The members from England do you agree with this?

[Hardbopjazz]

I think this is everywhere in the world today.

Britain suffers sense of humour failure due to worries of modern life

LONDON (AFP) - Britain is suffering a sense of humour failure, with laughter levels three times lower now than 50 years ago and nearly half of all adults unable to enjoy at least one big guffaw a day, research showed.

Money worries, relationship woes and even political concerns were among the reasons given for the collection of grim faces, according to the data, collected for the cruise company Ocean Village.

"Laughter is an essential ingredient of a healthy, happy life and is one of the most effective and immediate antidotes to stress and tension -- it really is the best medicine," said Amanda Bate from Ocean Village.

"The findings of this study show a worrying trend towards glumness. In the 1950s we laughed for an average of 18 minutes daily but this has dropped to just six minutes per day," she said.

Morning misery is rife, with almost half of Britons -- some 45 percent -- admitting they frequently wallowed in gloom until lunchtime.

Around 16 million adults, totalling 40 percent, said they failed to muster even one proper belly laugh in an average day.

It is not all sulking and moodiness, however, as the research found that single women aged 18 to 24 in the northern city of Manchester were the happiest people in the country.

In addition, Bristol, in western England, was named the most cheerful place for couples aged 25 to 34.

Factors such as weather, time of day and age, were all cited as being able to spark the blues.

July and August were the happiest months of the year according to three out of four people quizzed, with January the most miserable.

The study was carried out by ICM Research on behalf of Ocean Village who interviewed a random selection of 1,000 adults aged 18 or over.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050524/lf_af...in_050524214117

Edited May 25, 2005 by Hardbopjazz

[JSngry]

Morning misery is rife, with almost half of Britons -- some 45 percent -- admitting they frequently wallowed in gloom until lunchtime.

Well, there you go.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Oh please - there's more to humor than a "big guffaw" or a "belly laugh".

A smile, a chuckle - no need for blatant excess.

Something like the British version of the TV show The Office (with no laugh track and plenty of awkward silence) is unbelievable funny.

British humour has long been my preference. If TV and movies are any indication, Brits are far funnier than Yanks.

Mike

[Jazzmoose]

Proof positive that man was not meant to rise before noon!

[Randy Twizzle]

Too much laughter is not healthy

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

I think they're distraught over the fact that 'Dalziel & Pascoe' isn't yet out on DVD. How insane is that?

[sidewinder]

It's definitely true. I've noticed a real difference over the past 20 to 25 years but I think this is not just limited to the UK. The increased uncertainties of modern life, the anonimity of much of it and the endless rat race all take their toll..

And the TV at present is absolutely the total pits. 'Celebrity Love Island'? Frontal lobotomies advised ! ( )

The UK is a materially richer place these days (well, for the majority it is I think) but not necessarily a happier one. I read the other day a statement that we have become as a nation much more like the Germans in this respect. An interesting observation..

[king ubu]

Uhm... interesting? Frightening? That last aspect you mention, I mean. Since we know now that half of the Britons don't know who Hitler is or was (they wouldn't care about the tempus if they don't know sh*t), that is a bit frightening, no? Also pulling nazi jokes is not funny in that situation, and that royal a*@%#@§ who you still fail to decapitate *on the spot* (together with the whole rotten bunch, of course) lead the press to pull those jokes again, no? Definitely not funny!

And Mr. Moose is definitely onto something!

[sidewinder]

Uhm... interesting? Frightening? That last aspect you mention, I mean. Since we know now that half of the Britons don't know who Hitler is or was (they wouldn't care about the tempus if they don't know sh*t), that is a bit frightening, no? Also pulling nazi jokes is not funny in that situation, and that royal a*@%#@§ who you still fail to decapitate *on the spot* (together with the whole rotten bunch, of course) lead the press to pull those jokes again, no? Definitely not funny!

And Mr. Moose is definitely onto something!

←

Your Esteemed Maj. - you've given me a good chuckle with your comments and therefore more than done your bit to raise the sense of humour factor over here. Grazi !

Edited May 25, 2005 by sidewinder

[JohnS]

I don't see much to laugh about these days.

[king ubu]

Your Esteemed Maj. - you've given me a good chuckle with your comments and therefore more than done your bit to raise the sense of humour factor over here. Grazi !

←

Well, I guess *that's* the kind of humour you could use over there, on your weird island

[A Lark Ascending]

This strikes me as one of those 'summers arn't as sunny as in the good old days' sort of stories. Fills up a few minutes on a news bulletin for light relief or if nothing much else is going on.

The statistical method used...questioning a sample audience about what it remembers 50 years ago to have been like compared to today...seems highly suspect.

Go into any British town on a Friday night and the streets will be thronged with people in high spirits...when they're not beating the hell out of each other.

Certainly the people I know and work with are always on the edge of comic hysteria (but if you work in a school it's a bit like working in Fawlty Towers!).

I don't recognise the gloom scenario at all. Never felt happier.

[Peter Johnson]

Go into any British town on a Friday night and the streets will be thronged with people in high spirits...when they're not beating the hell out of each other.

←

British humour at its best!

[king ubu]

Go into any British town on a Friday night and the streets will be thronged with people in high spirits...when they're not beating the hell out of each other.

←

What's that called again? A pleonasm? Certainly has to be...

[A Lark Ascending]

What's that called again? A pleonasm? Certainly has to be... 

←

I'm not sure. But most of these people tend to be pleonasmed out of their skills.

[BERIGAN]

Uhm... interesting? Frightening? That last aspect you mention, I mean. Since we know now that half of the Britons don't know who Hitler is or was (they wouldn't care about the tempus if they don't know sh*t), that is a bit frightening, no? Also pulling nazi jokes is not funny in that situation, and that royal a*@%#@§ who you still fail to decapitate *on the spot* (together with the whole rotten bunch, of course) lead the press to pull those jokes again, no? Definitely not funny!

And Mr. Moose is definitely onto something!

←

back when England had a sense of humor

Basil: "Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it. So it's all forgotten now and let's hear no more about it. So that's two egg mayonnaise, a prawn Goebbels, a Herman Goering and four Colditz salads....no, wait a minute...I got confused because everyone keeps mentioning the war."

German: "Will you stop mentioning the war?"

Basil: " You started it."

German: " We did not start it."

Basil: " Yes you did, you invaded Poland..."