How could anyone think this is funny!?

[MaggieTheCat]

My mom told me this terrible story that she read on a blog. The blogger, a woman, had to go out of town for a day, so her husband said he would take care of the house, cook, clean, whatever. He did laundry, and in the process, he somehow managed to lock their cat in the dryer and turned it on. I guess the cat was only in there for a minute or two before he heard a clunking noise and went to see what it was. The woman, when she got home, was very upset and really mad at her husband (seriously, how do you not notice a cat jumping into an open dryer? Unless he left the door open when he left the room, then didn't bother to check inside it when he came back to close it.) The cat doesn't seem to have any physical injuries, but it's been acting weird ever since.

The part that upsets me the most about this is that when my mom related this story to me, she was LAUGHING about it. I was not amused, and I told her that it was a terrible story. She said, "Oh yeah, it's awful, isn't it?" And then she giggled some more.

It's conversations like this one that really reaffirm why I moved 1500 miles away from her.

[DrFaroohk]

I would think it quite simple to overlook the cat in the dryer. Seriously those things are sneaky. You turn your back for two seconds to grab another armload of clothes to toss in and ZOOM he's in there and you didn't see shit.

You can't really fault someone for having a twisted sense of humor though. I for some reason find it hilarious when tragedies befall people, especially shitty people. Like when the guy with thirteen OUI convictions goes out and does it again and winds up killing the judge and lawyer who let him out and have a license in the first place. That's funny.

Or when a bus full of kids goes off a bridge. I know, I'm a horrible monster. Doesn't make it any less funny. And it's not fair to judge me for that, because I didn't choose to feel that way. It'd be different if I caused said accident, just to entertain myself. But just for finding something amusing that I shouldn't? As soon as you buy me one of those machines that can rewire the electrical impulses in my brain, we won't have a problem anymore.

[HYHYBT]

I don't think either the cat in the dryer or DrFaroohk's examples are funny, but there *have* been stories I've seen or heard where, while the outcome was tragic, there were still funny elements to the way it happened and I couldn't help chuckling a bit about them. Think of some of the Darwin Awards, real or fictional, for instance.

I hope the kitty turns out to be OK.

[MaggieTheCat]

I think I get overly upset about cat stories because I saw a really horrible video once of a cat being decapitated, and ever since then I get really upset whenever anything bad happens to cats.

[MadMike]

I would think it quite simple to overlook the cat in the dryer. Seriously those things are sneaky. You turn your back for two seconds to grab another armload of clothes to toss in and ZOOM he's in there and you didn't see shit.

One of my cats did something like that with the laundry bag (not any machines, thank God!) I was packing a bag of laundry to take to the laundromat, and when I went to pick it up, it felt heavier than it should have. I opened it up, and one of my cats is inside staring back at me, just chilling out. Like you said, they're sneaky, not to mention quick.

I think I get overly upset about cat stories because I saw a really horrible video once of a cat being decapitated, and ever since then I get really upset whenever anything bad happens to cats.

Would that be the one involving a car's sunroof? Yeah, I didn't see the humor in that one either.

[guywithashovel]

Personally, I don't think that story about the cat is funny. Then again, I have a pretty eclectic sense of humor most of the time. Typically, things that are funny to me are often not funny to other people, and vice versa. For this reason, I usually go through my daily routines without making any jokes or other attempts at humor, and consequently tend to have a reputation for being bland and serious.

That said, there actually are some pretty morbid things that I have caught myself snickering at. I'm not going to say what they are for fear of people thinking I'm a monster. Heck, even I feel a little bad about chortling at these things, but I just can't help it. Beneath their grotesque veneers lie even thinner veneers of hilarity, and that tiny veneer of hilarity always manages to find its way to me.

[MaggieTheCat]

Would that be the one involving a car's sunroof? Yeah, I didn't see the humor in that one either.

Yeah, that's the one. It was several years ago when I saw it, but I still remember it vividly. I didn't understand at first what I was seeing, so I had to ask the person who showed it to me (who was, in fact, my boyfriend at the time) what it was supposed to be. I was so upset after he told me that I started crying.

[smileyeagle1021]

You can't really fault someone for having a twisted sense of humor though. I for some reason find it hilarious when tragedies befall people, especially shitty people. Like when the guy with thirteen OUI convictions goes out and does it again and winds up killing the judge and lawyer who let him out and have a license in the first place. That's funny.

That's not funny, that is the definition of poetic irony

Terrible things though can be funny... they have to be otherwise we'd go insane. I'm reminded of a great episode of CSI where there is the guy who killed two people in one day, both of which were legitimate accidents... and he's talking about how that is the story of his life, and he goes on "I can remember when my daughter was young and I got her a puppy and the very next day while backing out of the driverway..." and Jim interupts "don't tell me, you hit the puppy?" and he responds, "No, I hit my daughter." And it's funny as hell... yeah it's terrible that he hit his daughter, but it is so unexpected that it's funny.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I have a very warped sense of humour; however, I try to keep it to appropriate situations and forums.

[Rageaholic]

I guess if you picture it like a cartoon (Tom chasing Jerry into the washing machine), it can be funny. Hell what smiley eagle described was pretty damn funny because of the context and delivery of it. Though if I saw either happen, I wouldn't have found it funny at all. Perhaps that's why Maggie didn't find it funny, but her mother did, same story, but visioned differently by different people.

Though it does sound like your mother was pretty untactful about it.

[Nyoibo]

If it happened to my cat, provided he wasn't hurt, I'd find it bloody hilarious, mostly because the little bugger would have deserved it.

[Giggle Goose]

The same thing actually happened to a friend of the family many years back, when I was a kid. I was crushed. Even my dad was, and he's not a cat person at all. Poor thing. I'm sorry your mom was so insensitive.

[Greenday]

I would have laughed. Hell, I laughed when I read what happened and that he wasn't hurt.

[Fryk]

You know what that is?

It's--

SCHAAAAADENFREUDE!! Making me feel glad that I'm not youuuuuuuuuu!!

[Nyoibo]

I love Avenue Q.