Friday 5 March 2021 Top 10 jokes that amuse and confuse in equal measure
New study shines a spotlight on why some people get the joke whilst others are left scratching their heads
Neuroscientist and comedy expert Dr Helen Pilcher reveals why jokes can leave half of us laughing - but the rest puzzled by the punchline
Ability to get gags can vary greatly between people, depending on culture, context and brain activity
Jokes relying on unfamiliar concepts and word play are trickiest to understand
Two thirds of Brits baffled by a joke will pretend to find it funny to fit in
Study commissioned by TV channel Gold to celebrate launch of new retrospective The Vicar of Dibley: Inside Out on Saturday 6th March
How do you drown a Hipster? In the mainstream is the joke most likely to amuse and confuse Brits in equal measure, new research reveals.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana and a jar of Omega 3 vitamins fell on my head when I opened the cupboard. I sustained super fish oil injuries are also gags that split Brits down the middle with half howling in laughter - but the rest left scratching their heads.
The report and research by renowned neuroscientist and comedy expert Dr Helen Pilcher tested a series of jokes on 2,000 adults and reveals the science explaining why some jokes are not universally understood.
The study was specially commissioned by TV channel Gold to celebrate The Vicar of Dibley: Inside Out, a new retrospective special revealing what went on behind the scenes of the award-winning BBC series, airing on Saturday 6th March.
The research was inspired by the end scenes of each episode which sees Geraldines attempt to tell Alice a joke fall flat, as she fails to understand the punchline and needs an explanation.
Dr Pilcher identified variables that determine how much of the humour individuals get, with factors including their age, upbringing, personal and cultural background and life experiences.
Top 10 jokes that amuse and confuse in equal measure according to British adults:
How do you drown a Hipster? In the mainstream (46%)
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana (45%)
A jar of Omega 3 vitamins fell on my head when I opened the cupboard. I sustained super fish oil injuries (40%)
How do you milk sheep? With iPhone accessories (38%)
How many surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A fish (36%)
What do accountants do when theyre constipated? They work it out with a pencil (35%)
A cowboy asked me if I could help him round up 18 cows. I said, Yes, of course. Thats 20 cows (30%)
A horse walks into a bar and the barman says Hey, why the long face? (29%)
What does a dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac do at night? He stays up wondering if there really is a dog (28%)
Im very pleased with my new fridge magnet. So far, Ive got 12 fridges (18%)
The type of comedy most likely to confuse is jokes based on unfamiliar concepts and word play, Dr Pilcher found.
The report also reveals that over six in ten Brits like to think they are quick-witted despite seven in ten actually often needing to have a joke explained to them.
Rather than look silly, over two thirds (67%) admit they will laugh at jokes they dont understand to fit in and over half (56%) have had to look up the meaning of a joke when slow on the uptake. The same number (56%) have even re-told jokes without understanding the punchline.
Dr Pilchers report explores why jokes such as How do you drown a Hipster? In the mainstream divide the nation, concluding that the joke involves both cultural context and the understanding of wordplay. In order to understand the joke, the listener needs three things.
First, the listener needs some background knowledge; an understanding of the terms hipster and mainstream. Second, the listener needs an understanding that hipsters are perceived to be anti-mainstream. Finally, the listener needs to spot the double meaning within the word mainstream; its both a body of water and a set of values.
Dr Pilcher said:
Laughter is universal but humour is immensely subjective and although people all over the world enjoy a good joke what they find funny varies according to a number of things, such as culture, context and language.
Brain activity is also implicated. The brain contains billions of neurons, and can process large amounts of information in very short time periods. For some people, all the elements of a joke come together in an instant and they get the joke, but if any of the elements are missing, then the joke falls flat, much like in The Vicar of Dibley when Alice fails to understand any of Geraldines jokes.
Gerald Casey, Gold channel director, said:
At the end of every episode of The Vicar of Dibley, Geraldine shares a joke with Alice and whilst deemed funny by Geraldine, Alice always fails to understand the punchline. We wanted to commemorate this iconic show by revealing just how subjective humour and jokes can be.
The poll also revealed the top 10 jokes from the end scenes of The Vicar of Dibley, famed for the punchline falling flat when Alice fails to understand jokes told by Dawn Frenchs character Geraldine.
Top 10 funniest jokes from The Vicar of Dibley:
Two nuns are driving through Transylvania when a great big vampire jumps on the bonnet. One nun says to the other show him your cross. So, the nun opens the window and yells: get off my bonnet you toothy git! (62%)
Theres a Vicar playing golf with his friend John. John misses a three-foot putt, and he says: Dammit, I missed the bugger. The Vicar tuts and says John, if you say that once more then God will open up the heavens and send a thunderbolt to strike you dead. But then John misses a two-foot putt, and he says: Dammit, I missed the bugger. So, the heavens open a great big thunderbolt comes down and strikes the Vicar dead and God says Dammit, I missed the bugger (52%)
W
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Friday 5 March 2021 Top 10 jokes that amuse and confuse in equal measure
