Tucson isn't necessarily a comedy hub or an entertainment one in the traditional sense. Young people enjoy the nightlife and the pretty views, neither of which are directly funny things. Students go to class, which is also not funny.
So it's not surprising The Human Research Lab out of the University of Colorado found that Tucson was one of the least-funny cities in the nation. From the New York Times:.
Mr. McGraw's pet principle is the "benign violation theory," which holds that humor occurs in situations like play fighting and tickling "because they are physically threatening but harmless attacks." Humor, he offers, manifests itself in a three-pronged psychological response: an emotional one (being amused), a cognitive judgment (finding something funny) and a behavioral reaction (laughing).
His findings were drawn from surveys of residents (on the prevalence of humor in their daily lives) and of comedians, number of visits to comedy websites, tweets, radio stations, comedy clubs per square mile and native-born comedians per capita.
"To glean a deeper understanding of humorous daily life in these cities," Mr. McGraw explained, "researchers quizzed residents on the kinds of funny entertainment they enjoyed, asked whether they looked for humor in their friends and lovers, and subjected them to a ‘need for levity' personality test."
How can we dissect whether Tucson is funny? For our purposes, we can simply look at what we know. SPORTS!
Abstract
Somebody said Tucson isn't funny, so we're going to use the scientific method to very unscientifically find out if they are right or wrong.
Methods
Using a really loose definition of what's funny and what makes a city funny -- again sticking to Arizona Wildcats sports things -- we expect to find that the above study is completely wrong.
Hypothesis
TUCSON IS FUNNIER THAN THEY SAY.
Results
Actually, this very website has a humor section that is updated only so often. While the majority of the content comes from whatever Gronk is up to, the rest of the list reads like so:
Is Joe Pasternack kicking Jorge Gutierrez funny?
While Jorge Gutierrez is now in the NBA doing Jorge Gutierrez things to upset his opponents, this was borderline funny but more frightening. Do not mess with Pasternack.
Is a bro getting pepper-balled in the tummy during a riot funny?
HES OUT EVERYONE. THE INVINCIBLE MAN HAS BEEN FREED. #weltsonwelts #freedavidson pic.twitter.com/NVSZnS8ULk
— Jacob Cooper (@bearjew53) March 30, 2014
This guy got pelted in the stomach during the Elite Eight so-called riot after the loss to Wisconsin. This is sort of funny because the dude went all Terminator on the Tucson PD, but it is also mostly sad.
Is Sean Miller with a towel funny?
The many faces of Sean Miller's relationship with his towel. #Arizona pic.twitter.com/WdoCJUGFmy
— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) March 15, 2014
This has some funny to it, but it's also kind of gross because Sean Miller sweats a lot.
Conclusion
Tucson sports things are generally more disturbing than anything. But entertaining, yes sir. And we'll always have Gronk.
Double Fisting dem steaks! @david_vozzola pick up your game! #freddieFlintstoneGotNuttinOnMe pic.twitter.com/Kn8KcA33D7
— Rob Gronkowski (@RobGronkowski) April 15, 2014