No soap radio
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"No soap radio" is a form of practical joke and an example of surreal comedy. The joke is in reality a prank whereby the punch line has no relation to the body of the joke – that is, it is actually not funny – but participants in the prank pretend otherwise. The effect is to either trick someone unfamiliar with the prank into laughing along as if he or she "gets it" and/or ridicule him or her for not understanding.
The joke became popular in New York in the 1950s. The punch line is known for its use as a basic sociological and psychological experiment, specifically relating to mob mentality and the pressure to conform. The basic setup is similar to the Asch conformity experiments, in which people showed a proclivity to agree with a group despite their own judgments.
See also
- Anti-humor
- surreal comedy
- The Aristocrats
- Mornington Crescent
- Shaggy dog story
- List of practical joke topics