There are some studies on humor, Nick; but they won't necessarily be found on the 'Cat although we are a pretty funny lot.

One book of interest is Norman Cousins' report on his self-induced healing acheived by making himself a lot, helped by old Charlie Chaplin films. Here's a paper on the physiology of it which mentions him.

As to what makes something be funny, it is a rejection of logical distortion between two sets of data -- the assumptions you make about how the world is, and the torque of illogic imposed on it by the story or line.

The assumptions and sense of normalcy vary with culture, which is why Russian jokes sometimes strike Westerners as flat dull, for example. But there are some elements which are almost universal. Death, sex, and stupidity come to mind.

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