Brits have a biting sense of humor, study finds
April 18, 2009 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Health
HA! Don’t laugh, but this study found genetic evidence that our neighbors across the pond have a unique sense of humor, and apparently it’s the negative kind.
Twins share a humor gene
A survey of 4,000 twins suggested that British humor, those that are filled with sarcasm and self-deprecation, is linked to genes in British men and women, but not shared by Americans!
The “positive” kind of humor, like telling jokes and looking on the bright side, is shared by both sides of the Atlantic. But the negative kind, like biting sarcasm and teasing, are genetically linked only in Britain.
The researchers admit that developing a taste for either kind of humor is an interplay between genes and the environment but it’s interesting to note the difference between the two nationalities.
But here’s what English actor and comedian Charlie Higson had to say about the jokes that Americans and British tell:
“What they [Americans] don’t understand is the British desire to keep putting themselves down, but they fully understand irony. Their humour is considerably more sophisticated than British humour. Look at their sitcoms – the level of wit and sophistication in Friends – we don’t have anything to match that. Ours tend to be about silly people doing silly things, whereas in America, it’s clever people doing clever things.”
OK, now you can laugh.
Source: Independent.co.UK ; Image: sxc.hu/greyman
