Humor Exchange – Renaissance Hombre

[A well-needed repeat from January 6, 2013] I always wanted to be a stand up comedian — but I don’t have the legs for it. Comedians actually run in my family. They have to if they want to survive. . . . .

I like jokes. Humor. Comedy. The Three Stooges (“are you kidding Petersen?”). The Honeymooners. Seinfeld. I like to laugh. A favorite funny movie? “Planes Trains and Automobiles.” Or maybe it’s “Airplane.” Or “Young Frankenstein.” Or “The Pink Panther.” Humor is a great medicine (see post of July 28, 2011). One of the best.

The person I’d like most to have dinner with? Aristophanes (see post of August 28, 2011). Aristophanes was the first stand up comedian in about 400 B.C. He got in big trouble with the Emperor – Cleon – for pretending on stage that he was Cleon. Smeared with wine. And drunk . . . .

The first book of jokes wasn’t published until 1739. It was Joe Miller’s Joke Book, then known as Joe Miller’s Jests or The Wit’s Vade-Mecum. Joe Miller (1684-1738) was an English actor who played a large number of humorous/comedic parts. When Miller died, a chap named John Motley (1692-1750) published Joe Miller’s “jests” in 1739. It was a collection of contemporary and ancient witticisms. The first edition had 247 numbered jokes.

“A famous teacher of Arithmetick who had long been married without being able to get his Wife with Child. One said to her ‘Madam, your Husband is an excellent Arithmetician.’ ‘Yes, replies she, only he can’t multiply.'” (That’s number 234)

Joe Miller was referred to by Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843) (“Joe Miller never made such a joke as sending [the turkey] to Bob’s. . . .”).

When I croak, perhaps someone will write “The Renaissance Hombre’s Joke Book.” I have a card file full of them . . . .

Post script from my post on “The Best Medicine” (May 17, 2024) – For years, Denise Driscoll, an oncological nurse in Lake County, sponsored “The Humor Exchange” – a monthly meeting open to the public. The purpose – to laugh, giggle, chortle and guffaw. Why? Because laughter helps release “T” cells – the cells that go after bad stuff. And makes everyone feel good. And better. . . .

[An oldie from April 3, 2014] Joseph Addison – the 17th Century English writer – said “man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter.” Sigmund Freud in his The Joke and its Relation to the Unconscious states that “jokes” release us from traditional inhibitions which make up the veneer of our personalities.

Historically, the earliest known “smile” is etched on the lips of a statue of Ebbeh – a Mesopotamian factotum who lived in 2400 B.C. (Ebbeh now resides in the Louvre). Four centuries later, we enter Biblical times. There were no Old Testament comedians, but the word “laugh” (or “laughter”) makes its debut in the Book of Genesis. When Abraham and Sarah are told they will have a son, both fall on their faces – laughing. Perhaps that is why their son was named “Isaac” which in Hebrew is “He [or God] laughs.” The word “laugh” or its derivations appear 43 times in the Bible (6 of those in the New Testament). The Koran chronicles 16 uses of the word but most relate to the faithful laughing at the inglorious fate of unbelievers.

The Veda in Hindu text records the word “laugh” 8 times. In Buddhist tradition, he “Laughing Buddha” was supposedly a real person – a wandering happy Zen monk named Pu-Tai who lived around 1000 A.D. The world’s first stand-up comedian was Aristophanes (see post of 8/28/11). He would lurch out on stage smeared with wine playing the Emperor – Cleon (the show didn’t last long). The first joke book was The Philogelos (“Laughter Lover“) “published” in the 4th Century A.D. It was a collection of 264 jokes. One depicts a chatty barber. “How shall I cut your hair” he says to his customer. “In silence” the man responds.

On March 14, 2005, I delivered a paper to The Chicago Literary Club entitled “The Best Medicine” (see http://www.chilit.org). The paper delved into this history of humor. But it also discussed the healing power of humor. It works. And can help. A great deal. . . . .

Post script – For years, Denise Driscoll, an oncological nurse in Lake County, sponsored “The Humor Exchange” – a monthly meeting open to the public. The purpose – to laugh, giggle, chortle and guffaw. Why? Because laughter helps release “T” cells – the cells that go after bad stuff. And makes everyone feel good. And better. . . .