The business of making people laugh
Janet Paskin | August 2009 issue What’s a laugh worth? You can get your yuks in a comedy club for $20 or less; for a few hours of humor in a movie theater, you’ll pay about $10. A whoopee cushion or a joy buzzer is significantly cheaper; to indulge in more highbrow humor—say, a framed New Read More...
How laughter meditation can bring you peace and joy
Max Christern | August 2009 issue Laughing is a group activity. "It gives you a feeling of solidarity," Dhyan Sutorius had already explained to me on the phone. That’s why he asked if I was interested in doing a short laughing meditation with the staff during his upcoming visit to Ode’s Dutch Read More...
What makes the whoopee cushion so funny?
Marco Visscher | August 2009 issue After Trevor Cox, professor of acoustics at the University of Salford in central England, designed the world’s largest whoopee cushion (it’s six feet—two meters—in diameter), he was approached by the British charity Comic Relief to carry out a little, um, Read More...
The funny side of faith
Carmel Wrothl | August 2009 issue Mullah Nasrudin is a medieval folk hero claimed by many countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. He’s part court jester, part Socratic philosopher, and the many tales of his sayings and adventures are popular throughout the Middle East and parts of Read More...
Ode's list of favorite funny movies
Editors | August 2009 issue Watching Marx Brothers movies helped Norman Cousins cope with a painful illness, a process he described in Anatomy of an Illness. Here are Ode’s recommendations if you’re feeling sick, tired, or just plain in need of a pick-me-up: Bridget Jones's Diary Mark Darcy to Read More...
Share your favorite funny videos
Ode Editors | August 2009 issue To share your favorite funny videos, join Ode’s YouTube group at http://www.youtube.com/group/OdeLaughter. Here’s a selection of footage that’s sure to raise a Read More...