Carlisle named nation's funniest city by Beano
A study by the Beano comic has named Carlisle as the nation's funniest city, with residents there laughing 33 times a day on average.
Research by the weekly children's comic found the average UK resident laughs 22 times a day, and spends a total of 23 minutes laughing each day.
According to the findings, nearly a quarter (24%) of Brits found sarcasm to be their favourite type of humour, followed by witty (23%) and observational (11%).
The National Funny Bone Study was carried out by the publication to coincide with voting for Beano's annual Britain's Funniest Class competition. Now in its fifth year, the national search aims to inspire the next generation of British comedy stars by nurturing a sense of humour Britain is renowned for.
The Funny Bone Study Regional League Table
1. Carlisle (33 times a day)
2. London (32)
3. Leicester (30)
4. Belfast (28)
5. Leeds (27)
6. Northampton (27)
7. Hull (26)
8. Norwich (26)
9. Newport (25)
10. Aberdeen (24)
Beano says: "We clearly fancy ourselves at practising humour too, with a huge one in three of us believing we could make it as stand-up comedians were we given the chance. 34% of us love to tell jokes in front of our partners, whilst 55% of us believe we are funniest member of the family."
As well as funny places, the National Funny Bone Study dug a little deeper into what makes the country giggle, revealing the top 'funny' professions in the country and the type of humour that best gets Brits keeling over...
Actors came in first, followed by taxi drivers and builders. Compared to the last time Beano ran the survey in 2021, acting has held its spot as the funniest profession with plumbers moving up the ladder from seventh to second.
The Top 10 Funniest Professions
1. Actors (33%)
2. Taxi Drivers (29%)
3. Builders (19%)
4. Hairdressers (16%)
5. Politicians (16%)
6. Journalists / TV presenters (15%)
7. Artists / Musicians (14%)
8. Salespeople (12%)
9. Teachers (12%)
10. Nurses (10%)
The research found that it is in fact daughters that are the funniest family members according to their kin, citing that their sarcastic and unpredictable style of humour always has them bowled over laughing.
As a whole, the UK appears to be laughing less than when Beano last undertook its annual laughter audit, back in 2021 we were laughing 23 times a day. In total we're laughing for 730 minutes less a year than we did previously.
When it comes to the four nations of the UK, the research shows those in Northern Ireland like to laugh the most, chuckling up to 24 times a day. The people of Northern Ireland laugh over 600 times more a year than the English.
The Northern Irish laugh on average 168 times a week, closely followed England, laughing at 154 times a week. The Scottish are in last place laughing only 141 times a week on average with Wales coming in at third, laughing 143 times a week.
There's a significant North/South divide in the UK with people in the South laughing for a solid 400 minutes more a year than in the North of the UK.
The research also found that Brits like to joke around most with their partners (34%), with their friends (30%) coming second and their best friend (10%) in third.
Family members (17%) have been keeping the nation laughing the most over the last year alongside taking pleasure watching comedy shows (16%) and hilarious TV moments (14%).
Mike Stirling, Director of Mischief at Beano Studios, says: "Britain has always been famous for its sense of humour and at Beano we've always got our best laughs from kids. We hope that this year's vote for Britain's Funniest Class not only inspires the next generation of great British comics but helps get the entire national laughing out loud."
Vote to crown Britain's Funniest Class