[Newspoetry] World's Funniest Joke Discovered

[John]

It may be the funniest joke suitable for a 10 year old to repeat.  (Any
unsuitable jokes were rejected by the scientists before being given a
chance)

And still....only 65% of respondents rated it a 4 or 5 on a 5 point scale.

Of course.....the study does fall directly for what is commonly referred to
as the "Black Swan Fallacy".  That is...the belief that because no Black
Swans have ever been seen, this means that Black Swans don't exist.  There
could easily be a funnier joke...it just wasn't one of the jokes in the
competition.

I laughed at both the #1 and the #2 jokes...so apparently my sense of humor
is comparable to the majority.  This somehow disappoints me.

The Duck is the funniest animal apparently...there is no analysis of
why....I suspect in English speaking countries it might have something to do
with the sound of its name.
 
> I dunno, is this really all that funny?
> 
> The Story:
> 
> http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992876
> 
> The Joke:
> 
> A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them
> falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are
> rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and
> calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is
> dead! What can I do?" The operator, in a calm soothing voice, says:
> "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."
> There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back
> on the line. He says: "OK, now what?"