April Fools’ Day Is Cancelled* — The Humor Edition

17 min readMar 20, 2022

Edition 13, Vol 2, The Grey Swan Guild News Wrap — April 1, 2022

This week’s editors are Doyle Buehler and Rob Tyrie, with submissions from the deep thinkers of the Grey Swan Guild, a virtual think tank that does stuff like this (but much, much better than just humor).

I’m certainly, uncertain about playing the banjo. “Please take one and carry on”. If only life presented itself like this. Simple options, not a big choice to make. No harm done, right? Well, we know that life doesn’t happen like that, so we invented humor (or is it humour?) to make us burn more energy from laughing too hard by the fire pit, but it also made us a threat for being dinner, from predators listening in to the loud laughs (yes, it’s true).

And then, sometimes we just want to call it all off. Life’s bitter disappointments don’t need any cajoling for extra laughs, right? If there is ever a reason for an anti-humour, today is that day. Except you would be wrong, as every day there is something worth laughing about, maybe not at yourself, but definitely at others. It’s how we evolved as humans to keep us moving forward out of the caves, and like a pie-to-the-face-of-the-unexpected-recipient-who-is-clueless, we actually can enjoy it, if even for a second. That doesn’t make you evil either, just human.

Surely life is worth a laugh every now and then, and celebrated in a special day that we can try to fool ourselves, other fools, and anyone else that might get a good laugh?

*So no, we’re not cancelling April Fools’ day. In fact, we think every day should be April Fools’ Day. Let’s change the name though, so we can all live a better, brighter, laughable future.

“I believe that humour is a lens to the truth, especially when speaking truth to power… it may sting, but it is antibacterial, antiviral and helps us sustain the unendurable in a very human way. Homo-Resilianus is post-Sapiens.” — Rob Tyrie

We might change the name of the “Wrap” to “The Scroll”… but I’ll tell you more about that in a bit. Keep scrolling to find out more…

Maybe if they move the Academy Awards to April Fools’ Day next year, we wouldn’t get offended by a joke? Or should we be offended by the slap? One thing is certain, you can rate your slapping skills here, but just for fun of course.

Take your turn here https://www.slapchris.com/, and you can enjoy slapping both, so not taking sides, of course.

Well played, well played.

Did you know that Laughs go waaaay back. One of the earliest historical figures to be firmly associated with humor and laughter was the Greek philosopher Democritus. Known as the “laughing philosopher” he not only had a reputation for his mirthful disposition but perhaps also for his tendency to “[laugh] at the stupidity of his fellow citizens”. He’s on a roll…

We’ve evolved with humour as part of our ancestry and our growing mind. Given that even a simple joke can utilize language skills, theory-of-mind, symbolism, abstract thinking, and social perception, humor may arguably be humankind’s most complex cognitive attribute. Despite its complexity, humor is also paradoxically reflexive — people typically laugh without consciously appreciating all the causal factors. Did Plato ever say, “Wait, I don’t get it?”

This Wrap is like the comedy fest of 2022, only better, better looking and much better funnier.

And so, let’s get into The Wrap (or “The Scroll”, for this special edition), of the Good, Bad and Ugly, or re-phrased for today — The Funny, The Not So Funny, and, The “Wash Your Mouth With Soap” (Ugly)… please be on the look-out for a few other random categories to capture the moment of the funny-bone and the Doctorate of Comedy-ology.

But before that, let’s just all agree that GenX are indeed the funniest Generation. Period.

Ok, let’s get started…

Oh wait. I think I’m going to place a photo of me in all of the photocopiers at Staples/OfficeWorks. Let’s create a photo copier club!

So here’s to all the memes and funny bits we get to see everyday, because of the internets…

Let’s get into it… for real. Let’s dive in to the Philosophy of Phunny (see what we did there?)…

Funny [Good]

Have you ever wondered why Uranus is blue? Uranus, 1.8 billion miles from earth, has a distinct blue glow to our eyes. It seems the reason is methane, based on analysis from the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The Reason Uranus Has A Blue Glow (slashgear.com) . [Editors note: ok, this was actually our ‘real’ headline from The Wrap a few weeks ago, but even funnier today]
It’s only funny when you tickle my feet. Foot-Tickling robots. You read that right. All in the name of research… Fun funny and certainly on the way to an Ignoble prize. We are sure a Netflix Documentary would sell well if just to see the experimental subjects’ mirth. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2312816-watch-a-foot-tickling-machine-discover-the-most-ticklish-spot-on-feet/
Why SO Serious? Let’s get serious on the low-down on emojis. Emojis and the performance of humour in electronic-mediated everyday conversation: a study of a corpus of WhatsApp chats. http://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/192994/sampietro_2021_emo.pdf?sequence=1
Using Twitter to Understand Humor as Stress Relief during the COVID-19 Outbreak https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1432&context=hcoltheses
You’ve got to laugh: why a sense of humour helps in dark times https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/oct/11/you-have-got-to-laugh-why-a-sense-of-humour-helps-in-dark-times

Are You Sure This ISN’T A Joke? (The Grey Zone)

IF THIS WERE PUBLISHED ON APRIL 1ST, who would believe it’s not a joke. From the vacuum cleaner sales people’s convincing men everywhere to overspend on well lit crumb eaters we give you the face gear suitable to scare robot dogs in Pompeii. Wait. What?The Verge: Dyson’s bizarre new headphones have a built-in air purifier.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/30/23000577/dyson-zone-noise-cancellation-headphones-built-in-air-purifier
How to be funny-er https://www.fastcompany.com/3028499/this-is-why-youre-not-funny-a-professors-scientific-approach-to-dissecting-humor
Did you know that you can get a PhD in Humourus Studius? Philosophy of Humor https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/
How soon can you tell a joke after a tragedy? Humour helps us cope with loss, crisis and tragedy. It;’s the reason for the Irish wake. But how soon is too soon, or tone deaf. Apparently its’s not 15 or 99 days, it’s 36 days to not quiet a room https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/study-jokes-can-indeed-be-too-soon/282455/

in 1348, the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio wrote the Decameron, a collection of often funny tales told by storytellers isolating from the plague Source: The Conversation

Not So Funny [Good/Bad]

Laughter is not for the history books https://theconversation.com/the-mystery-of-what-makes-a-joke-funny-but-only-to-some-people-125769
Why do we think something is funny when it’s offensive https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-point-of-offensive-humour-76889
COVID-19 and the Psychology of Dark Humor https://www.popneuro.com/neuromarketing-blog/can-covid-19-be-funny-psychology-of-coronavirus-dark-humor

[Editor notes: Another doozy from a previous Wrap. These guys were good! From SPACE!]

Wash Your Mouth With Soap [Ugly]

We often seem to make it up as we go. Was he making a joke or a point? A Nebraska state lawmaker apologized on Monday after he publicly cited a persistent but debunked rumor alleging that schools are placing litter boxes in school bathrooms to accommodate children who self-identify as cats. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/29/nebraska-lawmaker-litter-boxes-claim-debunked
Fear of COVID-19, Mindfulness, Humor, and Hopelessness: A Multiple Mediation Analysis https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00419-5
Are you on the menu? We could have died and been eaten if someone in your tribe laughed too hard and predators heard them. “It has been forwarded that there are certain evolutionary costs to humor and laughter — disadvantages that prompt the expectation of countervailing evolutionary advantages. Appreciable physiological energy is spent during vigorous laughter (McGhee, 1983). Almost every culture spends appreciable time communicating in a humorous context. Laughter is noisy and could even attract the attention of predators (Weisfeld, 1993).” https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/147470490600400129

The oldest joke recorded from Sumerian times — of course, a fart joke “What has never happened since time immemorial? A young wife has not farted on her husband’s lap.” https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220323-the-jokes-that-have-made-people-laugh-for-thousands-of-years

So Bad They Are Good?

Dad Jokes are the bomb https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/the-worst-dad-jokes-ever-and-proof-they-are-funny/UN45QULGI4PANE5HYZPKSL247E/
When they say ‘Dad’ jokes, do they really mean BAD jokes? https://inews.co.uk/light-relief/jokes/best-bad-jokes-137688
The Dark Psychology of Being a Good Comedian. New research shows that the best humor is both a little bit wrong and a little bit right. Is there something about comedians that makes them better at subversion? https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/the-dark-psychology-of-being-a-good-comedian/284104/

Co0medians score higher than normal on: The “Unusual Experiences” scale measures things like magical or paranormal beliefs. “Cognitive Disorganization” looks at distractibility and focus. “Introvertive Anhedonia” scores the ability to feel social pleasure or intimacy. And “Impulsive Non-conformity” evaluates a tendency toward impulsive or even antisocial behavior. Source: University of Oxford

The Tapestry

Our wandering hills are alive with the sound of humour…

Best “If Gordon Ramsey & Jamie Oliver Had a Baby” Snack Recipe

Best Contest Ever — or how to get even with your Ex [Editors note: insert their phone number, and they will never thank you enough]

Best Dad Jokes

The Funniest Joke Ever Told on a Talk Show

And Conan O’Brien’s breakdown of the joke after Norm Macdonald’s death and the fact that it was unplanned and originally a 20 second joke turned into a 7 minute segment.

Other Amazing, Laughable Bits

20 TV And Movie Scenes That Were Supposed To Be Funny, But Turned Out To Be Really, Really Sad https://www.buzzfeed.com/shelbyheinrich/sad-funny-movie-tv-scenes

Ok, that wasn’t that funny.

The 20 Funniest Movies of All Time https://wealthygorilla.com/funniest-movies-all-time/

Note: If you don’t find these as funny as the author found, go back and check out the article on what makes stuff funny. Read it and (literally) weep.

Anchorman finished in third, but what finished in 1st and 2nd?

Will we ever scroll out of this place?

And now it’s time for some famous people saying some funny things.

How Many Links Does it Take to Fool a Fool? I’ll tell you in a bit, but first some URLs…

Sometimes, things are funnier when you don’t expect them https://brightside.me/wonder-films/the-10-funniest-movie-scenes-that-were-totally-unplanned-373210/

Funniest moments in Movie History https://purpleclover.littlethings.com/entertainment/6288-12-funniest-movie-moments-all-time/item/trainwreck-dance-knicks

Want a Degree in Memes & Online Humour https://knowyourmeme.com/

Top 100 Best Memes of all-time https://www.thrillist.com.au/entertainment/nation/best-memes-of-all-time

How to be Funny-er by creating your own memes https://www.wired.com/story/6-easy-ways-make-memes/

Top 10 Top April Fools’ Pranks of All Time https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/01/us/best-april-fools-day-pranks-trnd/index.html

Want to make your own best simple prank for 2022? https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-april-fools-pranks/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

The “Race for the Cup”

We seriously couldn’t stop laughing…Part 22..

And why not, it makes us feel better. In writing this edition, the content just literally kept on coming, like a squeeze tube of cheese (ok, not really). It was a festival of funny, a concert of creativity, a barrel of monkeys…

We could easily have put two versions together, so if you’re really interested in the subject like we were, here are some great additional points to take off with… and maybe we will look into that PhD in Humour-ology 😂

It’s like the sequel that never deserved a sequel, like Predator and Predator 2, 3, 4… or Rocky 1–9?

The best April Fool’s days ever: https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/best-april-fool-pranks/

The changing styles of humour by decade

Commentary: https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/humour-lockdown-laughter/story-9FEFQDBge3NmMSSvaSVJ6J.html

TV Shows: 1st Ted Lasso, 2nd Schitt’s Creek, #3 Pen15

Films: and 1st Palm Springs, 2nd Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, 3rd I Want You Back

Commentary: https://www.gq.com/story/the-evolution-of-comedy-in-2010s

TV Shows: 1st- Louis 2nd — Brooklyn Nine-Nine 3rd — Veep https://www.imdb.com/list/ls066821130/?sort=user_rating,desc&st_dt=&mode=detail&page=1

Films: 1st Deadpool, 2nd 21 Jump Street, 3rd — Grand Budapest Hotel https://www.imdb.com/poll/Ped65Hh20L0/results

Comedians: Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, Andy Samberg, Kristen Wiig ,Seth Rigen, Melissa Mccarthy, John Oliver, Key & Peele

Commentary: https://lwlies.com/articles/frat-pack-comedy-2007-blades-of-glory-hot-rod/

TV Shows 1st The Office 2nd — Curb Your Enthusiasm, 3rd — Parks & Recreation

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls079589545/?sort=user_rating,desc&st_dt=&mode=detail&page=1

Films: 1st — The Hangover, 2nd — Shaun of the Dead, 3rd — Bruce Almighty https://www.imdb.com/poll/PtLFhgDVgX4/results

Comedians: Louis C.K., Tina fey, Dave Chappelle, Sarah Silverman, Steve Carrell, Will Farrell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jon Stewart and Ricky Gervais

Commentary: https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/9/12/20863235/this-is-comedy-in-the-90s

TV Shows 1st Friends, 2nd — Seinfeld, 3rd — The Simpsons https://lwlies.com/articles/frat-pack-comedy-2007-blades-of-glory-hot-rod/

Films: 1st — Dumb & Dumber, 2nd — There’s Something About Mary, 3rd — Home Alone https://www.imdb.com/poll/7oH_E8qQlhY/results?ref_=po_sr

Comedians: Bill Hicks, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Murray, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and Ellen DeGeneres

Commentary: https://www.ctvnews.ca/with-humour-and-angst-hughes-films-defined-80s-1.423404

TV Shows: 1st Golden Girls, 2nd — Cheers, and 3rd — Night Court https://www.imdb.com/list/ls000683212/?sort=user_rating,desc&st_dt=&mode=detail&page=1

Films: 1st — Airplane, 2nd — Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 3rd — The Meaning of Life https://www.imdb.com/poll/jCDopoxTYUQ/results?ref_=po_sr

Comedians: Robin Williams, David Letterman, Roseanne Barr, Eddie Murphy and Steven Wright.

TV Shows: 1st — MASH, 2nd — Al in The Family, 3rd — Mary Tyler Moore Show https://www.imdb.com/list/ls057439623/?sort=user_rating,desc&st_dt=&mode=detail&page=1

Film: 1st — Monty Python and The Holy Grail, 2nd — The Life of Brian, 3rd — Blazing Saddles https://www.imdb.com/poll/jORhTEqkzzk/results?ref_=po_sr

Comedians: George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Rodney Dangerfield, John Belushi and Steve Martin.

Commentary: https://gizmodo.com/these-one-liners-from-the-1960s-are-a-corny-time-capsul-1782506505

TV Shows: 1st — Dick Van Dyke Show, 2nd — Andy Griffith Show, and 3rd — Get Smart

Films: 1st — It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World, 2nd — The Pink Panther, 3rd — The Odd Couple

https://www.imdb.com/poll/kXS5m1adzJw/results?ref_=po_sr

Comedians: Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, Woody Allen, Jerry Lewis and Redd Foxx.

Commentary: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9781315545479-4/like-warm-apple-pie%E2%80%A6-bill-osgerby

TV Shows — 1st — The Honeymooners, 2nd — Jack Benny, 3rd — I Love Lucy

Films: 1st — Some Like it Hot, 2nd — Singin’ in the Rain, 3rd — Harvey https://www.imdb.com/poll/yMQpMKZI-Ag/results?ref_=po_sr

Commentary: https://acclaimhealth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Read-and-Discuss-The-Funny-40s.pdf

TV Shows : 1st -Ed Sullivan, 2nd — The Three Stooges, 3rd — Candid Camera

Films: 1st — To Be or Not to Be, 2nd — Arsenic & Old Race and 3rd — His Girl Friday https://www.ranker.com/list/best-40s-comedy-movies/ranker-film

Commentary: https://www.passbooksonline.com/book/9781629336275

Films: 1st — Topper, 2nd — Gold Diggers of 1933, 3rd — Sons of the Desert https://www.ranker.com/list/best-30s-comedy-movies/ranker-film

Comedy 1920–2010 https://cleancomedians.com/the-history-of-comedy-1920-to-2020/

How humour has changed https://bestlifeonline.com/the-funniest-joke-from-every-decade-since-1900/

Jokes over 100 years https://www.rd.com/list/funniest-jokes-of-all-time/

Other Humor Commentary:

Wokeness? Movies from 2000s that aren’t funny anymore:

https://www.thethings.com/2000s-comedies-that-arent-funny-anymore-or-worth-watching/

Want to measure the laughter?

For all the “accounting” nerds, here’s your Statistical laughs Per Minute: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbender/2012/09/21/top-10-funniest-movies-ever-as-measured-in-laughs-per-minute/?sh=383cc94a3c40

1. Airplane! — 3 laughs/minute

2. The Hangover — 2.4 laughs/minute

3. Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! — 2.3 laughs/minute

4. Superbad — 1.9 laughs/minute

5. Borat — 1.7 laughs/minute

6. Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy — 1.6 laughs/minute

7. American Pie — 1.5 laughs/minute

8. Bridesmaids — 1.4 laughs/minute

9. Shaun of the Dead — 1.3 laughs/minute

10. Life of Brian — 1.2 laughs/minute

Regional Humour Differences

Some fundamental differences across cultures:

https://leap.london/culture-shocks-humour-across-cultures/

— Mark Twain — Twain remained conscious of his humor’s relationship with European counterparts, commenting in 1897 that, “The humorous story is American, the comic story is English, the witty story is French. The humorous story depends for its effect upon the manner of the telling; the comic story and the witty story upon the matter.”

Funny Haha or Peculiar

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/wordhistories.net/2018/05/02/funny-haha-funny-peculiar/amp/

Forty-Five Types of Humour

— from low-brow humor to high-brow humor, categories of humour — https://humornama.com/featured/education/types-of-humor/

Humour — The Last Defence against Cancel Culture

File under Dave Chappelle, Michael Richards, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/entertainment/dave-chappelle-comedians-cancel-culture.amp

Physiologically what are humour’s benefits

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/getting-serious-about-funny-psychologists-see-humor-as-a-character-strength-61552

Gender and Humour

Is an Ideal Sense of Humor Gendered? A Cross-National Study

To explore lay conceptions of characteristics of an ideal sense of humor as embodied in a known individual, our study…

www.frontiersin.org

The best Sports April Joke Ever — Sidd Finch

www.si.com/.amp/sports-illustrated/2020/04/01/sidd-finch-april-fools-article-george-plimpton-lane-stewart-joe-berton

In Memory of Great ‘Humourists’

Thanks for the fun memories of Betty White & Bob Saget. Stellar Humourists, that kept the world laughing.

May all their jokes be laughed at (which honestly isn’t very hard).

Is This Really The End?

Hope you all had at least one laugh in your reading of The Wrap. We had a lot of fun creating it, and yes, we laughed a lot along the way, too. And cried.

It’s ok to laugh and have some fun, especially with what is going on all around us. Some may say you’re crazy (and they may be right lol), but go ahead and laugh out loud (just don’t say ‘L.O.L.’ out loud), because it all is a little bit crazy. And yet, all 100% human.

So go ahead, make that meme, tell that Dad joke to get a bigger ‘groan’, plan next Year’s April Fools’ day…and laugh a little more today, and every day.

Join us next week, where we are certain to get a lot more serious and cerebral!

Subscribe to our Medium Channel now so you will always be the first to know how to be smrt (did you know that you’re spelling errors annoys a lot of people?), cook great things (with your intellect), and know great stuff (about many great things!). And, don’t forget to save this story and give us a couple of claps here on Medium (rare).

Speaking of rare, following closely, and recipes…

Here’s What We’re Doing When We’re Not Writing About Funny Business…

Guild Activities — Feature City

Los Angeles is April’s feature City of the month.

GSG Feature Month — Los Angeles

Join in the discussion Wednesday, April 27th 12pm PT

https://bit.ly/gsglosangeles

Four Upcoming Guild-building, brain-expanding Events

1. Belief & Dogma

GSG Craft #19 — Belief & Dogma (Mastermind on Zoom) Thursday April 14th 3pm ET

Looking for 8 people to get passionate here

2. Bias & Stereotyping

GSG Craft #21 — Bias & Stereotyping (on Clubhouse)

Friday, April 15th 1pm ET

Pre-register: https://bit.ly/gsgcraft21bias

3. Biomimicry & Biophilic Design

GSG Craft #22 — Biomimicry & Biophilic Design (on LinkedIn Live)

Friday, April 8th 12pm ET

Pre-register: https://bit.ly/gsgcraftlibiomimicry

4. Behavior & Attitude

GSG Craft #20 — Behavior & Attitude (on Twitter Spaces)

Tuesday, April 12th 12pm ET

Pre-register: https://bit.ly/gsgcraft19behavior

Our Guild Spring Weathervane — The Next 1000 Days

Stay tuned for details!

Why Are you STILL Here? Waiting for the Last Laugh? The Last Emoji? 😂

You did good, you really did, for making it this far…

Why not join us on Sunday, April 3rd at 8am (PST) 11am (EST) / 4pm BST We’d love to hear your thoughts on this wrap, so why not join us on Clubhouse this Sunday the 3rd of April 2022 at 8 am PST | 11 am EST | 4 pm BST | 5 pm SAST to make sense of it all.

Have your say, and engage with your favourite Grey Swan Guild Wrap Editors:

Doyle Buehler, Sylvia Gallusser, Sean Moffitt, Agustín Borrazás, Rob Tyrie, Louise Mowbray, Ben Thurman, Antonia Nicols, Esmee Wilcox, Geeta Dhir, Gina Clifford, Su McVey with Clubhouse Captains Howard Fields, Scott Phares, and Lindsay Fraser.

To Make Sense of the World’s Biggest Challenges and Next Grey Swans — curating and creating knowledge through observation, sensemaking, critical thinking, informed futurism, strategic foresight and analysis. www.greyswanguild.org

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