Liliputins

Liliputins. What, the heck, is this?
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„Die Gedanken sind frei und unterliegen keinen Gesetzen. In ihnen findet man die Freiheit des Menschen. Sie herrschen strahlend in der Welt... erschaffen ein neues Paradies, eine neue Stuetze, eine neue Quelle der Kraft, aus der neue Kuenste hervorspringen.“
Paracelsus

I like to put words in people's mouths or thoughts in their heads, which they never have said or thought, but might have.
Yury Lobo

Liliputins  sind kurzbuendige Treppenwitze der Weltgeschichte: lustig, bitterboese, nachdenklich, durchgeknallt, provokativ und geistreich ... "
Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Liliputins are nothing else but a nice try to live and understand life backwards ... "
Soren Kierkegaard

Creating liliputins means playing with words as with glas beads ... "
Hermann Hesse

Acerbic wit of liliputins  is hurtful and helpful in the same time as a surgeon's knife ...  "
Gore Vidal

Misquotations are sometimes better than originals ... "
Mark Twain

Liliputins sind eine feine Mischung zwischen Rufmord and Heiligsprechung ... "
Kurt Tucholsky

Liliputin is a jigsaw puzzle which make sense only when the last missing
piece falls into place ... "
Orson Wells

Liliputins are nothing else but linguistic and historical puzzles ... "
Yury Lobo

"Yury pushes the boundaries of satire; he is provocative and spares no one, himself included "
Trevor Noah

Das wahre Liliputin ist ein kurzer Satz, der sich auf lange Erfahrung gruenndet ..."
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Yury Lobo's sarcastic one-liners are nothing short of hilarious ... "
Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Warum umstaendliche Romane schreiben, wenn die Liliputins genuegen? ... "
Leo Tolstoy

Liliputins sind die Verkoerperung der alten deutschen Volksweisheit
"Langer Rede kurzer Sinn" ... "
Yury Lobo

It can be hard to get your gears turning first thing in the morning. Perhaps a piping hot cup of wordplay in liliputins  will do the trick ... "
Yury Lobo


Liliputins
___________   
Liliputins. What, the heck, is this?

Liliputins (derived from adjective "lilliputian" which means "very small in size" but in my case not necessarily "trivial "and idiom "to put words in sb.' mouth" in short) are a brand-new cutting-edge direction in modern post modernistic fiction of mockery, ridicule, sarcasm and derision solely created, coined and penned by me. Based on Soren Kierkegaard's idea that life could be only understood backwards I’m deliberately, willfully and literally putting in the mouths of the great characters in history and fictional protagonists (stock characters) of all ;poque's and countries dead or alive the snarky made-up words  (zippy one-liners), or real (or twisted) quotations, which they never have said, but might have. To make a long story short, liliputins are my own mostly reversionistic and anachronistic creations in form of intentionally produced misquotations or counterfeit one-line aphorisms, maxims, mini tales, jokes or quips with some degree of truth in it, which I attribute (misattribute) to others in order to make a point. It is completely up to the readers’ level of knowledge, intelligence and believes to sort out truth from fiction.

Liliputins compress time and allow to put on the collision course the present and the past, the alive and the dead, things and humans, dead serious and ridicule, real and made up.

Liliputins are also a suitable vehicle for the would-be time travelers and alternative history lovers.

Liliputins are contemporary, old fashioned, satiric, ironic, thought- provoking, mind-boggling, hilarious, sad, mean, kind, shocking, outrageous, flattering, highly controversial, but never boring and always eye-opening and short as the life itself.

Mrs. Erma Bombeck said once “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”

I sincerely hope I did not overstep this thin line in my book.
Sorry for unintended contempt and pain I might cause.
Oscar Wilde once said, " If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.”
So please don't kill the mockingbird!
All the best!

Yury Slobodenyuk aka Yury Lobo, aka Rudi Culous

Bio in English: http://stihi.ru/2017/10/04/11144
Bio auf Deutsch: http://stihi.ru/2022/07/30/5962
Website: http://www.yuryloboarts.com

This book of liliputins by Yury Lobo is available in German on Amazon:


Das gefluegelte Holzpferd. Mit Liliputins auf flinken Hufen durch die Weltgeschichte (German)

Link:

Die Wahrheit liegt unterhalb der Oberflaeche
Erik Candel

Jonathan Swift hat mit seinen beruehmten "Gullivers Reisen" unzaehlige Leser in aller Welt auch in den Bann einer imaginaeren Insel namens Liliput und der dort lebenden Liliputaner, gezogen.

Der US-amerikanische Autor Yuri Slobodenyuk aka Yury Lobo ist von der Geschichte dieser winzigen Menschen besonders fasziniert.

So sehr, dass er das "Liliputin" (Mehrzahl: Liliputins) als treffende Bezeichnung f;r die ungewoehnlichen Wortspiele waehlte, mit denen er eine neue epische Kurzform der modernen Literatur kreierte, die wohl dem herkoemmlichen Aphorismus am naechsten kommen duerfte.

Aphorismusfreunde deutscher Zunge werden auf den ersten Blick Aehnlichkeiten mit bekannten "Falsch zugeordneten Zitaten" entdecken, einer epischen Kurzform, die der deutsche Kabarettist Marc-Uwe Kling mit seinen "Kaenguru Offenbarungen" erfunden hat.

Doch spaetestens auf den zweiten Blick zeigt sich - die Unterschiede zu den Liliputins sind gravierend:

Waehrend Kling einer Person seiner Wahl ein bereits vorhandenes, bekanntes Zitat unterschiebt, formuliert Liliputin-Schoepfer Lobo seine eigenen Gedankenblitze - wie einen guten Aphorismus - als pointierte Kurzzitate, die entweder auf einer Antithese oder einem wortspielerischen Paradoxon beruhen.

Damit nicht genug. Der russisch-ukrainische Muttersprachler Slobodenyuk - ebenso des Deutschen wie des Englischen maechtig - jubelt sein jeweiliges Liliputin auch noch einer bestimmten Person der Zeitgeschichte (einem Liliputinisten) unter.

Auf den Begriff Anachronismus verzichtet der Autor dabei absichtlich. Denn das gibt ihm die Moeglichkeit, obendrein seinen Senf zu Weltereignissen dazuzugeben, die laengst pass; sind.

Lobo legt seinen Protagonisten Saetze in den Mund, die diese aufgrund ihres Charakters, ihres Lebenslaufs und ihrer Rolle in der Weltgeschichte genauso geaeussert haben ... koennten! Getan haben die anscheinend Zitierten genau das jedoch nie.

Mit solchen Tricks und Kniffen gibt Yury Lobo seinen, in aller Regel bereits verstorbenen Liliputinisten zudem die Chance, die Gegenwart zu kommentieren.

Mit anderen Worten:
Die Liliputins existieren in einem fast Einsteinischen Zeitraum, in dem sich Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft gleichzeitig als eine ungeteilte Einheit entwickeln. Keiner der Protagonisten stirbt als Liliputinist. Alle sind ewige Zeitgenossen der Weltgeschichte.

So werden die Liliputins fuer den Leser zu den Trojanischen Pferden unter den Aphorismen. Ihr Schoepfer, tarnt seine eigenen Aphorismen, indem er dem Leser suggeriert, dass die hier formulierten Gedanken, Lebensweisheiten und Urteile von anderen stammen.

Yury Lobo wendet sich mit seinen originellen Liliputins an (Mit)Denker und (Mit)Wisser.

Das Wortspiel, die Pointe des jeweiligen Schein-Zitats erschliesst sich um so schneller, je besser sich der Leser in der vergangenen Welt des falsch Zitierten und in der Gegenwart auskennt.

Mit erlaeuternden Randglossen hilft der Autor zudem seinen Rezipienten auf die Spruenge.

Wer sich auf diesen literarischen Galopp einlaesst, der wird mit Lesevergnuegen ebenso wie mit Erkenntnisgewinn belohnt und erkennen: Liliputins sind ... niemals artig, mitunter abartig, oft boesartig, aber immer einzigartig.

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FALSCHZITATE (Pseudo-Zitaten) mit Belegen und Kommentaren. Hunderte falsche Zitate, Memes, Kuckuckszitate, Zitatraetsel, apokryphe, problematische und entstellte Zitate, misquotations, misattributed and fake quotes. (Die Sammlung wird laufend ergaenzt.) Von GERALD KRIEGHOFER.

https://falschzitate.blogspot.com/

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Entdecken Sie die Welt von Yury Lobo durch seine eindrucksvollsten Aphorismen, die zum Nachdenken anregen und tief in die Themen des Lebens eintauchen. Yury Lobo's Liliputins auf Deutsch bieten wertvolle Lebensweisheiten und Erkenntnisse. Ideal fuer alle, die nach Motivation, Trost oder einfach nach tieferen Einsichten in die menschliche Erfahrung suchen.

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https://www.freidenker-galerie.de/

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The Fascinating World of Double Meanings
http://stihi.ru/2023/10/02/4752
Puns: The Playful Side of Double Meanings
Puns are a form of wordplay that relies heavily on double meanings. They involve using a word or phrase in a way that exploits its multiple meanings or similar-sounding words for humorous effect. Puns are often used to create humor, catch attention, or add a touch of wit to a conversation.
Here's an example of a pun: "I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!" In this sentence, the word "put down" has a double meaning. On one hand, it means to physically place something down. On the other hand, it means to stop reading or lose interest in a book. By cleverly playing with this double meaning, the pun creates a humorous effect that tickles our funny bone.
The world of double meanings is a rich and fascinating one. Whether it's the power of ambiguity, the suggestive nature of double entendre, the confusion caused by homonyms, or the wit behind puns, these linguistic devices add layers of complexity and playfulness to our language. They challenge us to think beyond the surface level and engage in clever wordplay. So next time you encounter a double meaning, embrace the opportunity to explore the richness and versatility of the English language.

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Erwartung plus Inkongruenz ergibt Lachen ..."

Here’s What Happens in Your Brain When You Hear a Pun
By Cari Romm
 
Why do spiders make great baseball players?
Because they know how to catch flies.

Sorry, sorry, I know that was bad. And that puns, in general, are among the most despised forms of humor. But pun-haters, bear with me — there’s a reason I made you suffer through the last couple sentences: In the split second between when you read the pun and when you rolled your eyes, something pretty cool was happening in your brain. As writer Roni Jacobson explained in a recent Scientific American column, new research published earlier this year in the journal Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, sheds some light on how our minds process the complexities of wordplay.
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For the study, led by University of Windsor psychologist Lori Buchanan, a team of researchers presented participants with a pun on one side of their visual field, so that it would be processed first by one side of the brain — things viewed on the right go to the left hemisphere, and things on the left go to to the right. Among the puns they used was a variation on the spider joke above, along with this gem: “They replaced the baseball with an orange to add some zest to the game.” (“In honor of M. P. Bryden’s love for the game,” they wrote, referring to a psychologist who studied left-right differences, “our pun examples will be baseball-related when possible.”)
With each pun, Buchanan and her colleagues timed how long it took the participant to catch the wordplay on the screen. Overall, they found, puns in the right visual field sparked a quicker reaction time, suggesting that the left side — of the brain takes the lead when it comes to sorting out puns from straight language. “The left hemisphere is the linguistic hemisphere, so it’s the one that processes most of the language aspects of the pun, with the right hemisphere kicking in a bit later,” Buchanan told Scientific American.
The interaction between the right and left hemispheres “enables us to ‘get’ the joke because puns, as a form of word play, complete humor’s basic formula: expectation plus incongruity equals laughter,” Jacobson wrote. (The concept she’s describing is known as the benign violation theory of humor, the idea that to be funny, a joke has to subvert our expectations of the norm in a way that isn’t harmful or malevolent. A slapstick bit about someone falling down the stairs, for example, wouldn’t be funny if the person got seriously hurt in the process.) “In puns—where words have multiple, ambiguous meanings—the sentence context primes us to interpret a word in a specific way, an operation that occurs in the left hemisphere,” she continued. “Humor emerges when the right hemisphere subsequently clues us in to the word’s other, unanticipated meaning, triggering what Buchanan calls a ‘surprise reinterpretation.’”
For a pun to land, in other words, both sides of your brain have to engage in a little teamwork. And speaking of teamwork, did you hear the one about the baseball team’s new batter? He was a real hit.

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 quirky and funny sayings

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'Couldn't Have Said It Better'

Timeless One-Liners

Are one-liners a special genre of literature?

Whether one-liners qualify as a distinct genre of literature is a matter of some debate. Here's why:

Arguments for one-liners as a genre:

Unique form: One-liners stand out with their brevity and conciseness, demanding a specific kind of craft and impact. They often rely on wordplay, wit, and unexpected turns to pack a punch in a single sentence.
Historical and cultural significance: One-liners have existed for centuries, appearing in proverbs, aphorisms, epigrams, and even ancient graffiti. They've been used in various cultures for storytelling, humor, and philosophical reflection. One-liners can be seen as a modern extension of this tradition.
Literary merit: Some one-liners exhibit literary craftsmanship, employing figurative language, rhythm, and rhyme to create a lasting impression. They can be as thought-provoking and evocative as longer works.
Distinct form and style: One-liners are characterized by their brevity and focus on a single, impactful idea. This conciseness demands a unique approach to language and meaning, often employing wordplay, wit, and figurative language.
The rise of social media and online platforms has arguably contributed to the popularity of one-liners, providing a readily accessible format for sharing pithy thoughts and observations. It's worth noting that one-liners can also be seen as a literary device used within other genres, adding wit, surprise, or emphasis to poems, novels, or even plays. Some argue that one-liners can be seen as a microcosm of larger literary trend.

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Sarcastic Quotes
http://stihi.ru/2024/04/05/5690

Sarcasm is not an attitude. It is an art."

Love 'em or hate 'em, there's a reason sarcasm quotes are all over the internet. Like funny sayings, sarcasm quotes play with the interpretation of words and tone in a way that can stretch your brain if you're not expecting it. To use sarcasm, you have to say something that's the opposite of what you mean (kind of like uttering a funny inspirational quote when you're trying to be anything but inspiring). To understand sarcasm, you have to pick up on both the literal meaning and the underlying sentiment. Sarcasm is a true lie.

But there can be a dark side to all that insincerity. The word sarcasm comes from a Greek word, sarkazein, that means "to tear at something," like a dog might. By the 1570s, the word had become sarcasmus, meaning "a biting remark or gibe." A sarcastic taunt can stick like nothing else; there's a reason we might say our sarcastic colleague has a sharp tongue. Instead of playful zingers like funny coffee quotes or funny work quotes, their comebacks are mocking.
So why do we use sarcasm so much? There are a few possible reasons you'll catch everyone from kindergartners to senior citizens doing some verbal eye-rolling. For starters, sarcasm is hilarious. Like perfectly timed funny quotes, a sarcastic comment can put someone rude in their place or help you make a self-deprecating joke (think: tripping over your shoelace and saying "Smooth move, huh?"). Sarcasm is also a more mature way of expressing feelings like anger or disappointment. When your car doesn't start yet again, you can turn to your mechanic and say, "I'm so glad we chose this one" instead of yelling in frustration.

By definition, sarcasm is the opposite of sincerity, and you can use it to signal that you're not naive—this is probably why teens, in particular, spout sarcasm nonstop. Who wants to seem cooler and more grown-up than a high schooler? Whether you're looking to improve your comeback game or simply enjoy a smirk or two, these quotes will teach you the art of sarcasm. (Not that you need help in the humor department.)

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Sarkasmus – die hoechste Form der Intelligenz?
Bild: Lilly Hartmann
10.8.2016

- Sabrina Pfleiderer –

Obwohl Sarkasmus in einem Gespraech haeufig negativ wahrgenommen wird, kann die Verwendung von Sarkasmus auch die Kreativitaet der Beteiligten verbessern.

Wenn Sie bei der Arbeit eine Pause machen und Ihr Chef zu Ihnen sagt: „ueberarbeiten Sie sich bloss nicht“, koennen Sie davon ausgehen, dass er nicht wirklich um Ihr Wohlbefinden besorgt ist, sondern das Gegenteil meint; er ist sarkastisch. Oft werden sarkastische Aeusserungen dazu genutzt, dem Gegenueber etwas mitzuteilen, ohne es direkt auszusprechen.

Aufgrund der Abweichung zwischen dem Gesagtem und dem Gemeinten, bringt Sarkasmus grosses Konfliktpotential mit sich. In der Forschung beschaeftigte man sich bisher ueberwiegend mit der meist negativen Wirkung von Sarkasmus in der Verstaendigung. In juengerer Forschung ist nun auch der positive psychologische Nutzen von Sarkasmus von Interesse. Oscar Wilde sagte bereits: „Sarkasmus ist die niedrigste Form von Humor, aber die hoechste Form von Intelligenz“.  Ein Forschungs­team um Li Huang nahm nun foerderliche Effekte von Sarkasmus auf Kreativitaet an.

Aber wieso sollte Sarkasmus ausgerechnet auf Kreativitaet einen Einfluss haben?
Damit eine Nachricht sarkastisch wird, muss die eigentliche Botschaft verschluesselt werden. Der oder die EmpfaengerIn wiederum muss aus der sarkastischen Bemerkung des Gespraechsgegenuebers den wahren Sinn erkennen. Beide muessen also vom Gemeinten beziehungs­weise Gesagten abstrahieren. Solch eine Abstraktions­faehigkeit ist allgemein auch die Grundlage dafuer, neue Loesungen zu finden und kreativ zu sein. Das Forschungs­team vermutete folglich, dass durch Sarkasmus abstraktes Denken angestossen wird, wodurch die Kreativitaet beider Gespraechsgegenueber gefoerdert wird.

Mehrere Experimente sollten diese Ueberlegungen pruefen. So mussten einige Teilnehmende in einer simulierten Unterhaltung auf einen Kommentar reagieren – entweder sarkastisch oder aufrichtig beziehungs­weise spontan mit der ersten Antwort, die ihnen einfiel. Um beide Seiten im Gespraech zu imitieren, sollten weitere Teilnehmende sich vorstellen, ihr Gegenueber haette diesen Kommentar sarkastisch beziehungs­weise aufrichtig geaeussert. Anschliessend bearbeiteten alle eine Kreativitaetsaufgabe, in der sie ein Wort finden mussten, das zu einer vorgegebenen Gruppe anderer Woerter gehoerte. Weiterhin gaben sie an, wie sehr sie die Unterhaltung als Konflikt empfunden hatten.

Wie zu erwarten, wurde die simulierte Unterhaltung deutlich ;fter als Konflikt empfunden, wenn Sarkasmus im Spiel war. Darueber hinaus bestaetigte sich auch die positive Annahme der Forschenden: Teilnehmende schnitten in beiden Gespraechsrollen deutlich besser bei der Kreativitaetsaufgabe ab, wenn sie zu Sarkasmus anstatt einer aufrichtigen Haltung oder einer spontanen Reaktion angehalten worden waren.

In weiteren Experimenten fand sich ebenfalls Bestaetigung dafuer, dass Sarkasmus Kreativitaet erhoeht, indem er abstraktes Denken foerdert. Zudem konnte das Forschungs­team zeigen, dass ein wahrgenommener Konflikt in einer sarkastischen Unterhaltung deutlich reduziert wurde, wenn das vorgestellte Gespraechsgegenueber eine Person war, der die Teilnehmenden sehr vertrauten.

Die Verwendung von Sarkasmus in einer Unterhaltung scheint also auch positive Seiten zu haben. Da hierbei die Vertrauensbasis und das Konfliktpotenzial aber nicht ausser Acht gelassen werden sollten, kann (die richtige Anwendung von) Sarkasmus moeglicherweise tatsaechlich als hoechste Form von Intelligenz verstanden werden, so wie bereits Oscar Wilde zu seiner Zeit davon ueberzeugt war.

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http://stihi.ru/2024/04/04/429
Hilarious Steven Wright One-Liner Jokes

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Making other people laugh (with you, not at you) is one of the greatest pleasures you can accomplish in life. Putting a smile on people’s faces is priceless; hearing them laugh their hearts out is even better. You’ll discover a few methods of doing this if you have a funny bone. But some choose a particularly inventive approach, using signs and puns to make folks chuckle. And you know our passion for such. Roadside signs with clever puns are a specialty of Vince Rozmiarek from Colorado, often referred to as Vince the Sign Guy. We’ve gathered some of his best and most recent puns to brighten your day and ward off a bad mood. Prepare to roll your eyes, laugh out loud, and crack a joke.

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Why do we adore people who make us laugh?
Copilot
Laughter, that delightful burst of sound and expression, has intrigued humans for centuries. Why do we adore those who make us laugh? Let’s delve into the fascinating world of humor and its evolutionary roots.

Several theories have attempted to explain what makes something funny enough to elicit laughter. These include:

Transgression: When something forbidden or taboo is humorously presented.
Mockery: Puncturing a sense of arrogance or superiority.
Incongruity: The presence of two incompatible meanings in the same situation.
However, a recent study suggests that laughter might be more than just a response to humor. It could be a survival strategy that nature has bestowed upon us1. Here’s how it works:

Bewilderment: Laughter often arises when we encounter something unexpected or incongruous. For example, an animated character like Homer Simpson bouncing like a ball after falling from a roof. The key is that the event must be perceived as harmless.
Resolution: As we recognize the absurdity of the situation, our laughter serves as a coping mechanism. It helps us overcome fears triggered by strange or unfamiliar circumstances.
All-Clear Signal: When we laugh, it’s like an internal signal that reassures us: “Everything is okay; there’s no real danger.”
Why do we adore those who make us laugh? If someone’s humor inspires us to override our fears, we become drawn to them. Their ability to make us laugh becomes a powerful connection, possibly rooted in our evolutionary past. So next time you share a hearty laugh, remember that it might just be nature’s way of helping us survive and thrive1! ;


Why do we laugh? New study considers possible evolutionary reasons behind this very human behavior
by Carlo Valerio Bellieni, The Conversation

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
A woman in labor is having a terrible time and suddenly shouts out: "Shouldn't! Wouldn't! Couldn't! Didn't! Can't!"


"Don't worry," says the doctor. "These are just contractions."

Until now, several theories have sought to explain what makes something funny enough to make us laugh. These include transgression (something forbidden), puncturing a sense of arrogance or superiority (mockery), and incongruity—the presence of two incompatible meanings in the same situation.

I decided to review all the available literature on laughter and humor published in English over the last ten years to find out if any other conclusions could be drawn. After looking through more than one hundred papers, my study produced one new possible explanation: laughter is a tool nature may have provided us with to help us survive.

I looked at research papers on theories of humor that provided significant information on three areas: the physical features of laughter, the brain centers related to producing laughter, and the health benefits of laughter. This amounted to more than 150 papers that provided evidence for important features of the conditions that make humans laugh.

By organizing all the theories into specific areas, I was able to condense the process of laughter into three main steps: bewilderment, resolution and a potential all-clear signal, as I will explain.


This raises the possibility that laughter may have been preserved by natural selection throughout the past millennia to help humans survive. It could also explain why we are drawn to people who make us laugh.


The evolution of laughter

The incongruity theory is good at explaining humor-driven laughter, but it is not enough. In this case, laughing is not about an all-pervasive sense of things being out of step or incompatible. It's about finding ourselves in a specific situation that subverts our expectations of normality.

For example, if we see a tiger strolling along a city street, it may appear incongruous, but it is not comic—on the contrary, it would be terrifying. But if the tiger rolls itself along like a ball then it becomes comical.

Animated anti-hero Homer Simpson makes us laugh when he falls from the roof of his house and bounces like a ball, or when he attempts to "strangle" his son Bart, eyes boggling and tongue flapping as if he were made of rubber. These are examples of the human experience shifting into an exaggerated, cartoon version of the world where anything—especially the ridiculous—can happen.

But to be funny, the event must also be perceived as harmless. We laugh because we acknowledge that the tiger or Homer never effectively hurt others, nor are hurt themselves, because essentially their worlds are not real.

So we can strip back laughter to a three-step process. First, it needs a situation that seems odd and induces a sense of incongruity (bewilderment or panic). Second, the worry or stress the incongruous situation has provoked must be worked out and overcome (resolution). Third, the actual release of laughter acts as an all-clear siren to alert bystanders (relief) that they are safe.

Laughter could well be a signal people have used for millennia to show others that a fight or flight response is not required and that the perceived threat has passed. That's why laughing is often contagious: it unites us, makes us more sociable, signals the end of fear or worry. Laughter is life affirming.

We can translate this directly to the 1936 film Modern Times, where Charlie Chaplin's comic tramp character obsessively fixes bolts in a factory like a robot instead of a man. It makes us laugh because we unconsciously want to show others that the disturbing spectacle of a man reduced to a robot is a fiction. He is a human being, not a machine. There is no cause for alarm.


How humor can be effective

Similarly, the joke at the beginning of this article starts with a scene from normal life, then turns into something a little strange and baffling (the woman behaving incongruously), but which we ultimately realize is not serious and actually very comical (the double meaning of the doctor's response induces relief), triggering laughter.

As I showed in a previous study about the human behavior of weeping, laughter has a strong importance for the physiology of our body. Like weeping—and chewing, breathing or walking—laughter is a rhythmic behavior which is a releasing mechanism for the body.

The brain centers that regulate laughter are those which control emotions, fears and anxiety. The release of laughter breaks the stress or tension of a situation and floods the body with relief.

Humor is often used in a hospital setting to help patients in their healing, as clown therapy studies have shown. Humor can also improve blood pressure and immune defenses, and help overcome anxiety and depression.

Research examined in my review has also shown that humor is important in teaching, and is used to emphasize concepts and thoughts. Humor relating to course material sustains attention and produces a more relaxed and productive learning environment. In a teaching setting, humor also reduces anxiety, enhances participation and increases motivation.


Love and laughter
Reviewing this data on laughter also permits a hypothesis about why people fall in love with someone because "they make me laugh." It is not just a matter of being funny. It could be something more complex. If someone else's laughter provokes ours, then that person is signaling that we can relax, we are safe—and this creates trust.

If our laughter is triggered by their jokes, it has the effect of making us overcome fears caused by a strange or unfamiliar situation. And if someone's ability to be funny inspires us to override our fears, we are more drawn to them. That could explain why we adore those who make us laugh.

In contemporary times of course, we don't think twice about laughing. We just enjoy it as an uplifting experience and for the sense of well-being it brings. From an evolutionary point of view, this very human behavior has perhaps fulfilled an important function in terms of danger awareness and self-preservation. Even now, if we have a brush with danger, afterwards we often react with laughter due to a feeling of sheer relief.

Provided by The Conversation

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How To Use Wordplay To Elevate Your Poetry

We think there are a lot of aspiring poets out there just waiting to show their stuff. But you might be wondering where to even begin. Well, how about some wordplay?

Poets often use wordplay to grab a reader’s attention and hook them in all the way to the last stanza. But what even is wordplay? Well, we can explain and even do one better: we have examples of different types of wordplay in poetry. So, read on to learn a little bit more about wordplay and let the experts show you how it’s done!

Get inspired to write your own poem with our Poetry & Lyrics Challenge!

What is wordplay?
Wordplay is typically defined as “verbal wit” or, putting it another way, using words in a clever or fun way. For example, a commonly cited example of wordplay is the pun. A pun humorously uses a word with multiple different meanings and/or different words with similar sounds. An example of a pun could be I don’t play cards with big cats because they are all cheetahs.   

Wordplay is frequently used both in literature and poetry. But why?

Functions of wordplay in poetry
On a basic level, a poet can use wordplay to show how clever and witty they are to an audience. Spinning that around, wordplay can also be used to make an audience aware of how clever and witty they are when they recognize what the poet has done. Making an audience feel clever is a good way to hook them in and establish a good connection so that they are more likely to enjoy the poem. Even if the wordplay isn’t groundbreaking, just making a reader laugh can increase their joy when reading a poem.

Getting more complex, a poet may use wordplay to enhance the language or effect of their poem. For example, a suspenseful poem may use harsh-sounding words to increase the tension or a gentle poem may use cute or soothing words to relax a reader. Relatedly, a poet may use words with multiple meanings to create metaphors or hidden meanings in their poem.

More pragmatically, a poet simply might use wordplay to make their particular poem more unique or more interesting to make it stand out.

Types of wordplay
There are many different types of wordplay out there. We’ve looked at 14 different types of wordplay before, but not all varieties of wordplay even have names. Often, a poet does something entirely new and witty with words that has never been done before. That is the fun of wordplay—you can play around and see what kinds of fun things you make! Here are a few examples of different types of poetic wordplay that have names:

Palindrome: A word or line that reads the same forward and backward.
Pangram: A line or poem that includes every letter of the alphabet.
Alliteration: Using words that start with the same letter or similar-sounding beginnings.
Rhyme: Using words that have similar sounds, especially endings.
Assonance: Using similar-sounding vowel sounds to rhyme.
Consonance: Using similar-sounding consonant sounds to rhyme.
Onomatopoeia: Using words that sound like what they mean.
Oxymoron: Creating a phrase using words that don’t seem to go well together.
Neologism: Creating new words.
Portmanteau: Combining two words together.
Chiasmus: Reversing the order of words in parallel lines.
Kenning: Using a metaphorical or poetic phrase to refer to something.

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paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is the act of putting someone else’s idea or writing in different words, maintaining the same meaning. Paraphrasing can be used to clearly convey a concept or integrate another person’s ideas into an article or paper. Paraphrasing requires using unique wording that is different from the original source. Paraphrasing should be cited to avoid plagiarism


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Misquotes that People Have Always Misunderstood
18 Famous Historical Quotes that People Have Always Misunderstood
Story by Jane Andrews •

We know so many famous quotes that have been said throughout the course of history. Some we even incorporate into our everyday conversations. However, that doesn’t mean we always understand them or their origins. Here are 18 famous historical quotes that people have always misunderstood.


“Let them eat cake” – Marie Antoinette
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It’s been a common misconception that Marie Antoinette, Queen of France during the French Revolution, said this quote. However, according to History Hit, it was actually the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who said this. It’s tarnished Marie Antoinette’s reputation ever since and was even used in propaganda at the time.



“I cannot tell a lie; it was I who chopped down the cherry tree” – George Washington
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George Washington never said this quote and instead, it was made up by the biographer Parson Weems. It was supposed to improve George Washington’s reputation and make him seem more honest. There’s no evidence to show that
Washington ever said this quote and instead, it’s seen as being a quote on morality.


“Elementary, dear Watson” – Sherlock Holmes
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This phrase is thought to be from the Sherlock Holmes books, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. The closest anyone can find to this quote is from “Elementary,” when Holmes says “Excellent” in response to Watson. It shows just how easy it is for pop culture to change what actually happened in a story.


“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” – Neil Armstrong
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The quote actually includes an “a” before “man,” which was confirmed by Armstrong himself. The “a” was used to avoid any redundancy in the quote, and it does help it make more sense, as it was just one man who stepped on the moon. It’s thought the misinterpretation was due to the static in the audio transmission during the moon landing.

“Houston, we have a problem” – John Swigert
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This quote was said by John Swigert, but it was misinterpreted. What Swigert actually said was, “Ok, Houston; we’ve had a problem here.” It’s thought that the misquote was due to Jim Lovell, who said the now famous “Houston, we have a problem” in the film Apollo 13.


“I can see Russia from my house” – Sarah Palin
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Today I Found Out writes, “Sarah Palin never said ‘I can see Russia from my house.’ Tina Fey did, in a hilarious skit on Saturday Night Live.” Palin’s actual statement was about how close Russia and Alaska are to each other. The quote is often used to critique her foreign policy credentials, even though it’s inaccurate.   


“Nice guys finish last” – Leo Durocher
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This is the title of a book, not a quote that Leo Durocher actually said. It’s often used to refer to the New York Giants baseball team, which was the team Durocher played for. It wasn’t supposed to be life advice for a person and instead was about the competitive nature of baseball.


“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” – William Shakespeare
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This is a common misinterpretation of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. The actual quote is, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by another word, would smell as sweet.” The misquote almost gives a sense of adultery, which is the complete opposite of what the play is actually about.   


“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
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This wasn’t a direct quote from Gandhi but rather paraphrased from one of his speeches about change and taking responsibility. What Gandhi actually said was, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him.”


“All that glitters is not gold” – Common Proverb
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This common proverb is thought to have had a couple of origins over time. It can first be dated back to a 12th-century monk who said, “Do not hold everything gold that shines gold.” This proverb can also go back to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice with the quote, “All that glistens is not gold.”


“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” – William Congreve
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This was never a quote from William Congreve; instead, it’s a shortened proverb from his play, The Mourning Bride. The longer line from the play was used to make the feelings that come from scorned love more intense. It just became paraphrased over time to make it more memorable.   


“The simplest explanation is the best” – William of Ockham
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This quote is often misused as a way to support debates, especially when they’re linked to science or philosophy. The original quote comes from Occam’s Razor and goes, “No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary, i.e., the fewer assumptions an explanation of a phenomenon depends on, the better explanation.”


“I see no ships” – Admiral Horatio Nelson
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This was misquoted from the Battle of Copenhagen, where Nelson ignored a retreat signal. His real statement regarding his actions was that he could be blind sometimes. He stated, “I have the right to be blind sometimes; I really do not see the signal.”

“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” – Henry Morton Stanley
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This has become a famous greeting that was presumed to originally have been said by the journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley when he found Dr. Livingstone in Tanzania. However, it’s something that has never been verified. It shows how easy it is for narratives to change to suit storytelling.


“We shall fight them on the beaches” – Winston Churchill
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Churchill’s original speech includes this phrase, but it’s usually taken out of context. What he actually said was, “We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them on the landing grounds, we shall fight them in the fields and in the streets; we shall never surrender.” The speech was made in the summer of 1940.


“Et tu, Brute?” – Julius Caesar
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This quote was popularized by William Shakespeare in his Julius Caesar play, but there are no historical records that it was said by Caesar himself. Shakespeare chose to use this line to reflect the themes of tragedy and betrayal in his play. It shows just how easily literature can change our historical understanding.


“Sic semper tyrannis” – Marcus Junius Brutus
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This translates to “thus always to tyrants.” It’s thought that this quote is linked to Julius Caesar’s assassination, but there’s no historical evidence that Brutus said this during that moment in time. It gained a reputation after John Wilkes Booth shouted this during the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.


“I think, therefore I am” – Ren; Descartes
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This is often quoted as a form of recognition. However, the original quote is Latin and has a broader meaning. The Latin version goes, “I am thinking; therefore, I exist.” It shows how easy it is for philosophical quotes to be simplified over time. There are still many questions about why such a simple line created so many questions about existence.