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![]() Search for world's funniest joke
Why did the chicken cross the road?
The search to find the world's funniest joke has been launched by a British scientist.
The huge internet experiment aims to collect tens of thousands of jokes which will be assessed according to how funny they are. By logging onto www.laughlab.co.uk, people will be able to submit their favourite joke, and rate those already on the site, using something called a laughometer. "It is an attempt to delve into the psychology of humour," Dr Richard Wiseman told the British Association Festival of Science in Glasgow. "Are there certain types of joke being submitted by a certain country, and are there some which are found funny across the world - a kind of universal joke?" Brain scans Dr Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, is researching how humour differs between nationalities, sexes and age groups. Once the funniest jokes have been chosen, the scientists will read them aloud to a group of people and see how their brain activity changes using MRI scans.
Dr Wiseman believes the experiment could reveal insights into the psychology of humour and which parts of the brain are involved. However the experiment has its limits: all jokes will be censored, and no rude or offensive ones will be displayed on the site.
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29 Mar 01 | UK
10 Sep 00 | Festival of science
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