet, slushayte ee, ostavaytes' s ney, podderzhivayte ee, idite radi nee na kray sveta.

Kak prozvesti vpechatlenie na muzhchinu: razden'tes' i prigotov'te pozhrat'.

How to make an impression on a woman: Compliment her, honor her, caress her, hug her, protect her, spend money on her, pour her wine & feed her in restaurants, buy her whatever she wants, listen to her, remain with her, support her, go to the ends of the earth for her.

How to make an impression on a man: Get undressed and go cook something to eat.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Thank you for your reply...the Terre Haute area.

[struggle]

Japanese humor, because of a lack of ambiguous vocabulary, is based heavily on slapstick stupidity and wordplay. I teach the mother and sister of a nearly famous manzai group "Savanna," and opposed to most of the manzai (abbott and costello type humor), they are pretty good. Their humor consists mostly of self deprication, outbursts, and cultural reference callbacks, kind of like the old Conan O'Brian/Andy Richter duo. The fact of the matter is though, most japanese humor is viewed by young women. Japanese drunk businessmen laugh at ANYTHING. My father in law (japanese) and i do a good deal of competition in dajare (word puns) and we enjoy it very much. I love the japanese sense of humor because it is easy to appease and if you understand japanese well enough you can get chicks like crazy (that time of my life is over now).

[PJ-Comix]

NOt everything I did with the Japanese was so dorkish. Sometimes it was sly humor. Once I was walking by Lawry's Prime Rib Restaurant in L.A. which Japanese love because it serves the best prime ribs in L.A.. Anyway, there was a group of confused looking Japanese businessmen standing out front holding aliminum bags. One of them said to me:

"Whaffo dokkie baks?" I couldn't figure out what he was asking and asked him to repeat which he did:

"Whaffo dokkie baks?"

Again I couldn't figure out the question until he repeated it a third time when it dawned on me he was asking me what the doggie bags they gave them were for. I thought quickly and replied with a hint of Japanese accent:

"Ah so! Ancient American custom. They give you dokkie baks and then you give to first American you see."

They all politely honored this "ancient American custom" and handed me all their doggie bags. I immediately went home and had me an incredible dinner with enough left over for the next day. Oh, and I made sure to politely bow to them when they handed over the "dokkie baks."

[Restorer]

It's always seemed to me that the Brits have two very distinct and unrelated styles of humor.

The most obvious exemplars of the two styles are Noel Coward and Benny Hill. Shakespeare, of course, used both, sometimes simultaneously.

[RepoGirl]

This might get me flamed, but I'd like to give a nod to Canada re: sense of humor. As a Kids in the Hall and SCTV fan, I think a lot of really good stuff has come from the great white socialist north, eh.

[PJ-Comix]

Japanese drunk businessmen laugh at ANYTHING.

Well, that explains them laughing at my coins in eyeballs Banzai bit. Oh, and I can also get a good laugh out of them by doing an impression of a karate expert committing hari-kiri. It's absolutely stupid but it never fails to cause them to go into convulsions.

and if you understand japanese well enough you can get chicks like crazy (that time of my life is over now).

Hmmmm.... Do you mind being more specific? Will that coins in eyeballs Banzai bit work with them?

[PJ-Comix]

As a Kids in the Hall and SCTV fan...

SCTV was absolutely the BEST TV comedy show....EVER! And the tragedy of that show was that NBC bought that show only to PURPOSELY kill it. They were scared it would beat Saturday Night Live in the ratings so they picked up SCTV and then broadcast it about 2 A.M. where they knew it couldn't get many viewers. I'm still pissed off about that incident.

[mlmr]

Once I was in a bar in L.A. filled with Japanese businessmen. I recieved a couple of half dollars at the counter as change so on an impulse I stuck both of them into my eyes like monocles and screamed: "BANZAI!!!" Immediately the Japanese were rolling on the floor in laughter.....And why they laughed so much at such a silly routine I don't know but this is why I said they have the strangest sense of humor.


PJ... YOU are running around with half dollars stuck in your eyes yelling BANSAI and you think THEY have as strange sense of humor...LOL.

[mlmr]

"Ah so! Ancient American custom. They give you dokkie baks and then you give to first American you see."



This is too funny, I cccccaantttt stoopp laughing...dokkie baks!!!!!! Merry Christmas PJ!

[PJ-Comix]

The most obvious exemplars of the two styles are Noel Coward and Benny Hill.

Benny Hill was more bawdy type humor. I've listened on the radio to British music hall comedy but to tell you the truth I just couldn't understand it. One of the funniest British movies I ever saw was supposedly based on a true incident. Apparently there was once a "domination" sex club for upper class old Brits. It was a place where rich old men would go to pay women to hit them and whip them. Some of these gentlemen were actually members of Parliament. Anyway, the women needed to remodel their club but couldn't afford to do it because of the high labor costs. Then one of them got the bright idea to make their old clients do the remodeling and the next thing the women were whipping and beating the men (who were paying the women) to plaster, tile, and repaint their club. Anyway, I heard this was based on a true story. Oh, and the men loved this new form of "torture."