Comedic couples come and go but there has never been a more perfect union of wit and mind than Nichols and May.

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.” — H.L. Mencken

For a full generation, as the world teetered on the brink, the lone voice mocking in the wilderness was truly MAD.

Shy second grade dropout. Struggled onstage with one-liners. Without a further word, he became a clown for the ages.

“There’s no secret to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.”

A Wasabi Alarm? Astrology Charts for Bacteria? Scheduled Earthquakes? The Ig-Nobels are science for wise guys.

Presidents are rarely known for their humor, at least not their intentional humor. JFK was.

Our National Pastime thrived on legend until Jim Bouton toppled the pedestals. Was that Mickey Mantle pinch hitting with a hangover?

Silent film was dead. Scandal tainted his career. His mother died. The Depression began. And Charlie Chaplin made “City Lights.”

Four score and 12 years ago, a unique candidate ran a unique campaign. We miss Pat Paulsen for President.

Long before Netflix and Comedy Central, standup started in a single spot — the Borscht Belt.

Snoopy is a salesman now but for five wonderful years, he broke all the cartoon rules and changed American comics.

A refrigerator note. A spark of genius. A classic poem and the senders it inspired.

Owing team after team, Bill Veeck loved baseball and fans and fun. Not necessarily in that order.

Baseball was a fading relic. Then a Chaplinesque college kid put on a chicken suit.

"In America, there are two kinds of travel -- first class and travel with children."

-- Meet Robert Benchley.