Simply funny

We've all been there. Sitting in the living room with your best buds, watching the game. And then it happens. You will be enjoying your conversation, and then your comrade will venture into a book-long train wreck of an attempt at a joke.

It usually happens when your friend wants to contribute something funny and memorable to the conversation - and then tries much too hard - resulting in a catastrophe which ends in an awkward silence and pity laughter. Your friend ends the horrible attempt at humor with: "well, I guess you'd have to have been there."

HERE IS WHY THIS HAPPENS:
They are trying way too hard, and have nothing prepared except a terrible idea for a joke. The problem is that they are trying to make a joke out of something that isn't verbally funny. What do I mean by "verbally funny"? I'm talking about something that should be expressed physically rather than orally (I know, haha, get your mind out of the gutter).

For example, just the other day, my colleague, who shall remain anonymous, tried to explain to me a video on youtube.com which involved a small dog biting and popping balloons on a floor. The conversation was going smoothly until he tried to add a punchline to his explanation, thus transforming his story into a horrible joke. He said, and I quote "The dog was like, aarhh arrhhh arrhh, and the balloons were going pop, pop, pop! hahahaaa."

After hearing this, I sat in stunned silence, and deliberated whether or not I should leave the room. Was my friend's statement intended to be a joke? Then, I did as any good friend would do - I offered a pity laugh, and changed the subject.

In conclusion, I just want everybody reading this to know that bad jokes can happen to anybody. Even though they are awkward, we should strive to recognize humor in all situations. I don't claim to be an expert at being funny, but if you do decide to tell a joke, do your friends a favor and keep it simple.

To end this post, I have this video of humor that cannot be expressed verbally. Please watch it with the sound turned up, and enjoy. Thanks for reading.