In tough times, people turn to activities that relieve stress—specifically laughing and having sex (not necessarily at the same time). Though you might think economic turmoil wouldn’t exactly put people neither in the mood for comedy nor otherwise “in the mood,” based on the successes of comedy clubs and TV comedy ratings we are apparently in the midst of a “recession humor” boom. It is harder to gauge growth in the other stress reliever, though an uptick in condom sales gives a good indication of what’s up.
The Christian Science Monitor delves into the concept of “recession humor” during a visit to Mottley’s Comedy Club, a venue in Boston that on a special “Bailout Show” not only lets a customer in for free if he or she shows a layoff letter or the stub of an unemployment check, but a second person gets in for free too. What this means is that if you can get over the hurdle of finding a date who doesn’t mind you being unemployed, you now have a place to bring that date to a place you can afford. From the story:
“A lot of people lost their jobs and need a good laugh,” says Jon Lincoln, host of the weekly “Bailout Show” and Mottley’s co-owner. “Comedy offers an escape for people, but at the same time shows them they aren’t alone. Oftentimes comics talk about what is going on in the world and they spin it to be funny. No matter how bad things get there is always time to have fun.”
The worse things get, the more people feel the need to laugh or otherwise cut loose. They say laughter is the best medicine, and for good reason: Unlike other stress relievers—including sex and “retail therapy” (not necessarily at the same time)—there aren’t many unfortunate consequences that accompany having a few laughs.