“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." — Groucho Marx
Being funny is difficult. Standup comedians work hard to hone their craft. But I’d argue that it’s easier to be funny as a standup than it is to write something that makes people laugh.
Because there is no comedic timing. There’s no body language or tone of voice. There’s no facial expressions. The humor is stripped down to just the words on a page. You’ve got to rely completely on the reader to understand the joke.
Despite this difficulty, there are still plenty of people who’ve created funny things for us to read. Perhaps my favorite is Dave Barry.
For this reason, it’s also more difficult to understand writing that is meant to be humorous. The reader has to understand nuance and context. Sometimes it helps to read the text aloud. That means they have to be committed to understanding the words.
However, more people are willing to read things they consider to be funny because it increases the likelihood they’ll enjoy it. Reading something really funny is rare, but it is wonderful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeONhyQbWOc