Humor

God has a sense of humor. Just ask the Pope or the Dalai Lama [1][2].
The metaculture wiki practices irreverent reverence in order to pay respect to the Cosmic Joke.[3][4]
“The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.” -Horace Walpole
If matters of philosophy, politics, and spirituality are treated with too much sacredness and seriousness, the joy, absurdity, and humor of life can be missed. This is one of the most important keys to happiness!
In case you didn't think it was, the cosmic joke is an example of meta or self-referential humor.
Lighten up, people. God wants you to be happy. That's why the universe is inherently hilarious.
Humor as Activism and Resistance
Humor has a long history in activism, social commentary, and resistance to authoritarianism and fascism.
Authority based on fear is allergic to mockery. It is very hard to be afraid of something that is an object of ridicule.
Here are some great articles addressing this topic:
- Pranksters vs. Autocrats - Book
- Can comedy change the world?
- Revolutionizing Activism: Using Humor When Things Are Dire
- Pranks as Political Activism: From the Yippies to TikTok
- The Role of Comedy in Social Justice
- Introduction: Tricksters, humour, and activism
Culture Jamming is a form of prank-based protest that undermines the propaganda coming from business and government through mockery that exposes their hidden motivations. The Yes Men stage great pranks that get lots of attention from the media, and make people happy while they're doing it. The same cannot be said of those who throw soup on paintings.
The AI voice is unfortunate, but this video shows some other great examples of culture jamming pranks.
You Can't Be Funny Anymore
If you hear someone say that you can't be funny anymore, it is simply projection. They aren't funny, so they project their own lack of hilarity onto the rest of society.
If you meet one unfunny person, you met an unfunny person. If you meet unfunny people all day, it may be you who lacks a sense of humor.[5]
In this presentation, Andrew Tarvin makes the case that humor is a skill that you can choose to learn and develop. If you don't think people can be funny anymore, this may be what you need.
Is it Art?
There is some debate over whether humor is an art form, or a genre that is part of every art form. There are comedy movies and comedy music. However, there is also stand-up comedy, which seems to be in a different class, but you also could say it is a type of one-person theatrical performance. This is all semantics. Seriously unfunny semantics.
The fact that comedy is a genre that transcends every art form points to something universal about it. Comedy is hugely creative, since odd juxtapositions of ideas are a big part of what is funny. Comedy is art, even if it isn't an art.
Beware of Sarcasm

To demonstrate its universality, humor is spread throughout this wiki, instead having one funny page and 500 serious ones. Jokes and sarcasm are not labeled, but if they contain a reference to literature or pop culture it will be hyperlinked. A good rule of thumb is that if a literal reading would strike the opposite tone as the rest of the wiki, it's probably sarcasm.
The Internet is global, and cultural references often require a lifetime spent in the culture. If you are not specifically a GenX or Millennial American you may not get some of the references, like all the music, or identify with Daria levels of dry sarcasm, but you'll get it at least.
The Cosmic Joke
Get it?
Regular Jokes
An assortment of some of the greatest standup comedians and specials of all time.
Check out Every Type of Humor Explained in 4 Minutes and see if you can identify the category for every joke in the videos below. This exercise can also help you learn why it is sometimes hard to make comedians laugh, for better or for worse.
George Carlin used his mastery of language to create biting social commentary that destroys sacred cows.
For many, dark humor is way to deal with heavy emotions. This infamous set from Tig Notaro was performed just after her real cancer diagnosis.
Mark Maron lost his partner to COVID. To deal with it, he wrote a joke with one of the longest, darkest payoffs of all time.
Richard Pryor kills the audience with stories about almost killing himself and his car.
Some prefer hilarious one-liners. Also check out Strategic Grill Locations (Audio).
An example of meta humor. This set relies on our familiarity with common comedy clichés in order to parody them with generic versions.
Some of the greatest comedy specials of all time.
Women are funny, too. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Here's a variety of other comedy styles for your enjoyment.
A classic comedy bit.
Doesn't make much sense that this is age restricted. This bit is widely considered one of the best examples of farce in comedy.
Pranks and Practical Jokes are another form of humor that relies on fooling your friends or the general public and then laughing at them for believing your misinformation. But in a fun way!
Philosopher Kieran Setiya says it's good for you, so go for it!
Singing Jokes
The genre of musical comedy owes its existence to Dr. Demento.
Fish Heads was a Dr. Demento staple that trended more towards the demented side of things. It is a great example of surreal humor. This form of humor has been perfected by Gen Z. [6][7][8] If the generation that enjoyed Fish Heads doesn't get Skibidi Toilet it is not the children who are wrong.
Nerd humor is huge because humor relies on knowing things so you can make funny connections between those things, and nerds know a lot of things so they "get" those jokes.