World's funniest joke revealed by scientists
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See the article in its original context from December 2001.
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London (AP) - After months of serious scientific study and much merriment, 100,000 people have finally voted on the world's funniest joke.
In an experiment named Laughlab, a joke about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson emerged a clear winner Thursday from a possible 10,000 entries.
The joke: "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go camping, and pitch their tent under the stars. During the night, Holmes wakes his companion and says: Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce.' Watson says: 'I see mil-
lions of stars, and even if a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.'
Holmes replies: Watson, you idiot. Somebody stole our tent."
The experiment, devised by Dr. Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, also looked at differences in humour among different genders and nationalities.
Big differences emerged between the jokes liked by men and women, with men favouring jokes involving aggression, putting women down and sexual innuendo.
Women preferred jokes
involving word play such as: "Aman walks into a bar with a piece of tarmac under his arm. He says to the bartender: 'Apint for me, and one for the road."
Laughlab, organized in conjunction with the British Association for the Advancement of Science, claimed it was the largest experiment of its kind ever conducted. Volunteers were asked to log on to an Internet site where they could rate jokes and add their own. Wiseman said he was astounded at the response.
Germans rated more jokes "very funny" than any other nationality.
Being easily amused is not the same as having a good sense of humour, however.
One of the favourite jokes in Germany was: "Why is television called a medium? Because it is neither rare nor well-done."
Other top jokes rated as supremely funny in different countries were as follows: France: "You're a high-priced lawyer! If I give you 500 dollars, will you answer two questions for me?" "Absolutely! What's the second question?"
Sweden: "A guy phones the local hospital and yells, 'you've gotta send help! My wife's in labour!" The nurse says, 'calm down. Is this her first child?" He replies, 'no! This is her husband!"
Canada: "What do you call a woman who can balance four pints of beer on her head? Beatrix."
