Laugh Lab

If the Internet now is universal, jokes are the universal form of content. The British Association for the Advancement of Science created Laugh Lab, a Web site where jokes are posted and rated. The funniest to more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries who rated 10,000 was submitted by Geoff Anandappa:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. In the middle of the night Holmes awakes Watson. “Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce.” Watson says, “I see millions of stars, and if there are millions of stars, and if even 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.” Replies Holmes, “Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent!”

According to LaughLab, Germans more than any other nationals rated a higher percentage of jokes as funny or very funny, and men and women favour different types of jokes. Men’s favorites involve aggression, misogyny, or sexual innuendo. Women prefer jokes involving word play.