A great sense of humor is like the Holy Grail of social skills, whether you’re on a first date, trying to stand out to your boss, or strengthening friendships. Yet in spite of the role it plays in greasing the wheels of our relationships, we’re never really taught how to be funny.
As a team of nerds who are devoted to lifelong learning, we said “screw that!” and refused to believe that being funny is an ephemeral skill left to sheer chance of personality or parentage! And so we compiled a collection of flashcards that are designed to make you funnier in conversation.
That’s right, Brainscape’s collection of Jokes flashcards has landed!
Our team scoured thousands of the internet's "best jokes" lists and whittled them down into just the top funniest jokes, puns, and one-liners that are super quick and easy to tell.
We then transformed them into a format that makes them super easy to remember and quickly regurgitate in any appropriate social situation, in a way that best fits the conversations you're having. For example:
FRONT: What’s that joke about hipsters and pizza?
BACK: (Q) Why did the hipster burn his mouth on the pizza? (A) Because he ate it before it was cool.
The beauty of this format is that we teach you to associate each joke with a specific keyword or situation that you might encounter in the real world.
This way, when you come across those things in real life, you’ll be able to quickly and seamlessly whip out the perfect joke, like when your brain prompts you to tell your vegetarian friend that their decision to order cauliflower for dinner is a big "missed steak".
Badum-tsss!
As a tasty little side dish to our Jokes flashcards, we share a multitude of techniques for improving your humor in our Academy guide: ‘How to be funny: 7 ways to improve your sense of humor.’
However, of all the strategies you can learn, there’s ONE in our opinion that stands above the others…
Being Jewish.
Just kidding.
The answer is irony.
In other words: being unexpected or surprising.
Sure, there are a ton of very successful Jewish comedians out there. But irony and being unexpected can instantly make you funnier, irrespective of your cultural background.
So, try this in your very next human interaction…
Say the exact opposite of what you mean or what everyone is feeling or thinking.
Let’s say you and your mates are watching a spectacular sunset. Break the appreciative silence by saying: “Gosh that’s ugly.”
Or, your girlfriend gets complimented for her hair or something. Step in quickly and say “Why, thank you!” (You get added points for hamming it up with a little hair toss and all the points if you’re bald.)
There are other strategies too, like the “Rule of Three”...
“I can’t think of anything worse after a night of partying than waking up next to someone and not being able to remember their name, or how you met, or why they’re dead.” – Laura Kightlinger
… and inverting your numbers…
“We’ve sent out 200 wedding invitations… so, you know, it’s just gonna be a really small and intimate affair.”
… and so many more.
So be sure to read our ‘How to be funny’ guide for all the tips, and of course don't forget to keep studying your Jokes flashcards in Brainscape, and you'll become instantly funnier in conversation.