Dead Baby Jokes - Why Are They Funny?

There are over 100 well known dead baby jokes out there. Every single one is disgusting, violent, tasteless, offensive and (for some people) utterly hilarious. Those who don't find dead baby jokes funny are often disgusted and perplexed as to why anyone would find them funny.

It begs the question: Why are jokes about dead babies so funny?

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to be able to give you an answer that will satisfy your curiosity, or mine. When it comes down to it, no one is exactly sure why anything is funny. Those who have theories about humor paint an incredibly dark picture about human nature; which isn't surprising at all!

Though there are critics of Freud's ideas on humor, I personally think he was onto something. Basically, in his mind, society represses ideas and we tuck them away in our subconscious. Then, jokes allow all that gooey, forbidden goodness into our conscious minds and tickles our noodles. We laugh and feel happy because we really pulled one over on society.

While that theory may explain why racist jokes, perverted jokes, dead baby jokes, etc. are funny, it isn't a perfect theory. It doesn't really explain how in the world "Why did the chicken cross the road?" became so famous. Perhaps crossing roads for the sake of getting to the other side was taboo at some point.

Another thing about jokes that may explain their hilarity is that they send us into rabid hallucinations. Then, when the punchline is delivered our minds get shocked with something unexpected. People love it when their imaginations create silly images followed by a kick in the groin. The hallucinations aren't real so people feel safer about the joke, no matter how violent and awful the contents of it may be.

Jokes give us a chance to take the most awful and terrible things in life and turn them into absurdities. When someone tells a racist joke, it doesn't necessarily mean they are a racist. When someone tells a perverted joke, it doesn't necessarily mean that they subjugate women or are incapable of love. And when someone tells a dead baby joke, it doesn't necessarily mean that they hate babies, dead or alive. (After all, they're so delicious!) After all, asking why a chicken crossed a road doesn't mean that that person loves or hates chickens or roads. Nor does telling a knock-knock joke mean that the person loves or hates doors, knocking, or idiots.

So, why are jokes funny? Does it really matter? Does anyone really care? Is anyone still reading this?

All I can say is that all jokes are funny to someone and aren't funny to others. For some people, offensive jokes aren't personally offensive at all but are just an absurd string of words. For others, chickens on the road, people knocking on doors, priests walking into bars, and blonde people are hilarious. No matter where your humor lies in the comedy spectrum, don't look down on those who don't laugh when you do. If you do, you may actually find yourself to be the butt of a joke that makes you out to be the stinker.

Brandon Eden is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of BrandonEden.Com, an independent music project both praised and reviled for the "Dead Baby Song." He's been playing/writing music and studying human behavior for more than a decade. For more info, visit BrandonEden.Com.