The Humor Code (42 page)

McGraw, Peter

educational background of,
3
,
4

first attempt at stand-up comedy by,
1
–2,
5
–6,
13
–15

impact of global expedition on,
212

personal background of,
3
–4

personality of,
4

second attempt at stand-up comedy by,
197
–203,
206
–10

Warner first meets,
2
–4

Warner's relationship with,
211
–12

See also specific topic

McGraw, Shannon (sister),
3
,
195

McNally, Martin J.,
137

medicine

laughter as best,
175
–96

See also
health: humor and

Mehdawi, Rami,
161
,
171

Mer-Khamis, Juliano,
165
–66,
167
,
169

Metzger, Darwyn,
27
–28

Miller, Dennis,
111

Mitchell, Alex,
129

Mohammad cartoons,
124
–30,
131
–32,
133
–37,
138
–39,
140
,
141
,
142
,
143
–46,
147
,
148
,
149

Montreal, Canada

See
Just For Laughs Comedy Festival (Montreal)

moral violations

McGraw's interest in,
4

See also
benign violation theory

Morishita, Shinya,
94
,
100

Morreall, John,
123

Muslims

in Denmark,
125
–26,
131
–32,
138
–40,
141
,
145
,
148

humor and,
157

in Sweden,
145

See also
Mohammad cartoons; Palestine

Muslims in Dialog,
139
,
141

Myers, Mike,
27

“N+V Theory,”
8
–9

Nagashima, Heiyo,
94
,
102
,
103

The Naked Gun
study,
63

Namba Grand Kagetsu (Osaka, Japan),
107

Nasser, Latif,
90

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy,
52
,
53
–54,
167
,
205

New Star Creation (comedy school) (Tokyo),
104
–6,
107
,
110

New York City

alcohol-humor study in,
62
–66,
208
–9

McGraw and Warner's lessons learned from,
199
,
205
,
206

McGraw and Warner's trip to,
41
–66,
211

See also
Gotham Comedy Club; the
New Yorker
cartoons;
specific person

the
New Yorker
cartoons

cartoonist open-call day for,
54
–58

contest for,
41
–42,
45
,
54
–58

database of,
57

gender responses to,
108

HuRL study of,
45

and Kanin's bowling-ball cartoon,
47
,
55
–58,
64
–65

laughter at,
71

and selling of mass-market humor,
51

uniqueness of,
44
–45

The New Yorker
Festival,
42

nicknames: McGraw's act about,
14

Nilsen, Don,
12
–13

Nimis
(Vilks sculpture),
146
–47

“911 Café” (Ramallah),
158

No Laughing Matter
(Legman),
122

North Korea: USS
Pueblo
incident and,
153
–54,
170
,
190

Norway: HUNT-2 study in,
180

nose, clown,
182
–83,
187
,
196
,
198
,
211

Nshamba, Tanzania: McGraw and Warner's visit to,
83
–85

Nulman, Andy,
203
–4,
206

Nutty Professor
experiment,
97

Obama, Barack,
111
,
160

O'Brien, Conan,
27

“Ogata Impossible” (
Power Purin
variety show),
116
–17

Ogata, Takahiro,
116
–17

Ojibwe Native Americans,
95

Old Testament: humor in,
123

Olympic gymnast joke,
103

omuneepo

See
laughter epidemics

Onion
(film),
61
–62

The Onion News Network
(web broadcast),
61

The Onion
(newspaper),
59
–60,
61
–62,
205

Only Joking: What's So Funny About Making People Laugh?
(Carr and Greeves),
36

orgasm: comedy writing as having an,
48

Oring, Elliot,
7
,
164

O'Rourke, P.J.,
111

Orwell, George,
165

Osaka, Japan

benign violation theory and,
208

as comedy capital of Japan,
100
,
107
,
208

McGraw and Warner's trip to,
99
–104,
203
,
208

post–World War II,
100
–101

rakugo
performance in,
94
–95

silence in,
101

smallest bar in the world in,
103
,
104

Osaki, Hiroshi,
112
–13,
116

Otpor! (Serbian youth movement),
168
–69

pain,
154
,
173
,
210

See also
dark humor

Pakkun Makkun (
manzai
act),
11

Palestine

benign violation theory and,
205

censorship in,
160

geography and economy of,
150
–51

Israeli-Palestinian friendship in,
173

Israeli settlers in,
171

as laughter-free zone,
170
–71

McGraw and Warner's lessons learned from,
200
,
205

McGraw and Warner's trip to,
149
–53,
155
–62,
164
,
205
,
211

Ramadan in,
150
–52,
156
,
159

restrictions in,
157

See also
Gaza Strip; Hebron (West Bank): McGraw and Warner's trip to; Ramallah (West Bank): McGraw and Warner's trip to; West Bank

Panksepp, Jaak,
80

Paradise Island
(show): advertising about,
136
,
139

Paramount Theatre (Denver),
17
–18

Parkinson's disease: Glick and,
191
–92

Pascal, Blaise,
7

penis questions,
18
,
19

The Peregrine Penis
(Legman),
122

performing environment,
31
–32

See also
context

personality: and what makes comedians,
18
,
37
–38

Peruvian Air Force,
175
,
176

PET (Danish intelligence service),
132
,
133

Pew Research Center: Mohammad cartoon survey by,
127
–28

Philip, P. J.,
68
,
74
,
83

Philogelos
(joke book),
98

Pickering, Lucy,
26

Pinsker, Sanford,
44

Pirates of the Dotombori (Osaka, Japan),
99

Pirates of Tokyo Bay (Tokyo, Japan),
99

Plato,
6
,
122
–23

play fighting: incongruity theory and,
7

pleasure: humor as balance of pain and,
210

Plucker, Alvin,
154
,
170

Poehler, Amy,
27

Polish jokes,
98
,
135
–36

politics/political jokes,
95
,
110
–12,
167

See also
Mohammad cartoons

Politiken
(Danish newspaper),
130
–31

Popovic, Srda,
168
–69

positive-humor movement,
122

post-traumatic stress disorder,
170

Power Purin
(Yoshimoto variety show),
116
–17

pranks/practical jokes,
140
–41

“prejudiced norm theory,”
142

The Primer of Humor Research
(Raskin),
13

protest: laughter as,
89
–90,
168
–69

Provine, Robert,
71
–73,
89

Pryor, Richard,
20
,
25
,
36

The Psychology of Humor
(Martin),
108
,
179

punch lines

Dean's views about,
25

delivery of,
201

everyday laughter and,
212

incongruity theory and,
7

Japanese humor and,
103

and Koestler's views about creating humor,
49

linguistic theory of humor and,
24

in Soviet Union,
157

and who is funny,
26
–27

puns,
7
,
11
,
49
,
51
,
123

Qualtrics,
97
,
115

Rabbo, Yasser Abed,
160

race

jokes about,
141
,
142

political jokes and,
112

and what makes a good/successful comedian,
35

rakugo
(Japanese storytelling),
94
–95,
116

Ramallah (West Bank): McGraw and Warner's trip to,
155
–62,
164
,
170
–71

Ramiro (Amazonian clown),
188

randy-Frenchmen bon mots,
96

Rankin, A. M.,
68
,
74
,
83

Raskin, Victor,
13
,
24
–25,
206

Rasmussen, Anders Fogh,
126
,
138
,
139

rat-tickling experiments,
80
–81

Rationale of the Dirty Joke
(Legman),
121
–22

Refn, Lars,
125
–27,
128
–29,
133
,
148

refugee camp, Palestinian,
165
–67

Reilly, Bill,
99
–100,
101
,
102

relationships: sense of humor and,
75
–76,
212

relief: humor/jokes as,
7
,
8
,
12
,
134
,
163
–64,
167
,
173
,
189
–91,
200
,
206

religion: humor and,
156
–57

Remnick, David,
65

Republicans: comedy and,
111
–12

Richards (Keith) story,
12

riffs,
25

risk

creativity and,
144
,
147

mass-market comedy and,
58
–59

Robbins, Tony,
24

robo-jokesters,
50

robots: and creation of funny,
50
–51

Rock, Chris,
30
,
35

Rock, John,
194

Roll Me in Your Arms and Blow the Candle Out
(Legman),
122

Rose, Flemming,
130

Ross, Harold,
44
,
54

Rubondo Island National Park: McGraw and Warner's trip to,
79
–80,
81
–83

Ruch, Willibald,
124

Rugeiyamu, Kroeber,
88
–89

Rutta, William (Tanzanian guide),
70
,
73
,
74
–75,
79
,
81
–82,
83
,
84
,
86
–88,
91
,
92

Saatchi & Saatchi,
53

safari, African: McGraw and Warner on,
79
–80,
81
–83

safety valves

See
coping/relief

Sahl, Mort,
36

samurai
: Japanese humor and,
99
,
100

Santa Monica Playhouse,
23
,
25

Sarah Silverman Strategy,
12

sarcasm,
11
,
99

satire,
134
,
160
,
164
,
167

Saturday Night Live
(TV program),
52
,
60
,
65
,
111
,
116

Scandinavia

McGraw and Warner's lessons learned from,
200

See also
Denmark; Mohammad cartoons; Sweden;
specific person

“Scattered Pearls” (Al-Abi),
157

Schiro, Julie,
32
,
53

Schneider, Abby,
37

schools: laughter epidemics in,
68
–71,
83
–85,
89
–90,
91
–92

science: comedians' use of,
40