Having a Laugh

Why did the chicken cross the road?

It’s a classic. The answer varies depending on who you ask, though my dad always told me, “to get to the other side!” Sounds like a dad joke, right? And, being a bit grayer on top, and having a few years under my belt (or slightly over my belt, as things now seem to settle in my midsection), dad jokes definitely tickle my funny bone like they never did in the past.

“Dad, will you make me a sandwich?”

“Abracadabra! You’re a sandwich!”

Oh man, I crack me up!

Anyway, late last year I found out there’s such a thing as World Belly Laugh Day. In fact, it’s today, January 24, 2024. So, to prepare for the day, I decided to pull out some puzzles that were much less serious than my norm & show the world my weirder side. 

Everyone has a sense of humor, right? Each one of us finds different things funny. Some folks like slapstick, some like inanity, some prefer a drier type of joke, and others, like me, live in a little town called “Weirdville.”

Being something of an old guy, my sense of humor was influenced by older material. Favorite comedian? George Carlin - wonderful wordsmith, totally weird. Favorite TV show? “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” - like Carlin, intelligent folks presenting social commentary via the weirdest way possible. Favorite radio DJ? Doctor Demento - I think the name here says it all.

So what does that have to do with puzzles?

Each one of us chooses puzzles for our own reasons. It could be the beautiful scenery that draws us in, or maybe we love collages of old movies that remind us of our past. Bright colors that catch the eye, animals we love, or just something that we think will be a challenge; there are thousands of reasons to choose a puzzle. But something that’s always there for me, a factor I can’t ignore as I look through my puzzle stash, is humor. And my humor is weird.

Knock knock.

“Who’s there?”

Spell.

“Spell who?”

W - H - O 

Funny puzzles come in a lot of styles. Some folks like “Butts on Things” puzzles from Ceaco, others choose goofy scenes like the Selfies puzzles, also from Ceaco. and some are just downright weird. That final category is where my humor lives. I love the oddball things; those that stand out for their absurdity. If it’s weird I’ll probably like it.

For this blog I completed a couple of mainstream funny puzzles first. There was Funny Pigs, from Eurographics, which tells you its intent right in the title: Funny. And it was. At 1000 pieces it went together quickly, and the pieces have a good solid feel. Here it is …

Funny Pigs by Eurographics 

Also good for a laugh is this 500 piece cutie from Buffalo Games, called simply, FETCH! If you like dogs, you probably like pictures of dogs underwater. They usually look ridiculous and are good for a laugh.

FETCH by Buffalo Games 

Though both of these puzzles were fun, they just weren’t strange enough to really get my giggler going. For that, I turned to a series called “ZOZOVILLE” from Heye. This series, with goofy monsters in absurd situations, caught my eye the minute I saw it.

The first one I chose is Spring Time. Because he’s on a spring. Yeah, well it’s funny to me. It’s 1000 pieces, from artist Mateo Dineen. It took longer than I thought it would because, after the monster and the boy, there wasn’t a lot to go on. I loved it!

Spring Time by Heye 

After that, I jumped right into Beach Boy, 1500 pieces of fun, again from Mateo Dineen. The sand on this puzzle was a challenge, and it would have helped to have had a poster. Fortunately, the puzzle image matched the picture on the box perfectly.

Beach Boy by Heye 

Finally, I finished my travels through ZOZOVILLE with Neighbourhood, another with 1000 pieces. From artist Johan Potma, Neighbourhood fit right into the series, and all that monster fur was great practice for puzzling by texture.

Neighbourhood by Heye 

So there it is, my weird sense of humor on display for anyone reading this blog. But it’s World Belly Laugh Day so I had to put it out there. I still appreciate traditional funnies, and I get a good laugh from many different styles of puzzle, it’s just that the oddball ones have a special place in my (slightly warped) heart. I hope you can enjoy them, too.

I’ll leave you with this…

Why couldn’t the jigsaw artist answer the question?

He was puzzled!! 

Happy Puzzling :)

Phil (aka Puzzle Buster)