Pasta Joke Wins One-Liner Joke Contest – But is it Funny?

When asked what's important in finding a companion both men and women list a sense of humor rather highly on their list of most desired attributes in a partner. Our ability to laugh is truly what keeps us from going insane in this oft-times not-so-funny world.

But what "is funny"? I would hazard to guess that if you asked ten different people you would get ten different answers but one thing is for sure, we all love a good joke. Heck, most of us love a bad joke that is so bad it turns out to be incredibly funny.

Scientists call that incongruity. It basically means a lack of harmony or dissonance. It's when the storyteller swiftly reverses direction or takes a different tact than what our minds anticipated that humor is often born.

One of the reasons we find those "twists" to be so funny is that our minds and even our bodies start to anticipate a joke even before it's been told. And like a sudden dip on a roller coaster that sharp mental curve in the story leaves us surprised and entertained.

Every year humor is on display at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the UK. Part of the festival is the competition for Dave's Joke of the Fringe. It's an "iconic" award that comedians, jokesters, storytellers, and the like compete to win because, it actually has a certain modicum of prestige, at least among comedians.

Comedian Masai Graham won this year's award for a joke he told about pasta. This is Graham's second win at the festival. He won back in 2016 with this great one-liner.

My dad suggested I register for a donor card. He’s a man after my own heart

Graham's joke was chronicled on The Guardian's website. Oddly enough the very next day after winning Dave's Joke of the Fringe Award, Graham actually suffered a heart attack. He blamed it on excessive energy drink consumption and has since made an extraordinary recovery.

So, what was Graham's pasta joke that captured the trophy for him this year? Well, according to The Guardian it was this.

I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me and I couldn’t get pasta.

Okay, that one got a smirk out of me. It's not that it's not funny, it just doesn't strike me as an award winner. You might find it hilarious and I hope you do but I think there were actually better jokes submitted for the contest.

For example, Comedian Mark Simmons offered this gem, "Did you know, if you get pregnant in the Amazon, it’s next day delivery?" and Tim Vine threw this one out there, "I used to live hand to mouth. Do you know what changed my life? Cutlery"

You can check out the rest of the TOP 10 on the Guardian Website. I do have to admit, I love one-liners and short jokes. If it takes more than 30 seconds to tell it's probably too long if you ask me but then again, that's "my sense of humor" or as I call it "my super power".