Humour, it's in your genes

Humour is a funny thing (did you catch what I just did there) one persons joke can lead to huge belly laughs, mild grins, disgust or complete incomprehension.

So I looked at this and wondered...

British humor linked to genetics

LONDON, March 11 (UPI) -- Sarcasm and self-depreciation, hallmarks of British humor that don't always travel well, may be linked to genetics, a researcher said.
Rod Martin, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, said television shows such as "Fawlty Towers" and "The Office," show people in Britain enjoy cruel or dark humor more than people from other countries, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Martin and his research team surveyed 2,000 pairs of twins in Britain and 500 pairs of twins in North America.
"The British may have a greater tolerance for a wide range of expressions of humor," Martin said. "In the North American version of 'The Office,' the lead character is much less insensitive and intolerant than in the original UK version."

I mean, how does that prove anything about genetics? Wouldn't it be more likely due to culture?

If you wanted to prove it was genetics, you'd have to take people of British decent in other countries and show that they had the same sense of humour.
It certainly does help to understand certain cultural things to be able to 'get' certain aspects of humour in different countries.

Even so, British humour isn't even the most miserable and cruel either, there are plenty of other countries where it is even more so.

Still, it's just a bit of crazyness and humour I believe is subjective, not genetic, still it did make me smile.