I truly have the funniest, most entertaining Facebook friends. Many I know personally—and some I’m related to—but a significant number I’ve never actually met. “Friend” is a nebulous concept these days.
My boring friends try to sell me something or peddle the newest conspiracy theory or post an obvious AI generated photo. But my fabutastic friends say things like this over the course of a few days …
I’m repeating the magic words and waving my magic wand, but the house still looks like…oh, wow. No wonder we never invite anyone to dinner.
I’m feeling virtuous. Hopefully it won’t last.
It happened. It was bound to. I reached for my coffee and took a big swig of ink-stained water. I grabbed the mug that I use to wash my brushes. Ironically, it’s the coffee I need to not make such mistakes.
I helped Katie today… again more industrious than the bloody industrial revolution.
Who names their child Aldous?
I bought a new orange basket, because nothing says ‘I love you’ like storing your kids’ toys in a receptacle that smells like cow dung.
I’m back at work, no sick Johns. (Um. Should probably clarify that I am not a hooker.)
I feel bad that my 7-year-old left an empty table setting for me, and my 4-year-old waited up past 9 because he wanted to say good night. It’s nice to be missed, and–hey! One of my kids set the table!!
Our marshmallow tree is blooming like crazy and we’ll have a bumper crop of fresh marshmallows in a few weeks. Fluffernutters for all.
I’m nimbly avoiding the past participle but crashing into the continuous aspect.
I imagine the students in my children’s lit class tomorrow will greet my newly written lecture on the predictive coefficient of children’s fantasy with sustained applause, rhythmic clapping, and loud, piercing ululations of untrammeled joy.
Me: pulling this lever made me fall out of my chair.
Also me: *hops up and pulls it again* Wheeee!
Corporate optimism at its finest— “Search is currently unavailable, please try at another time or right now.”
Winter is being a control freak. Relinquish!!
The question, I suppose, is which came first? Do I think these are funny because I know my friends are funny, or are they empirically funny even if you don’t know who said them? There is a phenomenon (that probably has a long German name) where we expect something to be funny and we begin giggling even before anything funny happens. Like when John Belushi would come on stage in his bee costume on SNL. That alone is funny to see, but you’re also anticipating what’s going to happen next.
Aside from my fellow Chicks—who are all delightfully hilarious—who do you think is funny? Who makes you giggle in anticipation before a word escapes their lips? Do people think you’re funny? Were you the class clown?
Chicks on the Case 
I agree those comments are funny. My favorite thing about the internet is seeing just how humorous a lot of people are. I get credit for being funny just by reposting other people’s funny memes. : ) A lot of my favorite authors are funny – Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich, Dave Barry, Christopher Moore.
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I am constantly delighted and amazed by the hilarious content I see, some of it quite elaborate. I love that people spend so much time on things simply to make me laugh! All of those authors are on my list, too, Diane. HUGE fan of all of them!
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Love them all and super-love Dave Barry!
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hestia here. It doesn’t take much to make me laugh. Lots of cozy mystery authors get people on my commute giving me strange looks.
my next door neighbor and his girlfriend always make me laugh when I’m talking about work. My work is intense, so I can always use it.
Apparently people think I’m funny. I have a coworker I had in stitches all day Wednesday. I didn’t think I was being funny.
but writing funny is so hard!
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I’m with you, Hestia. I’m an excellent audience. I find humor in just about any situation. When writing, of course, there are some topics you steer clear of, but I get the question a lot, “How do you make murder funny?” Well, you don’t. But there can be humor orbiting all around it. So many cozies have such delightfully weird murders. The death is never funny, but that vat of chocolate they drowned in? Pretty funny.
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Delightful comments, Becky! I think people who can make others laugh, like you, are a true gift. Cheers!
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Aw, thanks, JC! I try to surround myself with funny people because it’s just so much more fun. But it might be a chicken and egg sitch … not sure which came first!
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Some of these are pretty funny, Becky – and I don’t know these people.
I’ve been told I’m funny, which is weird because I don’t think I’m funny at all.
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That’s the best way to be funny, Liz! Have you ever been around someone who tries too hard? Or someone so dumb they’re inadvertently funny? Neither is good. You’re in that sweet spot. And for the record, I think you’re pretty funny!
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You’re pretty funny yourself, too. I always enjoy reading what you’re putting down. I think I probably need to go through your list of friends and steal them. They really are funny! Thanks for the day brightener.
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Aw, thanks, Kaye. I come from a long line of funny people. And I steal from the best!
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My idols are the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges. I’m also a big fan of Inspector Clouseau, A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
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Clouseau and Monty Python are on my list too, Tom! Plain old silliness. I remember when my kids first saw the Minister of Silly Walks. They’ll still do it when we’re walking down the street. Equal parts hilarious and mortifying!
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Great list, Tom! And Python and Groucho are endlessly quotable!🥸
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You have hilarious friends, Becky! We named our big blond golden after Chris Farley. But I have also always enjoyed the sort of humor where the comedian is not trying to be funny and holding on to their last shred of sanity –lookin’ at you, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart! I also follow Shannon Fiedler on Instagram–love her (esp when she does her characters of girls from different cities trying to communicate/hang out together, like as bridesmaids at a wedding (New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Portland (OR), Jersey, Dallas, CT…) Absolutely nails ’em.
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Ohmygosh! Chris Farley WAS just like a big blond golden! Perfect. Every time I try to put on something a tad too small I sing “big man in a little coat” and then I toss in “in a VAN down by the RIVER.” Love Bob Newhart too. Especially his stammering phone bits.
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Last night our trivia team name was “Big Man Little Coat,” lol.
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Perfect!
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Haha! One of my all-time faves!
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The inter-web and social media have a lot of horrible attributes, but I do so love the varied memes folks post (Bernie in his chair comes to mind). I’m often awed by how darn clever people can be.
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Same, Leslie! I swear that Bernie meme had a million iterations about eight seconds after he stumbled into the inauguration! And the covid and homeschooling memes were genius. One of my facebook friends was curating them so I yoinked a bunch and now they are popping up in my memories again … just as funny today.
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You’ve got some fun friends, Becky! I think I like people who aren’t trying too hard to be funny but then say something absurd. Although I do have a few friends who used to do stand-up comedy, so maybe that explains how humorous they are!
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I can’t imagine doing stand-up! That seems SO HARD! Not only do you have to be funny and at ease on stage, you have to remember so much stuff! I love going to stand-up shows. We’re lucky to have a few venues close to us that comedians seem to love so there’s always someone really funny to see. And don’t get me started on Netflix specials! So many I adore.
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Libby Klein.
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Agreed!
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YES!
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The Chicks make me laugh , in their writing and in real life! And I’m super lucky that my husband can always make me laugh — even on a tough day!
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How true, Vickie! I honestly think that’s the only requirement for a happy marriage. My husband and I laugh constantly about everything and it’ll be 40 years for us in November!
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Becky, you always give me a case of die Vorfreude auf lustige Dinge (German for “the anticipation of funny things). I’m lucky to have a lot of friends I feel this way about. They start talking. I start smiling. It’s THE BEST.
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I KNEW there’d be a long German word for it! You’re MY dievorfreudeauflustigedinge. (I wrote it as a proper word for you. You’re welcome.)
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LOL! You can thank Google for that little gem!
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Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels are the absolute laugh out loud mysteries. But there are some more here and there.
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