U of A determines words that make people giggle most

Words most likely to make you giggle A scientific paper by local authors has identified which words are most giggle-worthy, and why. CTV Edmonton’s Bill Fortier has the details.

A University of Alberta study determined the 10 funniest words in the English language.

The top 10 words, in no particular order, are jiggly, bubby, puffball, boff, guffaw, wriggly, cooch, yaps, upchuck and giggle.

Researchers showed four words to 100 University of Alberta students and askedthem to pick the those that were mostand least funny.

According to experts, the main predictors of funniness in a word are its form and meaning.

Chris Westbury, a psychology professor at the U of A, told CTV News funny words fall into six categories: sex, bodily functions, swear words, insults, animals and partying.

“We started out by identifying these six categories,” Westbury said. “It turns out that the best predictor of funniness is not distance from one of those six categories, but rather average distance."

The research paper, “Wriggly, squiffy, lummox, and boobs: What makes some words funny?” was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.