Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Why’s it funny? ‘Cuz.
An odd bit of comedy lore holds that punchlines containing ‘k’ sounds are funnier than punchlines that lack them. According to Mel Helitzer,
Mel Brooks agrees. There are phonetic values in certain words that almost guarantee a laugh. “Instead of saying salmon, turkey is a funnier sound. It just helps.”
Why is the k sound funny? Research indicates that babies associate the sound with comfort and joy. Think of many of the words we coo to babies, and you’ll notice they have a k sound, even though most of them begin with the letter c. Just a few are cutie, cookie, kitten, cuddle . . .
. . . and so on. Who am I to dispute ‘research,’ but I’m not convinced. And yet the notion persists. Tonight, over at the Indecision 2008 blog, they have a cool post: 95-year-old Shecky Sloan, a Catskills veteran, weighs in on the comic aptitude of the Democratic Presidential candidates:
John Edwards on Hillary’s outfit: “Not sure about that coat.”
Shecky Says: Taking a pot shot at the lady’s outfit? Well, it’s not my style, but I know the kids like that kind of thing. Oh, my wife said to mention that it’s not a “coat,” it’s a “jacket.” Maybe he was going for the funny “k” sound in “coat,” but that’s also in “jacket.” Good looking kid, though.
The rest is worth a look, by the way. Turns out Biden is a comic genius, while Hillary sucks lemons (that’s my opinion — Shecky is silent on the topic).
Certainly, not all punchlines depend on a ‘k’ sound. But what about punchlines whose power hinges on the sound of the words? Surely such a punchline would have to work in a ‘k’ sound, right?
An attractive young woman sees a gynecologist for the first time. He takes a thorough history, listens to her heart and lungs, then moves on to the pelvic exam. In the midst of the exam, she hears him say, “Do you mind if I numb this up?”
“Well, um . . . okay, sure.”
“Mmmm num num num num num num num num.”
See? Not a ‘k’ in that entire line*.
D.
*You have no idea how long it took me to figure out a legitimate way to tell that joke.
It’s good enough to warrant a post all it’s own Thank you. *rofl*