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International Joke Day
Today is International Joke Day. In 2001, Richard Wiseman enlisted the aid of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS), founded in 1831 and now known as the British Science Association (BSA), in conducting a yearlong study designed to discover the world’s funniest joke and learn about the psychology of humor.
They created the LaughLab website to enlist the participation of people around the world. Its survey asked each test subject to share their favorite joke, then collected demographic information such as age, sex, and country of residence, and finally asked them to rate a random selection of jokes submitted by others.
To elicit quantifiable results, the survey required all participants to rate the jokes’ funniness using a special “giggleometer” invented specifically for the study.
By the end of the experiment, LaughLab had received more than 40,000 jokes and 1.5 million ratings. After collating the results and taking into account which jokes made men laugh versus women, kids versus adults, and countries versus other countries, Wiseman and the BAAS determined the world’s funniest joke. It was submitted by Gurpal Gosall, a 31-year-old psychiatrist from Manchester, England.
Here it is:
Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, “My friend is dead! What can I do?”. The operator says “Calm down. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says “OK, now what?”
You can read the full report and download 1,000 (clean) LaughLab jokes. Have a happy International Joke Day! What’s your favorite?
Time Capsule: Social Media Day 2016
June 30, 2025: Although this holiday still exists, we have decided to preserve this post as is to show how many things have changed in nine years and how some (we’re looking at you, Kanye) have remained the same.
June 30, 2016: Today is Social Media Day, created in 2010 by Mashable “to recognize and celebrate social media’s impact on global communication.” (In related news, we just found out Mashable still exists!)
You might be thinking, “Wait just a goldarned minute! Isn’t every day Social Media Day?” The answer is yes, but rein in the potty-brained self-talk, please.
Today is momentous because it pays tribute to social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Quora, Vine, and WhatsApp, some of which did not yet exist seven years ago.
We would be foolish not to mention Google+. Google is everywhere and knows everything: It’s like SkyNet met the Matrix and learned it’s better to keep us all alive in a continuous biofeedback loop of consumption than to crush our bones into dust.
One of today’s festivities is the “tweetup,” where people who follow each other on Twitter get to meet IRL. That stands for ‘In Real Life,’ which we figure can’t be cool anymore since we know what it means. How awkward might it be to have a conversation that hasn’t been condensed into 140 characters?
From 2016’s #SMDay page:
From Kanye’s Twitter rants to DJ Khaled’s Snap Stories, you can say social media has us feeling #blessed. Join Mashable, Splash and feedfeed as we celebrate the seventh-annual Social Media Day in NYC! We’ll have food, drinks, music and other surprises. Don’t get #FOMO, and RSVP now!
Hashtag, pound sign, whatever: count us in! Happy Social Media Day!
National Waffle Iron Day
National Waffle Iron Day celebrates one of the world’s favorite kitchen appliances. Although today’s date appears to have no historical significance, from Medieval communion wafers to Nike sneakers, there’s no doubt that the waffle iron has made quite an impression on world history.
The waffle iron’s earliest known predecessor is the Medieval fer à hosties, irons used to make communion wafers. Introduced during the 9th-10th centuries, the plates bore images of Jesus and his crucifixion, which were imprinted on the wafers during the heating process.
The Belgian waffle we enjoy today originated in the 1300s, when two metal plates were hinged together and attached to a long pole, making it possible to cook over an open fire without risking burns. The plates often depicted a family’s coat of arms or other personally significant images.
In 1869, the first U.S. patent for an “Improvement in Waffle-Irons” was awarded to inventor Cornelius Swartwout, who revolutionized the waffle-making process. He fitted his design, intended for use on a stovetop, with an innovative handle that allowed for opening, closing, and turning the cast-iron plates, which were joined by a hinge that swiveled within a cast-iron collar.
In 1911, General Electric made a prototype of an electric waffle iron but didn’t produce and sell the design until 1918. We’ve been unable to ascertain the reason for the delay, but we would guess that the company was perfecting the cooking process to create consistent results while adding safety measures to reasonably avoid fire hazards. (We say “reasonably” because this was a time when consumers were expected to take responsibility for common-sense precautions and wouldn’t, say, sue G.E. if they left the iron on all day and burned down the house.)
The prize for the most creative use of a waffle iron goes to Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, an Oregon track coach who was trying to create a lightweight sole with excellent traction. Sometime in 1970, Bowerman was inspired by the waffles his wife had made for breakfast. He commandeered the waffle iron and filled it with melted urethane. Although Bowerman forgot to grease the iron and it glued shut, he persevered, and the profit from the sneaker empire he created was more than enough to replace the family waffle iron.
To celebrate today, you don’t need to invent anything more involved than your choice of waffle toppings. Just grab a napkin and have a yummy National Waffle Iron Day!