Funny Quotes – What Makes a Joke Funny?

Funny quotes bring a little lightheartedness to any situation, and they are a great way to ease tension, smooth out rough conversations or simply add a laugh. The best part? Laughter is the most powerful stress reliever around!

So what makes a joke funny? According to superiority and relief theories of humor (which we covered in a previous article), it is because people find the material to be humorous if it makes them feel like they are better than someone else or if it releases their repressed emotions. These theories, however, don’t explain why certain materials make us laugh whereas others don’t.

Other explanations of what makes a joke funny involve the concept of incongruity. Warren and McGraw’s 2015 “benign violation theory” of humor suggests that a joke will be perceived as funny if it 1) violates the audience’s view of how things should be and 2) if that violation is deemed as benign by the audience. For example, the statement “If you have to ask why you should laugh at a dad joke, you shouldn’t be there” violates an audience’s expectation of what a joke is and what it should be – but since we all know that fathers are lame and that moms have a sense of humor, the quote can still be funny.

Creating custom cards or photo books with funny quotes is the perfect way to make your loved ones smile. Mixbooks are also a great place to display your own witty quotes and inside jokes, or to create unique gifts that combine sentimental memories with an element of humor. Just be sure to avoid copyrighted or trademarked quotes in your creations, or use fair-use quotes from history or well-known literature.