What’s the funniest piece you read this week? Can’t remember?
There may be a reason for that.
These are such serious times that it’s getting harder to find the humour. Once upon a time, newspapers crackled with jokes, mixing up the serious stuff with light-hearted whimsy, satire and irreverence.
These days, not so much. Aside from occasional oddities and political sketches, our news media seems less attuned than ever to the the bizarre, the comedic, the absurdities of modern life. Things are so serious that comedians are becoming politicians.
Why? Have we lost our funny bone? When did everyone start taking themselves so seriously?
Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. In honour, the Upside has been trawling around, looking for the new Ernest Scribblers of this very earnest age.
You can read our suggestions in What we liked, below. But first, a quick round-up of top Upside offerings of the week:
1. The women taking the plastic out of periods. Two-minute read.
2. Why Finland’s schools are so great. Three-minute read.
3. How the participatory budget in Paris works. Three-minute read.
4. Hitching to work: could it catch on? One-hour commute.
What we liked
My colleague Marina Hyde is always funny – though be warned: she is fabulously rude too.
A jolly Sydney Morning Herald piece ripped into a new TV hit.
There was plenty of value to be had in a British prime minister mentioning “kangaroo’s testicles” in a speech.
A pub had a party at which everyone was called Nigel.
The Economist had fun examining the far-fetched prospect of Donald Trump’s border moat. One-minute read (paywall).
The New Yorker still maintains a daily commitment to satire.
A protest stunt backfired – literally (video).
Lucky numbers
Long one of the most alcoholic nations in the world, Russia has become more abstemious over the past decade and a half, with booze consumption falling by almost half. Longevity has increased by 10% over the period from 65 to about 71.
In the UK meanwhile, deaths from breast cancer have almost halved over the past 30 years.
What we heard
Michèle Sanniti inquired via email:
I would love to read an article on what can be done about the huge amount of plastic that we generate everyday by using milk and orange juice cartons. Alternatives, campaigns, are the supermarkets working on this?
Well, of course we have written various pieces on this, for example here, here and here.
Still on the theme of all that unnecessary plastic:
Thanks for a great article about environmentally sound menstruation products. I have been using the same 6 pads since 2002 or thereabouts. They are in cotton, and I just wash them in the washing machine and then use them again. They have little buttons on their wings to keep them tethered during use. Probably not great for the manufacturer, but multi-use pads is probably by far the most environmentally friendly menstrual protection.
Name supplied
Where was the Upside?
Out in the Pacific, where a new technology finally looked like it might work
