There's a reason comedians call it "dying on stage."
Research by a Washington State University linguist found that people who tell bad jokes often endure an astonishing outpouring of hostility from the listeners.
"These were basically attacks intended to result in the social exclusion or humiliation of the speaker, punctuated on occasion with profanity, a nasty glare or even a solid punch to the arm,"
We're not talking about jokes that contain offensive material, or the type of slurs unleashed by former "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards. The joke that Bell used in her research was:
"What did the big chimney say to the little chimney?
"Nothing, chimneys can't talk."
The responses to this childish riddle included insults, glares, silence or even blows.
Talk about a tough crowd.
There are several reasons for the strong responses.
First, such canned humor often disrupts the natural flow of conversation.
jokes that fail to deliver humor are a violation of a social contract
clipped from: www.komonews.com 