Not
the foolish joke book or bathroom reader suggested by the title, American Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny is rather a thoughtful
and detailed study of the history of humor in America. Using jokes, cartoons,
postcards, movies, and radio and television shows, this book gives the reader a
clear picture of the ordinary American’s sense of humor and how it has changed.
The boarding houses and leftover hash that were a staple of humor during
financial hard times are now non-existent, nor are there many vacuum cleaner
salesmen or icemen still knocking on doors. Broad changes in the American way
of life can be seen through the decades of jokes and cartoons in this book: the
husband who washes dishes is no longer a laughingstock, although his frilly
apron might be; men still ogle women but it is no longer their ankles that
catch the eye; the Irish, who once bore the brunt of American ethnic humor, are
now upstanding and successful citizens. Other nationalities have replaced them
as butts of jokes. Hillbilly jokes still abound but now they are red-neck
jokes. The author digs into the minutiae of humor: which middle initials are
considered funny; why is the husband’s mother-in-law is funnier than the
wife’s; is the trombone or tuba the funnier musical instrument? Some things
never change, such as the speed with which anvils fall off a cliff or the
incomprehensibility of modern art. Many formerly funny jokes would now be
considered cruel and offensive. This book clearly explains why, in their own
time, they were widely appreciated. And, after you read Christopher Miller’s
examination of a psychologist’s five-page study on why children find the “moron
throws a clock out the window” joke funny, you’ll realize (if you hadn’t
before) that some jokes are best left unexamined.
Check out a copy of American Cornball: A Laffopedic Guide to the Formerly Funny @ the library!
