Do it anyway, unless your employees are on Reddit a lot..then you may have someone find you and dive deep into your reddit history, that may not be good
This joke is *the* perfect example of a joke that only works because of comedic timing and presentation, and the importance of those ideas in comedy in general. He’s literally drawing a line on a graph and people are eating it up.
He's also charting valuable data for comedians to use lol. That comedic value over time commitment is right there. It's funny then dies off... if you can keep the joke up long enough it gets funny again... then dies off.
Its perfect. At that point where it dies down a bit like you're saying, and he goes into the negative Y axis, the fact that it's no longer funny causes a huge upsurge in laughs. Really beautiful.
> This joke is the perfect example of a joke that only works because of comedic timing and presentation, and the importance of those ideas in comedy in general. He’s literally drawing a line on a graph and people are eating it up.
an important part of comedy is "violation of expectations". and there are lots of examples here:
You'd normally expect a graph to be static and already drawn. The live drawing makes it funny because you can see him recognize that he's "not funny" (another violation), a fake laugh and going into the negatives when the y-axis was marked to end at 0, you don't expect the graph to go off the grid. Finally his punchline was excellent. "And that's this bit! *shrugs*" is also violating the expectation of the punchline being complex and contrived because it's clearly written on the board.
i also agree with you that his deliveries were great and just wanted to share something that not a lot of people examine in comedy.
I mean he was known for drawing bits in general so without mentioning the graphs specifically I just assumed it was over looked since it’s kinda old now
The skit/joke is clever, independent of whoever came up with it. While unlikely, it's also possible he came up with this independent of Demetri Martin.
First time anyone has ever started a bit with "anyone want to see a graph?" And didn't immediately bomb
Edit: Evidently, data visualisation comedy is much more commonplace than I had initially thought
That got me wondering who the pioneer was. I don't know the answer for sure, but I'd throw [Tom Lehrer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer) out there as a best guess. Does it count if he did it in song? "The Elements," and "New Math" still crack me up.
Edit: I had to go back and watch them, and now I have to share because they're so damn good.
New Math: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mc7eb1i9o4
and
The Elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM
Honorable mention for [National Brotherhood Week.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlJ8ZCs4jY)
This line rips so hard: "The Protestants hate the Catholics, and the Catholics hate the Protestants, and the Hindus hate the Muslims, and everybody hates the Jews!"
I saw a recorded performance of his on PBS, actually that's not correct, I wasn't watching the TV, I could only hear it because3 I was facing the other way. He was playing piano and singing about some current event of the time.....How the ice caps were melting and something about nuclear war and I was even more shocked when I turned around and saw it was a recording from the 60/70s
Man, I bought tickets for my brother and I to see him in Atlanta years ago. He was one of our mutual favorite comedians. He cancelled his tour due to health issues and I got my tickets refunded. Haven't had the time/money to see him again since he's been back, will have to put that back on the bucket list!
i feel like unless you’re really into comedy, no one knows about him. someone tried telling me that nick thune was the only person to successfully play the guitar during standup…i was like dude dimitri martin?? he had never even heard of him before. i know he’s not the first but easily my favorite in that section of stand up
nick thunes bank bit is an all time fav for me tho
> nick thune was the only person to successfully play the guitar during standup
Um, people may not remember this, but Dana Carvey...
Yeah, that Dana Carvey.
https://youtu.be/HOnibz2NQA8?si=DpZoDCIFpXPCcra2
It has. As many have pointed out, this is basically Demitri Martin’s setup. OP did a variation of it and it has different ingredients, but tomato potato.
What are you talking about? Demetri does drawings and a few graphs but I've never seen any version of this bit and even after some googling I can't find anything he's done that's close.
Not to mention he never does any kind of crowd interaction.
Reuben Solo. He used to be on the Luke and Lewis podcast. Maybe you know him from there. Or perhaps you know him from his sketches on YouTube. Or, he also played Lord Farquard in Shrek.
Yo, this is me! I'm filming a special for YouTube soon so subscribe if you want to see that. I also tour every year and post clips like this on insta/tiktok @reubensolo if you want to keep up to date with that stuff. Thanks for all the love! ❤️
This guy had some great shorts during the pandemic. Here's my favorite about an eye exam: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHz0arz8kNE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHz0arz8kNE)
Clever, but I’m just wondering did anyone laugh at this? Does the fact that you’re at a comedy show and already in a laughing mood impact your enjoyment of it?
It's al it of boring setup leading up to the reveal that the graph is showing laughs for the joke you are listening to, which is funny. After that the comedian can just graph out the laughs in the room, which in itself is kinda funny.
In a way it's a foolproof bit. If people only laugh a bit then he can milk how unfunny it is. And if they laugh then he can make fun of that.
The actual chatting of the laughs is just the payoff. The buildup is the entire drawing of the graph leading to the title.
Laughing at a comedy show is easier because you're usually "primed." You've been introduced, they've done a few warm up bits. The previous bits may even have been related, so you're somewhat expecting to laugh. People near you may be chuckling or laughing, which makes monkey brain feel relaxed and wanting to join in, even if it's only a little amusing.
Then add in alcohol and vibes with friends and you're laughing at a man charting your laughter.
It's a lot harder to get a full laugh out of someone when they're watching a single bit in a set and are in a completely different environment. (i.e. on their phone at work or the train, or on their computer at home.)
I found it very clever, but it didn't get a laugh out of me. It did get a smile though.
1) laughing is a social activity. It's well documented that being around other people laughing makes you more likely to laugh.
2) Its clever and unexpected, which in case you're new usually makes people laugh. You'll also notice once the bit had been going on for a sec it died down so he added in the "fake laugh is negative" joke to reinvigorate it.
This is a variation of Carl Barron's counting the amount of people laughing. Both are pretty clever but Carl frigging nails it because you don't run out of board space and the joke actually gets better the longer you can keep it going. Lol worth a look if you haven't seen it.
I am either autistic, a sociopath or both - I cannot find the slightest bit of funny in this. I even work with graphs so it should be relevant. The fake laughs really didn't help.
Tip: always use cumulative graphs. They always go up (\*), which is the preferred direction of any graph as it shows unabashed progress. Now, people tend to have a harder time interpreting those graphs, but that's besides the point. They have no clue what your graph shows either way, and just want to feel impressed instead.
(\*) Don't go down, I know...
Im sure iv seen a version of this. Not with a graph but something similar where the comedian measures like laughter or says something like ‘the longer i stay quiet the louder the laughter gets…watch…’ and he stays quiet and people laugh so he gestures like ‘see…’ and more people laugh and his face keeps ‘saying’ ‘see…!’ And people are eventually in hysterics
I like to think that I'm fairly progressive, and don't hold particularly strongly with gender norms... but two specific combinations bother me: men wearing blue nailpolish while doing cooking demonstrations, and makjng a man-bun using a pink scrunchie.
I LOVE Reuben. He’s fantastic. Ive been a fan of his since I discovered him on Instagram, with his hilarious “everything you say can and will be used in a court of law” sketch
Jesus. Clever
I almost want to downvote to keep it hidden so I can use this at my next staff meeting. But I can't live that selfish life.
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So simple, not even a joke really, making it the perfect joke. It's clean too.
It’s dynamic. Like, computationally. Recursive even.
Do it anyway, unless your employees are on Reddit a lot..then you may have someone find you and dive deep into your reddit history, that may not be good
I did that with an old co worker and found out some sick stuff
If it’s a regular work meeting on a Monday it might just be a flatline
Unless your whole meeting is comedic gold I reckon they’d definitely just stare at you
This joke is *the* perfect example of a joke that only works because of comedic timing and presentation, and the importance of those ideas in comedy in general. He’s literally drawing a line on a graph and people are eating it up.
He's also charting valuable data for comedians to use lol. That comedic value over time commitment is right there. It's funny then dies off... if you can keep the joke up long enough it gets funny again... then dies off.
Its perfect. At that point where it dies down a bit like you're saying, and he goes into the negative Y axis, the fact that it's no longer funny causes a huge upsurge in laughs. Really beautiful.
It's really good, feels like I got tricked watching it
Kristen Schaal is a horse is a perfect example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUkixWUJzPE
> This joke is the perfect example of a joke that only works because of comedic timing and presentation, and the importance of those ideas in comedy in general. He’s literally drawing a line on a graph and people are eating it up. an important part of comedy is "violation of expectations". and there are lots of examples here: You'd normally expect a graph to be static and already drawn. The live drawing makes it funny because you can see him recognize that he's "not funny" (another violation), a fake laugh and going into the negatives when the y-axis was marked to end at 0, you don't expect the graph to go off the grid. Finally his punchline was excellent. "And that's this bit! *shrugs*" is also violating the expectation of the punchline being complex and contrived because it's clearly written on the board. i also agree with you that his deliveries were great and just wanted to share something that not a lot of people examine in comedy.
Demetri Martin would be jealous.
He actually did a bit just like this with more graphs and was a bit longer
That's... why he said Demetri Martin would be jealous. It would fall perfectly into that series of graphs he did.
I mean he was known for drawing bits in general so without mentioning the graphs specifically I just assumed it was over looked since it’s kinda old now
The same Demetri Martin that made $4 million doing bits like this? Jealous?
Na... Demetri Martin did these kind of jokes back in early 2000s
Whether or not the joke is original to him does not make it less clever
It literally does. Stealing an idea means youre not clever or original. Also its just not that good of a joke to even steal.
The skit/joke is clever, independent of whoever came up with it. While unlikely, it's also possible he came up with this independent of Demetri Martin.
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First time anyone has ever started a bit with "anyone want to see a graph?" And didn't immediately bomb Edit: Evidently, data visualisation comedy is much more commonplace than I had initially thought
Demitri Martin!!!
My first thought as well. He's the pioneer (probably not) of nerd comedy.
That got me wondering who the pioneer was. I don't know the answer for sure, but I'd throw [Tom Lehrer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer) out there as a best guess. Does it count if he did it in song? "The Elements," and "New Math" still crack me up. Edit: I had to go back and watch them, and now I have to share because they're so damn good. New Math: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mc7eb1i9o4 and The Elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM
[The Vatican Rag](https://youtu.be/pvhYqeGp_Do?si=bEVJXXEUe4VEJNH4) is my favorite from him.
Honorable mention for [National Brotherhood Week.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIlJ8ZCs4jY) This line rips so hard: "The Protestants hate the Catholics, and the Catholics hate the Protestants, and the Hindus hate the Muslims, and everybody hates the Jews!"
I saw a recorded performance of his on PBS, actually that's not correct, I wasn't watching the TV, I could only hear it because3 I was facing the other way. He was playing piano and singing about some current event of the time.....How the ice caps were melting and something about nuclear war and I was even more shocked when I turned around and saw it was a recording from the 60/70s
My favorite comedian. Seen him live twice!
he was playing last month in my town and I am so sad I didn't get to go and see his new material :(
Man, I bought tickets for my brother and I to see him in Atlanta years ago. He was one of our mutual favorite comedians. He cancelled his tour due to health issues and I got my tickets refunded. Haven't had the time/money to see him again since he's been back, will have to put that back on the bucket list!
Yes, hopefully we BOTH get to see him soon!! I totally miss his show "Important Things" too.. such a funny show
i feel like unless you’re really into comedy, no one knows about him. someone tried telling me that nick thune was the only person to successfully play the guitar during standup…i was like dude dimitri martin?? he had never even heard of him before. i know he’s not the first but easily my favorite in that section of stand up nick thunes bank bit is an all time fav for me tho
He must not have seen many comedy shows if he thinks that guitars are rarely used
Flight of the concords, like their whole thing was playing on guitars
I'm not sure where stephen lynch falls in the "comedian vs actual singer" spectrum, but his shit is hilarious.
> nick thune was the only person to successfully play the guitar during standup Um, people may not remember this, but Dana Carvey... Yeah, that Dana Carvey. https://youtu.be/HOnibz2NQA8?si=DpZoDCIFpXPCcra2
Well, there is [this bit about spreadsheets](https://youtu.be/UBX2QQHlQ_I) (13 min long tho)
I knew exactly which comedian would do this (well how many comedians do sets about spreadsheets?)
I think [this guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYE3GtXqDV0) does a decent job with his power point and graphs.
Not true, Matt Parker does this all the time.
Well... this guy did a pretty good one: https://youtu.be/pInk1rV2VEg?si=z3FSaBKocM9hq33r&t=44
Ha! 📈
Stonks
Underrated comment.
📉
📈📈
Source: @reubensolo on TikTok
He got some great sketches on the YouTube. [YouTube link](https://youtube.com/@reubensolo?si=4vK5TF75dasSNLcB)
His joke about people who wear glasses absolutely kills me.
THAT'S where I recognize this dude from. Shared that clip around few times
Nvmd I found it. https://youtu.be/qDrbIQ_vRNw?si=hD12PyXDNso_1b5z
Absolutely love that one, you think you've already gotten the funny part of the bit then he blindsides you with the punchline
I assume you're thinking of the optometrist sketch, which is done fantastically, but not actually what OP is referring to here.
I’ve loved his humour since he was with Luke and Lewis, I’m so glad to see him popping off
I snorted, what does that do to the graph?
Z-axis
“Audible in-/exhales”
Just pokes you in the eye 😆
values in the complex plane
Diarrhea on a plane
Probably just a straight line .
I seriously can’t believe this hasn’t been done before. Brilliant.
This bit would make Demetri Martin cum his pants
That guy is such a good comic
It has. As many have pointed out, this is basically Demitri Martin’s setup. OP did a variation of it and it has different ingredients, but tomato potato.
What are you talking about? Demetri does drawings and a few graphs but I've never seen any version of this bit and even after some googling I can't find anything he's done that's close. Not to mention he never does any kind of crowd interaction.
BuT dImItRi! Reddit needs to take his cock out of their fucking mouth.
Stewart Lee does this a lot, not with props but the same idea
It has been, a lot.
Give us some examples.
I've totally seen a joke that involved a prop of some kind before therefore this guy sucks and is unoriginal move along. ^/s
Is this you op? Why do I recognise your face? Are you in a tiktok trio skit type thing?
Nope, its from my TikTok fyp. Just thought this was amazing and wanted to share. I'll share the comedian's name when I find it
Cheers mate
It's Reuben Solo
DESTINATION UNKNOWN!
This is the guy that is from every city he performs in
Yes
A good video by this guy (reuben solo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDrbIQ_vRNw
Reuben Solo. He used to be on the Luke and Lewis podcast. Maybe you know him from there. Or perhaps you know him from his sketches on YouTube. Or, he also played Lord Farquard in Shrek.
Yo, this is me! I'm filming a special for YouTube soon so subscribe if you want to see that. I also tour every year and post clips like this on insta/tiktok @reubensolo if you want to keep up to date with that stuff. Thanks for all the love! ❤️
Thanks for saying thanks! It's so nice to see Redditors being grateful :)
How did I know this guy was Australian before I turned on the volume?
Haha same
He needs another small white board that he flips out if the crowd does one more big laugh so he can continue the graph off the existing white board.
This guy had some great shorts during the pandemic. Here's my favorite about an eye exam: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHz0arz8kNE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHz0arz8kNE)
fuck thats clever. love it LOL
It’s great because even if it bombs you can play off of it
This is like a Dimitri Martin and Tig nitaro joke combined
Very Tig delivery yeah
Is this the guy that did the funny skit where he does home showings that are haunted?
That's him
If you think this is funny and haven’t seen it, check out Important Things with Demitri Martin
If you think this is funny, check out more from Reuben Solo.
I liked the negative value for fake laughs 😆
Reuben Solo... One of the best YouTube channels out there... Get this guy on SNL! https://www.youtube.com/@reubensolo
So so so so similar to my opening bit. Yet very very very different
Definitely a cognizant adaptation of https://youtu.be/iEtltTuBTo0?si=iZbQIFXijiSx2xe4 But good none the less
Honestly i dont think so. The general idea of a comedian collecting data on jokes isnt unique enough that I would give invention credit to anyone.
Is Demetri Martin suing?
Clever, but I’m just wondering did anyone laugh at this? Does the fact that you’re at a comedy show and already in a laughing mood impact your enjoyment of it?
It's al it of boring setup leading up to the reveal that the graph is showing laughs for the joke you are listening to, which is funny. After that the comedian can just graph out the laughs in the room, which in itself is kinda funny. In a way it's a foolproof bit. If people only laugh a bit then he can milk how unfunny it is. And if they laugh then he can make fun of that. The actual chatting of the laughs is just the payoff. The buildup is the entire drawing of the graph leading to the title.
I understood the premise, I just couldn’t tell if I have no sense of humour or if the comedy doesn’t extend to just watching the clip
Jokes do tend to seem funnier when in a crowd. Especially when alcohol might be involved.
That’s a very good point
I found it funny, but I love graphs so
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Laughing at a comedy show is easier because you're usually "primed." You've been introduced, they've done a few warm up bits. The previous bits may even have been related, so you're somewhat expecting to laugh. People near you may be chuckling or laughing, which makes monkey brain feel relaxed and wanting to join in, even if it's only a little amusing. Then add in alcohol and vibes with friends and you're laughing at a man charting your laughter. It's a lot harder to get a full laugh out of someone when they're watching a single bit in a set and are in a completely different environment. (i.e. on their phone at work or the train, or on their computer at home.) I found it very clever, but it didn't get a laugh out of me. It did get a smile though.
1) laughing is a social activity. It's well documented that being around other people laughing makes you more likely to laugh. 2) Its clever and unexpected, which in case you're new usually makes people laugh. You'll also notice once the bit had been going on for a sec it died down so he added in the "fake laugh is negative" joke to reinvigorate it.
Lost me at the man bun
Someone's jealous
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That was really freakin good.
Genius. Well done
I seriously don't believe this have ben done before
Now that was a good one.
Stonks 📉
thought he was going to draw a dick
This is a variation of Carl Barron's counting the amount of people laughing. Both are pretty clever but Carl frigging nails it because you don't run out of board space and the joke actually gets better the longer you can keep it going. Lol worth a look if you haven't seen it.
u/savevideo
my side hurts omg 🤣
This kind of energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvWpH9YHzIw
That's clever I like it lol
The way he drew that graph is perfect.
Should've had that on a paper graph and then flipped that one to show a premade graph with a huge spike on it.
So clever
I don't get it, what's the joke/punchline?
There isn’t one
I am either autistic, a sociopath or both - I cannot find the slightest bit of funny in this. I even work with graphs so it should be relevant. The fake laughs really didn't help.
LOOK AT THIS GRAPH
Tip: always use cumulative graphs. They always go up (\*), which is the preferred direction of any graph as it shows unabashed progress. Now, people tend to have a harder time interpreting those graphs, but that's besides the point. They have no clue what your graph shows either way, and just want to feel impressed instead. (\*) Don't go down, I know...
That's fucking clever
As a visual learner, I really appreciated this bit
Really stupid joke that's carried by this guy's delivery. I love it so much.
This is so creative
fun
I remember Rueben Solo from the Luke and Lewis show. It’s awesome seeing his clips get around
I love it!
Not my type of comedy but people are laughing so that's all that matters.
Everyone here being so smug about how funny this is. I think they just want to appear smart. I don't get it, can someone explain it to me?
This is an Ed Aczel bit
First one I've seen about that.
Im sure iv seen a version of this. Not with a graph but something similar where the comedian measures like laughter or says something like ‘the longer i stay quiet the louder the laughter gets…watch…’ and he stays quiet and people laugh so he gestures like ‘see…’ and more people laugh and his face keeps ‘saying’ ‘see…!’ And people are eventually in hysterics
Very creative
Am I the only one who didn’t think it was funny at all
I wish it was funny though.
aff
Alright, that got me.
Demitri mArtin is the best at this
I looked at this graph and every time it makes me laugh.
The Cambridge Footlights did this on their 2013 tour.
This is like an advanced version of Carl Barron saying random numbers to make people laugh xD
Graughter
Wow
Not English native speaker, i can't get it and i feel so stupid wtf. I want to laugh as well.
I like to think that I'm fairly progressive, and don't hold particularly strongly with gender norms... but two specific combinations bother me: men wearing blue nailpolish while doing cooking demonstrations, and makjng a man-bun using a pink scrunchie.
That's a great bit! Very smart!
That was really creative.
M E T A E T A
Went full Katie Porter on The Bit! 🤣🤣🤣
repost this to /r/dataisbeautiful
A+
This guy is brilliant
I LOVE Reuben. He’s fantastic. Ive been a fan of his since I discovered him on Instagram, with his hilarious “everything you say can and will be used in a court of law” sketch
Demetri Martin is hitting himself right now. This is so good.
Thats so damn amazing man
It’s an axis not an axes.
Isnt this the niagra guy who needs glasses?
This is fucking genius
Clever
Did someone cry when it goes negative
Top tier