Underrated: Clowns

As far as I know, clowns don't actually do anything funny. I've never laughed at a clown's jokes or antics, and they don't even look inherently amusing. If someone in a costume is going to make me laugh, the rank would go as follows, from funniest costume to least funny:
1) Food item
2) Tree
3) Animal (chicken)
4) Animal (all others)
5) Clown

There is something really special about clowns, though: For a character that is supposed to be objectively funny, a clown is only funny outside of its context. A clown walking down the street reading the paper would probably get more laughs than one juggling lemon meringue pies. In fact, the very word "clown" suddenly appearing on my television screen right now would be infinitely more hysterical than an actual clown.

I realized this when listening to the most recent episode of the yuppie-beloved public radio program This American Life. They were interviewing people at a rest stop, and out of nowhere there's a soundbite from an unidentified man, saying "...and suddenly a clown truck filled with clowns cut us off!" I burst into uncontrollable laughter, but later, I realized the actual image failed to really amuse me. The statement itself, on it's face and devoid of context, was funnier than actually even seeing the clown truck.

I don't quite know why the concept of clowns is so funny, but I think it has something to do with the fact that the profession makes no sense, and yet it persists. What are the perks? Nobody thinks clowns are funny. The entire task of putting on clown makeup seems laborious. The stigma of being a clown would be so great, I think, that you could only really have clown friends. The life of a clown just couldn't sound more miserable, and yet I don't think there's any shortage of clowns. Apparently, they're all over the place. Who knows why?

As a final note, since I know many people are thinking it, clowns aren't that scary. We've just been taught that they're scary because it's an easy go-to answer to a common question. When someone asks you your greatest fear, you don't want to say "death" or "crippling loneliness," so you just say "clowns" and get a chuckle. It's like how so many people say their least favorite word is "moist" - it's just something to say. Clowns may be completely absurd for all the wrong reasons, but they're not scary.

In closing: clowns!