Last Thursday I was finishing a project in the wee hours of the morning when I heard a maniacal cackle of epic proportions from across the hall. Knowing my neighbor the way I do, I knew it could only mean one thing: a hilarious YouTube clip was about to come my way.

Sure enough, soon after the cackle ceased, a video link appeared on my Facebook chat screen. It was shocking. It was disgusting. It was furry.

It was a monkey having sex with a goat.

Immediately, several questions ran through my head: How did he find this? What search terms would have that result? How did he not vomit after seeing this? Why did it seem like the monkey was having all the fun?

Most of all, I wondered what kind of sick, depraved individual would laugh at something like that. So, I walked across the hall to watch it again with my neighbor.

This time, I laughed as much as he did.

You see, some things are just better with friends around. Whether it’s wholesome family entertainment or watching Curious George quench his curiosity, an audience of one is invariably harder to please than two idiot friends cracking jokes to each other throughout a movie – or in this case, just during the climax.

This principle works in other areas of life, too. Take academics: Attending an astronomy lecture alone is a sure-fire ticket to an impromptu afternoon nap. However, with a friend tagging along, suddenly Uranus’ gas content goes from boring physics lesson to hilarious bodily condition. Maybe it’s immature to laugh at stuff like that, but if laughing at fart jokes is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

It also applies to working with children. Twice a week I volunteer at the elementary school down the hill, and until last week it was just like being back in high school – it was boring, the teachers were strict, and the big kids kept taking my lunch money. Then, I took my friend Daylan along with me. Now, whenever I’m bored I just tell the kids that she’s Hannah Montana. It livens things up.

But why is this true? Why is everything so much better with a friend? Why can one man’s boredom so easily turn into two people’s laughter over monkey-goat relations?

For one, a good friend makes everything less embarrassing. Whether it’s farting in an elevator or listening to Coldplay in public, life’s greatest humiliations are always tempered when you can just turn to your buddy and ask why everyone’s looking at you so funny. So when it comes to laughing at, say, a monkey getting busy with a goat, your friend’s presence makes you even less self-conscious than being alone.

For another, a good friend is the perfect recipient for strange complaints. Sure, you could always hire a shrink to talk about your personal problems, but isn’t it more fun to gripe to your friend about last night’s dream involving Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Richard Simmons and a turkey baster?

Regardless, it’s basic math that two people are better than one. Especially when it comes to astronomy lectures. Or animal porn. Like it makes a difference.

Danny Fersh is a freshman broadcast journalism major. He showed up one day with a C-note in one hand and a humor column in the other, and we’ve let him write for us ever since. He can be reached at dafersh@syr.edu.

Published on April 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm