"Which word is funnier: porridge or oatmeal?" This is the question one of us recently posed to the other.* Clearly, the notion was insane. Surely finding something funny requires context — a ...

They sure are silly to say. When you think about it, some words in the English language can sound pretty interesting. And when we say “interesting” we really mean weird and wacky. But hey, that’s what ...

Scientists and philosophers have long sought to understand humor. Charles Darwin likened it to a "tickling of the mind," and Thomas Hobbes described it as a feeling of "sudden glory." Theories about ...

Study author Chris Westbury reads from a treasury of Dr. Seuss books. Seuss was famous for using made-up words for humor. University of Alberta/Video screenshot That wiggly jiggly poodle just ...

George W. Bush was not known for his cunning intellect, but he did have a good sense of humor. In a commencement address at Southern Methodist University, he famously told the graduates, “For those of ...

Have you ever had a word all of a sudden lose its normal, expected associations and then reveal itself to you, in all its inherent weirdness? You can get there by repeating a word over and over until ...

According to the dictionary, humor is defined as a “condition of the mind, mental state, disposition, temperament or feeling.” In other words, humor can be good or bad; however, there is no doubt that ...

In writing about a topic like humor, which everyone experiences but few can define, it is tempting to turn to the dictionary. It would be wise to resist that temptation. The definitions are exercises ...

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... I have a rule when listening to the usually hilarious 103.1-FM comedy radio station that plays stand-up routines from some of the nation’s best comedians.

"Which word is funnier: porridge or oatmeal?" This is the question one of us recently posed to the other.* Clearly, the notion was insane. Surely finding something funny requires context — a ...