History Main / NothingIsFunnier

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' has [[NothingIsFunnier/CalvinAndHobbes its own page]], and it's also the trope namer for the NoodleIncident. Bill Watterson said in the ''Tenth Anniversary Calvin and Hobbes collection'' that he intended to visit what happened the Noodle Incident someday, but eventually talked himself out of it. The reason he never explained was he decided that nothing he could come up with would ever be as funny as anything the readers would be able to come up with in their own minds.

* The classic example from ''Literature/ThreeMenInABoat'' is the scene where the hapless characters, who have embarked on an ill-advised and poorly planned boating holiday down the Thames, attempt to open a stubborn sealed can with a tree; the only details the author provides the reader with are the fact that a straw hat saved the life of one, while another escaped with only minor injuries. The humour comes from the ''way'' the author avoids describing exactly what happened and leaves it up to the reader to guess.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' has [[NothingIsFunnier/CalvinAndHobbes its own page]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'' In the episode "Sing Beans," Schnitzel tells a joke that makes Mung crack up, though Chowder's just confused (Mung refuses to explain it, saying Chowder will get it when he's older). Due to Schnitzel's OneWordVocabulary, the audience has no idea what the joke is, just that it's very dirty, leaving older viewers to fill in the gaps with their own dirty jokes.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': The NoodleIncident (as in, ''[[TropeNamer the]]'' Noodle Incident) never gets explained, though whenever someone mentions it, Calvin becomes panicked and defensive. Watterson stated that he originally intended to explain it, but realized he couldn't make up anything that would be as funny as what the readers would invent trying to figure it out.

Sometimes, however, the best comedy is something only the viewer can imagine. For instance, let's say there exists a location called "Big Tit Creek". Sure, you could go into detail, about how the creek was actually named after a large bird of the tit family, but wouldn't it be funnier to just let the viewer wonder "How DID the creek get that name?"

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': The NoodleIncident (as in, ''[[TropeNamer the]]'' Noodle Incident) never gets explained, though whenever someone mentions it, Calvin becomes furious. Watterson stated that he originally intended to explain it, but realized he couldn't make up anything quite as funny as what the readers would invent trying to figure it out.

As NothingIsScarier refers to the concept of leaving the object of fear to the viewer to think about, this is leaving things to the imagination of the viewer when it comes to comedy because nothing you could come up with could be funnier than whatever outlandish scenario they thought up.

** AmbiguousCriminalHistory: A character is known to have committed a serious crime, but it's never explained.

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* ''WesternAnimation/GreenEggsAndHam2019'': In the penultimate episode, Gluntz uses a technique to stupefy the Goat, trapping him in what she claims is a happy memory. We're never shown the memory, just the Goat screaming "AAAAAAH! [[BigNo NOOOOOO]]!"

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': The [[TropeNamer Noodle Incident]] never gets explained, though whenever someone mentions it, Calvin becomes furious. Watterson stated that he originally intended to explain it, but realized he couldn't make up anything quite as funny as what the readers would invent trying to figure it out.

* SubvertedPun: When a potential bit of wordplay is waved in the audiences' faces and then ignored.

* BigBallOfViolence - Some fights are funnier when left to the imagination.
* CensoredForComedy - It's so disgusting you can only see vaguely what it looks like behind censor pixels.
* ClingyAquaticLife - A character gets out of the water, revealing that sea creatures got stuck to them or inside them somehow.
* ClusterBleepBomb - You don't need to know what exotic words someone is using to imagine how bad (and funny) it is.
* InanimateCompetitor - An inanimate object is involved in a competition somehow. Bonus points if they've apparently done something offscreen.
* NoodleImplements - A bunch of seemingly-outlandish requirements for a task are given, leaving the viewer to imagine their use.
* NoodleIncident - A mysterious incident constantly referred to but never seen or explained.
* OffscreenCrash - No writer could come up with a more chaotic scene than your imagination can.
* OrphanedPunchline - When the end of a joke is told, and the beginning is left for the viewer to try and imagine.
* OrphanedSetup - The beginning of a joke is told, but the punchline is left out.
* [[{{Relaxovision}} Relax-o-vision]] - DiscretionShot for the purpose of a gag.
* ThatPoorCat - Some big accident happens offscreen, and based on the yowl, a cat was involved somehow.
* YouDoNotWantToKnow - Something is apparently so unmentionable, the characters have to tell other characters (and the audience) that really, they don't want to know the specifics.

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