Yes, scientists enjoy telling and hearing jokes just like the rest of us. In January 2016, Scientific American published an article entitled, A Scientific Theory of Humor. The article talked about how people, including scientists, use humor to diffuse difficult situations, soften criticism, mask nervousness, and cope with failure. 

Humor also serves the role in both platonic and romantic social interactions, as it helps us break the ice, gain social acceptance, and initiate romantic overtures. Both men and women tend to seek mates who have a good sense of humor, and we perceive funny people as smarter, more attractive, and more personable.

Given that humor is such a powerful tool for social success, it’s not surprising that scientists have sought to determine the perfect formula for being funny. One key ingredient can be found in a 200 year-old theory proposed by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.

In a nutshell, Schopenhauer suggested that humor derives from an incongruous outcome of an event for which there is a very specific expectation. It is the violation of the specific expectation that creates humor. Consider this pun: “When the clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.”  The notion of a clock eating is incongruous with our knowledge of the world.

            Jokes sometimes run in series or have a certain lifespan, such as blond jokes, elephant jokes, refrigerator jokes, Jeffery Dahmer jokes, and O.J. Simpson jokes. Ethnic jokes have lost favor. Here are some groaners that deal with science.

            A neutron walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “How much for a beer?” The bartender looks at him, and says, “For you, no charge.”

Two atoms bump into each other. One says, “I think I lost an electron!” The other asks, “Are you sure?”, to which the first replies, “I’m positive.”

What did the Nuclear Physicist have for lunch? Fission Chips.

What do you get if you drop a piano down a mine shaft?  A flat minor

Why did the germ cross the microscope? To get to the other slide.

Two blood cells meet and fall in love. Alas, it was all in vein.

Why can’t you trust atoms? They make up everything.

What did one tectonic plate say after bumping into another? Sorry, my fault.

 How much room do fungi need to grow? As mushroom as possible.

Why don’t aliens visit our solar system? They checked the reviews and saw only one star.

Why don’t magnets have mates? Because they’re polar opposites.

Which runs faster, hot or cold? Hot, because you can catch a cold.

What are the essential elements of humor? Sulfur, Argon, Calcium, and Samarium (SArCaSm).

What do you do with a sick chemist? If you can’t helium, and you can’t curium, then you might as well barium.

What is the quickest way to determine the sex of a chromosome? Pull down its genes.

Do you know what makes my day? The rotation of the Earth.

Do you know the name Pavlov?  It rings a bell.

Sources: Scientific American, psychologicalscience.org 

Send questions and comments to: lscheckel@charter.net.