Does it Cost More to Laugh?
Are we paying bigger bucks for smaller yuks? Is there a bone to pick with the price of rubber chickens? Is the price of Groucho glasses raising eyebrows, the cost of Mad Magazine driving you mad, and, well, you get the idea.
Malcolm Kushner, an attorney-turned-humor-consultant based in Santa Cruz, California, developed an index based on a compilation of leading humor indicators to measure price changes in things that make us laugh. Kushner created the cost-of-laughing index to track how trends in laughter affect the bottom line. He is a humor consultant who advises corporate leaders on making humor work for business professionals. For example, humor can make executives better public speakers, and laughter reduces stress and can even cure illnesses. Kushner believes humor is America's greatest asset, and his consulting business gets a lot of publicity from publication of the index. His latest book, Successful Presentations for Dummies, provides the reader with 10 sites on the World Wide Web where speakers can find everything from quotations of famous people to an appropriate Murphy's Law, to general information material for your speeches. To combat rising humor costs, Kushner has established a Web site at http://www.kushnergroup.com. It organizes links to databases of funny quotes, anecdotes, one-liners, and other material for business speakers and writers. The exhibit with the Groucho face traces the annual percentage change in the cost of laughing that Kushner has reported to the media. On an annual basis, the cost of laughing index remained flat as a pancake at 4.4 percent between 1994 and 1995 and then did a belly flop to 3 percent in 1996, where it remained through 1999.
Closer examination of the laughing index over the years gives both happy and sad faces. The good news is that the price of an arrow through the head, singing telegrams, and ticket prices for several of the comedy clubs have remained unchanged since 1995. The bad news is that the prices of all the other items have increased. The major reason for more expensive humor is the price of writing a half-hour television situation comedy. Just like the CPI, Kushner's index has been criticized. Note that the fee for writing a TV sitcom dominates the index. Kushner responds to this issue by saying, "Well, I wanted the index to be truly national. The fact that this price dominates the index reflects that TV comedy shows dominate our national culture. If you can laugh for free at a sitcom, you don't need to buy a rubber chicken or go to a comedy club."
Ex. 1. Match the word with their definitions.
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Ex. 2. Find information in the text to answer the questions.
What sort of index did Malcolm Kushner develop?
In what way do humor and laughter influence the work of business professionals?
What does Kushner believe to be America’s greatest asset?
What actions did Kushner take to combat rising humor costs?
How did the cost of laughing change between 1994–1999?
What good news does the examination of the laughing index provide?
What is the bad news about the laughing index?
What is the major reason for more expensive humor according to Kushner?