11. There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.

January 11, 2006 4:49 PM

Biographical-style humor incorporating absurd claims: Does it have a name, and where can I find more?

Perusing the Chuck Norris Facts that are all the rage these days, I was reminded of this gem, Jon Lovitz's SNL character Tommy Flanagan, and the lyrics to Jonathan Coulton's song "Kenesaw Mountan Landis" (MP3).

Each of these pieces include absurd biographical information (e.g., "I cook Thirty Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru." and "Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.") Information that is not just false, but absurdly false.

I've got two questions. Is there a term that is commonly used to describe this class of humor? And more importantly, where can I find more of this? Short stories, Magazines, Web Sites, Books [I'm not sure if this becomes too tedious in longer works], etc...

posted by i love cheese to writing & language (19 comments total)

I've been calling this sort of humor a "brag", because the first example I remember of it was The SubGenius Brag. There's also a generator to create similar text.
posted by Hildago at 5:10 PM on January 11, 2006

Tall tales?

Another example: the "Bill Brasky" skits on SNL.
posted by elisabeth r at 5:11 PM on January 11, 2006

AutoBioGonzoism? Like "gonzo" journalism, but autobiographical?
posted by Asparagirl at 5:11 PM on January 11, 2006

I don't know if it has a name, but Jean Shepherd's books frequently use this tactic.
posted by interrobang at 5:14 PM on January 11, 2006

In the UK we call it "taking the piss".
posted by Decani at 5:16 PM on January 11, 2006

You can go back to Groucho, Henny Youngman, and Woody Allen to find this (and many more). I associate this with the Borscht Belt and a very Jewish self-deprecation.
posted by allen.spaulding at 5:18 PM on January 11, 2006

I don't know what they're called, but Neal Pollack has a couple of books like that.
posted by iron chef morimoto at 5:18 PM on January 11, 2006

BILL BRASKY
posted by Dean King at 5:30 PM on January 11, 2006

Vin diesel thinks in morse code.
posted by phrontist at 5:34 PM on January 11, 2006

If we all agree to call them Twainisms then I would be famously credited with having coined the term. Thank you for you cooperation.
posted by quadog at 5:38 PM on January 11, 2006

I'm seconding "tall tales," because those classics like Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and John Henry are essentially the same thing as Chuck Norris and Vin Diesel, just not as snarky and ironic.

What's really interesting about the Chuck Norris ones, though, is that they are tall tales based on the "Hollywood version" of these people, rather than the person itself. It's like a meta-tall-tale.

Of course, I'll probably get roundhouse-kicked in the head just for thinking that.
posted by frogan at 5:42 PM on January 11, 2006

When Brian Boitano travelled through time
To the year 3010,
He fought the evil robot king
And saved the human race again!

All I can think of is a more broad categorization of pop culture humor. These jokes succeed because of either the absurdity or obscurity of the celebrity in question.
posted by themadjuggler at 5:43 PM on January 11, 2006

Leslie Nielsen hosted a deservedly short lived series called Liography that did this terribly.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:57 PM on January 11, 2006

I'm seconding "tall tales," because those classics like Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and John Henry are essentially the same thing as Chuck Norris and Vin Diesel, just not as snarky and ironic.

Mike Fink, Davy Crockett... yep.

I hear there are modern devotees of this style of storytelling, liar's clubs, and even some festivals built around them.
posted by weston at 6:07 PM on January 11, 2006

There's this allegedly real college entrance essay.
posted by chazlarson at 6:18 PM on January 11, 2006

I call them Lies I Have Told.
posted by keef at 6:37 PM on January 11, 2006

Hyperbole is exaggeration or overstatement. Hyperbolic humor? MC Frontalot comes to mind...
posted by attercoppe at 11:22 PM on January 11, 2006

Mark Leyner did a lot of this in his fiction. 'Et Tu, Babe' is probably the best example as the entire book is a kind of absurd boast.
posted by anglophiliated at 3:19 AM on January 12, 2006

Big Brother invented the helicopter.

See Orwell's 1984 for a couple more instances.
posted by blindcarboncopy at 4:15 PM on January 13, 2006