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A poll says that New York City is humorless while the South is more humorful. The NY Post gets outrage from Jackie Mason ("To say New York is humorless is like saying human beings are humorless. All you have to do is get into a New York taxi and listen to the guy talk. Now that's funny. Before you go a block and a half, you'll either crash or you'll be laughing.") and something from Gilbert Gottfried ("That may be why I can bomb in any state. But one time I played in the Carolinas — not a mile away from the Ku Klux Klan headquarters — and I did very well there, so I guess I found my audience."). Gothamist would have to say that the survey of 1,000 people was probably done to reflect a national perception; if anything, New Yorkers would rule any poll about being the loudest, rudest, most impatient, smartest, and most beautiful. And you need a sense of humor to get by in this city. Plus, it's probably a stupid goddamn poll from a bunch of losers. So there!
And there are plenty of ways to see that humor is alive and kicking in the city: The Upright Citizen's Brigade, Gotham Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, and more - here's a list. Here is Gothamist's archive of comedy posts, and we know funny because we have seen it.
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No humor, eh? It doesn't take a food historian to find this:
...
: : The name Good Humor came from the belief that a person's "humor" or temperament was related to the humor of the palate (one's sense of taste).
: : To market his Good Humor Bars, Burt sent out a fleet of 12 chauffeur-driven trucks with bells to make door-to-door deliveries. The Good Humor Man was born.
: : In 1930, a New York businessman and investor by the name of M.J. Meehan acquired the national rights to the company by buying 75% of the shares.
Wow... all you need to do to find humor in NYC is find a place with some 'local flavor' (usually a couple of old guys exchanging banter behind a restaurant or diner counter). Some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard has been overheard in Manhattan burger joints.
I was just pondering this very question. As a transplant from the South, I may be able to shed some light on this.
Many New Yorkers, it seems, take themselves way too seriously. So many people here seem paralyzed by a fear of ridicule. They are hyper-aware of how they and others dress, speak, move, etc.
It's like Paris without any really good cheese.
It's just not the best environment for humor when you have to check with everyone around you first to see if it is okay to break your faux-jaded shell with an ironic smirk.
Of course, we should keep in mind this was a poll. About humor. How exactly do you measure humor? What kind of humor? Who was polled--the people in line for Junebug or the people in line demanding their money back after seeing The Dukes of Hazzard? Was this just a question of the place more people like to laugh at or with?
As for humor in the South, I hope this doesn't imply that Foxworthy and company and that brand of humor are somehow held in a higher regard than Jackie Mason et al. I hope that the implication is just that there is more freedom for more types of humor there.
I think we just have a broader appreciation for absurdity--reflect on the predominance in the region of a supremely absurd conservative political environment, and its unholy alliance between the impoverished and manipulative powers-that-shouldn't-be.
Well, I suppose that's more tragic than funny ha-ha. But it is absurd. That's for sure.
Beth, I think we're talking about New Yorkers. Not the denizens of Murray Hill or the LES. (As a four-year transplant, I'm also not included) The natives are friggin' funny and seem pretty much ready to laugh.
Americans view New York as the most humorless place in the country? poo!
tell david letterman that nyc has no humor. tell conan o'brien that nyc has no humor. tell the kids at best week ever! tell jon stewart and the staff of the daily show!
i think this poll just puts icing on the "american perception is f'd up" cake.
Bah! Who cares what the rest of them think... Like we are going to go around and entertain the tourists...
Tourist watching is HILARIOUS --> http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/
NYC has no humor because the transplants are plowing over the neighborhoods that had the best alternative comedy theaters. Remember Surf Reality on the LES, anyone? It made the UCB look like kids stuff. In '03, Surf shut down--to be replaced by a yoga studio.