ARE Cockneys really funnier than Scousers, and can the Welsh make jokes as well as being the butt of them?

The Open University hopes to find the answer with an experiment to discover just what makes us laugh.

From Monty Python to Ricky Gervais, British comedy has gathered devotees around the world. But scientists have yet to break down the components of a national humour that stretches from madcap surrealism to deadpan observation. Do denizens of the West Country laugh at the same gags as Geordies? Are some groups or individuals universally the butt of a funny joke? Do the stories we tell all lead to the same punchline?

With the aid of a travelling joke booth, academics hope to identify the regional nuances, themes and methods of delivery that make up the funniest jokes in Britain.

Exeter’s funny men and women will be the first to impart their favourite joke or story when the booth arrives there this month. Liverpudlians, who often claim to be Britain’s sharpest wits, will have their opportunity, along with shoppers in Gateshead and at the Bluewater Centre in Kent.

Marie Gillespie, senior lecturer in sociology with the Open University, said: “We all tell funny stories and jokes but not all of us get a laugh. We will be analysing the component parts of what it is that makes a story funny and why some jokes are funny and others not.” She added: “Are there themes or jokes that recur? Is there one Big Joke in Britain today? What does the Big Joke tell us about British identities today?”

Stand-up comics may recoil at the prospect of sociologists analysing something as instinctive as humour, but the research will be fed into a BBC One series presented by Lenny Henry, which will explore the British national identity through its sense of humour.

Ms Gillespie said: “We hope this will show how humour functions as a social barometer. We will decipher the social and political climate, the pulse of the nation, to find out what makes us laugh both individually and collectively.” Amateur gag-tellers are invited to enter the joke booth and tell their favourite funny stories and jokes or simply what has made them laugh most recently.

Henry, born in the West Midlands, will investigate the roots of regional humour and test new material on local audiences for Lenny’s Britain, co-produced by the Open University.

The British Association for the Advancement of Science attempted to identify the funniest joke in the world in 2002. The “New Jersey hunters” gag provoked the most laughs from an international panel. The joke provoked key responses, crucial to a killer gag, of “feeling superior, reducing anxiety and surprise,” according to the psychologist behind the project. Researchers said, however, that the winner was at best “ordinary” because it won by appealing to both sexes, all nationalities and all religions.

“The bus baby” was Britain’s funniest gag, but there were marked differences in national responses. The British and Australians prefer word play, Americans like something that makes them feel superior and most European countries prefer the surreal. Germans belied national stereotypes by enjoying every type of joke.

FUNNIEST JOKES IN THE WORLD

World’s best joke
Two New Jersey hunters are in the woods when one falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other calls the emergency services.

He gasps: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says: “Just take it easy. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is silence, then a shot is heard. The hunter’s voice comes back on the line. “OK, now what?”

Best British joke
A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The driver says: “That’s the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen. Ugh!” The woman sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: “The driver just insulted me!” The man says: “You tell him off, I’ll hold your monkey.”

Top joke in England
Two weasels are sitting at a bar. One starts to insult the other. He screams: “I slept with your mother!” The bar gets quiet as everyone listens for what the other weasel will say. The first again yells: “I SLEPT WITH YOUR MOTHER!” The other says: “Go home dad, you’re drunk.”

Source: British Association for the Advancement of Science LaughLab survey