· September, 2010

Stories about Humor from September, 2010

Europe: “Mapping Stereotypes”

  28 September 2010

Via Dr Sean's Diary, “a series of maps of Europe mapping the (supposed) prejudices of various nations […] and, for some reason, also of gay men” by “Bulgarian visual artist, graphic designer and illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov.” Also, “What European Tribes Think About One Another” – at eXile.ru; a similar map...

Morocco: “Why Belle is a Peace Corps Volunteer”

  28 September 2010

A blog meme is making the rounds amongst female Peace Corps Volunteers in Morocco; though neither of the bloggers who posted the meme disclosed its origins, both women say that they relate to it. The meme in question? "Why Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, is actually a Peace Corps Morocco volunteer."

Bolivia: The Story of the Uncle and Other Scams

  28 September 2010

They are often the oldest tricks in the book, yet people still continue to fall for them. In Bolivia, like other South American countries, a scam or attempt to con is often called “El Cuento del Tío” (The Story of the Uncle). Bolivian bloggers share their own story of being swindled.

Egypt: “The Inevitable Mubarak Photoshopping Contest”

  28 September 2010

In its coverage of the 2010 Peace Talks–the latest round of direct negotiations between leaders from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and the US, Al Ahram newspaper used Photoshop skills to place Mubarak at the front and center in the lineup of heads of states. Bloggers take the cue to launch their own Mubarak Photoshopping Contest!

China: Uncensored District Government Website

  28 September 2010

ESWN translated a news story on a grassroots government website in Xindu district of Chengdu city. The district government website does not censor away abusive comments, on the other hand, its officials give creative responses to unreasonable complaint.

Humorous Web Reactions to Thursday's Facebook Outage

  24 September 2010

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 500 million users. The website was offline for a few hours on September 23, 2010. Several jokes about the Facebook outage were soon streaming on Twitter, with many of them being re-tweeted by hundreds.

Guyana: Gold Rush?

  16 September 2010

Guyana-Gyal thinks the gold rush must be on again – at least judging from the influx of foreigners – and each of them, she says, “got their own winning technique.”

Togo: The Most Hilarious Sports Joke of the Year

  16 September 2010

Togo's football federation says the “national team” that played an exhibition match against Bahrain on September 7, 2010 was fake. Togo's sports minister says that the team was made up of “unidentified players and their shadowy handlers” who belonged to a “mafia group.” FIFA is investigating the allegations. One blogger has described the story as one of the weirdest stories of the year and another one says it is “one of the most hilarious sports practical jokes of all time.”

Paraguayans, their paramours and the MP7

  14 September 2010

I host a radio show in Asunción, Paraguay’s capital. Every Friday afternoon I ask my listeners for real stories, to help them relax in this city’s traffic. And it was during one of these Friday-afternoon call-ins—I had asked about technology that helps cover up unwanted tracks—that I first heard about Chinese dual-SIM mobile phones.

Global Taiwanese Beef Soup Threading

  7 September 2010

The Big Old Smoke who lives in UK initiates a funny and tasty campaign “Global Taiwanese Beef Soup Threading[zht]” and invites her blogger/plurker friends both in Taiwan and abroad to share their individual beef soup recipes and post them on blogs.

Jamaica: “Hostages in a Patty Shop”

  6 September 2010

Active Voice blogs about a “farcical scenario [that] played itself out in downtown Kingston” when armed men took over a patty shop – and the ensuing discussion on Twitter.

Egypt: Wanna be a Bride; From Blog to TV

  4 September 2010

An Egyptian blog featuring humorous short stories about a girl's endless quest to find a suitable husband was published into a book more than two years ago. This year it was turned into a television series, which is being shown across the Arab world this Ramadan.