Some jokes are good. A few are great. And one - this one - was scientifically rated among the funniest jokes in the world. In 2002, a British psychologist ran a massive international study called LaughLab, in which hundreds of thousands of people rated tens of thousands of jokes, and a version of the joke below took the crown. We had it first. Here it is, in its classic GreetingGrams form.
The Joke
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip, set up their tent, and fall asleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes his faithful friend.
“Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”
Watson replies, “I see millions of stars.”
“What does that tell you?”
Watson ponders for a minute. “Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Timewise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?”
Holmes is silent for a moment, then speaks. “Watson, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent.”
Why It Works, My Dear Watson
The joke is a perfect machine. It builds Watson's answer into a tower of learned magnificence - astronomy, astrology, theology, meteorology - precisely so the punchline can step over the whole tower and point at the missing tent. Humor researchers call this an incongruity-resolution joke: the listener is led confidently down one path and then yanked onto another, and the size of the yank is the size of the laugh. It also helps that the victim of the joke is the smart one. Everyone enjoys watching genius miss the obvious.
Holmes and Watson themselves, of course, are the creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose original stories are now in the public domain and free to read at Project Gutenberg. Doyle never wrote the camping trip - but after a century of parodies, pastiches and forwards, it has become an honorary chapter in the canon.
The Game Is Afoot
Send this page to the most insufferably logical person you know; the joke lands hardest on those who identify with Watson's answer. Further investigations may be conducted in the jokes collection, and lighter cases - barely two-pipe problems - await in the fun pages. Elementary.