London - Scientists in Britain unveiled the world's funniest joke on Thursday at the end of the largest study of humour ever.
For the past year, people around the globe were invited to judge jokes using a five-point "Giggleometer" on the Internet, as well as to contribute quips of their own.
The LaughLab experiment conducted by psychologist Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, attracted more than 40 000 jokes and almost two million ratings.
As well as identifying the joke that appealed most to people around the world, the experiment, not surprisingly, revealed wide humour differences between nations.
"What's brown and sticky? A stick." Scans conducted on people being told jokes also identified the brain's laughter centre, a region near the back of the frontal lobes.
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The joke that received the highest global ratings was submitted by psychiatrist Gurpal Gosall, from Manchester, northern England.
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 cellphone and calls the emergency services.
He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?"
Americans and Canadians favoured jokes where people were made to look stupid 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?"
"Many of the jokes submitted received higher ratings from certain groups of people," Wiseman said. "But this one had real universal appeal."
Researchers found significant differences between nations in the types of jokes they found funny.
People from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand preferred gags involving word play, such as:
PATIENT: "Doctor, I've got a strawberry stuck up my bum."
DOCTOR: "I've got some cream for that."
Americans and Canadians favoured jokes where people were made to look stupid.
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