There are two theories of humor to which I subscribe. Robert A Heinlein wrote about humor in "Stranger in a Strange Land." He proposed that all humor was based on someone's pain. I think this applies to all but the lowly pun, which is amusing, not funny. Isaac Asimov wrote a whole book about humor and he stated that it is the surprise of the punchline that defines the joke as funny. The punchline has to contain the unexpected.
When you are a young child, any fart is "funny" in that it seems to entertain you because it is "forbidden."
Now picture yourself in church as an adult. The minister is giving a sermon on respecting your spouse. He makes a poignant comment about how one should never do anything to embarass his or her spouse in public. As he finishes his sentence, his wife in the front pew, who is getting over a mild GI illness, fails to hold in a tremedous fart that reverbates off the wooden seat. Now that is funny, because you are not expecting it and the preacher and his wife are both mortified.
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I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing.
Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"
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