The "Benign Violation Theory" posits that for something to be funny, three conditions must be met. First, there must be a violation of the norm. Second, the violation must be perceived to be benign. Last, both these perceptions must occur simultaneously. [more inside]
posted by cosmac on Aug 27, 2010 - 106 comments

Henri Bergson's "On Comedy"
Helene Cixous's "The Laugh of the Medusa"
David Chalmer's Philosophical Humour
Monty Python's "Philosopher's World Cup" [more inside]
posted by anotherpanacea on Feb 16, 2008 - 21 comments

B3ta Bumper Book of Sick Jokes (flash) on Scribd, a youtube for pdfs. For extra weirdness listen to the mp3 (the link is at the bottom of the pdf display).
posted by srboisvert on Mar 16, 2007 - 12 comments

Must-haves for your coffee table, lavatory reading, or just killing time on the subway: The Nutritional Benefits of Nose Picking; Perfecting the Art of Fart Projection (NEVER be blamed again!); How to Murder a Complete Stranger (and get away with it) [paging scarabic]. These and other eyebrow-raising books can be yours, assuming you already have a book that you can put these dustjackets on. FlapArt: The Alternative Book Cover.
posted by Gator on Mar 17, 2006 - 17 comments

Wikipedia's Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense category is a veritable goldmine of...well. I had never heard of a Mushroom Tattoo, for example, nor did I know about the tragic exploitation of the Gnomish Nation or the truth about the American Revolution. Towards the end, Ronald Reagan's condition was even sadder than I thought. And why shouldn't we believe in Atlantis, or for that matter the bearatross or Alphonse W. Turkeyman?
posted by Gator on Dec 8, 2005 - 15 comments

Oh that whirlwind affair that October in Shanghai. It's a week old. And I hope and pray this hasn't been posted before. But if you like joke fodder about Bush, these photos may be for you.
posted by crasspastor on Oct 29, 2001 - 17 comments