Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Humor important in dating

There’s one dating superpower that amazingly compensates for bad skin, gamey body odor and stingy spending habits.

A good punch line.

July 4, Columbus hot spot H2O hosts Cledus T. Judd, a comedian known as the “Weird Al” Yankovic of country music. He performs tunes like “I Love NASCAR,” a parody of Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar.”

It’s not the first time nightlife and comedy have converged.

The meet market is brimming with eye-catching clothing and seductive dance moves. Perform a quick survey of top-valued dating characteristics, however, and you’re likely to learn those physical traits often take second place.

Never underestimate the romantic appeal of a solid sense of humor.

That explains the lure of the Quirky Funny Guy, one of the most prevalent forces on the nightlife scene.

You’ve met him: the partier who somehow manages to juggle phone numbers and date requests, despite having absolutely no physical uniqueness.

When viewed in isolation, his personal resume often makes him seem distinctly undateable.

In the majority of cases, he lacks aspiration, income or hygienic living conditions. Possibly all of the above.

But he’s funny.

So he savors the dating spotlight while wide-eyed, muscle-clad men in the background are left wondering, “How does he pick up?”

The appeal has limits.

Case in point: The growing contingent of men who think any life crisis can be solved by citing an anecdote from “Family Guy.”

And despite humor’s romantic pull, it can just as easily be interpreted as a sign of immaturity. There’s something to be said about real, substantive conversations in a relationship.

A good joke has early pickup power, but only a handful of us can tolerate a relationship where every third sentence ends in “sike!”

What’s more, incompatible senses of humor can doom a relationship.

You can only feign laughter during date nights centered on reenacting the intricacies of “Dumb and Dumber” for so long.

And few words doom a sunny partnership faster than “you’re not funny.”

For better or worse, the dating experience can be succinctly summarized as a quest to find someone who keeps us smiling.

We rank humor highly on our dating priorities because smiling helps us keep things in perspective. It can shed just the right amount of bright light on an otherwise overwhelming situation.

Most importantly, a partner with a sense of humor can teach you to laugh at the one thing often funnier than sitcoms or corny punch lines:

Yourself.