The world's least funny countries

[pendell]

So the web networking site badoo.com took a survey (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1395052/Germans-voted-funny-nationality-international-poll.html) of the world's most un-funny countries and nationalities.

The list, in order:

1) Germany
2) Russia
3) Turkey
4) Britain
5) United States
6) France
7) Poland
8) Belgium
9) Holland
10) Canada

I was wondering if there was anyone here who wanted to prove the survey wrong.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Mono Vertigo]

Belgium? Unfunny?
:smallfrown:
We are a paragon of politic absurd humor... which, admittedly, stopped being funny 6 months ago... and self-deprecation... but of course, we can't expect anyone outside of the country to understand it if we tell the jokes in Flemish.
Oh, wait, we're the worst swear word in the universe, too. If that's not funny, I don't know what is. :smallsigh:

[LaZodiac]

How is Belgium the worst swear word?

[Dvil]

I don't think Britain's unfunny, per se. Our collective sense of humour is simply a little more dry and subtle than most other nationalities are used to, and can therefore often be missed completely.

[LaZodiac]

Oh, side note, I think this list is "1=least funniest" order. Not sure.

[Mercenary Pen]

I respectfully suggest that Britain is in fact the most hilarious nation in the world, simply because we take ourselves seriously despite being what we are. There are so many jokes that need a straight man to set them up.

[Mauve Shirt]

I spent the last few hours watching QI on youtube. I'm a fan of British humor. I also think Germans are hilarious.

[Dogmantra]

How is Belgium the worst swear word?

I do believe it's a reference to the American version of Life, The Universe and Everything where the Rory award for The Most Gratuitous Use Of The Word "****" In A Serious Screenplay was changed to "Belgium" instead.

[pendell]

Oh, side note, I think this list is "1=least funniest" order. Not sure.

Yup. 1 = least funny, 2 = second least funny, etc.

Hey, I think we Americans deserve a lower ranking. We've got XKCD and OOTS and Girl Genius. Just because *I* have no measurable sense of humor doesn't mean there aren't some funny people out there ... I think ...

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[AtlanteanTroll]

While I do think that this thread is a train-wreck waiting to happen, I must admit, Britcom is hilarious.

I'm not sure what I would say about America ... But, we find ourselves funny.

[Tirian]

It's astonishing that all of the world's unfunniness is concentrated in Europe and North America. Africa and central Asia must be the global cradle of comedy.

[AtlanteanTroll]

It's astonishing that all of the world's unfunniness is concentrated in Europe and North America. Africa and central Asia must be the global cradle of comedy.

Oh that reminds me, when I went to Japan I was eating with some people and asked them to tell me a joke. They told me that the Japaneses (who weren't comedians) didn't tell jokes.

I was confused to say the least.

[Spiryt]

Poland unfunny?

Everything is funny here since at least ~ 1960 due to 'glorious' gains of socialism :smalltongue: Pretty much saddest elements of reality became a jokes.

But I guess that Internet poll won't have too much connection with reality, aside from the fact that ctegorizing hole ounty as " funny" or not is "a bit" difficult.

[Trog]

*reads list, breathes a sigh of relief*

Trogland's not on there. Trog's safe. =P

[Keld Denar]

I'd say Djibouti is the funniest country in the world. Seriously...say it out loud. Louder. Even louder. Loud enough that your coworkers can hear you. Say it in a meeting, or when you are out to eat in a public place.

Hillarious!

[Moff Chumley]

I, personally, find quite a few Americans hilarious. But that's just me.

[Dusk Eclipse]

How are they measuring which country is the funniest one? Different cultures have, hold the presses, different kind of humour.

For example; as it has been already said, British humour tends towards dryness (and IMO) sarcasm; while Mexican humour tends towards black/dark/gallows humour.

So it strikes me as weird to say you can rank countries that way.

[AtlanteanTroll]

*reads list, breathes a sigh of relief*

Trogland's not on there. Trog's safe. =P

Unless the RB has lied to me, that's not true.

[ZombyWoof]

Wow ripoff of the SouthPark episode much? :P

Though I do have to say that WAS a hilarious moment when FunnyBot explained his motives for killing everyone.

[Trog]

Unless the RB has lied to me, that's not true.
<<
>>
...
Quiet, you. :smalltongue:

[AtlanteanTroll]

<<
>>
...
Quiet, you. :smalltongue:
Well, the RB is full of liars, so I could be wrong. :smalltongue: (Then again, it was Koorly who explained this.)

[LCR]

I do not find zis amusing. Jawohl.

[Eon]

But... My ego says I'm funny! :smalltongue:

[Traab]

I don't think Britain's unfunny, per se. Our collective sense of humour is simply a little more dry and subtle than most other nationalities are used to, and can therefore often be missed completely.

How can anyone NOT laugh at men in drag talking about penguins?

[DraPrime]

Well I'll agree on America. A lot of the entertainment from this country tries really hard to be funny (see Family Guy), but ends up just being awful. There's a few funny things, but way too much American comedy just fails.

Now why on earth is Poland there? My various trips there have all been filled with awesome humor. Granted, when it comes to the western Slavic nations I think that the Czechs have got us Poles thoroughly beat, but Poland is still funny!

Britain is the king of comedy. There is no one more funny than the Brits. Their placement on this list is a crime.

[Martok]

I'm baffled by the UK being on the list. They're probably the funniest d*** people I know of!

Not sure what to make of the U.S. being on there. I've always thought we were pretty funny, but perhaps that's mostly because my friends are? I don't know.





I respectfully suggest that Britain is in fact the most hilarious nation in the world, simply because we take ourselves seriously despite being what we are. There are so many jokes that need a straight man to set them up.
Ha. Well said! :smallbiggrin:

[Eon]

Well I'll agree on America. A lot of the entertainment from this country tries really hard to be funny (see Family Guy), but ends up just being awful.

Riiiiiiigghhht. I suddenly understand. :smalltongue:

[Whiffet]

This was... a survey? Is there a place where we can see exactly what the survey asked, how it was distributed, what the fifteen countries that voted were, how the 30,000 respondents were chosen, and who was responsible for the survey? The article just says that it was "for" a social networking site. Did the site itself do this survey? Did the site hire someone else to do a survey? Someone give a good reason to take this survey seriously.

Or maybe I'm not supposed to be taking it seriously and I'm just being ridiculous right now. If so... oops.

[Zocelot]

This can't be right. All of the countries listed are fairly populated, reasonably advanced countries. I think that the least funniest countries would be third world countries where they're so busy working 14 hour days that they don't have time for humor. What I would guess happened with this list is that people voted for "Unfunniest Country" and the list is just who got the most votes.

[pendell]

How on earth did the Russians get #2? Yakov Smirnov? C'mon, everyone together. In the rest of the world, people make unfunny list. In Russia, unfunny list make YOU!

Hey, this is easy! In America, Giant write OOTS. In Russia, OOTS writes YOU!

Wow , this is easy. I should quit my computer job and hit the nightclub circuit.



All of the countries listed are fairly populated, reasonably advanced countries.


Must be all that gloomy, depressing technological angst. Clearly we are all bored, and spend our times on the internet in coffee shops and musing on the meaning of life and wearing black and being very angsty because life is full of, I don't know, angst or something.

Tongue-in-cheek,

Brian P.

[ragingrage]

Canada got #10?
I thought we weren't that not funny.

[Traab]

Nah, lots of comics trickle down from the great white north. Or whatever the nickname of canada is.

[Whiffet]

This can't be right. All of the countries listed are fairly populated, reasonably advanced countries. I think that the least funniest countries would be third world countries where they're so busy working 14 hour days that they don't have time for humor. What I would guess happened with this list is that people voted for "Unfunniest Country" and the list is just who got the most votes.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened. And so people voted for countries if they had seen stuff out of those countries that wasn't actually funny or witty. That or they voted by stereotypes.

[Lord Raziere]

countries? ha. that is thinking small. the whole world is hilarious.

why this thread itself is a joke you have played on yourselves, look close enough and you will see how absurd it is :smallbiggrin:

[DraPrime]

Nah, lots of comics trickle down from the great white north. Or whatever the nickname of canada is.

I believe "America's hat" is the proper terminology.

[grimbold]

How is Belgium the worst swear word?

its a hitchhikers guide thing :smallbiggrin:

[Dallas-Dakota]

Hey...we're not that unfunny....

We have tons of jokes about Belgium.:smalltongue:

[SuperFerret]

I believe "America's hat" is the proper terminology.

I've always been partial to "America's Milhouse" but to each their own.



Also, I've never found Papua New Guinea to be all that funny and yet, they don't make the list.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Canada got #10?
I thought we weren't that not funny.

Considering that the LRR Crew (makers of various series on the Loading Ready Run site, Unskippable, ENN / Checkpoint and Feed Dump) are Canadian disproves that poll in one fell swoop.

Also, how did Britain get on there?

The least funny country on the world is the Vatican ... unless you use the criteria of 'funnily dressed'

[Eldan]

Switzerland is pretty unfunny. Or at least most of our comedians suck enormously.

[Asta Kask]

The UK not funny? The country that gave us Monte Python and Fawlty Towers? Homeland of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Rowan Atkinson? Cradle of the Hith-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Discworld series?

[grimbold]

The UK not funny? The country that gave us Monte Python and Fawlty Towers? Homeland of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Rowan Atkinson? Cradle of the Hith-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Discworld series?

agreed
the UK is brilliant

[Ceaon]

1) Germany
2) Russia
3) Turkey
4) Britain
5) United States
6) France
7) Poland
8) Belgium
9) Holland
10) Canada


Wow, I sure am glad the Netherlands aren't on that list!

[Castaras]

*blink* How is Britain least funny when we have all the "famous" comedian stuff? Monty Python and all? :smallconfused: Sarcasm and dry humour is awesome. As is puns.

[pendell]

why this thread itself is a joke you have played on yourselves, look close enough and you will see how absurd it is :smallbiggrin:

Yes.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Mercenary Pen]

What really worries me is why Antarctica isn't on the list, is the penguin comedy circuit really better than the greatest comedians of Britain etc.?

[Traab]

Wow, I sure am glad the Netherlands aren't on that list!

The netherlands arent even a real country.

[GrlumpTheElder]

Wow, I sure am glad the Netherlands aren't on that list!

Technically a small part of you is, but heh.

England has avoided being unfunny. Thank you Monty Python!

[Maxios]

Hey! America's the funniest country on the whole friggin' planet! We have the Simpsons, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Friends*, According to Jim*, Everybody loves Raymond*, Seinfeld*, and a bunch of other sitcoms! :furious::smalltongue:
*-It's over, but that doesn't matter!

[Dvil]

Hey! America's the funniest country on the whole friggin' planet! We have the Simpsons, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Friends*, According to Jim*, Everybody loves Raymond*, Seinfeld*, and a bunch of other sitcoms! :furious::smalltongue:
*-It's over, but that doesn't matter!

I was going to disagree with you there, but now I'm just amazed that somebody else has actually heard of According to Jim :smalltongue:

[Maxios]

I was going to disagree with you there, but now I'm just amazed that somebody else has actually heard of According to Jim :smalltongue:

I love According to Jim. I watch the reruns of it on TBS every day :smallcool: alongside the Friends reruns, Everybody Loves Raymond reruns, The King of Queen reruns, and the Seinfeld reruns

[Dvil]

I've been spending my days watching Everybody Loves Raymond, Scrubs, and Two and a Half Men on Comedy Central. I feel like I've been missing out, having only just started recently.

[Mercenary Pen]

You see, I generally count sitcoms as a strike against the country that produced them- with Red Dwarf as the lone exception to this rule...

However, the UK has Bill Bailey, who is generally excellent.

[Sipex]

The results of this survey seem to list nearly every single country where making jokes is actually a viable living. Seriously, how can places where we produce people who simply exist to make other laugh be unfunny?

Crazy.

[Asta Kask]

You see, I generally count sitcoms as a strike against the country that produced them- with Red Dwarf as the lone exception to this rule...

However, the UK has Bill Bailey, who is generally excellent.

Fawlty Towers is a sitcom. Are you saying you don't like hating Basil?

[Mercenary Pen]

Fawlty Towers is a sitcom. Are you saying you don't like hating Basil?

Never watched it, it was before my time.

[Pie Guy]

How on earth did the Russians get #2? Yakov Smirnov? C'mon, everyone together. In the rest of the world, people make unfunny list. In Russia, unfunny list make YOU!

Hey, this is easy! In America, Giant write OOTS. In Russia, OOTS writes YOU!

Wow , this is easy. I should quit my computer job and hit the nightclub circuit.



Must be all that gloomy, depressing technological angst. Clearly we are all bored, and spend our times on the internet in coffee shops and musing on the meaning of life and wearing black and being very angsty because life is full of, I don't know, angst or something.

Tongue-in-cheek,

Brian P.

I get where you're coming from, but I don't think you're angsty enough.

Edit: Or I should check to make sure we're still on the first page. Whatever.

[Comet]

the US of A is full of funny people, but it's just too damn big in my eyes to be considered to have any sort of identity as a country, funny or otherwise.

It's just... a blob. Sort of there, but still not quite a coherent entity. Could be just me, mind.
But, again, a lot of funny people there, no denying that.

[Ryu_Bonkosi]

I believe "America's hat" is the proper terminology.

I do believe this link (http://satwcomic.com/awesome-hats) describes it. (Warning, some comics (not this one) are NSFW, you have been warned.)

I also agree with Britain being on there, we're hysterical.

[GolemsVoice]

As a German, I laugh at this list. Or not. There you go.

[Asta Kask]

Never watched it, it was before my time.

Oh you've missed so much.

Blackadder were all sitcoms. Couplings.

[Robert Blackletter]

I respectfully suggest that Britain is in fact the most hilarious nation in the world, simply because we take ourselves seriously despite being what we are. There are so many jokes that need a straight man to set them up.

We take ourself seriously?


Hey! America's the funniest country on the whole friggin' planet! We have the Simpsons, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Friends*, According to Jim*, Everybody loves Raymond*, Seinfeld*, and a bunch of other sitcoms! :furious::smalltongue:
*-It's over, but that doesn't matter!

Well let look at you list:
Simpsons: Was good, now distinctly average
Two and a Half Men: Started Average but with promise which it never fulfilled
Rules of Engagement: This is funny but not ground breaking
Friends: This was funny but the last few season got kinda dire
According to Jim: I reserve judgement until I see it
Everybody loves Raymond: This is just awful, how did this last.
Seinfeld:SeinfeldIsUnfunny (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny)
let be honest there a few misses there


Oh you've missed so much.

Blackadder were all sitcoms. Couplings.

Blackadder awesome (just ship the first series)

[Scarlet Knight]

Germany is very funny; doesn't anyone remember the 4 Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico, Harpo, & Karl....:smallwink:

[Whiffet]

Germany is very funny; doesn't anyone remember the 4 Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico, Harpo, & Karl....:smallwink:

I'm guessing people only want to use humor from the present-day. I mean, look at the examples given a few posts ago to argue for the United States!

Did anyone notice that the article begins with a Mark Twain quote? Ah, Mark Twain, if only we had someone today with your brilliance...

[Lhurgyof]

Well I'll agree on America. A lot of the entertainment from this country tries really hard to be funny (see Family Guy), but ends up just being awful. There's a few funny things, but way too much American comedy just fails.

Now why on earth is Poland there? My various trips there have all been filled with awesome humor. Granted, when it comes to the western Slavic nations I think that the Czechs have got us Poles thoroughly beat, but Poland is still funny!

Britain is the king of comedy. There is no one more funny than the Brits. Their placement on this list is a crime.

I happen to think America is quite funny.

[Kobold-Bard]

I believe "America's hat" is the proper terminology.

Actually I am led to understand that you have it backwards, and the correct term is "Canada's Underpants".

[Killer Angel]

According to Jim: I reserve judgement until I see it


It would be a very standard sitcom, if not for Belushi. That alone makes it high quality stuff. :smallsmile:

[Asta Kask]

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are pretty funny.

[Scarlet Knight]

Lenny Bruce once said, the equation for comedy is "laughter equals pain plus time."

If this is true, that poll is reversed.

Also , why do we see so much British sitcom, but so little from other English speaking nations like Australia or Ireland?

[Sipex]

Sitcoms are a poor judge of comedy quality.

Go for stand-up acts and late night shows. Those tend to be better.

[ORione]

I disagree strongly with Britain being on the list, especially with it being above America*. I like American humor, but British Humor is way better.

*I'm American.

[grimbold]

Sitcoms are a poor judge of comedy quality.

Go for stand-up acts and late night shows. Those tend to be better.

yeah
however sometimes sit coms try to tell an overarching story
you don't get that in stand up

[Bleak Ink]

I don't know about that list; I find British and German humor funny.
America.. well, I think we used to be funnier. As in, pre-90's. Those laughter-track family sitcom nightmares killed us...

[Trufflehound]

I think Germany has an excellent sense of humor. Have you ever been to a *traditional* Bavarian restaurant?

[Blisstake]

The details on how this poll was conducted seem incredibly vague. A social networking site that I've never heard of asks a bunch of people who may be concentrated geographically in one region... yeah, I wouldn't take this poll too seriously.

I don't think a country's comedic value can be measured very well.

[Turalisj]

I respectfully suggest that Britain is in fact the most hilarious nation in the world, simply because we take ourselves seriously despite being what we are. There are so many jokes that need a straight man to set them up.

Britain is the straight man to USA. Case in point, The Daily Show. How many other faux-news shows will have the main how accidentally slitting his own wrist while making a martini and commenting on a close friend?

[Solaris]

Actually I am led to understand that you have it backwards, and the correct term is "Canada's Underpants".

That would explain y'all sending us your comedians.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Also , why do we see so much British sitcom, but so little from other English speaking nations like Australia or Ireland?

While I can't speak for the Irish, I don't recall us making many shows that went overseas - and the only thing resembling a sitcom from Australia I can recall (that wasn't terrible) would be the various projects of Chris Lilley (We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High, whatever the new one is called).

[Inhuman Bot]

I was wondering if there was anyone here who wanted to prove the survey wrong.

North Korea. Nevermind, the country IS a joke!

[Ezeze]

The list, in order:

1) Germany
2) Russia
3) Turkey
4) Britain
5) United States
6) France
7) Poland
8) Belgium
9) Holland
10) Canada


I am suspicious of this list based exclusively on the fact that these are all first-world countries.

How do you measure unfunnyness? :smallconfused: