Can you laugh in the face of adversity? Can you be cheered up by a joke in the worst circumstances? Ever known anyone to laugh when in pain?....
Have your comedy tastes changed due to somethingthat's happened? I know mine have, just wondering if your have too?
Tickling.
Quote: Leevil @ September 30 2010, 2:42 PM BSTTickling.
always makes you laugh no matter what?
Depends who doing it and what they're using. 
There is a tradition of "gallows humour" im not sure of any real gallows jokes from people about to be hung, but it extends to grim jokes amongst the police and army.
I often find it easier to cope with the death of one of a patient by watching back-to-back episodes of All About Me, whilst tickling my prepuce with a Brillo Pad. Sometimes I'll bump a couple off old dears simply to give myself an excuse to enjoy some quality grieving time with Jasper Carrott and his crazy TV family. 
Yeh comedy can be cathartic.
Sometimes you need to break the seal.
Well I put my lose of a love of "Whimsy" comedy on the death of two friends. I used to love Izzard etc but suddenly I hated it, just like id had to much airy fairy things and craved real jokes.
My grandad (who was a private all through the fist world war despite his unit suffering 40% casualties!) laughed like a drain when he recalled trying his best to bayonet the Red Caps who ran the training camp behind the front lines.
A ex-army friend laughing about a "Rupert" who forgetting the new configuration of a tank was three foot higher, ordered "Forward" from a standing position ... in a low steel tank shed and was decapitated...
A grinning old chap explained how he used to drive a tanker of nerve gas up to Porten down which his foot flat down the whole way as the police force wanted it in their area for as shorter time as possible and they dealt with all the accidents he caused in his wake! The same chap who worked down a tin mine with a Nigerian Prince who you could only see by his smile as he turned the lights off so he could see the supervisor coming and start work...
Tragedy + time = comedy.
Quote: Percival Marsh @ October 1 2010, 10:54 PM BSTTragedy + time = comedy.
This would mean that: time = comedy - tragedy ...and frankly, I don't see how that could work.
Quote: Tim Walker @ October 1 2010, 11:00 PM BSTThis would mean that: time = comedy - tragedy ...and frankly, I don't see how that could work.
You're being silly now. 
Quote: sidecar jon @ September 30 2010, 7:59 PM BSTThere is a tradition of "gallows humour" im not sure of any real gallows jokes from people about to be hung, but it extends to grim jokes amongst the police and army.
I had a friend in the RAF who was part of the air crash investigation team, which involves visiting all major air crash sites around the world. I won't get into specifics but needless to say, their job is horrific. Normally involving finding bodies and body parts immediately after a prang.
To cope with this, humour is used as a defence mechanism to mask the horror they experience. The humour is very sick but within their inner circle, it was the perfect antidote.