Science Vs - Tig Notaro Shares Her Favorite Jokes

Episode Date: May 7, 2024

Comedian Tig Notaro, who just released her fifth comedy special, "Hello Again," joins us for a chat about the science of her comedy: telling us how she builds jokes, and of course sharing a bunch of dumb and fabulous jokes. Enjoy!  Here's our Funniest Joke in the World Episode!!  Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsTigNotaro In this episode, we cover: (00:00) We're interviewing Tig!  (01:22) I could be a comedian?  (02:47) How Tig creates a joke  (08:59) The element of surprise (12:27) The world's funniest joke? (13:55) Tig's favorite jokes This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler and Meryl Horn. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord and Bumi Hidaka.  Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Verses. And today on the show, we have a special little treat for you. So last week, we went on our grand adventure to find the funniest joke in the world. And as part of that quest, I interviewed comedian Tig Notaro, who has just released her fifth comedy special, which is called Hello Again. And Tig and I had such a silly and lovely conversation that we just thought we'd share the whole thing with you. Tig and I talked about how excited she was when she first realized that being a comic

was a profession. She told me how she builds her jokes, which honestly was not what I expected at all from a professional comic. And of course, we shared a bunch of fabulous and really stupid jokes. So I really hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed chatting to Tig. There's going to be a couple of spoilers in this interview, by the way. So if you haven't listened to our episode on the funniest joke in the world, you should really go back and do that. Okay. My chat with Tig Notaro coming up after the break.

It's season three of The Joy of Why, and I still have a lot of questions. Like, what is this thing we call time? Why does altruism exist? And where is Jan Eleven? I'm here, astrophysicist and co-host, ready for anything. That's right. I'm bringing in the A-team.

So brace yourselves. Get ready to learn. I'm Jan Eleven. I'm Steve Strogatz. And this is... Quantum Magazine's podcast, The Joy of Why. New episodes drop every other Thursday, starting February 1st. What does the AI revolution mean for jobs, for getting things done?

Who are the people creating this technology and what do they think? I'm Rana El-Khelyoubi, an AI scientist, entrepreneur, investor, and now host of the new podcast, Pioneers of AI. Think of it as your guide for all things AI, with the most human issues at the center. Join me every Wednesday for Pioneers of AI. And don't forget to subscribe wherever you tune in. My name is Tig Notaro. I am a comedian and actor and podcaster. So I've heard you say that when you started doing comedy,

you sort of were like, oh, my God, I'm a comedian, and no one ever told me. What is it about comedy that, like, gave you you that feeling that like, I'm home now? Um, I mean, I just, I think I felt like such an outsider in school and in life in so many different ways. And then it was amazing to realize that there was a name for what I was doing in class and life that was driving people crazy or getting me in trouble or whatever it was. Yeah, I remember my neighbor telling me that her mother thought I could be a comedian. And I was like, oh, okay. You know, and it's weird now to be one and think back like all my days in school,

that was my early training. Yeah, right. And you were getting in trouble for it and everything. Now you can get paid. Like that realization, I can get paid to do this. That's wild. It just feels, you know, it just feels good. So tell me, so we're a science show and we're talking about the science of humor under this like ridiculous guise of we're on a hunt to find the funniest joke in the world.

Objectively. So on this quest, we're interviewing some of the funniest people we know about how they build jokes. So for you, I've heard you say that you build a joke by just like based on a word, on a single word. Yeah, I guess it's either a single word or a sentence or phrase or something, an idea, a concept, because I don't sit behind a computer and write out my material. I just take a list of ideas onto stage with me, and then I work them out right there in front of a live audience. Oh, really?

Yeah. Yeah. So can you give me an example? Let's see. I was on my new special. I have this story about having a medical issue come up and my wife calling 911 and a fireman showing up at the door. And I couldn't walk because I was in so much pain. And he scooped me up in those big, strong arms. And I was like, oh, I could get used to this. Bada bing, bada boom.

Right then, I thought, oh, I get it now. If you think you're shocked, how do you think I felt? That is not my typical type. And it was just really riding on a napkin, fireman, and going on stage and just telling the story. And of course, there's many audiences that got to hear me fumble through this story and find the punchlines and the structure of the incident, but that's what makes comedy fun to me is that uncertainty. And I've been doing stand-up for about 28 years now. So I feel very comfortable on stage, but I also need certain things to kind of make it fun and exciting for me. And that's one of those things that continues to make it fun and scary and exciting.

And I always describe it as like a fight or flight response that I have where these punchlines come out. Because the story is there. It's real. I'm not making up these things. Is it real? Because I don't remember. I've been watching a lot of your comedy and I think I've heard one of these. You weren't fumbling through it. So I guess by the time I heard it, it was polished. So it actually happened, that story, parts of it or all of it? Oh, yeah. The whole thing. I mean, basically everything I'm saying on stage is true. It's just, you know, there's comedic twists and punchlines to real moments,

but I'm not like creating this fake story of a fireman carrying me out. Like I'm not, to me, I'm like, I'm not that good of a comedian to make up all of these intricate stories. You know, I'm just telling you this happened. Yeah, that's what happened. That's amazing. And you're working through the crowd. You're not sitting there with a paper and pen writing out like, oh, this would be a funny turn.

It's all with the crowd. Yeah, yeah. You know, I might record my show on my phone and then go back and listen to it and recognize these moments that the reaction is way more heightened. And then I'll think, oh, okay, I'll go back and say that again. And then sometimes I'll go say it again and it doesn't, you know, explode in the way that it did the first time. And then I'm left thinking, okay, do I move on or do I try it again? And I always feel like it's a good thing to try something at least three times to see if it was just an off night or maybe my delivery, the pacing was off somehow.

Sometimes it's as simple as a single word that you just have to change out, and then it is solid. Interesting. Tell me about this because there's this in the scientific literature, there are some very dry but inherently funny papers that are trying to find like funny words. So when you say like you're switching out a word, that's amazing that just that can turn it on a dime,

that then people laugh all of a sudden. Well, yeah, even aside from stand-up, I have a podcast and in one of the episodes, one of my co-hosts just casually mentioned that there was a bulbous frog. I don't even remember the story. I was so bothered by the word bulbous, and I couldn't move on. I said, I'm sorry, we have to go back. What do you mean a bulbous frog, please? Also, the delivery of this word, it kept like, yes, and the bulbous frog, and it was so bulbous. And I was like, stop saying that word. Like, it made me sick to my stomach, but I also recognized it as a funny word. When I hadn't really thought about the word as being funny, but when it, this frog kept being described as bulbous. It just switched the vibe of this story immediately.

And I think it's just an extra sense that you develop as a comedian, a writer, performer, whatever it is, where you're like, oh, yeah, this is, I feel like there's something here with this word. And then, so there are these theories of humor. Do you think about it like, you know, surprise is one. You know, there needs to be some element of surprise. Some academics say, you know, you need some incongruity.

Like the audience thinks you're going one way, but then you take them in another direction. Are you thinking about things like that? Oh, if they guess the punchline, then there's no surprise. We have no joke here. Or it's really just more feeling out the room for you. Yeah. I mean, I had a joke years ago. I certainly think the element of surprise is hand in hand with comedy. But I also think that that's what is so fun and surprising about comedy is sometimes the thing that you think is going to be obvious or that you're going to need to be surprised about, you're still amused.

And I had a joke when I first started doing comedy about, are you familiar with Safety Man? No. It's an inflatable man. Safety Man is a funny word. And even more ridiculous when you realize what it is. No. It's an inflatable man. Safety man is a funny word. And even more ridiculous when you realize what it is. And he comes in a tote bag. You open the tote bag and you inflate a full-size man to put in your car for safety reasons

or in your house or something like that. So that people... Oh, so it's like home alone. It'll be like a... So you can feel like... Yeah. Burglars will think there's a man in your car. And so when I used to talk about safety man,

I would talk about how, you know, the person that is planning to rob or attack you will probably be more scared off when they see you pull this bag out and blow a man up to size. You know, like the person hiding in the bushes is going to be like, we're going to let this one go. And whenever I would tell that story,

oftentimes I got the feedback where people would say, I knew what was coming, but when you walked us through the process, I was still laughing uncontrollably. And I always felt that with the audience where I thought they know they can picture exactly where it's going and they nobody is like oh that ruined everything there it's it's equally as amusing i guess when you're along for the entire ride yeah and with safety man right there with you yeah exactly wow they don't sell safety man anymore right he hasn't made it. No, no. I looked him up and there's vintage Safety Man like, I think you can go on eBay and stuff like that

and there's like old Safety Man things you can buy but it's like who's put their mouth on that, you know? Oh yeah, because you're supposed to sit there

blowing it up yourself. Yeah, yeah, yeah you're supposed to sit there blowing it up yourself. Yeah, yeah, yeah. After the break, Tig shares some of her favourite jokes with us. And they are so fabulously silly, you've just got to stick around for them. Hi, welcome back. Today we're sharing my interview with comedian Tig Notaro, who I interviewed for our episode on the funniest joke in the world. If you haven't heard that episode, stop right now and go back and listen because there's about to be a huge spoiler in it

because I am about to tell Tig which joke won this big science experiment to find the funniest joke in the world. So there was this big competition. So I come up with this stupid pitch, we're going to find the, or this incredible pitch to find the funniest joke in the world. And then I realized 20 years ago some academics in the UK actually

tried to do an experiment to find the funniest joke in the world. Thousands of people voted from around the world. Do you want to hear the joke? I would love to. Okay. And I want your thoughts. I want your honest thoughts. It better be one of mine. All right.

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, calls for emergency services. He gasps. My friend is dead. What can I do? And the operator says, calm down. I can help.

Let's first make sure that he's dead. There's a silence. Then a shot is heard. Bang. Back on the phone, the guy says, okay, so now what? Saw it coming. Still found it amusing. It's not, what are your thoughts? Well, it actually reminds me of one of my favorite, I don't know, they call them pedestrian jokes like this. Come now, come now. Where a couple is in bed, middle of the night, and somebody knocks on the door. And the husband gets up, goes to the door, and then comes back, gets in bed.

And his wife said, who was that? And he said, it was some stranger who wanted me to help him. He wanted me to give him a push. And she said, and what did you say? And he said, I said, no. And she said, well, what if we were in need of a push and I think you should help this person? And he was like, okay, fine. And he gets dressed. He goes out to the door, opens it and yells into the darkness. And he says, hey,

are you still there? And the guy off in the distance yells, yeah. And he said, do you still need a push? And he said, yes. And he said, where are you? And he said, I'm over here on the swing. It's so dumb, but I think it's so funny. Is that your entry into the world's funniest joke? That is. That is one of those jokes I share all the time with people. Is it really? I promise you. There's also, I don't even know who this comedian was,

but when I first started in stand-up, I remember going to a club. Basically, all these shark attacks happen close to shore. And he's like, well, that's where all the people is. I remember him saying that, and I's like, well, that's where all the people is. I remember him saying that, and I was like, oh, yeah, that's, it's funny, but I guess it's also just factual. So what do you think it is? That's right, because there's nothing surprising about that. Is it like the shock of recognition that makes us laugh? Like, is that what's funny? I think there's things that you know subconsciously

or you just take for granted in your life. And then when somebody stops and points things out that you've been surrounded by day in and day out for decades, and you just didn't even think about it. Or maybe something amused you in the back of your mind, but it just didn't register. And then a comedian goes on stage and just walks you through the ridiculousness,

and you're like, right, how did I not see that? It is one of the greatest feelings, I think, about comedy, when somebody points out what's under your nose forever. Yeah. Do you want to hear, so I've been like watching a lot of comedy and like reading a lot of comedy books and blah, blah. So a joke that I think is better, we've just got to beat the hunter joke. That's all I have to do and then I still get paid.

You know what I mean? Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. That's what the scientists found. I think the swing beats the hunter joke, right? Like it's a funnier joke found. I think the swing beats the hunter joke, right? Like, it's a funnier joke already. I think so. I mean, I'm not going to stop telling it. I think so too.

Okay, so what was number one for me was two monkeys sitting in a bath. One monkey says, and the other says, we'll put the cold tap on then. That's good. That's good. You know, I have to say, I don't know how, is this show PG? You can be rude. You can be rude. I feel like this is across the board.

Everybody is amused by this joke. And maybe you've heard it since you've been studying comedy. Tell me. Tell me this joke. Let me think. How does it go? It's very simple. What is worse than performing oral sex on Willie Nelson?

What is worse than performing oral sex on Willie Nelson? What is worse than performing oral sex to Willie Nelson? Is hearing, I'm not Willie Nelson. After all is said and done, that's what you hear. I'm not Willie Nelson. That might be the best joke. That's your new entry. Yeah, that's, it's really good. It'd be so bad.

It'd be such a bad experience. Yeah, and God, I mean, I love Willie Nelson. I love that man. And he's an attractive man. But you've got a picture when you say long... You've got a picture of that Willie. You've got a picture of that Willie. But also, you know, just like somebody in their 90s, I guess,

with long braided hair and a bandana on their head. And they're not Willie Nelson. It's rough times. Well, what a perfect way to end. We found it. We did. We did it. Yeah, I think your job is done.

Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Nick's podcast is called Handsome. Go check it out. And we will be back in your ears in just a couple of days with a classic Science Versus episode. Please let us know what you thought of this ep. Do you want to hear more of these kinds of interviews? Get an insight into how we build our show? Let us know. We're over on Instagram at science underscore VS,

or you can find me on TikTok at Wendy Zuckerman. I'm Wendy Zuckerman. Back to you next time.