The Humor Research Lab has done the impossible and likely unnecessary, by determining through an elaborate algorithm which cities in the US are funniest. Joke's on us: Chicago is #1 and Boston is #2.

A cursory Google search for "Boston comedy" yields two-bit headshots of some goofy looking white dudes and a lot of Clip Art images of beans and lobsters. ROFL!!! An even further in-depth search for giggles 'n' stuff gets you to this Boston.com page of Tea Party-themed comics. I smell a rat.

Chicago makes sense, given the Windy City's rich sketch comedy scene and scores of famous comedians who have broken out of the Midwest. New York doesn't even skirt the top 5, only making it to #6 on the list, while mysteriously Philadelphia is at #13, an outrage for people who know that Philadelphian's do not need recognition and would prefer to be left unranked.

The professors in the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado (which might just be the basement of a marijuana dispensary, for all we know) determined their top fifty list by looking at a few different factors:

  • Number of comedy clubs per square mile in each city
  • Traveling comedians' ratings of each city's comedy-club audiences
  • Number of famous comedians born in each city, divided by city population
  • Number of famous funny tweeters living in each city, divided by city population
  • Number of comedy radio stations available in each city
  • Frequency of humor-related web searches originating in each city

The top 10 funniest are listed below. Residents of Miami, Tulsa, and Fort Worth, all cities who ranked as the least funny places according to the study, this is your chance to prove us wrong in the comments.

1. Chicago, IL

2. Boston, MA

3. Atlanta, GA

4. Washington, DC

5. Portland, OR

6. New York, NY

7. Los Angeles, CA

8. Denver, CO

9. San Francisco, CA

10. Seattle, WA

[Image via AP]