The winning joke After much careful scrutiny, we finally found the joke that received higher ratings than any other gag. Here it is: Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?". The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says "OK, now what?" This joke was submitted by Gurpal Gosall, a 31 year old psychiatrist from Manchester in the UK. He told LaughLab: "I like the joke as it makes people feel better, because it reminds them that there is always someone out there who is doing something more stupid than themselves." Here is a picture of Gurpal in front of a large poster containing his joke. The joke is interesting because it works across many different countries, appeals to men and women, and young and old alike. Many of the jokes submitted received higher ratings from certain groups of people, but this one had real universal appeal. Also, we find jokes funny for lots of different reasons – they sometimes make us feel superior to others, reduce the emotional impact of anxiety-provoking events, or surprise us because of some kind of incongruity. The hunters joke contains all three elements – we feel superior to the stupid hunter, realise the incongruity of him misunderstanding the operator and the joke helps us to laugh about our concerns about our own mortality. Home Introduction The winning joke In second place Humour across the globe It's all about timing The brain's funnybone Freudian funnies Superiority theory Incongruity theory Images and soundclips Fun facts Tech stuff