know how to think about it in novel
and innovative ways. Take Amir’s and
Biederman’s favorite cartoon, for ex-
ample: A mouse is standing outside
his house, having just pulled a gun on
a cat, who is depicted with
one paw raised in mock
submission. “Six
rounds. Nine lives.
You do the math,”
the cat says.
In order to ap-
preciate this joke,
you need to know
that mice are usu-
ally the victims of
cats, many revolvers
have six bullets, and
cats are said to have nine
lives because of their ability to
always land on their feet. You also
need to be able to subtract six from
nine to understand that the cat has
the upper hand (or paw, as the case
may be) in this scene after all.
A University of New Mexico study
of 400 college students found that
those who scored highest on intel-
ligence tests also scored high on hu-
mor ability—and they reported having
more sex. This confirmed a wide body
of literature that suggests that “humor
is not just a reliable intelligence indi-
cator ... but may be one of the most
important traits for seeking human
mates.” Being funny is not only a pow-
erful sign of smarts; it also
makes potential mates
feel good. And by en-
suring that only the
cleverest, fittest,
and most creative
people procreate,
it helps safeguard
the survival of the
human race.
“Humor has sev-
eral unique powers,”
says Amir. “It forces
people to consider differ-
ent perspectives. It brings people
together; if they are laughing together
at something, they must agree with
each other on some level. It reduces
the pain associated with life’s diffi-
culties. It exercises your brain. And it
makes you happy.”
If a healthy sense of humor can
make you smarter, sexier, and happier,
then one thing is clear: Finding time
in your day for a good joke or two is
no laughing matter.Humor helps the human
race survive by increasing
the odds that the smartest
and most creative
people procreate.Holy Water, with Hops
In Milwaukee, even the nuns are in the beer business.
This year, the School Sisters of St. Francis opened a summer beer
garden to raise money for clean-water projects in Peru and India.
Among their top sellers: a pale brew called Ale Mary.rd.com 65Genius Special Reader’s Digest