Chapter 1 From Toledo to Timbuktu Have you ever noticed that laughter looks and sounds similar all around the world No matter where we’re from we all get a kick out of people and situations that are funny Whether you’re in Toledo or Timbuktu laughter is pretty recognizable Regardless of what language we speak we can tell when another person is happy and laughing Many researchers who study laughter say that it sounds and looks the way it does for an important reason laughter helps us feel connected to one another It turns out laughter is one thing that bonds us together Earth is a big place Our planet is home to many different cultures and traditions There are thousands of different languages but there is one that we are all familiar with laughter The language of laughter is universal because we all know that laughter translates to happiness From gut-busting giggles to shy quiet smirks laughing at a joke is something we can all relate to Q Where do pencils go on vacation APencilvania 4
CULTURALLY SENSITIVE While laughing can bring us together sometimes understanding a joke from another culture can be tricky This is because jokes often evolve from language geography and history For example this joke may be easy for English-language speakers to figure out Q What does a duck do when she buys lipstick on her bill She puts it A What is the longest word in the English language Smiles because there’s a mile between its first and last letters If English isn’t your first language or if you don’t speak English at all it might be difficult to understand why that joke is funny Sometimes jokes are written or told with the purpose of laughing at other people instead of with them This can be really hurtful We need to be especially careful when writing or telling jokes that are directed at other cultures as these jokes can often reflect stereotypes instead of reality FuNnY BoNe A smile doesn’t always mean someone is happy or something is funny In some Asian cultures a smile can mean a person is sad embarrassed or uncomfortable In North America a smile is seen as a sign of happiness but people will often smile in photos even if they aren’t happy Research shows that men also smile less than women 5
JOKE PARTS AND LABOR In every language jokes can be broken down into two main parts the setup and the punch line The Setup The setup of a joke is a sentence or two that gives the audience all the information necessary to be able to understand the joke It can also be called the foundation because comedians use the setup to build up to the joke similar to how buildings are built up from a foundation In a traditional knock-knock joke for example the setup is that someone is knocking at the door The Punch Line The punch line is the best part of the joke because it is the part that contains the joke itself and hopefully makes the audience laugh It can also be called the laugh line In a knock-knock joke the punch line is always the last line of the joke and the joke is usually made with the sound of the words Here’s an example of an English knock-knock joke And here is a knock-knock joke in Spanish Who’s there Isabelle who Knock knock Isabelle Is a bell necessary on a bicycle 6 Toc toc Knock knock Lola Los ladrones The thieves Quién es Who’s there Qué Lola Lola who This joke is funny because the Spanish expression for thieves sounds a lot like the name Lola
Q Why do the French eat snails Because they don’t like fast food A Q What did the Pacific Ocean say to the Atlantic Ocean ANothing they just waved Q How does the tide come in to small beaches AIn microwaves FuNnY BoNe Slapstick is a style of comedy often used in movies It’s a type of physical comedy Actors use slapstick to make the audience laugh by purposely falling down stairs colliding with each other and throwing pies in one another’s faces Some of the best examples of slapstick comedians are the Three Stooges American comedians Jim Carrey Canadian comedian and Charlie Chaplin British comedian Slapstick was especially important during Charlie Chaplin’s heyday in the 1920s when movies were silent and the actors had to make the audience laugh without using words 7
