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Some people take more time than others to wrap their heads around jokes. Innuendos and clever puns usually carry a hidden meaning, which might seem confusing at first. In fact, research shows that nearly 70% of people laugh at jokes they don’t understand. An abundance of such instances can be found online, as the internet is a treasure trove of jokes, witty comments, and other frivolous material to make people laugh.

Here at Bored Panda, we dove into the depths of the That's the Joke subreddit to bring some examples of people unintentionally missing the gag line. And they might be funnier than the actual jests. Make yourself some popcorn and start scrolling through.

P.S. If you want to continue the involuntary abb workout, make sure to check out these jokes that are so bad they’re actually great.

Research suggests that humor and insight comprehension stimulate the same brain areas. This implies that both require a bit of effort to be fathomed. It comes as no surprise, since humor is a complex form of communication. 

It not only relies on linguistic means but involves other important components, such as perception and context, among others. Listening to grown-up jokes during family get-togethers didn’t seem so funny as a child, did it? While now you’re cracking one-liners about politics together with uncle Tom. This is due to a better understanding you get that comes with experience and knowledge in certain fields.

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    Research shows that when stated in a humorous way, the message is retained better. In addition to that, according to the same research, humor comprehension in the brain correlates to considering other people’s psychological state.

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    Also known as mentalization, this ability is crucial in order to use humor as a form of communication or entertainment. Only when you are able to understand others can you begin to understand what might be funny to them.

    A detailed analysis of humor and mentalization shows that a joke is best within a certain frame of intentionality. Different levels of intentionality comprise the process of mentalization and account for how well comedy will be understood by the audience. The person telling the joke has to reach a level high enough to be funny, but low enough to be intelligible. That emphasizes another factor when it comes to understanding jokes—knowing your audience.

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    #7

    The Comment My Cousin Made To A Post My Sister Shared On Facebook

    The Comment My Cousin Made To A Post My Sister Shared On Facebook

    Rude_Influence Report

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    Research on audience characteristics states that the listener’s tendency to laugh is a great factor when it comes to delivering jokes. People tend to have a rather fixed sense of humor, which helps if you know them well. That is why adjusting your content accordingly might save you from a moment of crickets instead of laughter.

    Nevertheless, knowing your audience is not always possible, especially if the jokes are told to the vast public online. Luckily, in instances like that, the receivers can find solace in the helping hand of the internet. The survey about people that laugh without understanding jokes also stated that more than half of the respondents (56%) have had to look up the meaning of a joke to comprehend it.

    #9

    Found This On A Different Subreddit. Sorry To The Hardcore Redditers For Reposting

    Found This On A Different Subreddit. Sorry To The Hardcore Redditers For Reposting

    RoostarHead Report

    #10

    Amy Schumer Isn’t Funny

    Amy Schumer Isn’t Funny

    kiidlocs Report

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    #11

    Haha Yes Tumblr Moment

    Haha Yes Tumblr Moment

    liamfirthh Report

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    all 4 paws
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    a hyenas laugh is actually a sign of pain. So I've been thinking, maybe im a hyena?? Not a cat??

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    #14

    How Does This Have 110 Likes

    How Does This Have 110 Likes

    ToxinLab_ Report

    #15

    First Of All, The Repost, Then This Comment

    First Of All, The Repost, Then This Comment

    Viksome_12 Report

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    Liz
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Paperwork. But also the weird patriarchal ownership over women that trades us between men, from father to husband, and wipes away our matrilineal lineage. But also…paperwork.

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    #18

    They Should Make A Joke About That

    They Should Make A Joke About That

    rocketsalesman Report

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    Hotdogking
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And in a surprising twist, two people and counting were affected by the whoosh in the comments, more updates as the story develops!

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    #19

    S**t Quality Btw

    S**t Quality Btw

    ThisTook1Hour Report

    #21

    Room Temperature Iq On This One

    Room Temperature Iq On This One

    timurshah Report

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    Liz
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow that’s one hell of a guess for never having seen the show! What are the odds??

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    #22

    And It Was The Top Comment Too

    And It Was The Top Comment Too

    reddit.com Report

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    Hotdogking
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Imma be honest, it took me way longer than it should’ve to understand what the post meant😳. Edit to clarify: I meant it took me to long to figure out what “rub one off” meant. It’s a running joke among my friends that I am the most innocent man alive. For example, I had to have Hickeys explained to me last month (I’m 18)

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    #23

    No Way... I Mean Let's Ignore Cloths

    No Way... I Mean Let's Ignore Cloths

    reddit.com Report

    #24

    🙂

    🙂

    kowaterboy Report

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    HelluvaHedgehogAlien
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I pause multiplayer games to feed my yelling cats and dog and turtles. Then I get tons of angry screaming that’s ALMOST as bad as the cats’ from the people who ditched me because I wasn’t moving and run ahead, only to discover I was the only one who had enough weapons to beat that thing up front. I’m a jerk in multiplayers like that.

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    #26

    C’mon Man I Made It So Obvious

    C’mon Man I Made It So Obvious

    RandomStupidClips Report

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    #28

    Oof He Got You There

    Oof He Got You There

    MooxBoi Report

    #29

    That One Person Who Ruins The Joke

    That One Person Who Ruins The Joke

    KC-Karate Report

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    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ....is it still socially unacceptable to hunt people down for sport?

    Well-Dressed Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I grew up on those. There was always a package in the fridge. I like them. It was the 80s, what can I say? Things were chaos then. XD

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    #31

    The Caption... Yeah No S**t

    The Caption... Yeah No S**t

    skittlepiddle Report

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    Liz
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    “Can you send me some pics that you took outside of your modeling job for shutterstock?”

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    #32

    I Mean.... Yeah It Is

    I Mean.... Yeah It Is

    AndrewAllStar888 Report

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    HelluvaHedgehogAlien
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Huh… it is the same price, but it is NOT the same price in my mental brain cell circuit! No one is convincing me otherwise! :D

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    #33

    You'd Think Someone In A Meme Subreddit Would Catch On

    You'd Think Someone In A Meme Subreddit Would Catch On

    Aneides_Aeneus Report

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    #35

    I Sure Did!!!!

    I Sure Did!!!!

    covid-1990 Report

    #36

    When An Entire Sub Whooshes As One

    When An Entire Sub Whooshes As One

    852derek852 Report

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    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Have a strong feeling that I purchased my house from them....it is full of stuff like this.

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    #38

    Didn’t Really Need Any Explanation, But Apparently 161 Others Felt It Did

    Didn’t Really Need Any Explanation, But Apparently 161 Others Felt It Did

    fossilmerrick Report

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    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I drive more than all my victi....I mean passengers combined.

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    #41

    Sorry For Sh** Cropping

    Sorry For Sh** Cropping

    pyro-fanboy Report

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    #47

    That Is In Fact The Joke, Thanks U/Jesstgefangirl_

    That Is In Fact The Joke, Thanks U/Jesstgefangirl_

    InconspicousJerk Report

    #48

    Well Done

    Well Done

    PerfectMemester Report

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    Zephyr343
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I should have held out. I did a face reveal for a Whopper and a deep sense of regret.

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    #49

    Thank God He Pointed That Out!

    Thank God He Pointed That Out!

    Spergle Report

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    #51

    Toph Be Like: Akdbdbwkaheeid

    Toph Be Like: Akdbdbwkaheeid

    AquaticSombrero Report

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    Well-Dressed Wolf
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    For those who do not know the reference: these are characters from the cartoon Avatar: the Last Airbender. Toph is blind.

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