Brain Humor

So far, much of this blog consists of resources for people who are interested in keeping their minds active, and I suspect that’s going to continue for awhile because the resources are vast. Here are some separated by topic that I think you might enjoy:

Humor and your brain
Humor is a great way to keep your mind strong.

1. Laughter brings oxygen to your brain to freshen your thinking.
2. It lowers your cortisol levels, thus lowering your stress levels, and relaxed learners learn more.
3. It unleashes creativity, because finding the funny side of anything requires a new way of seeing the situation.
4. It builds rapport, and our social ties broaden our horizons and lift our spirits.

Anyone who tickles your funny bone is good to hang around, whether through a live performance, a book, TV program or video. Seek out what makes you laugh.

Here are a few book recommendations that are just for fun:

• Everything I Need to Know I Learned From My Cat, by Suzy Becker (A funnily illustrated spoof on Roger Fulgham’s famous book) – To order, click here.
• Life Laughs Last – To order, click here.
• Life Smiles Back (These two books are compilations of the amusing final photos in old Life magazines) – To order, click here.
• The Official Rules and Explanations, The Original Guide to Surviving the Electronic Age with Wit, Wisdom, and Laughter, by Paul Dickson (The rules of our perverse universe that take readers far beyond Murphy’s Law) – To order, click here.
• Reader’s Digest’s Life in These United States (Excerpted stories from many years of this popular magazine column) – To order, click here.
• What’s in a Name? Reflections of an Irrepressible Name Collector, also by Paul Dickson – To order, click here.

And here are books for having fun with the English language

These are both prolific authors with a great sense of humor; almost anything you pick up of theirs is likely to be fun.

• Crazy English, by Richard Lederer – To order, click here.
• Fractured English, also by Richard Lederer – To order, click here.
• Made In America, An Informal History of the English Language in the United States, by Bill Bryson – To order, click here.
• The Mother Tongue, English and How It Got That Way, also by Bill Bryson – To order, click here.