Peter McGraw - The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

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Praise for

THE HUMOR CODE

Peter and Joels globe-spanning search for what makes things funny is a wonderful page-turner that entertains as much as it informs.

Dan Ariely, author of The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty and Predictably Irrational

This book tickled my hippocampus. Joel Warner and Peter McGraw gave me paradigm-altering insights into humor, but also creativity, business, happiness, and, of course, flatulence.

A.J. Jacobs, author of Drop Dead Healthy and The Year of Living Biblically

If youve ever wondered why we laugh at what we do, you have to read this book about the DNA of humor. The odd-couple authors take us on a journey from the halls of science to the backstage of Los Angeles comedy clubs, and they show us why people can laugh amidst tensions in Palestine or a clown brigade in the Amazon. Its part Indiana Jones, part Tina Fey, and part Crime Scene Investigation , and it will make you smarter and happier.

Chip Heath, author of Decisive, Switch , and Made to Stick

Engaging, wise, and of course funny, The Humor Code is a wonderful quest to discover who and what makes us laugh. Pete McGraw and Joel Warner are the best of company, and youll be glad you took this trip with them.

Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Cant Stop Talking

Ive always been fascinated by how humor works. Im not willing to say that The Humor Code solves the puzzle once and for all, but it comes pretty closeand along the way its a hell of a ride.

Jimmy Carr, stand-up comedian, television host, actor, and coauthor of Only Joking: Whats So Funny About Making People Laugh?

The Humor Code is a fun narrative of how a serious scientific theory is born, tested, and lived.

Ben Huh, CEO, The Cheezburger Network

Spanning five continents, McGraw and Warners quest for a unified field theory of funny may be quixotic, but like Don Q and Sancho, their misadventures are irresistible and their enthusiasm is as infectious as the laughter they chronicle. Together they manage to find the science in comedy and the comedy in science, and share it all with the reader in this playful Baedeker of humor.

Barnet Kellman; Emmy Awardwinning director of Murphy Brown and Mad About You , professor at the University of California School of Cinematic Arts, and codirector of Comedy@SCA

The Humor Code is so good that I wish I wrote it. In fact, Ive already started telling people I did. Luckily, Pete McGraw and Joel Warner are givers, so they wont mind. Theyve given us a remarkable look at what makes us laugh, with the perfect blend of science, stories, satire, and sweater vests. This book has bestseller written all over it.

Adam Grant, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and bestselling author of Give and Take

McGraw and Warner have done something quite remarkable and commendable. Theyve taken an intriguing question regarding the nature of humor and artfully mined answers from both the outcomes of scientific research and their own worldwide comedy tour experiences. Ive never seen anything like it.

Robert Cialdini, bestselling author of Influence

The Humor Code is a rollicking tour de farce that blends academic insights and amusing anecdotes to answer some of the most serious (and frivolous) questions about humor, from what makes us laugh and why we laugh at all, to how the worlds cultures came to have completely different senses of humor.

Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink and assistant professor of marketing and psychology at New York University

If youve ever been interested in trying comedy, this book will either scare you away from it or force you to do it. I consider both options a success.

Mike Drucker, standup comedian and writer for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

If youre doing business in the global marketplace, The Humor Code is a must-read. Not only did I learn what makes things humorous around the world, now I understand why nobody in Japan ever laughed at my jokes!

Marty St. George, senior vice president of marketing, JetBlue Airways

Blending cutting-edge science and clever stories, The Humor Code will help you find a funnier worldwhether you are on Twitter or not.

Claire Diaz-Ortiz, author of Twitter for Good and innovator at Twitter, Inc.

Funny, poignant, and inspiring, Peter and Joel manage the tricky task of vivisecting comedy without losing the patient.

Andy Wood, cofounder and producer of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival

Humor is like happinessuniversal but subjective. Whats great about The Humor Code is that it takes a scientific look at how humor differs across cultures [while] vitally connecting us at the same time.

Jenn Lim, CEO and chief happiness officer of Delivering Happiness

A harrowing tale of men obsessed with understanding a gargantuan and enigmatic beast called Funny. This book might as well be titled Moby Dick Jokes.

Baron Vaughn, comedian; as seen on Comedy Central, Conan, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson , and his podcast Deep S##!

Leave it to a reporter and a scientist to try to ruin something beautiful by dissecting it, and instead create something wonderful. The Humor Code is a tremendous book.

Shane Snow, technology journalist and cofounder of Contently

The search for what makes things funny was one we found we could not stop reading. Two thumbs up (Andrew hated it).

The Grawlix (comedians Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, and Ben Roy)

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Copyright 2014 by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition April 2014

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Designed by Esther Paradelo
Jacket design by FDT Design
Jacket photographs: Globe Photobucket; Glasses Getty Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McGraw, Peter.

The humor code : a global search for what makes things funny / Peter McGraw, PhD and Joel Warner.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-4516-6541-3 (hardcover : alk. paper)ISBN 978-1-4516-6543-7 (ebook)ISBN 978-1-4516-6542-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Wit and humorPsychological aspects. I. Title.

BF575.L3M384 2014

152.4'3dc23

2013031454

ISBN 978-1-4516-6541-3

ISBN 978-1-4516-6543-7(eBook)