Under the direction of Dr. Richard Wiseman at the University of Hertfordshire with assistance from the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's funniest joke was revealed on October 3, 2002. The study, which asked Internet users to submit their favorite jokes and rate the jokes of other contributors, amassed over 40,000 jokes and an amazing 2 million comments. The study also revealed some interesting results, such as regional preferences for certain types of jokes. For example, Americans and Canadians apparently prefer jokes that make others look foolish, whereas persons from the UK and Ireland enjoyed jokes that involved word play.

The first link leads to a new story highlighting some of the study's research findings (including the world's funniest joke). The second link will take users to the Web site of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, which helped sponsor the research. The third site is a link to LaughLab, the site where the research was conducted, which also contains a variety of information about different data collected during the study. The fourth link leads to Dr. Richard Wiseman's site, the lead researcher on the project. The fifth site is maintained by Professor David Chalmers of the University of Arizona and is devoted to philosophical humor. The sixth and final site leads to that bastion of New York humor, the Friars Club, which features a collection of jokes and a complete listing of Friars Clubs legendary roasts.