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Cracking Up: Exploring All Types of Humor

Helen
2 min readJun 15, 2024

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No Soap Radio

A prank where the comedian makes an unrelated punchline at the end of a joke, pretends it’s funny by laughing, and asks anyone laughing along to explain the joke, embarrassing them.

Anti-Humor

Humor that surprises due to the lack of a punchline or joke at the end, like the Shaggy Dog story — an extremely long story without a punchline, leaving the audience initially confused.

Sarcasm

Saying the opposite of what you mean in a witty way to express disdain, mockery or criticism. It’s understood through tone of voice and context, not just the words. Mostly used informally.

Slapstick/Physical Comedy

Humor full of real and simulated physical violence to create laughter. It creates embarrassing, painful or humiliating situations for those involved. Can be enjoyed solely visually.

White Humor

The most innocent, inoffensive humor without mockery. Mostly for kids and teens as it has no insults or bad intentions.

Dry Humor

Inexpressive humor delivered in a straightforward style with serious intonation. Brief, precise, witty observations contrasting the comedian’s lack…

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Helen
Helen

Written by Helen

I’m a board member for the Harvard Creative Writing Collective and an outreach associate director for Harvard Women in Computer Science.

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