The 2006 Cost of Laughing Index had it's smallest increase in over a decade -- only 1/10th of 1%.
Why? And what does it mean for the future of rubber chickens?
March 22, 2006 (Press Release) --
Santa Cruz, CA -- A 49 cent increase in the cover price of Mad Magazine and admission hikes at a few comedy clubs caused a microscopic rise in America's cost of laughing according to the 2006 Cost of Laughing Index.
The Index -- a compilation of 16 leading humor indicators -- increased by 1/10 of 1% during the past twelve months.
The Index measures the annual price change in:
- admission to comedy clubs in 10 U.S. cities
- wholesale prices of rubber chickens, Groucho glasses, and whoopee cushions
- an issue of Mad Magazine
- funny singing telegrams
- the fee for writing a TV sitcom
"It's the smallest increase in over a decade," according to Malcolm Kushner, compiler of the Index. "And that's no joke."
"It's just supply and demand," he explains. "Who needs to buy rubber chickens when the vice president is hunting pheasants? And no amount of whoopee cushions can produce a funnier sound than people arguing about Danish editorial cartoons."
After 9/11, the country wondered whether humor was dead, Kushner recalls. They needn't have worried. "Maybe now it's harder to get on a plane," he says. "But it's still easy to laugh at politicians around the world." For example? "How can Iran have a Holocaust cartoon contest when its president says the Holocaust never occurred? Who wins? The guy who turns in a blank sheet of paper?"
Additional 2006 Cost of Laughing Index statistics include:
- no increase in the fee for writing a half-hour TV sit-com
- no increase in the price of a pink gorilla telegram
- no change in the wholesale price of rubber chickens
Kushner, an attorney-turned-humor consultant, developed the Index to track how the punch line affects the bottom line. "Whether or not you think the world needs a humor consultant, it can definitely use one less attorney," he notes.
[Ed Note: The Cost of Laughing Index may be useful for April 1st humor features.]
The Index -- a compilation of 16 leading humor indicators -- increased by 1/10 of 1% during the past twelve months.
The Index measures the annual price change in:
- admission to comedy clubs in 10 U.S. cities
- wholesale prices of rubber chickens, Groucho glasses, and whoopee cushions
- an issue of Mad Magazine
- funny singing telegrams
- the fee for writing a TV sitcom
"It's the smallest increase in over a decade," according to Malcolm Kushner, compiler of the Index. "And that's no joke."
"It's just supply and demand," he explains. "Who needs to buy rubber chickens when the vice president is hunting pheasants? And no amount of whoopee cushions can produce a funnier sound than people arguing about Danish editorial cartoons."
After 9/11, the country wondered whether humor was dead, Kushner recalls. They needn't have worried. "Maybe now it's harder to get on a plane," he says. "But it's still easy to laugh at politicians around the world." For example? "How can Iran have a Holocaust cartoon contest when its president says the Holocaust never occurred? Who wins? The guy who turns in a blank sheet of paper?"
Additional 2006 Cost of Laughing Index statistics include:
- no increase in the fee for writing a half-hour TV sit-com
- no increase in the price of a pink gorilla telegram
- no change in the wholesale price of rubber chickens
Kushner, an attorney-turned-humor consultant, developed the Index to track how the punch line affects the bottom line. "Whether or not you think the world needs a humor consultant, it can definitely use one less attorney," he notes.
[Ed Note: The Cost of Laughing Index may be useful for April 1st humor features.]
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