The Humor Code: What Makes Jokes Funny? - Peter McGraw

Comedy can be a fickle art. Jokes that have people loudly laughing in one context could offend another audiences's sensibilities. In order to better understand the question of "What makes a joke funny?" Peter McGraw spent years understanding what makes people laugh. He tells Boyd that the best comedy to cross cultural and linguistic barriers tends to be physical, and shares one of his favorite jokes with Boyd. He and his colleague describe the art of jokes in their book, The Humor Code.