In 2012, a team of Australian researchers wanted to see if laughter could reduce depression, so they randomly assigned a group of nursing home residents to receive “humor therapy” and measured the results, hoping that hilarity would ensue.
This humor therapy had two components. First, local “LaughterBosses” infused the daily lives of residents with humor. Second, residents received visits from professional performers called “ElderClowns.” The ElderClowns personalized their material for the resident, and at the end of each session the LaughterBoss and ElderClowns would debrief, plotting how to optimize and maximize the laffs for the next session.
These all seem like exceptionally good people and their cause a worthy one. Their work didn’t seem to reduce depression, but residents seemed less agitated and I bet everybody had a good time.
And now that you know a bit about this study, it’s time to come clean: this newsletter has been one big humor therapy experiment.
Since November, half of you have been receiving “funny” emails every few days. The other half were randomly assigned to public domain extracts from the 1906 Encyclopedia Americana. If you haven’t been finding our emails funny—though packed with facts about kestrels—now you know who to blame: science.
We are now entering the “data collection” phase of our research. Complete the poll and help secure me, Michael Pershan, a place in the Science Hall of Fame, right next to Robert Oppenheimer, Otto “Ock” Octavius, and Jack Kevorkian.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter! Except for those of you in the control group, who receive a devastatingly unfunny entry on the “recently completed” Russo-Japanese War.
IN SPACE NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU LAUGH
That’s a new one from E.R. Flynn. Some weeks on twofiftyone.net we end up publishing a lot of words. This past week, though, ended up having a lot of pictures. For instance, here is a cartoon that just wants to help, from Jim Shoenbill:
Also!:
- A frog-eating cartoon from Jack Reilly
- Some rejected brand mascots from Laura K. Duncan.
Jack’s cartoon is probably the only frog-eating cartoon I’ve ever seen, and Laura’s piece features “a sociopathic battery named Spark Jarvis” representing Tesla that still has me chuckling.
Finally, last week Robert Robert Bo-Bobert Banana-Fana Fo-Fobert Fee-Fi Fo Mobert Robert Criss gave us “Worst Times to Play the Name Game,” which you can read on the site or with pictures on Instagram:
And now, a surgeon’s general warning.
SURGEON’S GENERAL WARNING: As a surgeon, I say you should remain active while avoiding risky activities, in general.
SURGEON’S GENERAL WARNING: If you come across a substance that you don’t recognize, don’t smoke it. That’s my opinion, generally speaking, as a man of medicine.
SURGEON’S GENERAL WARNING: I feel most like myself when in the operating theatre, cutting, snipping—saving a life. When you’re older, you’ll realize a lot of “cool” things from your youth were just people being needlessly reckless with their health and bodies. Though I have nothing specific in mind.
SURGEON’S GENERAL WARNING: During residency, I got myself the nickname “Quacky McSlicey,” and keep in mind you only have one life to live. In general.
