upworthy

jokes

Funny on purpose or by default?

Imagine this: You're at Target when a guy in his early 30s awkwardly approaches and asks if he can "try to make you laugh with a physical comedy-type thing." He then proceeds to attempt to sneeze confetti, fumble his keys and, of course, fall down for no reason. He's open to notes. In fact, he always asks for them, and in this particular case, his extremely polite one-person audience suggests "lifting a box that's clearly too heavy?"


That's Dax Flame, and he has been creating content since he was a kid back in Dallas. The thing is, he's actually quite famous, having become one of the first YouTube stars to receive a million clicks. To say he was ahead of his time would be an understatement, as he slowly built a following by dressing up as an "angry Superman" and venting on camera, among other strange and hilarious videos. He'll stop at nothing to make people feel simultaneously happy and uncomfortable. It's so layered and mysterious that even a good portion of his longtime fans can't figure out if he's Andy Kaufman-level genius or just plain awkward.

@ttfeo

Dax Flame’s villian origin story. #daxflame #daxflameprojectx #daxflameedit #redrex #editaudio #villian #orginstory #evil #whereitallbegan #vsp #capcut #ttfeo #edits

If you Google Dax Flame, the suggested queries include: Is Dax Flame for real? Does Dax Flame have anxiety? Was Dax Flame in the movie 21 Jump Street? The answer to the latter is yes. But the other two questions remain unclear.

The truth is—it might just not matter. With 2.3 million followers on TikTok and over a million on Instagram, Dax's star continues to rise. He appeared in the films Project X, 21 Jump Street, and 22 Jump Street and often asks random people if they've seen those films. And yet, fans still wonder—is he in on the joke? Did he create the joke? Is there even a joke at all?

An entire documentary called Ice Cream Man was posted on YouTube, which explores Dax's enigmatic personality and his dreams of hosting an online game show about making smoothies. If he breaks character, it's tough to tell. One of the commenters shares, "Dax radiates charisma. It doesn't matter how you look at him; he is so genuine that you will feel drawn to him and appreciate his approach to things in life. His speech is very gentle, and he didn't put pressure on either of the contestants during the show. It was awesome."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Five years ago, the BBC did a story on him and wrote, "Dax Flame was huge on YouTube. But that was more than a decade ago. What happens as he tries to revive his career—and why does a mystery about his channel persist to this day?"

Now, a handful of years later, Dax IS reviving his career. Sort of. In the last year or so, he has started trying his hand at stand-up comedy by doing open-mics. Hard to tell if it's cringe on purpose or just a level of anti-comedy brilliance done with such an adorably deadpan delivery you'll feel gaslit. That said, he might just make you laugh harder than any working headliner today.



He also enjoys ordering pizzas and giving gifts to delivery drivers when they arrive.


That's why this week, when Will Smith appeared in one of his videos, his fans went wild. On what appears to be a basketball court, Dax asks Will, "If you check out my new song, I'll check out your new song." Will agrees, "That's a deal." And in keeping with Dax's brand of (in his words) "making people feel awesome," Dax then asks, "Do you feel good?" Will emphatically replies, "I feel great!"

One Instagram follower wrote, "It must have been such a honor for Will Smith to meet Dax Flame."

After watching these videos, we still might not have a clear answer as to "Is Dax Flame for real?" But many of us will feel awesome, either way.

All images by Rebecca Cohen, used with permission.

Here’s a thought.

Self proclaimed "feminist killjoy" Rebecca Cohen is a cartoonist based in Berkeley, California.

Here’s what she has to say about her role as an artist taken from her Patreon page.


She says:

"In these trying times, the world needs a hero to resist the forces of tyranny.

That hero is definitely not me.


I just draw funny pictures and like to share my opinions. I'm Rebecca, also known as @gynostar."

Enjoy one of her comics below.

a four panel comic

An all too common exchange.

All images by Rebecca Cohen, used with permission.

three panel comic

It’s only words.

All images by Rebecca Cohen, used with permission.

six panel comic

Simple jokes contain implicit ideas.

All images by Rebecca Cohen, used with permission.

five panel comic

Discussing the impact of words.

All images by Rebecca Cohen, used with permission.

This article originally appeared eight years ago.



Joy

New poll reveals the top 20 things 'that make us feel good' in 2023

A welcome reminder of the good things in life.

A woman jumping for joy

Living in an era with a 24-hour news cycle and endless updates on social media gives many the perception that the world is becoming more chaotic by the day. But when you talk to people as individuals, they think their lives are pretty darn okay. A recent poll by Gallup found that 85% of Americans are “satisfied” with their personal lives, and 14% are dissatisfied. When taken in context, that’s 8% higher satisfaction than when the poll started in 1979.

One of the keys to living a satisfied life is knowing what makes you happy.

A new poll of 2,000 Londoners released by Babybel Cheese has found the top 20 things that make them happy and that might just work for you, too. The list is refreshing because it’s about enjoying the simple things in life instead of chasing status or Instagram followers.


According to the poll, here are the top 20 things that bring people happiness.

1. A good night’s sleep

2. A sunny blue sky

3. Summer

4. Receiving a compliment or praise

5. Booking a holiday

6. Crying with laughter

7. Getting a quiet moment to yourself

8. Eating your favorite snack

9. Pets being happy to see you

10. Looking back at old photographs

11. Finishing a great book

12. Helping an elderly person with something

13. Finishing a workout

14. Hearing children really belly-laughing

15. Finding a parking space when it’s busy

16. A newly-cleaned car

17. When your football or other sports team wins

18. A heart-to-heart with a loved one

19. Volunteering or helping others

20. Finding out your children have done well at school

The No. 1 thing that makes people happy is a good night’s sleep. It makes a lot of sense because when we sleep, our bodies and minds do many essential things that can make the next day so much better.

However, when we don't get enough sleep, our brain's ability to adapt to new experiences, known as brain plasticity, diminishes. So, we have more difficulty processing memories and learning new things. Sleep deprivation can significantly affect our mood, making us more susceptible to feelings of anger and heightened emotional responses. In fact, Cedars Sinai says that a lack of sleep can lead to a host of mental problems, including higher levels of stress, frustration, depression and anxiety.

A good night's sleep isn't just about feeling alert—it's about maintaining our mental well-being, too.

The poll also shows that basic human social actions can provide a lot of happiness, whether that’s sharing a joke with a friend, working on a creative project or spending time with our children. It also shows the importance that giving back can have on our mental well-being.

The good news is that when we’re feeling down, so many simple things can easily make us happy, most of which can be found in our own backyards. The real lesson from the poll shows that we could all be a lot happier if we adopted an attitude of gratitude and stopped making things so complicated.

via Comedy Wildlife Awards

A sense of humor is a characteristic that many of us assume is only found among humans. However, according to Live Science, our primate relatives — chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans — all produce laughter-like sounds when tickled.

Koko, the gorilla that knew sign language, would tie her trainer's shoes together, sign, "chase," and then laugh.

So, who knows? Ants and spiders may share their own jokes that we have no idea about. And it'd be hard for a giraffe or puffer fish not to laugh from time to time given their looks.

Don't get me started on hyenas.


The photographers and wildlife conservationists from the Comedy and Wildlife Awards do a great job that humans aren't the only animals that enjoy having a laugh.

Every year, they hand out an award to the funniest wildlife photo and they've just released their top 44 finalists for the 2020 awards. So, we're sharing our top 21 favorites.

The winners will be announced on October 22 with the top photographer winning an incredible one-week safari with Alex Walker's Serian in the Masai Mara, Kenya as well as a unique handmade trophy from the Art Garage in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

What's your favorite photo? You can vote on the People's Choice winner on their website.

Here are 21 of our favorite finalists.

Wait up mommy, look what I got for you© Kunal Gupta / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Just chillin'© Jill Neff / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Untitled© Mark Fitzpatrick / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


It's the last day of school holidays© Max Teo / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Hide and seek© Tim Hearn / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Socially uninhibited© Martin Grace / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Boredom© Marcus Westberg / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Macaque striking a pose© Louis Marti / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


The inside joke© Femke van Willigen / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Hi y'all© Erik Fisher / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Crashing into the picture© Brigette Alclay Marcon / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Smiley© Arthur Telle Thiermann / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Social distance, please© Petr Sochmanmn / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


The race© Yevhen Samuchenko / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


So hot© Wei Ping Pen / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Monkey business© Megan Lawrenz / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


I think this tires gonna be flat© Kay Kotzian / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Peekaboo© Jagdeep Rajput / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Almost time to get up© Charlie Davidson / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


I could puke© Christina Holfelder / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.


Spreading the wildlife gosspi© Bernhard Esterer / Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2020.