Twitter's New Comedy Genre: The 140-Character One-Liner

It's a laugh every 140 characters for these tweeters, from Patton Oswalt and Rainn Wilson to Steve Martin and Sarah Silverman.
Illustrations Rob Delaney Daniel Bejar Mindy Kaling Steve Martin Conan OBrien Sarah Silverman Rainn Wilson Corbis
Illustrations: Rob Delaney: Daniel Bejar; Mindy Kaling, Steve Martin, Conan O’Brien, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson: Corbis

- One Professor's Attempt to Explain Every Joke Ever

Feed a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Feed a fish a man and he'll eat for like two and a half months.

Rainn Wilson | @rainnwilson

Had my son's hearing tested because he's always yelling. Turns out he's just an asshole :(

Kelly Oxford | @kellyoxford

in American culture, men get tribal tattoos to signify that I won't date them

Kate Riley | @bubblebathos

Ever sneeze so hard that your parents got divorced?

Lauren Caltagirone | @MrsRupertPupkin

"OK, that's enough attention for me" -No one on twitter

Shelby Fero | @shelbyfero

I like my women the way I like my Star Wars films - At least 27 years old & never having had Hayden Christensen in them.

Eli Braden | @elibraden

As my 5 year-old son and I carved the pumpkin today, I swear I heard him say, "That's what happens to snitches."

Conan O'Brien | @ConanOBrien

A super quick way to look really disturbing is to walk through the rain really slowly without trying to cover yourself at all

Mindy Kaling | @mindykaling

'Liking' something on Facebook instead of commenting is like nodding at someone in an elevator instead of saying hello.

Jordan Rubin | @jordanrubin

TBS you don't need to announce "you are watching the wizard of oz" over the shot of Dorothy walking down the fucking yellow brick road.

Tim Heidecker | @timheidecker

At Vegas Consumer Electronics Show: Saw large wooden device that can fling boulders over castle walls. iPad killer.

Steve Martin | @SteveMartinToGo

I'm afraid if the Superbowl is being broadcast into space, aliens will interpret this Black Eyed Peas performance as an act of war.

Eugene Mirman | @EugeneMirman

I am eating that dense German health bread that is the size and weight of a thick leather wallet.

John Hodgman | @hodgman

12 string guitars only have 6 extra strings, but they're 85 TIMES as likely to be used in a song about wizards.

Rob Delaney | @robdelaney

Just visited MySpace. Half the lights are out, bears are living in my comments section, and a homeless guy's been pooping in my blog.

Patton Oswalt | @pattonoswal

If someone says they're only human, give them a second look. That sure does sound like something a robot would say.

"LBJ" | @ladybirdj

Your funky hat lets me know that you're crazy

Sarah Silverman | @SarahKSilverman

Finding the perfect analogy is like balancing a muffin on a pencil.

Joe Randazzo | @Randazzoj

I think I could fake sign language myself out of a jam.

Alec Sulkin | @thesulk

Graphic designers! Hire me to explain your job to your dads!

Alison Agosti | @Just_Alison

I'm no doctor but I've seen enough porn endings in my day to suggest that penises should have a "Not For Opthalmic Use" warning on the side.

Chris Hardwick | @nerdist

Sometimes playing catch is very similar to throwing things at a child in a backyard.

Demetri Martin | @DemetriMartin

"Ok, sure." -Nicolas Cage, after reading any script

Jon Friedman | @friedmanjon

That cop says I should go to jail for smoking PCP in my car, but I say that cop should go to jail for being a saber-toothed tiger.

Megan Amram | @meganamram

I think more than one company should be allowed to sell
Monopoly.

Judah Friedlander | @JudahWorldChamp