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What's going on in our brain when we laugh? What is the history of comedy in the United States? And most importantly, are kids funnier than adults? We tackle all of this and more in the latest episode of Kids Vs. Science.
Kids Vs. Science is a new show from Mental Floss where we assemble a team of experts to take on a simple childhood activity, and of course, put them head-to-head against a group of kids. In this episode, three comedians with various specialties will take on a group of kids in a comedy showdown. Each team will write half of a set for a stand-up comic who will perform all of the jokes for a live audience. Who will come out on top?
EXPERTS:
Dr. Wilson McDermut
wilsonmcdermut.com
gothamcomedyfoundation.org
Michael Salgarolo
michaelsalgarolo.com
twitter.com/mlsalgarolo
Harris Mayersohn
twitter.com/harrismayer
instagram.com/harrismayer
COMEDIAN:
Jessica Saul
twitter.com/bettercalljsaul
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0:00
I have kids are on TikTok, adults are on blood pressure medication
0:04
It is truly a nightmare. Can we turn these cameras off, please? Ah, the ancient art of comedy
0:10
Hearing people laugh at something you came up with is one of the most universally beloved
0:14
and exhilarating feelings a person can experience, akin to achieving nirvana. So let's do a little experiment
0:21
A couple of comedy professionals versus a couple of schoolyard bards. Who can write the funniest jokes
0:27
My name is Wilson McDermott. I am a psychology professor at St. John's University and I'm also a stand-up comic
0:34
I taught a class on the psychology of humor, published a couple of things on humor and personality
0:41
Knowing the psychology of humor, unfortunately, doesn't make me a better stand-up comic
0:45
My name is Michael Salgarolo. I'm a comedian and a Ph.D. candidate in history
0:51
The humor of one generation doesn't necessarily make sense to the next generation
0:55
Comedians have similar experiences over time. Present the world in a new and interesting light
1:02
My name is Harris Merrison and I am a comedy writer. I've been writing comedy since elementary school
1:08
Right now I'm unemployed, so it's a lot of just self-doubt and being sad and hopefully writing jokes
1:19
The dumbest jokes make me laugh. If somebody would actually tell a funny joke, I'd just be like
1:24
okay like ha ha ha and then if somebody would just tell like what do you call a tree a tree
1:31
it's just like something like that just something like dumb that would make me laugh
1:35
I feel like that's when it's most funny when you're not like trying to be so funny it just
1:40
like comes out and it's natural I auditioned for a lot of funny roles the comedy business
1:45
would be like the most like the business that I would want to really be in well I like dark humor
1:51
like cannibalism. Today's experiment will take place at Caveat, a comedy club on the Lower East Side with an unusual goal
2:02
Any show you see here will make you think as hard as it makes you laugh. The founders are a theoretical physicist and a Shakespeare director
2:08
They met doing science talks in the back room of a bar and teamed up to create a home for nerds
2:12
who would rather come out for a comedy show than stay in watching TED Talks all night
2:16
Again, today they're going to help us put on a show of our own. Each team will have one hour to create a handful
2:22
of different jokes and then our neutral standup comic will perform both sets for our audience who won know which jokes belong to which team Most laughs win Let go So we need a knock joke why did the blank cross the road joke
2:38
a joke about a historical figure, pun about an animal, joke about science, an anti-joke
2:44
Oh, hey, what about a historical figure? I think we're going to lean on you. Yeah, I'll get on that
2:50
Personal stories are the best, like, comedic approach. Jokes, yeah. Yeah. Be that people can relate to that are actually fun
2:56
So like when you're walking in the street and you get eaten by a cat
3:00
You know what's interesting is that the first joke that everyone learns as children is an anti-joke
3:06
Why did the chicken cross the road to get to the other side? It's the exact opposite of what a joke should be
3:12
Everybody just write down your jokes and we'll tell them up in. Alright? We all list and just go through and try to write a couple of each ourselves and then come back and figure
3:21
in about 15 minutes we can um that sounds good okay that's perfect
3:32
laughter it's vocal but it's not verbal which which means in prelingual times it served a
3:37
communication function and that function at that time was to signal hey we're not under threat we
3:44
we can actually relax developmentally laughter is the second form of social communication that
3:50
that emerges. So in infants, the first one obviously is crying, which is meant to communicate
3:55
distress and hunger. The second one is laughter, and it serves a bonding function. When infants
4:02
are bonded to their parents, obviously that has very powerful survival value
4:06
Let's see. When Isaac Newton discovered gravity, did he get a concussion
4:21
Something like that. Take your time, take your time. Oh, oh, okay
4:25
It must be a pretty light snack. Oh, yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one
4:29
That's actually really good. That's actually really good. I've been having dark thoughts recently
4:33
My therapist assures me that it's normal to get a concussion. me though it's normal to contemplate grad school
4:38
What's a shoe salesman's favorite animal? What? Crocs. Oh, yeah. Why does the cake have antlers
4:48
Why? It's a chocolate mousse. Oh. It's strong on puns. Puns are our
4:53
strong suit Okay if it was soda it would just be flat What the difference between a microscope and a telescope You can only use one to spy on your neighbor Or something like that
5:05
Maybe it needs parallel structures. One you use to look at bacteria, the other you use to look at your neighbors
5:12
Math teacher is good with math. Gym teacher... Not athletic. The next victim of cancel culture
5:20
My audible subscription. America's first stand-up comedian was a guy that I've actually, I've read a transcript of his whole act
5:33
I can't understand any of it, but it was in the 1860s
5:36
It was a guy named Artemis Ward, and he called it a comedic lecture
5:41
And people were very confused at the beginning. It was theater, but with no characters and no costume
5:46
But, you know, that guy inspired Mark Twain, one of America's first well-known comedians
5:53
Before their time is up, each team will have a few minutes to workshop jokes with our comic, Jessica
5:57
Hi, guys. How are you? How are we working? Good. We might need a plumber because the government went down the drain
6:05
Okay. This is a story for my sister. So we put it in the other person's milk, dumped it in the person's milk, and then the person just threw it out
6:13
I'm confused. The hot dog was a straw? No, the hot dog was literally just a hot dog
6:18
Okay. The term misdirection, so you want to say one thing, two things, and then the third thing is the punchline
6:25
Practice a rule of three. How many middle school teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb
6:31
Two. One to screw it in and the other to tell you to sit down and be quiet
6:35
Maybe it's something more like one to screw it in and the other to tell you to make a diorama of Washington crossing the Delaware or something
6:42
Right, something more middle school specific. Right. To screw it in and another to..
6:46
to tell you to put some deodorant on. That's what I mean, like... Without further ado
6:52
please give a warm welcome to Jessica Saul. Thank you guys so much for having me
6:59
We'll start off here. Let's see. What happened when the grape got pinched
7:05
Nothing. He just let out a little wine. What's the difference between a microscope
7:13
and a telescope? A microscope is used to look at bacteria and a telescope is used to look at your neighbors
7:25
You guys know what a shoe salesman what their favorite animal is Crocs Isaac Newton discovered gravity
7:39
Did he eat the apple? If he did, it must have been just a light snack
7:47
What's the difference between a boy and a man? One is a child
7:53
One pays child support. How do we fix a broken government? With a plumber, because our government has gone down the drain
8:07
Why did the chicken cross the road? It was leaving KFC. Owie
8:17
Why did the fart cross the road? To get to the gas station
8:23
This one's a farter He looked away This one's got a lot of gas
8:29
How many middle school teachers Does it take to screw in a light bulb
8:34
Two One to screw in the light bulb And the other to say
8:38
It's okay that your body is experiencing Changes right now Here's a CVS coupon I have
8:45
To go buy some new one Also tucking in Okay A math teacher is good at algebra
8:53
A science teacher is good at atoms. And a gym teacher is good at failing at their athletic dreams
9:02
I see we have some retired gym teachers here. Can we actually have all of our writers on stage
9:16
I just want to say, amazing job. Both teams. We were using a Laugh-O-Meter that whole time to see who the true winner is
9:23
and I've got to say, this was very, very close. It was the adults. Yeah! Yeah
9:35
The adults are probably more relatable, because as I can see, there's probably..
9:39
Actually, all of these people are adults. So, you know, it was a little unfair
9:45
We would like to confirm we recognized that this was unfair, and we're fine with it
#education